NaptownJones
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2017
- Messages
- 5
Greetings, CPF! :wave:
I recently unearthed my four-year-old, 100w Black Diamond Storm from a pack in my storage closet. This is my best headlamp, a real workhorse that has served me well in all temperatures and conditions. It's not perfect. The UI is a little complicated to the point where if you don't use it for a few months, you may forget how to access some features. But it's been fine.
So just for the heck of it I decided to browse Amazon, and then these fine forums here, to see what has come along in the last few years. Wow! LED tech has really come a long way since I bought that Storm. It now seems totally obsolete, and makes me want to replace it with one of the fancy new ones in the same budget-ish price range (30$-50$).
So to the point: Can anyone here clue me in to how often LED tech gets improved in these consumer headlamps? Is this a good time to buy one, or are the "new generation" LEDs coming out soon? I've seen words like Cree and C4, but I have no idea what that means in terms of how old that tech is, and if it will be surpassed soon or not.
I'm thinking of it like video cards in computers. If you're considering a new card, one of the first things you do is try to get an educated guess on when the newer generation cards are coming out. Your buying decision is basically driven by that first and foremost. I'm trying to apply the same principle to LEDs, in hoping I don't get "obsoleted" again so soon! Thanks in advance for your help.
:thanks:
I recently unearthed my four-year-old, 100w Black Diamond Storm from a pack in my storage closet. This is my best headlamp, a real workhorse that has served me well in all temperatures and conditions. It's not perfect. The UI is a little complicated to the point where if you don't use it for a few months, you may forget how to access some features. But it's been fine.
So just for the heck of it I decided to browse Amazon, and then these fine forums here, to see what has come along in the last few years. Wow! LED tech has really come a long way since I bought that Storm. It now seems totally obsolete, and makes me want to replace it with one of the fancy new ones in the same budget-ish price range (30$-50$).
So to the point: Can anyone here clue me in to how often LED tech gets improved in these consumer headlamps? Is this a good time to buy one, or are the "new generation" LEDs coming out soon? I've seen words like Cree and C4, but I have no idea what that means in terms of how old that tech is, and if it will be surpassed soon or not.
I'm thinking of it like video cards in computers. If you're considering a new card, one of the first things you do is try to get an educated guess on when the newer generation cards are coming out. Your buying decision is basically driven by that first and foremost. I'm trying to apply the same principle to LEDs, in hoping I don't get "obsoleted" again so soon! Thanks in advance for your help.
:thanks: