Gear review: Spot Head Lamp by Black Diamond Equipment

Over at my Run-at-home mom blog for Today's Parent, I recently wrote about nighttime running safety. We live in a cottage area where there is NO ambient light. The weeny little Fuel Belt head lamp I had to city running doesn't cut it for rural running. After trolling Facebook, I found Tips for Night Running written by Robert Shackleford.  In the comments that followed, Robert tipped me off on Black Diamond. It's a brand I'd never heard of, but I headed out to my local outdoors store (the running stores only carried weeny lights, nothing ballsy enough to handle the dark that I run in). I could choose between the 75 lumens  Spot or the 100 lumens Storm. The staff suggested the Spot since at 100 lumens, the Storm would be over kill and the extra AAA that the Storm takes could add to the weight of the lamp.

What Black Diamond says about the Spot headlamp:

Now featuring more power than ever, the 90-lumen Black Diamond Spot Headlamp (boo hoo, I wanted more lumens for my moolah, guess I got an old model) is the light to have when you can only have one. Whether you're cooking up some grub after a long day on the trail or spotting anchors on an after-dark rappelling epic, this compact, super-bright headlamp features multiple modes that are customizable to any lighting situation. Red SinglePower LEDs provide proximity lighting without cycling through the white mode, so you won't accidentally compromise night vision. A lock mode prevents accidental battery drain in your pack or while stored, and a 3-level power meter means you'll never be caught with a dead headlamp hours from camp.

 

• 1 DoublePower LED, 2 SinglePower white LEDs and 2 SinglePower red LEDs emi 90 lumens (max setting)
• Red night vision mode has proximity and strobe settings, and activates without cycling through the white mode
• Sleek, low profile design uses 3 AAA batteries
• Settings include full strength in proximity and distance modes, dimming, strobe, red night vision and lockout
• Three-level power meter shows remaining battery life for 3 seconds after switching on headlamp
• Protected against splashing or sprayed water from any angle (IPX 4)

What I say about the Spot headlamp:

My first run with the Spot was a dark, rainy and foggy night and I was impressed. I wore it over top of my cap so the brim of my cap could keep the rain out of my eyes, so there was a bit of a dark spot at my feet. The good thing about having a brighter headlamp and more visibility is that I could see everything. That is also the bad thing, because I saw all of the critters in the woods with its wide beam. With the heavy rain, all of the frogs were on the road and hundreds of little eyes peeped back at me. Ew. My second run was clear and the increased visibility was awesome. I had thought about picking up a second lamp for my dog, since she runs with me at night, but I won't need to. The Spot is that bright.

I haven't had the Spot right on my skin - either my cap or toque were between my head and the lamp.  It's not heavy and didn't cause headaches.

At $40, the Spot is a good value headlamp.