Black Diamond R Storm 500 Headlamp Review | New USB charging system
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- A product review of the Black Diamond R Storm 500 headlamp and how it compares to other traditional lighting systems. The Black Diamond R Storm 500 has a non replaceable battery that is charged with USB. This makes it fundamentally different from other types of headlamps. Is the USB charging a good thing for headlamp users? How does this compare and what benefits does the Black Diamond R Storm 500 bring to the table?
In this video, I talk through all of it and provide answers to those questions.
While Black Diamond doesn't sell this product on Amazon yet for free delivery, here are some other USB charged headlamps in case you have Amazon Prime:
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Still no USB-C in 2022/23. This is just madness.
Agreed 2024 here
Yes
It shows on website:
Rechargeable
Powered with integrated Li-ion battery with micro-USB or USB-C charge port. (See product details for USB port type)
LOL
@@doublehelix165 I haven't seen from usb c
four minutes into it and you're still talking about your old headlamp?
He was in a flow state and the best unplanned sleep in YEARS
Thankyou for your honest review. I do alot of night hiking and own the black diamond storm 450. I wanted to know about the black diamond storm 500. Take care buddy
Thank you for the review. I was looking at this and didn’t see that it’s only rechargeable. It looks like a great system but I see an issue for someone like me who’s military and goes to the field for about 30 days. We do have access to electricity, but limited plugs and time to do so. But great review.
Thanks! Much appreciated. Glad it helped. Stay safe.
There’s also the Storm 450 that is very similar but has the capability to use batteries OR a rechargeable battery pack.
@@xxpowwowbluexx Exists. But the BD 1500 battery has less capacity and needs a charger. Storm 450 is powered by three AA batteries. This is a regress from the earlier 4 AA models I use. That's why I'll pick up Storm 500 from the courier tomorrow. The working time of this flashlight in maximum mode is enough for the whole night. I have stronger battery lights from Armytek. To charge everyone in the field, all you need is a cable and a solid powerbank. In the wild or on a yacht you have solar power.
@@marsm61 Negative. Storm 450 is powered by 3 AAA batteries. Not double A. Also low beam burn time is longer at (175h) when powered by batteries. Rechargeable burn time is higher compared to the batteries at 6h MED setting and 3h MAX setting . On batteries its 4.5h and 2h respectively. Having the option to use regular alkaline batteries was my main factors in choosing this kit for my use.
Instead of carrying multiple cables, why not get a usb type c to usb micro adapter? I have many different types of adapters and they work well and are pretty cheap not to mention much lighter in your pack than another cable.
A demonstration would have been appreciated
Looking to get the Storm 500-r for camping and the outdoors. Have you found the "Power Tap" dimming/brightening feature sensitive/annoying/more or less useful?
I think "annoying" would be the easiest way to describe it. I found the operation of the light to be the biggest disappointment. Not enough for me to complain about it as I eventually would figure it out but doesnt seem intuitive or consistent.
Yes what is going on with that? My light seems to be on bright and then flicker to less bright after 10 seconds or so and then intermittently blink, so annoying.
I have used the revolt for 10 years now. I love it, but am now having trouble with the micro charging port. It flashes red, or green yellow. I guess it's wearing out. Same batteries in it and the run time is still hours. Just wish I could somehow fix the plug. I love headlamps and have many types. All serve the purpose, for the need. I live in Northern Minnesota, in the woods.
Great review. Thank you
Good review. I was given a black diamond 350 last year as a Christmas gift. I'm forced to use it now due to night walking our new dog. It's pitch black where I live and I've found I'm using way too many AAA batteries. I do use it at 100% because it's so dark and I don't want to get surprised by a coyote(s). Recharging will be for me. Thank you.
Thank you for the feedback. Much appreciated. Motivates me to make more reviews. :)
You can use rechargeable AAAs, no need for a new headlamp, unless you need the extra power and features of the Storm 500-R.
