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 Black Diamond Zenix Headlamp By: Black Diamond Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 5 More Information Black Diamond Zenix IQ Hyperbright LED Headlamp  On: 2008-01-21This is an OUTSTANDING product. I use it in the evening when I go out walking on a poorly lit trail. It super brightens up the whole trail for me. Additionally I love the power indicator to let me know that Im going to have to put fresh batteries in so it doesnt punk out on me in the middle of my walk. I HIGHLY recommend this headlamp. Outstanding On: 2007-01-19I am so surprised at this simple device! I purchased this headlamp for my husband as a Christmas present based on an idea from my daughter. My husband does a lot of close work in his "hobby shop (shed)" and has constantly complained that he didnt have enough light to see the fine details. Ive always said that his age might be a factor, which he always said that he needed LIGHT. Well lo and behold LET THERE BE LIGHT! And how simple. A lightweight, extremely powerful direct beam right onto exactly where he needs it! I had no idea something like this existed until my daughter told me that hikers (which she is) spelunkers (cave divers) and sports enthusiasts have been using headlamps for years. I believe that the Zenix company should place ads in the AARP monthly newsletter for all of us hobbiests, crafters and basic putterers that dont want to use the drug store magnifyer glasses when we just need LIGHT! Great Product! The Zenix is my 3rd try, and I'm finally happy! On: 2004-08-02This is my third purchase of an LED headlamp. I purchased the Petzl Tikka when it came out a couple years ago. Neat light, but I soon found I could not trail run with it, and it did not let me look into the shadows farther than say 15 feet with a any detail. The next year I bought the Black Diamond Moonlight, which has four LEDs. It seemed bright enough for trail running in the dark on level trails. (I dont normally do this, but running the Hood-to-coast relay race and other all-night races will require you to run at night sometime.) The moonlight was bulky however, and this year the power cord started acting flaky and I have to jiggle it all the time to make the light come on. Still those LEDs just arent bright enough to look into the shadows and get detail past 20 feet or so. And the moonlight was a little too bright around camp, when maybe 2 LEDs would do for reading. (The tikka is great for around camp cooking, reading.) Now the Zenix. Perfect. I get the best of both worlds. Last night I used it on a moonlight hike up Mt. Lassen National Park. I came down in the dark (moon was behind thick clouds) and could see the rough trail pretty well with either setting on. (click once for the two side LEDs, click again to off, click again to the single bright focused LED in the middle.) I definitely noticed the distance of the center light being farther. There were probably a couple hundred people out that night hiking with lights, and many of them were wishing they had this one. Today I used the Zenix to crawl under the house and string some speaker wire into tiny little holes in the dark. The side LEDs were not enough to help me out. The light in the middle was perfect! Bright spot, right where I needed it. My final test was to use my focus beam Krpton bulb flashlight in the backyard compared against the focused center beam on the Zenix headlamp. It was very compareable! I could see the detail of my fence about 40 feet away. (It claims 100 feet, but I dont have that big a yard.) The spread looked similar to the Krpton bulb...just not as bright for the whole circle. This is fine, since the Krpton flashlight burns batteries like crazy. I cant wait to run the hood-to-coast this year with this light. My only con is that again, like the Moonlight by Black Diamond, the battery pack is in the rear, which requires a cable strung to the front of the headlamp. This wire will experience wear and eventually wear out. Otherwise, I love the design of this light. Rather disappointing  On: 2004-07-31This headlamp is light, durable, and waterproof. The head swivels up and down so you can adjust where the light falls. Battery life is good. The good news stops there. This headlamp has three LEDs -- two are typical small LEDs that youre probably familiar with from prior LED headlamps, one is one of those new super-bright 1 watt LEDs. The problem is that you dont get the light where you need it. Black Diamond has put a tiny tightly focused lens over the 1 watt LED so that it shines really far, but you dont get enough light at your feet to keep you from stumbling over rocks and other obstacles, and the beam is really small if you shine it down towards your feet. If you use the two low-power LEDs, you get a very useful flood of light near you, but you cant easily see anything more than five feet or so ahead of you. If you could use both at once, youd have very useful light both near and at a distance (at a cost in battery life, certainly, but its easy enough to carry spare AAA batteries), but Black Diamond doesnt give you that choice. My suggestion, if you want a very useful headlamp that has both the low-power LEDs for around camp and the big 1 watt LED for trailfinding/hiking/area lighting, is to look at the Princeton Tec Yukon HL. This uses a focusable slightly rippled reflector that scatters a bit of light by your feet as well as casting it a good distance and you can detirmine how much light it puts in which place by twisting the ring on the front. Youll have to decide on whether youre willing to tolerate the extra weight and bulk of the Yukon HL (it uses three AA batteries, i.e., much heavier than the three AAA batteries of the Zenix, and has a much bigger head for the LED since it has a much larger reflector). But in my opinion, for hikers the 1 watt LED needs a much bigger/better reflector design than the Zenix provides in order to give a good light distribution, and you should get the Zenix only if you absolutely cannot tolerate the additional bulk and weight of a light with a better reflector design. Note that if you can do without the small LEDs for around camp, the Princeton Matrix 2 (which has a single 1 watt LED) is about the same size as the Zenix, and has a much better beam (my Impact XL flashlight uses the same reflector/LED assembly, and it not only has a good beam, but also scatters a bit of light by my feet to keep me from stumbling). So thats another alternative. Note that cavers in tight areas, where the Zenixs beam can reflect off the walls of the cave and thus provide a bit of an area lighting effect, may be more satisfied with the Zenixs beam... but I really dont like it for hiking. Not a bad light  On: 2004-03-09This light is definitely well made. I took it caving and it can take quite a beating. It is not as bright as a xenon bulb no matter what the company review says but it sheds more than enough for you to see by. However, with a 12 hour run time on full brightness and no bulb replacements how can you beat it. I have taken it on about two cave trips (about six hours each) now and the batteries seem to be putting out just as much light as when i started (so it may last longer than 12). Worth buying but you may want to wait until the price drops just a little. I give this product a good review overall. |