Review by Tony Lourens
“The Black Diamond Spot 400 is one of our favourite headlamps for backpacking because it’s bright, has a long burn time, and it’s full of convenient features. And at only $45, the Spot is a steal for such a powerful and durable headlamp. We named the Spot 400 the best value on our Best Headlamps list.” – Clever Hiker review
The evolution of lighting will never end, of that I’m sure, and also glad, because all the big brand names out there are continually trying (and succeeding) in bettering their own products year after year. Generally, this means brighter, more economical, and most importantly smaller and lighter.
The new Spot 400 R is basically all this, wrapped up in one little package. Let’s look at its attributes:
Comfort and weight
Weighing in at a feathery 70 grams, the lamp is hardly noticeable on your head and the elasticated headband is made from Repreve fibre, so super comfy against your skin. The new buckle system makes it very easy to adjust and it is very helmet friendly.
Brightness and economy
Giving off a healthy 400 lumens at full power, cleaving a 100-metre-long swath of light through the inky blackness, you will be happy to have this baby on your head when trying to finish off the last pitch of your route in the ensuing darkness, or finding your way across a mountain slope in the dead of night. The Spot 400 has a fully adjustable light source, from really dim, which is great for tent use and reading, etc., right through to full brightness, and it’s really simple to set what brightness you need at the touch of a button, whether cooking around the campfire, or walking along trail. The headlamp also comes with BD’s well known PowerTap function to set the unit to full brightness at the touch of a finger. The Spot comes with a three light function for brightness control and a red light function, all with strobe modes.
The battery life is quite impressive as well. Of course at full brightness you will always have a limited amount of time, but if you tone down the brightness a bit you can get up to 200 hours burn time. And the integrated battery meter shows you how much power you have left, which can be recharged in a short time through a USB charging port.
Waterproofness and security
The Spot is tested to a depth of 1 metre for 30 minutes. In my books that means the unit will survive a good pounding in proper stormy conditions. And the digital lock will prevent the lamp from coming on accidentally in your pack or pocket.
SPECIFICATIONS
Rechargeable: Powered with integrated 1500 mAh Li-ion battery with micro-USB charge port
• 400 Lumen max output
• PowerTap™ Technology allows instant adjustment between max output and dimmed power
• Integrated battery meter display shows % of power remaining
• Multifaceted optical efficiency lens technology
• Digital lock mode feature safeguards against accidental use when stored in a pack or pocket
Weight: 70 g
Max Distance: 100 m (high), 60 m (medium), 12 m (low)
Burn time: 200 hrs (low) / 2 hrs 30 min (high)
RRP: R1 299
Available from: www.rammountain.co.za