I use to use rechargeable Energizer batteries. Brand new after like a year they would take a fart decrease power sharply
@davidhalley9795 I just bought the Black Diamond spot 350 because the package said dual fuel.. thinking it was AAA and rechargeable…. It is BUT you have to buy the proprietary Black Diamond battery pack separately…. It doesn’t come with the light and costs an additional $30. Unlike the storm you have to take the battery pack out to charge. So, see if you have the “dual fuel” version (there are a few) you may be able to charge it if you buy the additional battery pack. It’s nice to have the two options of AAA and rechargeable.
Thanks for video! I love the Fenix lights too. I have the PD35 Tac and it's a beast and very reliable. I have one of those batteries for my Fenix PD 35 I think it's a 2600Mah lithium ion rechargeable with micro USB directly into battery and you have the option to put in CR123a batteries in case of emergency which is nice. I do the same thing I have a Anker power bank in waterproof bag inside of my main pack for all my devices for the flashlight, Garmin 66i and phone or other things. Are you from British Columbia?
I’m just looking 👀 for some way to figure out the weird blinking it does…
Witam. Dziękuję za recenzję. Pierwszy Storm, którego kupiłem nie miał zatrzasku. Był zakręcany. Nurkowałem z nim pod jacht, żeby naprawić miecz. Woda dostała się do środka latarki, ale po wysuszeniu działała. Kolejny model posiadał światło zielone czerwone i niebieskie. W zielonej taktyce czy żeglarstwie jest to bardzo istotne. Ten model kupię ponieważ można go ładować w trakcie pracy a nie zawsze muszę mieć latarnię morską na głowie.
I totally agree. I also enjoy the red light at night. For boat operations it has much less glare on the windows and therefore allows better visability.
@@robertesell That's why a tourist headlamp without a red light is useless for me. Storms are good because they have green and blue light. Red light is not suitable for reading civilian maps. Green light handles this very well. Blue light is worse, but it detects liquid very well and is therefore used by military medical services. In addition, this type of light is not detectable by enemy night vision goggles. The storm you describe is already with me and the first impressions are very good.
@@marsm61czekaj czekaj, czy możesz podać nam więcej informacji na temat światła zielonego, czerwonego vs niebieskiego? Ja dostałem Petzl 600 z baterią wyciąganą z opcją używania 3x AAA baterii ale zmienili całkowicie całe design. Mocniejsze światło niż Storm 500 i opcja czerwonego światła tylko . Zmienili lokacje zatrzaskujących sprzączek z góry to obu stron po bokach. Poniewasz otwiera się z góry a blokada zamknięcia jest po bokach, jest bardzo ciężko otworzyć i obawiam się że w zimie z e zmarzniętymi rękami będzie jeszcze gorzej. Więc kupiłem Storm R ale bateria nie jest wymienialna ( ja już mam baterię z poprzedniego modelu Petzl ) i światło jest o 100 lumens słabsze ale następna opcja pozwala używać dimming do 200 lumens a Petzl ma tylko 600/100/7. Teraz próbuje zdecydować którą zatrzymać. Co myślisz.
I have one of these and it's so frustratingly close to a perfect headlamp for me, but with one critical flaw.
I wanted a few things when looking for a headlamp:
1. Blue light for backstage in a theatre
2. dimmable down to almost nothing
3. remembers what settings it was last on when I turn it off and on.
This does all of that, but the hecking powertap is WAY too sensitive, and there is no way to turn it off. I'm almost at the point of trying to bust the thing open to see if I can disconnect the sensor.
I heard that this lamp has a blinking fault I think between white transmission modes... anyone had that experience yet?
Seems quite big compared with the Petzl Actic Core.
Not yet but I will watch out for that. Thanks
It blinks at the lowest and highest setting to let you know that you are at the ends of the lighting range.
I'm a volunteer first responder. I just bought one of these for similar reasons. light weight and bonus of red green and blue light. Big shame it's not USB-C.
I just bought one, and I love it, but I'd like to know what the second white light is for. There's a smaller white light above the RGB light, and the instructions don't say anything about it.
