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Detailed
Information:
The Black Diamond Moonlight is a very good quality
headlamp that very effectively uses 5mm LEDs for close
to medium range tasks.
The body of the headlamp is divided into two main parts:
the bezel and the battery box. The bezel is made of
black plastic with a rubber seal all the way around.
On the right side the cable that connects the bezel
to the battery box exits the bezel through a rubber
grommet and wraps around the user's head, connected
to the strap by two clips. The grommet prevents wear
on the cable and also provides a water-resistant seal.
The bezel is attached to a plastic forehead plate by
a large slotted bolt which will accept a small coin
or screwdriver for adjusting the tension of the tilting
action. The bezel can be tilted 180 degrees from straight
up to straight down. On the back of the plate is a rubber
disk which serves as a cushion. The strap runs between
the cushion and the head of the user.
The straps are elastic and are fully adjustable.
The strap attachment points on the bezel and the sides
of the battery box are slotted for easy removal, but
the attachment point on the top of the battery box is
not slotted.
Inside the bezel you will find the four LEDs. The reflector
is simply gray colored plastic to help direct forward
a little more of the light that spills out of the side
of the LEDs forward. Because the top and the bottom
of the LEDs is shrouded by the reflector area there
is no annoying reflection in your eyes when using the
headlamp, even when pointed downward at a fairly steep
angle ( I am using it right now to illuminate the keyboard
while typing this in and I am getting no irritating
reflection off of my glasses and I cannot see the LEDs
even if I look upward.) The shrouds also protect the
LEDs from direct impacts.
Output is very good and is in the form of a directional
flood of light. Since the unit uses white 5mm LEDs,
there is a slight bluish tint to the light produced.
The switch is underneath the bezel and is quite comfortable
to operate with the thumb when grasping the bezel. Click
on and off, press in partially until it blinks to move
from 100% to 50% to 25% to blink mode.
The lamp is not completely waterproof and should not
be dunked in water. It should survive a rainstorm without
too much difficulty. Check it over in a dry environment
when you get the chance if it gets excessively wet and
dry it out if necessary.
Ergonomics: Very comfortable on the head after you
get it adjusted to fit. I almost forget it's there.
It is very easy to operate but you have to tip the light
upward to get to the switch if it is at a steep downward
angle.
For batteries it takes 3 AAA alkaline cells for an
advertised 70 hours of operation on high. I would estimate
that about 10-15 hours of that would be bright output.
After that you would probably want to change the batteries.
The battery box in the back is formed from two pieces
- a hard plastic outer section which holds the batteries
and spare bulb, and a rubber cover which seals the battery
compartment and has 4 protrusions that press against
the user's head to provide stability. To open the battery
box it is necessary to loosen the straps. One then simply
peels the inner rubber cover off of the outer plastic
box and flips it out of the way. After changing the
batteries, fit the rubber cover back onto the plastic
box and press on it all the way around its edge to
ensure a tight seal.
What I Liked: Water resistant, Good quality
overall, Long battery life, Bright, Fairly easy battery
change, Lightweight.
What I Didn't Like: Changing the
batteries can throw the straps out of adjustment.
Conclusions: Excellent all LED
headlamp. Bright enough for most tasks and since it
is dimable you can make sure that your batteries will
last a very long time if necessary.
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