Black Diamond product reviews

The Black Diamond Distance 1500.

Review: Black Diamond Distance 1500 Headlamp

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Rechargeable Ultra-Bright Headlamp
Black Diamond Distance 1500
$200, 7.5 oz./213g
blackdiamondequipment.com

Comparing any hiking-oriented headlamps I’ve used to the Black Diamond Distance 1500 headlamp feels rather like comparing a Honda Civic to a Bradley armored fighting vehicle. At 7.5 ounces/213 grams, and putting out a supernova-like 1500 lumens at max power, the Distance 1500 is at least twice the price of all of today’s best headlamps for the backcountry and more than doubles most of them in weight and power. Over six months of testing this beast hiking, climbing, mountain and road biking, and backcountry skiing, I’ve concluded that, while it’s certainly overkill for many activities, it’s invaluable for both route finding and high-speed sports after dark.

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The Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32 ski touring pack.

Review: Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32 Ski Touring Pack

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Ski Touring Pack
Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32
$200, 30L/1,831 c.i., 2 lbs. 9 oz./1.2 kg (S/M)
Sizes: S/M and M/L (32L/1,953 c.i.)
blackdiamondequipment.com

When ski touring or riding in the backcountry, besides our skis or board, our pack becomes the piece of gear we interact with the most—and we place competing demands on a ski touring pack: We want it light and comfortable for the up and the down but to also have easy, quick access and critical organization and features. On many days of backcountry ski touring, I found the Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32balances those demands well and excels for backcountry and side country tours that involve more minimalist capacity needs.

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The Black Diamond Astro 300 and Astro 300-R headlamps.

Review: Black Diamond Astro 300 and Astro 300-R Headlamps

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Rechargeable Ultralight Headlamps
Black Diamond Astro 300-R
$40, 2.6 oz./75g
blackdiamondequipment.com

Black Diamond Astro 300
$20, 2.6 oz./75g
blackdiamondequipment.com

How simple and inexpensive a headlamp do you want for the backcountry? Or to frame the question from a different angle: How complex a headlamp do you need? Using Black Diamond’s rechargeable Astro 300-R and the optionally rechargeable, battery-powered Astro 300 on a pair of backpacking trips in the Canadian Rockies—the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park and the Nigel, Cataract, and Cline Passes Route in the White Goat Wilderness—as well as a four-day hike in the Wind River Range and camping at Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve, I became very acquainted with the strengths and shortcomings of two of today’s most affordable ultralight headlamps.

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The Black Diamond Spot 400.

Review: Black Diamond Spot 400 Headlamp

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Ultralight Headlamp
Black Diamond Spot 400
$50, 2.5 oz./70.9g
blackdiamondequipment.com

How do you choose a headlamp for the backcountry? If you’re looking for a range of modes that’s both basic and versatile, good brightness and dimming capability, and smart features that make it more useful while maintaining a design simplicity that doesn’t require an advanced science degree to operate it, Black Diamond’s Spot 400 is hard to beat. On evenings in camp on a five-day, late-summer hike in the Wind River Range, I found this latest update sustains and improves on the legacy of BD’s popular Spot line as an excellent value in an ultralight headlamp.

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Black Diamond Spot 400-R headlamp.

Review: Black Diamond Spot 400-R Headlamp

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Rechargeable Ultralight Headlamp
Black Diamond Spot 400-R
$65, 2.6 oz./73.7g
blackdiamondequipment.com

Using Black Diamond’s Spot 400-R on various outings, from nights in camp in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains, southwest Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, and on a nine-day hike of nearly 130 miles through the High Sierra in August, mostly on the John Muir Trail, and pre-dawn starts on a seven-day, nearly 70-mile walk in September in Glacier National Park and a six-day hike on the Grand Canyon’s Gems Route in April, to dawn patrol backcountry skiing in Idaho’s Boulder Mountains, backpacking on a section of the Arizona Trail along the Gila River in the first days of April, and trekking hut-to-hut on New Zealand’s Routeburn and Milford tracks in late spring, I found this latest update continues the legacy of functionality and versatility that has made BD’s long-popular Spot line arguably the best value in an ultralight headlamp—while also demonstrating the strong value proposition of choosing this rechargeable model over a battery-powered headlamp.

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