Customer Reviews

Black Diamond Equipment Storm Headlamp

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This headlamp isn't perfect but in my opinion it's currently at the top of its class...meaning the battery integrated headlamp category...no separate battery pack.

Maximum output in spot mode is 100 lumens and maximum output in flood mode is 25 lumens and both modes are infinitely adjustable (through ramping) down to 4 lumens. The white led modes include a strobe function as does the red led mode.

The output is current regulated for the first 25% of battery power for a more consistent output. It then falls out of regulation and gradually dims for a longer run time. This headlamp is also waterproof.

It has a lockout mode to keep it from turning on by accident while in your backpack as well as a battery condition indicator...green for 100%-75%, orange for 75%-25%, and red for less than 25%.

Things I would like to change...ugly beam profile, translucent housing that can cause a bit of glare, and the inability to directly choose spot beam vs flood beam.

Let me explain. In general the user interface is great. Once you read the instructions once you won't have to read them again. However to choose spot vs flood you must switch the light on and off. Those two functions toggle each time you do this so if you usually use the headlamp in spot mode every time you turn it back on it will be in flood mode. You will then have to turn it back off and then on again to get back to spot mode. This can be annoying.

The spot beam is functional but it's ugly as well. You can fix this by putting a piece of translucent tape over the optic creating a diffusion filter. You shouldn't have to do this however.

The glare I spoke of isn't bad and can be corrected with a piece of black electricians tape if it does bother you. The housing appears to be opaque until the light is turned on and then the edge of the bottom of the housing becomes translucent and creates a bit of glare near the users eyes.

I still consider this headlamp to be the best in its class as all of the other headlamps in this class have a least as many issues as this one.

The user interface is great other than the one aspect that I mentioned. One click turns the headlamp on. Pressing the button ramps the output from high to low. Another click turns it off. Holding the button, while off, for 3 seconds turns on the red led. Holding the button for 6 seconds enables the lockout mode.

When the unit is first turned on the battery indicator light automatically comes on for the first few seconds.

When in white mode but still turned off rapidly clicking the button three times will turn on the white strobe. When in red mode but on doing the same will turn of the red strobe.

No other headlamp out their in this price range and category comes close to having all of these features. Other headlamps in this category at Black Diamond Spot, Petzl Tikka XP 2, and Princton Tec Eos.

This lamp is great! A bit heavy but it does the job. Very bright light with the ability to dim is a great combo. There have been other negative reviews about the UI. If you cannot figure out the operating instructions in under 10 minutes I would advise you not to go camping in the woods because you will likely be eaten by a squirrel. The UI is simple and very effective. Great product, great price.

Have only used it a couple of times, so cant say anything about how long it will last, but the casing seems solid. Not as elegant as a petzl, but more functional and only a bit heavier. Easy to scroll through the lighting modes even with gloves on. The lock mode is a real plus and is what sold me on this one -well thought out and and easy to use, will not turn on accidentally in your pack. Both the wide angle and narrow beam full lighting modes are bright enough for walking or climbing, and the lighting levels are fully adjustable right down to a very low light for reading. Don't know about the battery life as haven't had it long enough. Having 4 AAA batteries makes it fairly heavy, so while it is fine for walking or climbing it would bounce around too much for running.

I was torn between a cheap Fenix and an expensive Surefire Minimus in my search for a 100 lumen headlamp. For the money, this is a sweet light. Easy to operate, a good choice of light level options, durable design, comfortable and, so far, easy on batteries. I've carried a Surefire E1L for several years and frankly didn't think I'd be happy anything less than Surefire. In the long run this may still be true, but the BD Storm was a nice surprise.

Works great! A little apprehensive after reading the reviews about how complicated it is to use. No problem, if you can'r remember the settings, just push the buttons you'll figure it out!

Let's just skip to the good part, eh? It's a light, it goes on your head and it, uh, lights up stuff.

I bought this light for fishing at night. I bank fish and walk a lot and so I wanted a light that wasn't cumbersome or heavy and had a good, bright beam for walking in the dark. Also, noticing how bugs aren't attracted to red lights I wanted a headlamp with decent red light capabilities.

I'm glad to say this light has it all, in spades. The main light is a spot type like that casts a beam you can see for around 50+ feet. Sure, it's a 100 lumen light and you'd expect that, but I have another brand of light that is 65 lumen and is nowhere near as bright as this one. I know it's a 35 lumen difference, but this light has such a well focused beam with a good throw, you'd swear it was brighter.

The second of the two white lights is a "flood" light as the instructions call it. It is great for walking if you are looking at the ground a lot. As the light itself doesn't really cast out in front of you. When they say "flood" they mean it. Light just emits from it and surrounds you. There is no real source or center. So it's not for spotting or looking for anything in particular. I like to use this light for walking along the banks and tying knots and even using the dimming feature to just have a bit of light for watching my rod tip.

The dimming feature of this light is very nice as well. When you push the button to turn on the light you can hold the button down to dim the light for battery conservation and also because the main light can be a bit overwhelming. I use this feature a lot more than I thought I would. I honestly didn't think this was a feature I cared much about, but if I had to get another headlamp and it didn't have this feature, I would be disappointed.

One last thing of note is the battery light feature on the outside of the lamp. When you first turn on the light there is a battery gauge that shows in color for battery status. Green, yellow and red. Makes it easy to know if your light is gonna last all night.

Having never heard of Black Diamond as a company I was just a touch concerned as to whether or not the headlamp was worth what I paid for it. But after having used it on half a dozen fishing trips I can easily say I think it was well worth the money. A very nice light.

Bought this for backpacking and camping, but I use it all the time. The light is super bright and it has several different settings. Took me a bit to get used to changing the modes, but once you figure that out it is perfect. Has great battery life too.

100 lumens max output, compact, long battery life, variable brightness, white/red/strobe output, waterproof, what more do you want? I turned it up to the maximum setting and it maintained its regulated output for more than 2 hours, and even after leaving it on for over 10 hours, I could still walk around with it in the dark. Have not seen any other headlamp that is as bright and this small.

The only complaint I have is that the red LEDs are not dimmable and they're not very bright. It's difficult to navigate or to find things on the ground if you're standing.

Man I shopped and researched and researched and did more research and finally settled on this bugger. little boxy compared to the petzl lamps which were hard to get away from their cool styling but considering price and options and everything rolled into one, this is the best of the best. beats out headlamps that are $20 more.

I have used headlamps for over 60 years as part of my hunting and fishing activities and this is the very best I have ever owned.
It has an adjustable brightness feature which is very useful, as is the red light feature, especially when running a boat in the dark and reading a GPS since the red light preserves night vision. The lantern is waterproof (a must for me), is very lightweight, and is an all around excellent addition to my hunting and fishing gear.