Black Diamond Spot Headlamp Field Report

Andrew Henrichs

January 9, 2006

Biographical Information

Name:  Andrew Henrichs
Age:  25
Gender:  Male
Height:  6’ 2” (1.88 m)
Weight:  190 lb (86.2 kg)

Email address:  a_henrichs@yahoo.com           
City, State, Country:  Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA

Backpacking Background

   Most of my backpacking has been in the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, as well as the desert in the southwestern US.  I’ve gone winter camping several times, but I still prefer backpacking in the warmer months.  Most of my trips are 2-3 days, but I have taken several trips of 5-6 days.  This past summer, I was fortunate enough to have thru-hiked the 476 mile Colorado Trail over 35 days.  Recently, I have been leaning towards the lightweight side of the spectrum. 

Product Information

Manufacturer:  Black Diamond (www.bdel.com)

Year of Manufacturer:  2005

Listed Weight (without batteries):  1.8 oz (50 g)

Listed Weight (with batteries):  3.0 oz (85 g)

Weight as Delivered (without batteries):  1.75 oz (49.6 g)

Weight as Delivered (with batteries):  3.25 oz  (92.1 g)

Bulb Types:  One-1 Watt HyperBright LED, Three SuperBright LEDs

MSRP:  $42.95 US

Product Description

    The Black Diamond Spot is a lightweight headlamp.  It features both one HyperBright LED and three SuperBright LEDs.  Each LED has four lighting settings.  These include three brightness levels per LED type and one strobe setting per LED type.  For more information, please refer to my Initial Report. 

Field Use

    I've been able to test the Black Diamond Spot several times while skinning up and skiing down the local ski hill in the dark.  The elevation ranges from approximately 8100 ft (2500 m) at the base to nearly 10000 ft (3000 m) at the summit.  Temperatures ranged from -10° F (-23° C) to 25° F (-4° C).  While skinning up the hill, I tried both the HyperBright and SuperBright LEDs.  Both LED types provided significant close-range illumination.  I actually prefer to use the SuperBright LEDs when skinning up.  When using the HyperBright LED, the reflection off of the snow was just too bright; I actually found myself squinting.  I found both of the LED types to project light more than far enough ahead of me.  I wasn't able to officially measure the distance, but based on the width of the ski slope I would estimate that the HyperBright LED illuminates a distance of at least 120 ft (37 m) on the brightest setting, which is comparable to the manufacturers specifications of 131 ft (40 m).  In addition, the SuperBright LEDs illuminate a distance of at least 55 ft (17 m) on the highest setting.  This actually exceeds the manufacturers specifications of 49 ft (15 m).  I will "officially" measure illuminated distances at all three brightness settings for both LED types in my Long Term Report. 

    I was also impressed with the Spot while skiing down the mountain in the dark.  I found the  HyperBright LED on the brightest setting to be most useful for this activity, as it provides the most illumination.  With the HyperBright LED on the brightest setting, I could easily see and avoid rocks, stumps, trees, thin spots, and odd slope contours. 

    I wear fairly thin gloves while skiing up and skiing down at night.  Even so, I occasionally had a difficult time finding the on/off switch on top of the headlamp while I was wearing it.  Due to that fact, I rarely switched into the other brightness settings, as the necessary half-depression of the button usually turned into a full-depression, turning the headlamp off.  I think that this will become less of an issue as I become more familiar with the headlamp. 

    As for comfort, I'm very happy with the fit of the headlamp.  I have yet to discover any pressure points.  I wear it for nearly an hour while skinning up the mountain, and it's never uncomfortable.  Other than the fact I have a spotlight emanating from my head, I could almost forget that it's there. 

    So far, the Spot seems very durable.  It's sat in the top lid of my pack on several outings, and has yet to show a single scratch or crack.  I've also played with the pivot point, trying to find a position where the headlamp won't stay put.  I haven't found one yet.  I'll be interested to see if the pivot point loosens after repeated use. 

    As for waterproofness, I haven't run into any precipitation on any of my treks thus far.  As a substitute, I turned on the Spot and stuck it under a running showerhead.  I held the Spot under the running water with the beam pointed towards the showerhead for 30 seconds and then held it pointed away from the showerhead for 30 seconds.  I turned the Spot off, dried the outside of the unit and opened the battery compartment.  I found three minute specks of water inside the battery compartments, and I think all splashed into the compartment when I opened it.  Based on this, I believe it would take an extraordinary amount of precipitation to short out the Black Diamond Spot. 

    After approximately five hours of headlamp use, I have no complaints with the battery use.  I plan on testing burn time of both the HyperBright and SuperBright LEDs for my Long Term Report. 

    So far, the Black Diamond Spot headlamp is pretty impressive.  It's small, relatively lightweight, and provides great illumination.  As stated previously, I still plan on getting a more accurate measure of how far the Spot illuminates, as well as what the actual battery use is.  I would also like to test various brightness settings to see when each is most useful.