Black Diamond Spot 400: A Bright, Simple Headlamp for Everything

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A headlamp is one of those things you do not think about until the power goes out, the trail gets dark or you are digging under a sink. Then it becomes the most useful thing you own. The Black Diamond Spot 400 is a compact, bright and easy headlamp that handles all of those jobs. It is small enough to keep in a backpack or a drawer, and it runs on batteries you can buy almost anywhere.

Who makes it

The Spot 400 comes from Black Diamond, the climbing and ski brand. Black Diamond pitches the Spot 400 as a go to pick for any pursuit, from midweek dawn patrols to late night climbing sessions.

What the Spot 400 is

Black Diamond describes the Spot 400 as having 400 lumens of power housed in a smaller, more efficient design. The compact body has a low profile for better balance and comfort on your head, and a second switch makes it easy to pick lens modes.

The big feature is Dual-Fuel. You can power the lamp with three standard AAA batteries, which come included, or with Black Diamond's rechargeable BD 1500 lithium ion battery, sold separately. That flexibility means you can recharge at home and still swap in store bought batteries on a long trip.

• Max output: 400 lumens (high), 200 lumens (medium), 6 lumens (low)
• Max distance: 100 meters on high, 60 meters on medium, 12 meters on low
• Burn time: 2.5 hours on high with AAA cells, 4 hours with the BD 1500, and up to 200 to 225 hours on low
• Weight: 86 grams with AAA cells, 72 grams with the BD 1500
• Power: three AAA batteries (included) or the BD 1500 rechargeable battery
• Waterproofing: IPX8, an ingress protection rating, tested to operate at least 1.1 meters underwater for 30 minutes
• Modes: proximity and distance, dimming, strobe, red night vision and lock mode

Why it is cool

PowerTap is the feature you will use most. Tap the lamp with a finger and it jumps instantly from any setting to full power, and another tap dims it again. It is perfect when you hear something in the dark or need to see further down a trail for a moment.

Brightness Memory is a small luxury. Turn the lamp off at a chosen brightness and it comes back at that same level, instead of resetting to a default. That means no blinding yourself at 2 a.m. when you just wanted a soft glow.

The red night vision mode has its own dimming and strobe, and it switches on without cycling through the white light first. That helps you keep your night vision and avoids waking everyone in the tent. The integrated battery meter, a six setting display made of three light emitting diodes (LEDs), shows how much power is left, so you are not guessing.

There is also a patented digital lockout that stops the lamp from switching on by accident in a pack or pocket, which saves a lot of dead batteries. And the waterproof IPX8 housing means rain, snow or a dunk in a creek is not the end of it. Black Diamond notes that water can get into the battery compartment if the lamp is submerged and it will keep working, but it should be dried out completely afterward.

Who should buy it

Buy the Spot 400 if you hike, camp, climb or run early or late, if you want a dependable light for power cuts and home repairs, or if you want one headlamp that can do a bit of everything. The battery flexibility makes it great for travel.

Look elsewhere if you need very long runs at full brightness for trail running or caving. At 400 lumens on high, burn time is a few hours, so a larger lamp with a bigger battery suits those uses better.

Building a kit? Pair it with the Olight Arkfeld Pro or the Streamlight MicroStream for pocket light, read our everyday carry essentials and take it along with our camp coffee gear. More picks are in our everyday carry hub.