UKC

In the lumens arms race, other important features of a headtorch can get overlooked. But the Distance LT1100 fares well on all counts, offering a great balance of output vs burn time, and lightness vs robustness. For all-round hill and mountain use it would be a bright choice, says Rob Greenwood.

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In reply to UKC Gear:
Thank you for this detailed and practical review, Rob, from climbers' perspective!
I wonder how the warm light affects the vision to pick up detailed rock features compared to white light. It might affect more than the simple slight difference in lumen?

I have no idea what blue and green lights useful for... I understand red light makes sense to not disturb the night vision of the user when the torch is used only for map-reading or not disturb other people sleeping in the same space at night while getting up for toilet etc.

If you include the direct link to the previous UKC review of BD Distance 1500 in the main text, it would be helpful.

In reply to masa-alpin:

There's definitely a lot more to light than lumens. In a way, it's better to talk about the quality of the light and its balance between spot and flood. From a climber's perspective I think a flood is better, because it gives you a much greater spread, which is ultimately what you want whilst climbing - so you can see as much as possible. As for the warmth, I suspect a lot of it boils down to personal preference, but I think I prefer it for rock climbing - then prefer white light for running.

Personally, I never use any of these modes - and presumed no one else did too; however, I remember saying this previously and being blown away by the number of people who said they did - hence have been less scathing about it ever since.

It should be in there - it's included within the Performance Headtorch Group Group Test Link.

In reply to masa-alpin:

Green and blue are mostly used by hunters. Of little use for anybody else.

Unlike the author, I find warm white definitely better for making out features on the ground, whether running or climbing. Especially in a drizzle or fog, as any bluer light gets refracted more (hint: a car's fog lights are yellow for a reason). YMMV, of course.

Still, I'd prefer a test of a Fenix head torch or a similar, as the specialist brands are usually much better than the generic gear manufacturers' ones like BD. Alas, Fenix doesn't seem to be keen on sending free review samples to the UKC, so that won't happen anytime soon.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Any thoughts on a comparison to the Swift RL? That too has a "headline" output of 1100 Lumen and seems to be pitched at the same users?

In reply to UKC Gear:

I don't know if it's just me with my Daltonic super powers (colour blind, particularly red on green),but red light makes OS map contours vanish completely. Sometimes it's light enough to use night vision for getting round, but extra light is needed for map reading. 

Maybe blue or green light's might help in that situation?

In reply to galpinos:

It's really interesting when you switch between the two, because considering that they're so similar on paper - they're really different in reality. The Swift RL has a much whiter light and a much more focussed spot, which is the exact opposite of the light the Distance LT1100 delivers. It's also got reactive lighting, which - whenever I go back to using it - I'm reminded by just how good it is, especially in the newer models.

In terms of what I'd use for what, I think the Swift RL is an obvious winner as far as running is concerned. From a climbers perspective it's still good, but I think the Distance LT1100 pips it to the post as a result of its bombproof nature and the way in which its light is delivered (i.e. more flood, less spot).

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Cheers Rob. As ever, thanks for going the extra mile. I have the OG Reactik and love the reactive lighting but am having my head turned buy the 1100 lumens now on offer. The 170 lumens at standard and 300 at max seems small paltry compared to the performance stats of the current stable of headtorches.

In reply to galpinos:

I love headtorches, and gear chat, so you're doing me a favour by asking further questions 😂

Funnily enough, I think one of the reasons I'm really into headtorches is because of how good they've got - and how much of a difference that improvement makes. I suspect you'd notice quite a difference if you did decide to upgrade.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Probably not relevant to the topic, but I have the newest RL and it's my first time using reactive lighting - in very cold weather your breath causes it to constantly/momentarily drop in output. I'm not sure if this would be annoying, dangerous or both where running is concerned. Outwith that its decent apart from a few niggles (needing to cycle though all power settings to reach off, is it really 1100L).

