NEW Black Diamond Sprinter

hopkins

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Nov 15, 2007
Messages
906
Location
California
What a beauty!

I'd like to know:
-When the battery gets low does it turn off completely?
-Any moon mode safety capacity?

-Can you replace the Li-ion battery when needed?

-Is the home charger smart enough not to burn your house down
during a charge cycle?

-How easy is it to get a replacement Lithium -ion battery for it?

-Cost of replacement battery?

Can you just rinse the whole unit under the tap to clean your
sweat off it without damage?
 

ifor powell

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Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
230
Location
Bristol UK
It is very nice looking, someone needs to get one of those and give us a proper review. Water resistant to a meater so should be tap rinsable.

I wonder what the beam profile is realy like?

What is the battery capacity? I am guessing somthing like 750mah?
Drive level on high? 150 - 200 ma?

I do which one of the mainstream makers would make somthing like that with a metal case and push an XPG to 700ma would be a realy nice running light with a perfect 1 - 1.5 hour runtime.....

Ifor
 

beautifully-stupid

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Dec 29, 2005
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116
After checking the black diamond website... looks to be fully regulated for 5 hours on high !

I wouldn't mind having more output for shorter runtime.

It also looks like it might Ramp up/down like the BD lanterns. I'm gonna check the retail store tomorrow, but may have to pull the trigger before the end of REI's Fall Sale.
 

Jagge

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Jun 17, 2008
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I do which one of the mainstream makers would make somthing like that with a metal case and push an XPG to 700ma would be a realy nice running light with a perfect 1 - 1.5 hour runtime

Tell me about it, ~300 lumens for < 2 hours in a lightweight setup. Also MCE/P7 driven about at 1A would do well. You don't need/want to have tight spot in headlamp so multi emitter led suits perfectly. It's funny anyone can order ready made parts for a headlamp like that and smash it together in no time (I have made now 6 lamps about like that for family and friends - I don't need to do any more because of the new DX P7 headlamp) but you can't buy ready made ones.
 
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electrothump

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Dec 2, 2003
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212
Location
KY
Tell me about it, ~300 lumens for < 2 hours in a lightweight setup. Also MCE/P7 driven about at 1A would do well. You don't need/want to have tight spot in headlamp so multi emitter led suits perfectly. It's funny anyone can order ready made parts for a headlamp like that and smash it together in no time (I have made now 6 lamps about like that for family and friends - I don't need to do any more because of the new DX P7 headlamp) but you can't buy ready made ones.

Tight spots can be very useful in a headlamp. It all depends on what you are using your headlamp for.
 

hopkins

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Nov 15, 2007
Messages
906
Location
California
Recently we were hiking out to the car at 3am due to
the pond that formed under our tent.

Mixed sleet w/ rain slanted across the rocky trail
well lit by our Petzl Myo Xp's.

I had the diffuser on mine set for wide angle
while behind me the partner had his set for spot.

Walking his spot beam would cut wildly around my shadow and
illuminate to the sides making my wide beam
less effective. Actually it made me dizzy.

Had him switch to wide beam also and all was well.

So if the Black Diamond Sprinter has a wider beam
it'll be great.:twothumbs A small bouncing spot is annoying to
hike with. Jogging probably double. Sprinting?:thumbsdow
 

regulator

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Jul 22, 2006
Messages
1,221
I like the looks and specs of this light. It sounds very interesting and a little bit unique with the rechargable lithium polymer battery. I know there are disadvantages to a light that does not have replaceable batteries in which you can carry spares. But the runtime looks pretty impressive and a lithium polymer battery offers good capacity in a smaller unique shape.

Having a nice lightweight rechargable pack that recharges without removing batteries has some attractiveness to it as well. If you use the light very often (each night for a jog or ride or on the job) this can be a nice combo. Have it fully charged and know how much runtime you can expect each time you use it. And being lithium polymer, you don't have to deal with a rechargable battery that is dead after sitting for some time - they hold their charge.

I know there are several outlets that sell lithium polymer batteries in case you need to have it replaced. This might be a little tricky though.
 

hopkins

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Nov 15, 2007
Messages
906
Location
California
After watching the vid (german fraulein ) I'd bet the battery case is glued shut.
No doubt it could be cut open to replace an end of life lithium cell after
several hundred charge cycles. Surely wire cutters and soldering iron
would be needed.

Too bad they did not engineer it to take a cell phone battery
that just snaps in as they do in phones. That way you could take
fully charged spares along and benefit from reduced weight and low
self discharge of the lithium chemistry.
 

zemmo

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Nov 30, 2008
Messages
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AK/NM
No one has one of these yet???

I'm interested in the beam and the balance.
 

yowzer

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Oct 23, 2008
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566
Location
Near Seattle
I saw one in a REI yesterday and fiddled with it a bit. Hard to tell based on shining on walls in a brightly lit store, but it seems like a decent light. One thing I liked is that it flashes when it hits minimum or maximum when ramping up or down. Lightweight, seemed to be a fairly high quality build. Nice white tint. Couldn't make out what kind of LED was inside.

The rechargeable battery pack doesn't appear to be easily swapped out. I'd rather have a light that has the option to take off the shelf batteries. Maybe the same approach as the Icon, where you can use AAs or a NiMH battery pack that's sold separately.

Based on advertised runtimes, I don't think it's regulated.
 

zemmo

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Nov 30, 2008
Messages
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AK/NM
Tight spots can be very useful in a headlamp. It all depends on what you are using your headlamp for.

When I was wintering in Alaska and running dogs, we were all using incan lights with a 4 D cell pack. This was in the eighties. They used to sell a set up with "arctic cord", the battery pack and switch, and a reflector. The reflector was mostly spot, although it had enough flood to do chores around the team. But you absolutely have to be able to see a fair way down the trail since you're moving at up to 30 mph, and, for instance, you need to recognize a moose on the trail before the dogs drag you up close enough to have a problem. No matter what, I like to be able to see a couple of hundred feet, at least.
 
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