Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Drop Refurbished
Like-new products you can trustDrop Rewards
Get $5 for every 500 points you earn! Learn more
Drop Keyboard Club
Become a member and expand your keycap collectionCollaborate With Us
For Brands & DesignersFollow Drop
2015 Storm - $33.99 (here, ships in a month) Lumens : 160 Weight With Batteries : 110 g (3.9 oz) IPX Rating : 7 LED Type : 1 QuadPower, 2 SinglePower Batteries : 4 AAA (included)
2016 Spot - $33.99 Amazon Prime (2-day shipping) Lumens : 200 Weight With Batteries : 90 g (3.2 oz) IPX Rating : 8 LED Type : 1 TriplePower, 2 SinglePower (1 white, 1 red) Batteries : 3 AAA (included)
2016 Storm - $49.95 Lumens : 250 Weight With Batteries : 110 g (3.9 oz) IPX Rating : 67 LED Type : 1 QuadPower, 2 DoublePower Batteries : 4 AAA (included
Why are we being fed a clearance rack? This was cheaper at REI last month. Massdrop, why are you turning into this?
To simply state “the camera (which is kept at the same settings for all photos)” and then not disclose those settings as well as the camera model is sloppy and leads me to believe that they don’t calibrate white balance before these tests which would mean that the color will obviously be off.
I spoke of the 2016 Spot which is vastly brighter than the 2015 model. This set of beam distance photos isn’t really relevant. The 2015 model is 130 lumens and the 2016 model is 200 lumens. I don’t see why you think the 2015 model is relevant to this conversation.
What evidence is provided for how we know that the brightness is similar for the close-proximity “tests”? A brighter light will throw more light in the room ESPECIALLY when there are white walls and that will lead to bouncing light and a fuller-looking pattern. How often are you looking at white walls with a headlamp??? These “tests” show nothing relevant and only reinforce that both can do the job for close proximity.
For the battery life/distance argument you made… there is a pretty big difference when you compare the life of the same batteries when you use a 250 lumen lamp and a 160 lumen lamp. These tests are not comparing the 2016 at the same brightness to the 2015. Just in case electrical engineering isn’t your thing… The burn time at the same brightness is the same…. If you make me dismantle mine to prove they are the same electrical draw then you will need to buy me new headlamps. AND, don’t you dare make the claim that the manufacturer lied on the packaging and advertisement unless you can prove it. (This set of “tests” done by another company is not scientific at all.) You are accusing them of false advertising and that’s the beginnings of a rumor that I hate about the internet and people who do it. Let’s agree to keep the conversation honest. The PUBLISHED burn times are the same. Call them. I did. They do the tests on the default-on setting which is 75% brightness.
You are misquoting the facts and using them to make an invalid point. The 2015 model is not able to throw 230m. It throws 70m.
2015 - http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/headlamps-and-lanterns/storm-BD620611VBORALL1.html Lumens : 160 Weight With Batteries : 110 g (3.9 oz) Max Distances : [QuadPower LED] 70 m (230 ft) [SinglePower LED] 7 m (23 ft) Max Burn Time : [QuadPower LED] 200 H [SinglePower LED] 125 H IPX Rating : 7 LED Type : 1 QuadPower, 2 SinglePower Batteries : 4 AAA (included)
2016 - http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/headlamps-and-lanterns/storm-headlamp-BD620626_cfg.html#q=storm&start=2 Lumens : 250 Weight With Batteries : 110 g (3.9 oz) Max Distances : [QuadPower LED] 80 m [DoublePower LED] 10 m Max Burn Time : [QuadPower LED] 150 H [SinglePower LED] 80 H IPX Rating : 67 LED Type : 1 QuadPower, 2 DoublePower Batteries : 4 AAA (included)
You confused the 230 FEET with 230 METERS on the 2015 model.... which you are biased toward.
The truth is that the 2016 model throws farther.
The truth is that the 2016 model is 90 lumens brighter.
At 56% more light, the 2016 model burns for 25% less time.
At the same lumens, they burn identically.
The 2016 model is IPX67 and the 2015 model is only IPX7.
I cannot find a SINGLE category that the 2015 wins in.
So sure, newer is not always better..... but when the facts are this clear... why are you in denial?
Bottom line is that you are wrong and editing the previous post doesn’t seem to matter because you are still insisting that there is ANY benefit to the 2015 model. There is not. (Aside from it being on clearance and the price associated with that. That is not a feature of the product, it’s a function of being out of its time.)
Don’t take my word. Call Black Diamond if you don’t want to believe me.
Your posting, re-posting, and insisting on your misinformation is actually why it’s so difficult to find reliable information online. THAT is why I take offense. THAT is why I say “don’t you dare.” You not only waste people’s time with it, but you actually make it harder to make an educated decision about a product. I don’t have the authority to make you do something or not. (That’s pretty clear, this is not my site and I’m not a moderator.) I made no threat of the recourse, it was simply a statement.
Now that your throw distance argument is over… why are you insisting on battery life? Again, you are clinging to numbers that you don’t understand. At the same brightness, the drain on the battery will be the same. Nobody is telling you to use a light meter to figure it out. Just use what you need and at the end if you needed more than 160 lumens, you had it to use... if you didn't need it then you lose nothing. With all of the other variables that will affect these times like temperature, shelf life, etc.... why are you using the "you will use it because you have it and that is a bad thing" argument?
The 2016 model gives you 56% more range in brightness. More option. More light can also mean more safety. More. More. More.
There’s a cost to cranking up the light. That doesn’t make it worse… it’s actually better because you have the ability to go brighter. You simply cannot state that the 2015 is better because it CAN’T use more.
You are the only one drawing in the 2015 Spot. Not me. I compared the 2016 Spot to the 2015 Storm where you get less weight, more light, longer burn time, longer throw distance, less batteries used, AND an IPX8 rating. There’s no benefit to using the 2015 Storm over the 2016 Spot unless green light is ABSOLUTELY necessary.
Nobody here will benefit from the decision making you made a year ago between the 2015 Storm and the 2015 Spot. That comparison is old and now useless. The relevant conversation is about current products. In this case, all 2015 products are vastly obsolete.
If you are going to step in and try to tell me that the 2015 Storm is a better headlamp than the 2016 Storm OR 2016 Spot then you should expect me to defend my post. Don't get everything wrong and then instantly cry about being treated poorly when you are corrected.