9.11.2017

Second BD headlight I've owned (I bought the Storm after great results from the first one that 'went missing' and that, joy of joys just turned up again in a dress in the kids' dress-up box!)Storm: A great balance. - the weight doesn't balance perfectly on the single strap headband, but it's 'pretty good', and it didn't take me long to get used to it. For my use (fishing, hunting) the simplicity is far, far better than having a whole lot of extra junk and interconnecting wires required by having the battery at the back.The strap adjustment itself is easy to operate, and stays put, unlike some others I've used that are either fiddly, loosen off, or both.The Storm is a little (not a lot)like having a V8 in a Mini, only with the wrinkles worked out. I love it.Programmed switch modes: my pet hate in other lights which are just complicated and frustrating. BD's system takes a few minutes to get the hang of, then it's a piece of piss (Kiwi for 'easy'). I don't generally use all the modes and the ones I don't are easy to avoid. I LOVE the 'Off Lock' - a no-brainer, and actually a great safety feature. Likewise, I find the 'full power' button on the side of the headlight works well.Mine has none of the 'electronic buzz' others have reported. Seems they have engineered it out.Battery life is great. I'm still getting used to it and can't offer definitive numbers but I'm not going easy on it and it's not letting me down - like some others I've used. The battery indicator is a neat feature that I'm still getting used to.Plenty of grunt. I once, years ago, had an interesting time out on the tops at midnight where my torch didn't have enough range to navigate the barren moonscape. I wish I'd had the Storm then! Optically, I can't fault it. It has plenty of range and just the 'right pattern's for my use.The 'flood' light mode is the best I've used. Great saturation for reading and stuff like that.The battery clamp system is great, but has a little flex. The idea is much better than the disasters some other makers produce. From what I can see it should be fine, but I'd urge BD to revisit the stability of the design. Bottom line - I like the basic design and I'd still buy the light again in a heartbeat if I needed another. WHY DON'T THEY WATERPROOF THE SPOT????The only little gripes I have with the two BD lights I own, and the reason the fourth star is missing) is that:1) The lenses are slightly exposed and are therefore easier to mark or scratch than some other lights. Being aware of this, my Storm will be managed accordingly. I actually think it's marginally better than my (two year old) earlier model, but if the lenses were recessed more, the problem would be all but fixed. A harder material would be another idea.2). A quality bit of kit like this needs a pouch. Please get in touch with me Black Diamond - get a pouch to me so I can ditch the Led Lenser pouch (it's actually not a bad one) that I have to use. Just because there might be a couple of empty Led Lenser pouches lying around our place, don't think it's an excuse for omitting a bag for the Storm.Black Diamond Storm. Be aware of the slight weight balance compromise of the light unit itself and assess it for your intended use (probably not for runners), then buy with confidence.

7.9.2020

Pros:1. Red light is dimmable and great for night flights2. White light can get ridiculously bright, has multiple settings, and is also dimmable3. Can turn white light or colored light on independently4. The quick bright light function is neat, although haven't really found a use yet5. Stays on your head comfortably and doesn't slide downCons1. They need to go back and redo the instructions for this light. They tried to dumb down and simplify the instructions by using mostly illustrations and eliminating as many words as possible. It reminds me of Ikea instructions. It's hard to understand and absolutely terrible.2. Requries 4 AAA batteriesSummaryI needed a low level red light headlamp for night flights.I specifically wanted separate on/off switches for the red light. Definitely did not want one where you cycle through the white light, which totally destroys your night vision. This BD headlamp is a bit pricey compared to some of the no-name competition, but I decided to splurge for the quality.The biggest gripe I have is that the instructions are just way too confusing. Instead of just writing out the instructions, they're presented via overly simple illustrations using the least amount of words, like a terribly written assembly guide for Ikea furniture. Since there's really just one main button to control all the multitudes of options and functions of this headlamp, there's various combinations of button pressing that you need to figure out in order to use this thing. Now I know I'm not stupid, but it required an exorbitant amount of time and concentration to decipher the illustrations and figure out how to work the light. Once I finally understood how the light worked and learned the button pressing sequences and combinations, I was good to go, but I took off 1 star for the frustration caused by the poorly written instructions.The red light works great. The dimming feature is very handy, as well as the emergency one-touch "full bright" mode, for when you drop your pen in the cockpit or need more light without having to cycle through the dimmer process or having to resort to turning on the white light. The green and blue LED light also work similarly, but I found that I don't use the green or blue light as often as I thought I would. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference when looking at charts or my instruments.The bright white light is great, especially if you're out trying to tie down your plane in the dark, or trying to refuel in the dark. It's super bright and lights up a fair amount of space. There's also a flood light mode which works pretty well, like being in very bright moonlight. The white light can also be dimmed to a pretty low level, but I found that my night vision feels better preserved with red light versus the dim white light.The headlamp stays on my head despite various movements of my head for hours, and is comfortable. The band is of course adjustable, and the band stays in place instead of loosening up with time. Overall, I'm quite happy with the light. The instructions could be much better.It's a little pricey, but as the saying goes, "pay once, cry once".

