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Product Description
Redesigned for the 2017 season, the Black Diamond ReVolt is now brighter, lighter, and more weather-ready than ever. This powerful headlamp emits up to 300 lumens via one TriplePower LED and two SinglePower LEDs, and its IPX8 rating means you’re always ready, come rain, sleet, or snow Read More
i have a number of blackdiamond lamps and have always enjoyed them.
One thing to note alkaline batteries have 1.5v and the light will operate at highest rating. Rechargeables only have 1.2v and will operate accordingly less lumins with the reduced voltage.
So far I have had to warranty 2 revolts the issue has been poor quality batteries. I'm a battery nut and have a couple special chargers. That can measure, charge and discharge one cell. As all other budget charges operate in pairs.
To date I have had a cell fail each time and discharge the pack. Leaving me stranded which is disappointing.
** please note light is not waterproof and will not take other types of rechargeables. Unless you google how to hack the replacement batteries. **
Price is reasonable online cheapest is 49.99 mooseJaw, last I saw rei had them clearance but show nothing online.
well the BD batteries have always had the special bare metal area "no paint or label" which allows the contacts to touch the exterior shell of the cell. Which on any other cell would insulate the charger tabs from touching, so that by accident a alkaline cell wouldn't be charged. So that obviously bad things don't happen when alkaline cells get charged.
I have attached some images and you can see round silver tabs under were the batteries have shinny metal area with no label.
camshaftJust now saw your reply here. Yeah, that's correct about charging via the port. I thought you were saying above that other batteries would not work at all in the lamp, making it proprietary (which I guess it is, partially, in regard to charging in-lamp).
Another_Overpriced_DropThe revolt is rechargeable via a usb cable, great for longer backpacking or wilderness trips if you bring a backup battery or solar panel to recharge electronics so you don't have to lug around a bunch off different batteries specific for each device.
I hike every weekend so this is my go to light and has been great. It's very occasionally not bright enough, but I deal with that because I'm too cheap to buy batteries or trust a brighter light from a "not as bomb proof manufacture".
I'm planning of taking it on the JMT this June and keeping it charged with a solar panel.
Also, the red LED is fantastic when stealth motorcycle camping behind some bushes on the side of the road.
Thanks DannyMilks for double checking the specs. Maybe it has something to do with the difference between focused or flood light settings that I have never heard of (which is very possible!). Also, Kevaan thank you for confirming the built-in charger. Now this product is dual-purpose: it is a good light and it charges AA's. Now I would not have to carry an extra charger for AA's and just use the headlamp to charge with usb. Now it seems like a much better purchase.
Kevaan
Apr 26, 2016
fishbiteCharges AAA's, not AA's... just in case that's a factor.
Ahh, sorry, I misunderstood. The very top photos, and the very bottom photos, are of the 2017 version. It's much more box like now. The old version is the dark grey version on our model.
Just a word about durability of these headlamps. I had the old style Spot headlamp model which was in the same design as the ReVolt. It was AWESOME, except for one design flaw. The little gear teeth on the tilt function of the headlamp wore off and broke after about 1.5 years of VERY INFREQUENT wear. We're talking wearing at night for dog walking.
Once the gear teeth broke off, the lamp was useless. It basically flopped down in your face. I tried supergluing the small piece back, but it was too weak to keep the lamp pointed in the right direction.
Black Diamond was gracious and did a warranty replacement of the Spot with the newer model which you can see here:
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/headlamps-and-lanterns/spot-headlamp-BD620621TRCHALL1.html
I liked this design better because it was better about staying closed than the previous design (on which the ReVolt appears to be built). However, once this headlamp hit a hardwood floor ONCE (dog knocked it off a doorknob from 3' off the ground), don't expect it to work consistently. For whatever reason, any drop on a hard surface takes out the batteries of this newer model. I think I had the same problem with the original Spot.
The case on this will fly open and batteries will shoot across the floor. That would seem easy to fix, but once this headlamp had hit the floor once, the batteries would NOT stay seated properly ever again. I've had the second model flicker on and off just walking, and the battery contact has gotten worse over time.
Something to be aware of -- I wish I could say that the more expensive ReVolt would be more durable, but -- I worry that it would have the same issues as the original model Spot on which the housing is based.
Finally -- and I don't know if this was just me -- I was NEVER able to use any NiMH rechargeable batteries in either Spot model. I don't know if they weren't supported or what, but they would NEVER power the headlamp.
Hope some of this is helpful in making a purchase decision. Maybe I'm just rough on these with my dogs. But...
...then I see people scaling El Capitan with them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
nthdegreeburnsInteresting. BD does have replacement brackets available for about $5 (headbands, too) and the first and second/third generation housings did fail there...the first was the worst about it. That's great they upgraded you. I have four Spots of different generations now and the current 2016 is overall a great improvement but apparently there's another new 2017 coming out soon. My 2016 has taken a handful of bad falls, two that were about 7-10 feet and onto granite...still works great. Knock on wood. Probably a crap shoot there as to what may happen when dropping an electronic device. I run Imedion and Sanyo rechargable Ni-Mh batteries in it with no trouble at all and have with all generations of the Spot. The case sizing on rechargeable does vary from brand to brand, sometimes models in the same brand, so if yours were too fat or long/short that could affect contact. Not a fan of the Revolt myself because of different recurring problems it seems to have had, but maybe those will be addressed in the new model of it coming out shortly. BD will take care of you always, though...pretty great service on their lamps and most gear they make.
I'm in for one, I was holding off because BD redesigned all the other headlamps last year, and the Revolt is due for a redesign. But the drop is at a good price and the updated design (if it comes) will be better, lighter, but unlikely more functional.
GordonDNope, this is the redesign from the 2014 - 2015 season. 110 lumen ->130 lumen, longer run time, and charge time improved.
Though I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually release a inbuilt battery version.
Does this one have a gasket and pressure arm to secure the battery area from leakage when submerged? If not then this is not IPX8 and that description should be removed. This new housing is crap imo.
smallbitI don't do saltwater...would think that would fry the elastic pretty quickly. I've got the 2016 Storm as well, mostly for the extra juice for long night hikes (non-backpacking). I'm not convinced that having the seal is super advantageous for general issues with rain and fresh water...but at the same time, it's such an easy thing to design that pretty much every headlamp on the market from any manufacturer should have it, y'know? Earlier versions of the Spot were definitely affected by even light rain and would flicker or just quit...the newest rectangular ones are just fine, though. BD being more of an alpine company has a lot of stuff that isn't really designed with sustained rain in mind, let alone saltwater.