Reviewer Information

• Name: Cora Hussey
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
• Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
• Weight: 155 lbs (70 kg)
• Email address: cahhmc "at" yahoo "dot" com
• City, State, Country: Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Date: February, 2004

Basic Product Information

• Year of Manufacture: 2004
• URL: http://www.bdel.com/
• Listed weight
  • Without batteries: 3.3 oz (93 g)
  • With 3 AAA batteries: 4.5 oz (128 g)
• Weight as delivered
  • Without batteries: 3.7 oz (105 g)
  • With provided 3 AAA batteries: 4.9 oz (139 g)
• Advertised battery life: 100 Hours (SuperBright LED), 15 Hours (HyperBright LED)
• MSRP: $44.50 USD

Preliminary Information

• Date of arrival: February 6, 2004
• Contents of package (contents were complete): One blister pack, including:
  • Headlamp
  • Instruction sheet
  • Three AAA batteries
  • Blister pack advertising cardboard
• Condition upon arrival: Excellent
• The headlamp was easy and intuitive to install batteries in and use right out of the box.
• The headlamp was exactly what I expected from the website, plus more.

Product Description

+ General:

The Black Diamond Zenix headlamp is a headlamp which has two SuperBright LEDs, and one HyperBright LED. It is powered by three AAA batteries which are stored in a plastic battery housing sitting at the back of the head. The front light housing swivels up and down, and the light turns on and off via a rubber button located underneath the light housing. Pushing the button cycles through the following:

1. OFF
2. The two SuperBright LEDs lit
3. OFF
4. The one HyperBright LED lit
5. OFF (Back to step one)

The front light piece has the two SuperBright LEDs positioned on either side of the HyperBright LED. The HyperBright is housed behind a lens, whereas the SuperBright LEDs simply stick out of the light piece. There are two tiny screws on the base of the light piece (presumably not to be unscrewed unless at home for repair, if ever) on either side of the on-off button. Between the light piece housing and the strap lies a soft piece of foam that rests against my head when I am wearing it. Finally, a screw on the side of the light piece tightens or loosens the tilt of the piece. Here is a picture of the light piece close up. I marked the on-off button with a red arrow, the swivel tightening screw with a green arrow, and the comfy foam between the strap and plastic with a blue arrow:

+ Fit and Dimensions:

I have a fairly fat head (24 in / 61 cm circumference) but the Zenix fits me loosely with 3 in (8 cm) to spare on both the top strap and the side strap. This was a welcome relief -- never before have I not had to stretch a headlamp to its limits. The straps are soft and firmly stretchy, and the wire on the side is sized appropriately for expansion. The two soft pieces on the light and battery housing mentioned above have also added to the comfort of the fit for the few hours I have worn it so far.

+ Details and Other Notes:

The side strap with the wire has two guides that grip the wire and keep it from looping too far away from my head. The side strap is one full circular piece which adjusts on the side opposite of the wire side. I can then slide the battery and light housings along on the strap to line them up opposite one another after adjusting the side strap. The light housing part has slits in the plastic where the straps slide through, so I can actually slip the straps out of those slits and completely remove the light housing from all straps (thought it would still be attached to the wire). The battery housing has no such slits.

Field Testing Plan

Trip Details:

I plan to test the Zenix on 5-8 trips over the next six months. Two or three of these will be skiing or snowshoeing trips, and the remainder will be spring and early summer trips. The locations would include the Sierras and the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests in California. Weather will probably include wind, rain, snow, and temperatures ranging from 70 F (20 C) to far below freezing. The trips would include abrasive, wet, and sunlit conditions. Elevations would average between 8,000'-11,000' (2,400-3,000 m) with a standard deviation of 3,000' (900 m), and the trips would be mostly in mountainous terrain.

Test Plan Details:

I plan to test the following aspects of the Zenix headlamp:

• Usefulness considering weight, brightness, compactness, and battery life
• Fit, comfort, and stability
• Overall ease of use
• Weatherproofness, including from wet and cold
• Durability and maintenance over the course of the test

Initial Tests and Personal Observations

After opening the packaging, I immediately loaded the batteries into the battery case. It was easy to do and obvious how to do it. I then fiddled with the straps for a little while until the lamp fit on my head comfortably. After putting it on my head, I turned off all of the lights in the room, found the on-off button and played with the headlamp lights for a while. The HyperBright LED is certainly much brighter than the SuperBright LEDs. The SuperBright LEDs also give off a more diffuse style of light, so I think that the advertised lens in front of the HyperBright LED makes a difference even at first glance.

I then practiced cycling through the two lighting options and swiveling the light housing up and down. I then turned the lights in the room back on, found a screwdriver and toggled with the screw on the swivel, which I then tightened to my liking. I then dug out some other LED headlamps I had, and found that the HyperBright LED was noticeably brighter than those headlamps as well. I most especially like the fact that the HyperBright LED remains bright and focused even from the other side of the room, whereas other LEDs that I tried dim out at that distance.

I also enjoy the position of the button since the light swivel folds against the strap to protect the button from being pressed while stored. I hope this proves to prevent the headlamp from turning on in my pack. Finally, I have been wearing the headlamp on my bare head for the past four hours, and the cushioning foam is apparently working since the headlamp is still comfortable.

Overall, this is a pretty spiffy headlamp. It turned out to be very compact, it comfortably fits my head so far, it is easy to use, and it is much, much brighter than I ever would have expected for a single LED, even with a name like HyperBright. I very much look forward to testing this little guy!

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Reviews > Lighting > Headlamps - LED > Black Diamond Zenix > Cora Hussey > Initial Report