8.1.2019

I purchased the Black Diamond Storm mostly for military use but also for other outdoors activities. I have been using this headlamp for approximately six months now and have grown to trust its capabilities.I don't use the white lens often, so the majority of my experience is with the red lens. The red lens provides enough brightness to read maps and notes, clean weapons, or other miscellaneous tasks, even at the lowest setting. The white light itself is extremely bright and works extremely well if that is what you’re into.The buttons can be kind of tricky to master at first but once you understand when and what to press, it’s a simple headlamp to operate. You adjust between white and red/blue/green using the power button.

7.10.2018

I bought this light for running. I hit the road at 5am and, even in the summer, it is dark. I run along a bike path in the woods with no lighting. I actually think about that Slender Man game frequently when I go through this really narrow part of the path through the woods. So far, he hasn't found me (or I'm just too fast!)When I first opened this light and put in the included batteries, I was super underwhelmed. My old Black Diamond Sprinter was brighter. I ditched the Duracell's and popped in freshly charged Eneloop's. BOOM! Serious brightness was released. I really do like the amount of light. I will burn Slender Man to a crisp with this thing.Things I don't like: (1) It's heavy.

1.10.2019

This is a sturdy little light with decent peripheral illumination (spread) and impressive battery life on the lowest setting, which is still way brighter than necessary. I'd say I can probably get around 70 hrs out of a set of batteries in warm weather, maybe more. That's a lot of hours!Very important to me is the fact that this light doesn't shine down on my glasses. I had to wear my previous light on the top of my head.For operation with gloves or cold fingers, beware: The button is pretty stiff.The light isn't terribly heavy, but you're going to want it screaming tight for any kind of aerobic activity. One of those little bitty two-battery lights that don't stick out very far might be a better fit in that case,

13.6.2018

Wow have LED headlamps come a long way.I have always liked Black Diamond climbing gear and most of there headlamps. To get the kind of light output i wanted i have been using the Icon headlamp for years. They have high output, variable brightness, a well focused beam, last a long time, and are very rugged. Downsides, the weight, and the battery compartment at the rear of the head strap. Frankly it is much more suited to helmets, but i do not hike/backpack with a helmet on ...I read some reviews of this years (2018) Storm model, and bought it. Wow it is bright, easy to use (once you read the instructions and are used to double clicking trackpads/mice) and very light.

9.6.2017

Awesome! Super bright! Very durable. Comfortable! Has a little pad behind the light so the plastic isn't against your head. Has a super bright setting, "powertap", that is easily turned on by a side button that you touch. Easy to go from low light to max light and back quickly. Very awesome light dimming feature for all the lights (main light, side light, red, green and blue) allows you to get your optimal brightness setting very easily. Will keep last setting you were on when you turn it off and on again. Easy locking feature so it won't turn on accidentally in your pack or something. Has a tiny battery level indicator light that is on for a few seconds when you turn it on.

29.10.2018

Because the build quality, materials and performance of this product is so high, anything less than 5 stars would be a lie. The only gripes I have is the mosquito whining it emits (although too low to hear unless you hold it to your ear) and the fact that it's a bit complicated to be futterbutting about with tiny buttons while wearing gloves or mittens.The Power Tap function works well and is very useful although can easily be activated accidentally while adjusting it's position on your head.It does seem to dim a bit after using it for a while but then opening it and moving the batteries around, closing it up and turning it back on seems to make it brighter for a while again.

