The Black Diamond ReVolt headtorch can be recharged using its USB cable
Black Diamond ReVolt headtorch
Price: £69.99
Weight: 100g including three NiMH batteries; 97g with alkaline batteries
Illuminating power: 90 lumens with NiMH rechargeables; 110 lumens with AAA alkaline batteries
Colour: metallic citron
Country of manufacture: China
The Black Diamond ReVolt headtorch is rechargeable via a USB cable, meaning travellers on the move can use any device with a USB output, such as laptops, a car USB socket or solar panels to boost the batteries back up for further use.
The headtorch will also take conventional AAA alkaline batteries, which actually give a brighter light and last longer though, of course, they will need replacing each time, with consequent costs.
The ReVolt has to be used with its own specialised Black Diamond nickel metal hydride batteries if you want to use the rechargeable function. The unit won’t start charging if other batteries are inserted.
The ReVolt's main beam is bright: up to 110 lumens
The headtorch comes with a single, adjustable, elasticated headband; there is no top strap.
It is supplied with the three AAA Black Diamond NiMH batteries, as well as three alkaline batteries, so you can use it fresh out of its packaging.
The battery compartment is a bit fiddly to open, and I wouldn’t want to attempt while wearing thick gloves. However, once installed, the mini-USB plug slots into the socket on the side of the housing, which when not used is covered by a captive plastic bung; plug the other end into your computer or whatever power source you’re using and the unit starts charging.
A flashing green light on the other side tells you the headtorch is being charged; when it’s up to capacity it goes constant, then turns off to indicate the batteries have a full charge. Leaving it plugged in, Black Diamond said, won’t harm it and will enable a one-hour trickle charge to top it up each day.
The torch’s main beam comes from a triple-power LED. Black Diamond’s rating using full power is for 12 hours duration using rechargeables. The torch will illuminate up to 66m with fresh batteries but by the time 10 hours has passed, this will drop to just 3m.
A more sensible option is to drop the brightness, by using the single large push-button switch on top of the housing, to give better battery duration.
The Black Diamond ReVolt makes light work of night-time outings
According to the company’s figures, using the minimum power of the main beam will give 190 hours of 4 lumens light, illuminating up to 9m, dropping to only 8m after 10 hours.
The torch also has two single-power white LEDs either side of the main beam. Using the two lower-power lights will actually gobble up power more quickly, according to Black Diamond, with 10 hours of use at full power and 80 hours at minimum.
The two provide 25 lumens of light, with a range up to 8m, dropping to 4 lumens and 3.5m range at minimum power.
After 10 hours using the two single-power LEDs, there is very little difference in range between full and minimum power, being 3m and 2.4m respectively.
With alkalines, the ReVolt is claimed to provide 70 hours of light at full power on the main beam, and 300 hours at minimum.
Figures for the single-power twin LEDs are 22 hours and 80 hours for maximum and minimum power.
The torch will also provide light from two red LEDs to preserve night vision, and this can be turned on direct, rather than cycling through the white modes.
The ReVolt will also provide flashing white or red modes.
Control of all functions is through the control button. Single or double clicking will turn on either distance or proximity mode, and the beam can then be dimmed by keeping the button depressed until the right level is reached.
The red LEDs will preserve night vision but are not bright
Battery level is indicated on the side light, changing from green to orange then flashing red to indicate a nearly exhausted set.
The torch can be locked by holding down the button for six seconds to avoid it accidentally being turned on by a momentary touch of the button, though it will be unlocked again by holding for six seconds, so care still needs to be taken not to position it in, say, a rucksack where the button might be pressed by other items.
The headtorch is waterproofed to the IPX4 standard, which means it is splashproof. In use, this means it should resist rain but dropping it in a lake might cause problems. Black Diamond say the torch will still work if water gets into the battery housing, though with reduced efficiency.
The initial charge via a USB lead attached to a laptop took a long time: 13 hours before the battery indicator said the headtorch was fully replenished.
Using a main-socket-to-USB plug should substantially reduce the charging time, and the batteries can be taken out of the headtorch and charged in a conventional charger.
Out on the hills in the dark, the main beam initially gave a very bright light; bright enough to dazzle fellow walkers, so be careful not to point it straight at others or you won’t be popular.
For walking at a typical speed, it’s sensible to drop the brightness of the main, triple-power LED to, say, half output, which is still perfectly adequate for most situations.
The twin proximity LEDs are good for map reading but also illuminate a good area ahead
If you need to revert to full power to try to pick out a feature in the distance, simply holding the main button down will cycle the brightness down to its lowest. A slight flicker signals it has reached the end of its range and it will then start to go up the continuous brightness range again until full power is reached. Again a slight flicker signals it has reached the top of its brightness and it will then start to dim again until the button is released.
In fact, all functions are carried out via the main button, making operation simple, as long as you can remember the different methods of selection.
In white-light mode, pressing the button will turn on and off the torch, alternating between main beam and the twin proximity LEDs.
Holding down the button takes the headtorch into red mode, with the two red LEDs giving a dim, but night-vision-preserving light. I found the red light pretty much unusable for route finding on the hill, though it is bright enough to read a map, though of course much of the detail, and the orangey-brown contour lines in particular, disappearing in the red light.
If you turn off the headtorch in red mode, when it is turned on again, it will go straight into its red LED function again without having to cycle through white light, useful if you want to preserve night vision.
Both the red LEDs and the twin white proximity LEDs can be turned to flashing strobe mode by pressing the control button rapidly three times.
The proximity twin white LEDs give a nice even spread of light for close up work such as map reading or compass checking, but are bright enough to walk with too, with ample illumination up to about 3 or 4 metres.
The really bright phase of the white LEDs drops off within about an hour, but that still leaves plenty of light for outdoor activities, including walking, running and mountain biking.
The ReVolt's main beam gives a good spread
Walkers will be happy to turn down the power to preserve battery life, and even runners should be able to turn down the brightness. Mountain bikers and cyclists will find the night-busting beam of the triple-power main beam useful.
How big a selling point is the USB charging? I suppose it gives flexibility to an already versatile headtorch. It enables the torch to be charged from a variety of sources, including many that people will be carrying anyway.
And for a few quid, you can buy adaptors that allow a mains plug to be connected to a USB cable, so this would enable the torch to be recharged in a hostel after a night on the hills. Car USB sockets can also be used for charging up the ReVolt. And, of course, you can always put AAA alkalines in if it can’t immediately be recharged.
In fact, I would advise carrying three alkalines anyway as spares. The last thing you want is to find yourself in the dark with exhausted power supply.
The Black Diamond ReVolt is a versatile headtorch, with a good beam, simple operation and is among the lightest for its power range.
Even if you don’t plan to be out practising your night navigation, carrying a torch is a sensible move for all hillgoers. Lack of a torch is one of the most common reasons for mountain rescue teams’ callouts.
At 100g, you really have no excuse for not packing this little piece of equipment in your rucksack.
We liked:
Good illumination
Weight
Ease of use
Versatility
We weren’t so keen on:
Fiddly battery compartment
- Our ReVolt was suppled by Black Diamond
