These are my minimum requirements for a headlamp:
- 200 lumen output
- Long runtime of at least 20 hours
- IPX7 waterproof or better
- Uses AAA batteries
- Dimmable light
- Red light to preserve night vision
- Adjustable beam positioning
The Spot meets all of these requirements. These are some of the specifications on the Black Diamond Spot headlamp:
- 300 lumen maximum output lasts for 30 hours (80 meter beam)
- 40 lumen minimun output lasts for 170 hours with a beam of 16 meters
- Hold main button for 4 seconds to lock/unlock headlamp
- Hold main button for 2 seconds when off to switch between white and red beams
- Hold main button when on to adjust the brightness
- Powered by 3 AAA batteries
If you are looking for a bright, rugged, reasonably priced, and waterproof headlamp then consider the Black Diamond Spot.
Disadvantages
The Spot is very good but not perfect. The batteries are very difficult to remove and I normally have to use my pocket knife to pry the first AAA battery from the holder. The headlamp produces a very white peripheral light with a warmer, yellowish beam in the center. I would prefer a beam more uniform in color. I would also like the light to swivel down a bit more. When I am using the light in close quarters I have to look through the bifocal lens on my glasses. My line of sight through the bifocal is lower than the position of the beam.
I also had a problem with the batteries that shipped with the Spot. The batteries had just the slightest bit of wrapping extending on the negative side of the battery cell. This extra wrapping prevented the battery from making contact with the holder in the headlamp. Consequently, I tried and tried but could not get my headlamp to work. When I tried some other batteries it worked. After I trimmed the battery wrapping from the negative side of the battery they worked fine. These minor criticisms are very minor.
Recommendation
If you are hiking or just want a general headlamp then serious consider the Black Diamond Spot. If you are hunting or fishing and need either blue or green lights then consider the Black Diamond Storm. With either headlamp be sure to carry two sets of spare batteries and store each set of spare batteries in a poly zip bag. This way you have two sets of spare batteries and if a battery leaks it will (at worst) only foul one set of batteries. I also strongly recommend including a backup flashlight that uses the same AAA batteries. I use the Streamlight Stylus Pro because it uses AAA batteries, outputs 90 lumens, and runs for up to 6.5 hours.
