Review: Black Diamond Storm 400 Head-torch

I’ve had a thing for some of the Black Diamond equipment for a while, especially the head torches which they make at a very reasonable price for the features they offer. Having had the previous Storm I was a little weary of how this would perform as the last one killed off batteries like crazy, and this was because of a fault with the unit. I also had the model before that which I really liked. This new version of the Storm however is totally back on form, which them having upped the lumens yet again to an impressive 400. The unit is almost like your own personal floodlight and for better or worse I’ve had complaints from people I’m blinding them with it!

So far I’ve used this unit for everything from camping to a bit of basic cave exploration, and also on night time runs where it’s great for illuminating everything when I get tired and start stumbling everywhere like a drunk after banging out 20 miles. It’s also waterproof and dustproof IPX67 which in this case also means you can dunk it in water for an hour and a half, which is a pretty long time. Means you don’t have to worry about rain or if you somehow end up in a lake, or if you are going to use it for lots of varied outdoor activities.

The powertap feature where you can can tap the side of the unit to go from full power to dimmed is pretty cool, however I’ve never really been in a situation where I’ve desperately needed to use it. The various light colours are good options if you need them however I can’t say I ever really need anything but standard white. Red is for good night vision which I’m sure is great for any military purpose, green for night and fog and blue apparently very good for map reading and also (hopefully not) for showing blood so things like forensic work.

Of course there are other brands which do similar head torches the most established and well- known probably being Petzl. Don’t get me wrong I like Petzl stuff a lot, however I feel like Black Diamond give them a bit of a kicking over features for price point here. Not going into mega detail but the Petzl Actik Core is 450 lumens which is great however it’s IPX4 rated so it’s only weather resistant and it comes in between about £38 to £50 when you can get the Storm from prices as low as £36. I think it’s worth losing 50lm to gain being able to dunk the headtorch in water for and hour and a half. If you are UK based like I am , and you do lots of outdoor pursuits I’d never recommend buying a head torch that’s only weather resistant especially not for £38 quid! Regarding the Black Diamond’s lumen rating 400lm is meant to be the equivalent of 400 candles in brightness. Which is a lot, but how they ever tested to get that measurement in the first place must have been interesting to say the least.

Finally the other great thing about this is despite the high output the head torch has an impressive burn time of 5 hours at 400lm and 150 hours at low, with an 100m distance at full power. My final word on this is I’d give it my first 10/10 it is an excellent product especially for varied adventures. A solid piece of kit. And it comes with batteries which is always useful!

Stats below are from the Black Diamond Website

Power Settings: [High] 400: [Medium] 180: [Low] 8:

Burntime: High 5 hours, Low 150 hours

Distance: [High] 100 m; [Low] 9 m

• Emits up to 400 lumens on max setting
• PowerTap™ Technology allows instant transitioning between full and dimmed power
• Brightness Memory allows you to turn the light on and off at a chosen brightness without reverting back to full power
• Regulated for constant light output
• Compact, low-profile design uses four AAA batteries
• Settings include full strength in proximity and distance modes, dimming, strobe, red, green and blue night-vision, and lock mode
• Multifaceted optical lens design
• Waterproof and dustproof: Sealed housing withstands immersion over 1m for 30 minutes (IPX67)