I am also confused about that... :)
The main light is more of a spot light or a beam for projecting the light farther out like a flashlight would. The secondary smaller white light is a flood light useful in illuminating more surrounding areas but not as far-reaching.
However, turning the main light to maximum intensity will cause both white lights (spot & flood) to turn on for maximum visibility.
@robertesell instead of holding the small round button down for 2 seconds to switch to red just give it a quick press and the small white led will come on.
It's a flood light as in it illuminates a wide area but doesn't reach as far out. Can be used as a task light so when doing something up close the whole work area is light up instead of just the small beam from the main light.
Also when turning the main beam to maximum power both the beam and flood light come on together for maximum visibility
is it possible to have the light turn on in red? or do you have to have it turn on in white mode first?
sure
sure what? I have to turn it on in white mode first or I can turn it on to red first?@@mollies13
Not USB-C? I'm out. Thank you so much for this review. Much appreciated! Liked and subscribed.
Well, they didn't go with the usb-c because the mini-usb plugs are much cheaper and good enough to charge - which is all you need, no other data transfer... So definitely no usb -c for a while in devices like this...
Yes I was guessing it was a cost thing but it means users have to carry more cables. My dream is vendors will eventually all standardize.
@@robertesell I agree, and I can't wait to get rid of the old micro-usb cables as well. There is an adaptor for the usb-c to micro-usb which may help get rid of an extra cable, but still something else to carry around...
lol cost? Bro the cost is a difference of less than a dollar I think. Yeah they're cheaping out for a miniscule increase in margins.
You referred to "battery acid" in reference to your old bulky headlamp. Since you are using non-rechargable AA batteries in that lamp, I am assuming that you are using ALKALINE batteries, not acid ones (which I do not think are even available anymore anyway). But of course, a highly-alkaline liquid can burn skin just as effectively as a highly-acidic one.
Added weight, but you carry 2 extra sets of 4 AA's... I'm going to discredit about half of what you say because I do mountain S&R and after 15 years, I'll never go back to AA's 😂
Would be better if it was usb c. I’ll wait until the charging features are up to current technology.
You should say in the title that you are reviewing 4 or 5 different products. I'll search for a review that just does the black diamond storm 500R thanks, because that's all I'm interested in giving up my time for.
They have lost so many sales because of no usb-c
Indeed.
One of your reasons for liking it is that it "doesn't take proprietary batteries". Well... actually... it does... the built-in battery. That is a proprietary as it gets. "Non-proprietary batteries" would mean that you can put AA or AAA batteries in.
It is still a great product, for people who only needs light for a limited time... but I am surprised that you like it for SAR... IMO the Storm 450 is a much better option, since you can drive it off AAA batteries.
(I agree using mini USB rather than USB-C was a major unforced error. No product being brought out today should use anything other than USB-C, IMO.)
By "proprietary" I meant the special batteries that some flashlight manufactures force us to use with their equipment. Its not a normal AA or AAA but rather specific to their technology only. One of my larger flashlights have this.
Can the internal battery be changed if it deteriorates. Could you take extra internal battery so one was charging whilst using the other battery
Thanks
Fail...Power tap is a nightmare around camp and for general use. Great lamp otherwise, if I could disable power tap, it would be a very good headlamp. My Led Lenser H15R wins out with simplicity and pretty well everything even though the H15R is not an ideal camp light due to its size. I also like bigger headlamps as you don't notice them on your head and you get weeks of average use. Yes we went up north to watch the solar eclipse in Exmouth and were away for a week so got a good work out of the Biolite 325 this and the H15R and the H15R has a magnetic charger. I would leave this at home and take the Biolite 325 and the H15R.
Ｐｒⓞм𝕠𝕤𝐌 🎉
the product instructions are horrible, unless you can decipher hieroglyphics, or cartoons. I cannot figure out how to switch between the clear white lights, and the colored lights, and then switch back. I was hoping this video would have included an operation demo
its about learning yourself not from the manual.
Imagine being smarter then your bro
No usb-c , no buy