In reply to abcdef:

Funnily enough, I wrote the following in the Performance Headtorch Group Test, which acknowledges this:

It's worth noting that reactive lighting has become more reactive in the NAO RL, a development with cons as well as pros. The strength is that you can really feel it closing in when you look down and reaching out when you look up, but the weakness is that it reacts to certain things more sensitively than it did previously. The only times I've been annoyed by it are during extremely heavy rain or when it's cold enough for my breath to mist, both of which interfere with the sensor, as the light reflects off of the rain/mist, causing the lamp to dim. However if that does become an issue then all you have to do is switch it into non-reactive mode, which can be done by holding down the button whilst it's on.

In reply to galpinos:

I’ve got (and still use) the Reactik+ and the Swift RL. I use them mainly for running and nearly always in the lowest power reactive mode (spec being roughly 70lm and 100lm respectively in this mode iirc). There’s not much difference between them on this setting, the RL is (obviously) a bit brighter but the beam pattern seems a bit more mixed/flood than the Reactik, meaning performance is similar.

If you’re going to use them mainly in the middle setting then the difference is much more noticeable, as you’d expect from the specs (170 vs about 300). The RL would definitely feel like a significant upgrade in this case. I’ve never used this mode for more than about 2hrs continuously, so don’t know what a realistic burn time is but probably about 5hrs based on the battery gauge.

I don’t use the highest setting on the RL (mines the older one that peaks at 900), but assume it’ll step down quickly, so not sure how different it’ll be in practice to the Reactik at 300lm. When I cycle through the 900 mode to turn off the torch, the step up in light always seems less significant than from the 100 in max burn to 300 in standard.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

Hard to disagree with that if you spent years using a Petzl Zoom with the standard bulb!

In reply to MarkKP:

I wish I still had mine kicking around, just as a reminder. I suspect my parents probably do, as they never throw anything out. I’ll have to ask when I next speak to them, although I’m not even sure they make those massive batteries anymore 🤣

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

I have one it's less powerful than a petzl e-lite..

Still a game changer  compared to its predecessors 

In reply to rogerwebb:

Petzl Zoom seemed fantastic after my Wonder (!) head torch, probably the same as https://www.anibis.ch/fr/vi/vaud/maison/electromenager-ustensiles/lampe-de-...

In reply to Doug:

Bell battery in the top pocket of your rucksack?

In reply to lex: 

As I've always understood it green light is a low light alternative to red that gets over the issue of disappearing contours. I've only ever had one torch with a green LED (I think it has red, green and blue) but I never used it in anger.

In reply to rogerwebb:

usually in a jacket pocket (safer when removing rucksack), can you still buy those large bell batteries ?

In reply to Doug:

Doubt it 

In reply to UKC Gear:

I have a BD Storm R, power tap is a complete pain in the a***!

Stuart 

In reply to UKC Gear:

The burn times and intensity seem very promising for mountaineering

Is there a reduction in output or is it able to keep constant lumens through burn time?

I notice most manufactures state high lumens and long burn times, but will drop real fast , so a "600 lumen headlamp" might quickly became 300 or less

In reply to UKC Gear:

Loving the Black Diamond Distance LT 1100! I actually find the Power Tap touch a bit annoying as it kept going off by accident, blinding me or my companions and burning battery more than I needed.

To mitigate this I added some two hot glue spots along the tap edge. Now I can adjust the angle of the light and position of until on my head without it going off.

I can still use Power Tap but I have to be specific about it, aiming between my two hot glue dots. I find this works much better for my needs!

Video demo...

https://youtube.com/shorts/qFo-n___49w?si=oDJU41Z7muh2HCmR

In reply to MarkKP:

Thanks for this Mark. I missed it at the time. You must have better eyes than me if you do most of your running on the lowest setting! I'm generally in the middle reactive setting bumping up to the top setting when trying to pick out trods across Kinder in the dark!

In reply to lex:

Green light for map reading has been used for years, for the reasons you've stated.

I can't think why you'd use blue, as it would wash out water features and grid lines.

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

I think 'warm' light is supposed to be better in mist and fog, you don't get as much bright glare thrown back at you from the water droplets in the air.