I got this on Saturday
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/...mo-BD620614_cfg.html Black Diamond Cosmo - $29.95 at REI Quote:
Description
Featuring a sleek design and ample feature set, the 90-lumen Black Diamond Cosmo headlamp is equally at home cooking dinner at the campsite or rappelling off a multi-pitch route after the sun goes down. Standard distance and proximity modes, both dimmable, are complemented by a red night-vision mode—extra handy when waking in the middle of the night—and all modes are accessible via one simple-to-use button. And with a housing built to withstand sprayed water from any angle, the Cosmo is ready to brave nearly any storm you may encounter on your adventure.
One TriplePower LED, two SinglePower white LEDs and one SinglePower red LEDs emit up to 90 lumens on max setting
Red night-vision mode has proximity and strobe settings and activates without cycling through the white mode
Sleek, low-profile design uses three Black Diamond AAA Rechargeable Batteries or standard alkaline or lithium batteries
Settings include full strength in proximity and distance modes, dimming, strobe, red night-vision and lock mode
Three-level power meter shows remaining battery life for three seconds after switching on headlamp
Protected against splashing or sprayed water from any angle (IPX 4)
The first thing you notice, once you break it out of the packaging and get the batteries in, is that it's pretty compact. The unit itself is maybe the size & weight of a medium apricot or a small lime. On your head, it doesn't carry so much mass that you're nodding down in any way.
OK. It's out of the box, and you've put it on and taken it off. This is when you ask yourself "Self? I wonder how bright it is?"
What-EVER you do, do NOT light it up while looking at it!!! You will be blinded for a second, then you will see a blue dot in the middle of everything for approximately 5 minutes and 39 seconds [YMMV]
Enough monkeying around indoors; time to hit the road
While warming up on the front steps, with my glowy, safety lemon shirt [Target, $10], Amphipod Xinglet reflecto-vest [Moorestown Running Club, $30], and Team Tania blinky on the back [free to MS Team Members, 2010], adding this contraption boosted the DorkMeter to "Hella" according to D'Kid.
It became apparent pretty quickly that I totally gone for more power than I needed. The High, Triple Power setting is 90 Lumens, I believe, and that lit a spot on front of me almost as wide as the road itself, reaching 20-30 yards ahead. Backing down to the twin Single power LEDS made a nice bright place just in front of me, that showed the road ahead, even as cars were coming the other way. That being said, it if I was out in the woods, or running a route that I don't have memorized, I would be inclined to fire that baby up more than I did
It took about half a mile of fiddling to find the "Sweet Spot" where the "box" felt comfy AND didn't bounce around. Oddly enough, this was NOT dead-center on my forehead, but maybe half an inch to starboard. I guess my noggin has a dent in it right there that is perfectly accepting for my new gadget. This doesn't mean it's the perfect spot, there's not much cushion behind the lamp itself, so there's that to deal with. We're gonna have to work on that
Circling back to the "Sweet Spot": Once you get it, try NOT to move it. Even clicking the button to adjust the brightness, can jostle it out of place just a smidge, and you will notice it within half a dozen strides.
I don't know whether it's a feature of design, or simply coincidence, but with the lamp angled down, it throws enough ambient light [not in your face, don't worry] that if you're wearing properly bright / reflective top, it
really boosts your visibility
"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
