BD Lunar and Space Shot

spyder

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Joined
Mar 27, 2003
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IN
Looking for a headlamp and wonder if anyone has tried the Black Diamond Lunar or Space Shot?
 

Unforgiven

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May 26, 2002
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Missouri, U.S.A.
I have the BD Lunar. It is very comfortable and lightweight for a headlamp and has a long burntime, But the bulbs I use in it are not terribly bright. (long burn and bright) For a camp light I would consider it a very good light. I originally bought it for caving but for me is better suited for camping. It runs on 3 AA batteries and advertises 7 hours with the long burn bulb. I consider the beam quality to be very good. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

mrme

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Mar 21, 2003
Messages
372
Location
Houston, TX
In my opinion, BD headlamps are the most practical headlamps for climbers and general outdoorsmen. They are light weight, compact and plenty robust.

I bought the Gemeni (Lunar with an LED) a year ago and have absolutely loved it. I just bought a Lunar I plan to retrofit with a Luxeon Star and possibly a regulator.

The bulbs are pretty costly ($6.50 a piece), but you can get them in .4, .5 and .7 amps (the .4 and .5 come with the headlamps).

I don't know how well they would hold up to the abuses of serious caving. You may do better with a Petzl or Princeton Tech that has fewer parts if you plan on lots of abusive caving.

I have a Princeton Tech Solo, but I never use it anymore. It has no focusing abilities and has pretty low efficiency for the performance.

Don't buy the Ion unless you like paying $6 for an unusual battery.
 

Chuen

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Joined
Jun 30, 2001
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Hong Kong
I'm got the Space Shot II. Very nice headlamp. Using the 0.7A bulb, it's 3X as bright as the Petzl Duo high beam(measured with light meter) and have a much better beam quality. Constant output because of regulation. Light doesn't flicker like the Petzls. Featurize I think it is the best headlamp under $100. However, a Petzl will probably hold up better under abuse.
 

spyder

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Joined
Mar 27, 2003
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30
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IN
Thanks! I've got some gift certificates to burn at Galyan's and am leaning toward the Space Shot. Actually I used to be a caver and still have my Wheat lamp. Now that's some serious light that lasts, just a little heavy. On that subject but off topic, my wheat lamp needs a battery and I've lost the charger in moves. Been doing some searching and supposedly the gel cells work better than the lead acid. Any opinions?
 
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