52 Things We 💙: Black Diamond Spot headlamp

Wirecutter picks that have withstood the test of time S arah Kobos The [Black Diamond Spot 325]( is designed for mountaineers, but it’s also a guiding light for everyday folk. by Christine Ryan If you think the [Black Diamond Spot 325]( headlamp is a necessity only for campers and mountaineers, think again. What makes [this headlamp]( so great is how easily it crosses over from specialty climbing gear to fixture of everyday domestic life. It’s lightweight, easy to operate, and waterproof, and you can aim it (by tilting it up and down) at whatever you need to examine. I never considered buying a headlamp before I started working at Wirecutter—what am I, a salt miner? And now I own three. We’ve watched the Spot, a top pick since 2012, improve over the years, getting lighter and brighter. I have one in my kitchen-stuff drawer, for plumbing under-sink depths. I have another one in my travel kit, for finding poorly lit Airbnb lockboxes. And the third one is in the garage, for checking my car’s oil. My boyfriend’s Spot lives in his camping-gear box. My co-workers report stashing Spots in nightstands, for reading (in red-light mode) while partners are asleep, or on hall tables, for finding the poops on late-night dog walks. Our favorite headlamp since 2012, the Spot was one of the first headlamps to combine such useful features as a red-light mode (to prevent inadvertently blinding one’s comrades around the campfire), a strobe setting (crucial for signaling rescuers in an emergency), and buttons that you could operate even while wearing thick gloves—all with a good battery-life-to-output ratio. Wirecutter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. [Learn more](. How it started Black Diamond’s origins are rooted in second chances. In 1965, noted Yosemite climber Yvon Chouinard founded his first company, Chouinard Equipment, to produce the climbing hardware he’d been forging by hand. But the hardware company never made much of a profit—in fact, Chouinard [launched Patagonia]( the clothing company, to help support his original venture. While Patagonia became a huge success, Chouinard’s hardware company went bankrupt. But in 1989, a handful of former employees bought the company’s assets, renamed the outfit Black Diamond, and moved it to Utah—where it too has become [an advocate for environmentalism](. When to buy The [latest model]( has been out for only a year, so sales are harder to track. But it’s safe to assume that it will be on sale during Black Friday and Cyber Week. The previous model went on sale fairly regularly—every month—but we don’t expect this one to go on sale nearly as often since it’s so new. The numbers $35 Average street price $25 Best price we’ve ever seen Make it last In the unlikely event that you won’t be using the headlamp frequently, remove the batteries. As disposable batteries age, they often develop leaks, and the resulting potassium carbonate—those white crystals you might see—can damage your headlamp. Copyright © 2020 Wirecutter, Inc., all rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our newsletters. You are free to unsubscribe at any time.‌ Our mailing address is: Wirecutter, Inc. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018‌ [View this email in your browser]( [Unsubscribe from this list]( | [Update subscription preferences‌](