25.11.2017

This is a great light and I use it in off-trail woods frequently at night. The center white light is a great spot light when you want to really light up an area or see if anything over there is looking at you. The Green and Red are both great. I find I can keep my night vision and use the green light when hiking. One tap and the brightness jumps up and another tap and you are hiking with plenty of light again. The red light, which doesn't work for me in the woods, works really well inside the tent or house. Again, dim it down and just one tap goes bright and another tap returns to your normal setting. If you don't want your night vision, the white light has wide and spot mode which put out a bright,

29.8.2018

My best headlamp yet. Did Not kick after a 6 hour nite ride on a mtn bike. Was on most of the time. Causes very little light pollution with safety glasses on...which is huge. Switching between colored and regular light modes is hit or miss. I'm sure there is a trick though. Didn't get caught in the rain/snow with it yet. Will update when I do. Light settings r great. Full flood is kinda dim though. Low flood is very, very low. If u r just going headlamp around town with no headlights, lowest is basically a courtesy light. High spotlight is too bright for towns. U will be annoying people. I can't vouch for the run times. Was on slightly under high spot for about 6 hours and didn't kick.

8.10.2017

Works great! Exactly as stated in the product description. I do recommend this product as it is very bright and has lots of features. I also purchased the Amazon Basics rechargeable batteries. This headlamp will run threw batteries really quickly(at full intensity settings) so make sure you get extra rechargeable batteries to go with it. The battery indicator is a nice feature, that turns on momentarily when turning on the headlamp. The one and only button (which controls everything) is easy to use and easy to press even when wearing gloves. The Dimmer feature works on all light settings including the red, green, and blue feature. The Black Diamond Storm Headlamp is a high quality product for the average user.

28.7.2020

I felt bad spending money on this but boy howdy has it ever paid for itself many times over. I have cabinets that are dark as caves and when I need to clean them I put this on so my hands are free. I recently got mold and mildew in the house from all this hot, humid weather and this is the bomb for locating and cleaning new patches before they are visible to the naked eye. I got it originally to supply light in the kitchen during outages, so I could cook and clean hands-free and within a week we had a storm and Bam! Out went the lights. I made dinner on my gas stove and cleaned up after with this. Haven't used it enough to rate battery life yet,

3.7.2019

Extremely bright lamp, tons of features. The interface takes some practice, and it still takes me a few tries sometimes to get the mode and dimmer adjusted how I want. The turbo mode is great because you can set a nice dim setting for general use and then tap the side when you want to really LIGHT UP the area, then tap again to turn off. I could see the tap happening accidentally if you aren't careful when adjusting the pitch on the lamp, though sometimes it takes a couple tries to get the tap right.Let's be honest - considering how bright this light is and the good battery life, you should expect it to have some heft. And it does. This thing doesn't feel that different in the hand than my Petzl Tikka2 Plus,

27.2.2018

Awesomely bright main beam, energy saving camp light, diming capability, three color led. This is a great headlamp. I particularly like the memory feature that can turn on to whatever you last had on. I was particularly attracted to this headlamp for the green LED feature which supposedly does not disturb wildlife while preserving night vision.Two months in, I had a chance to put this to good use last night on a night hike with a group of 30. The camp light (low intensity LED) was perfect for walking about and navigating a well worn trail. I really like how at a quick touch I can bump the spot light on and see over a good distance.

28.12.2019

This is my main work light at work as a commercial airline mechanic. The light tap on the side of lamp that turns the spot light on and off is great. Especially when your hands are coated in grease or oil. Although the 4 AAAA capacity is a bit heavier than the Triple option, the performance you gain from not having to change the battery every 6 hours is well worth it. This along with the light touch brightness control, contributes to less waste. Even with getting batteries for free, i. Still love this system. I haven't owned this long enough to see how it holds up to the various oils i work with, but I see this lasting long considering I don't really have to handle the light too much to change brightness.

Black Diamond Storm (2017) - Reviews

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