Black Diamond SPOT, Different or Two Versions?

[nuambenzina]

Hello to all!

Are out there two different versions of Black Diamond SPOT?

While on the official black diamond website, on the Spot model is rated at 90 Lumens,
I have found on the rei website two different models of SPOT, one with 90 Lumens and one with 130 Lumens.

What trickery is this?

Also I've found that the 130 Lumens version dosen't have on the right side the BATTERY LEVEL INDICATOR LED.

Also I can clearly see a difference under the main led on how the covering case is build.

130 lumen version

90 lumen version

So, why this discrepancy?

 

[carrot]

There are a lot of revisions of the Spot. Of the ones in more recent memory there was a 75 lumen Spot before the more recent 90 lumen Spot that were identical save for the body colors and the LED, and now it seems there is a new 130 lumen Spot with an even newer LED. March of progress, I suppose.

Looking at the REI listing, you are right the battery indicator is gone, but much more interesting is what takes its place:

Innovative dimmer switch lets you choose the light output needed for the task at hand with a simple swipe of a finger; output adjusts from 4 lumens? up to 130 lumens?

Seems that Black Diamond is using a small capacitive sensor to receive touch input and allow you to dim the light! Very cool stuff!

Looks like I'll be buying a new Black Diamond headlamp this year after all, to go with the new Reactive Petzl Tikkas coming down the line.

 

[nuambenzina]

I am also "hunting" for a headlamp and I've found this and I got confused.

Generally speaking I am searching something like STORM (aaa or aa powered, battery indicator, waterproof, min.100 lumens, red light, green if it is possible and LONGER BURN times and REGULATED) at a resonabile price.

I am also waiting to see if Petzl or BlackDiamond will get something new on the market, as a lot of them are Non-Regulated and Non-WaterProof.

 

[nuambenzina]

a simple swipe of a finger

This will be like a touchscreen? I assume it will not work if the hand's will have gloves....

 

[carrot]

I am also waiting to see if Petzl or BlackDiamond will get something new on the market, as a lot of them are Non-Regulated and Non-WaterProof.

Petzl will be releasing new lights sometime in September or October: a new Tikka, and the Tikka R+ and RXP using the Reactive Lighting technology first used in the Petzl NAO. If these lights are anything like the Tikkas I already own, they will be plenty waterproof!

Some details on the RXP. http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/just-in---petzl-tikka-rxp-headtorch/11162.html

 

[nuambenzina]

Thank you so much carrot, the review/rumor of the new petzl sound's interesting, as it has a nice futuristic design.

Regulated, more burning hours, water-sealed (ipx7 or 8) and more lumens sound's pretty nice.

Sadly if this new model will be only IPX4, it's out of the question for being used in a cave from my point of view.

I hope that will work with conventional aa&&aaa's (alkaline/nimh eneloop) as they would be prefer by some people over the dedicated accumulators.

Regarding that automatically light dimming/balance "Reactive Lighting", I am not impressed at all, instead a little annoyed as I have a sensor like that on the cellphone and sometimes it is very disturbing that it automatically dimm in light, but lucky that it will gonna have an option that could be disabled as I have read in the link above. Anyway, I assume that a lot of other people appreciate the automatically dimming and will be a plus for them, maybe It will sell better but I really hate that automatically dimming feature.

As regarding Black Diamond it is a shame that they don't mark the revision's like "BD Spot A 1, BD Spot A 2, or BD Spot XYZ 3" and so on as it really confuses the customers.

So, we can say this is the new improved BD Spot "revision" witch has 130 Lumens, but I guess the light is still Not Regulated, and still non water-proof-sealed as the Storm it is (ipx7, rubber ring). Maybe the electronics in it are water-resistant like Petzl Tikka xp2, but the battery's aren't.

So, in conclusion, the only improvement on this "spot" revision will be only the more lumen output..., maybe a nicer beam as the 90 lumen model it has some artifacts, a "shadow-hole" in the middle as I could see.

The Flood led's I guess that they are the same, but the angle could be different and better if somebody wear glasses?

The Red Led are the old ones or a better new more powerful, more red light output?...

What about the CRI and the Kelvin degrees on the new led's? Are they yellow, blue, warm white, cold white etc?

A secondary button is welcomed on Spot/Storm but "The touch-screen-finger" is horrible solution if is not working with gloves, the battery indicator was more useful in my opinion but maybe is still there somewhere, on the other side?...

I assume that new Spot is still Non-Regulated.

And... as "the cherry from the top of the cake" I guess that the reflector is not fluorescent as I have saw on some Zebra-lights if I remember well.

Maybe a .pdf with a brief description of the product and some user reviews could be useful.

Cheers! :wave:lovecpf

 

[nuambenzina]

I got the answer from Official BlackDiamond:

Black Diamond Equipment LtdHi Marcel,
No trickery, just constant improvement in the Spot. REI is the first to carry the newest version of the Spot, which we've upgraded to 130 lumens and added PowerTap, a touch-sensitive switch that allows you to toggle between your preferred dimmer setting and maximum power. We put the PowerTap switch on the right side, and moved the battery level indicator LEDs to the left side.
Both models will be available for a while, with the older model available on discount. Hope that answers your question!
Thanks, Alex @ Black Diamond

 

[carrot]

Regulated, more burning hours, water-sealed (ipx7 or 8) and more lumens sound's pretty nice.

Sadly if this new model will be only IPX4, it's out of the question for being used in a cave from my point of view.

I hope that will work with conventional aa&&aaa's (alkaline/nimh eneloop) as they would be prefer by some people over the dedicated accumulators.

Regarding that automatically light dimming/balance "Reactive Lighting", I am not impressed at all, instead a little annoyed as I have a sensor like that on the cellphone and sometimes it is very disturbing that it automatically dimm in light, but lucky that it will gonna have an option that could be disabled as I have read in the link above. Anyway, I assume that a lot of other people appreciate the automatically dimming and will be a plus for them, maybe It will sell better but I really hate that automatically dimming feature.

I don't know about how the Tikka R and RXP will be rated but the NAO is said to be just fine for caving. Sadly I do not really cave and the one time I did I did not know the NAO would be fine for it.

For 3xAAA you will need the optional ($10) adapter.

The Reactive Lighting works perfectly. I've used the NAO for a lot of hiking and it works great. You can also plug it into a computer to set a minimum and maximum brightness as well as adjust its sensitivity. You may not like the sound of it now, and I was skeptical before I tried it, but after you give it some use you will almost certainly change your mind!

 

[fedcas]

it's kinda funny to see how bd is copying petzl in terms of design

then petzl released the new model:

and we have the new spot

 

[fedcas]

and the new Storm coming soon i guess http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...lack-Diamond-Storm-2014&p=4357179#post4357179