The Sprint’s smooth beam is optimized for night-hiking and night-running: most of the brightness is focused on the terrain ahead, but it still illuminates the periphery.īlack Diamond reports that the Sprint 225 can maintain its max 225-lumen output for 1.5 hours its minimum output, for 20 hours. It’s a nice happy-medium between a spot beam (which makes you feel as if you’re running in a tunnel and which can be dizzyingly bouncy) and a flood beam (which doesn’t throw enough light out ahead). Its light pattern is wonderfully smooth, with no distracting rings it seems almost perfectly optimized for night-running and night-hiking - it focuses most of the light ahead, but still manages to illuminate the periphery. The Sprint 225 uses one TriplePower LED bulb. hiking and running at night) than for camping and group use. Without a red light, the Sprint is optimized more for moving (e.g. That model is slightly brighter, powered by three AAA batteries (single-use or rechargeable), and has a second head strap. The Sprint 225 is not to be confused with the Black Diamond Sprinter 275 ($75, 3.7 oz), which is also new for spring 2020.
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trail running and long day-hikes) than camping. Because of this omission, the Sprint seems more optimized for moving (i.e. This night vision-saving feature is wonderful on group trips, and in camp it’s often the only light that I use. My only complaint about the Sprint 225 for backpacking is that it lacks a red-light. And this year I plan to carry it on most of my backpacking trips, which start in April and finish in September. Last fall, I carried it as a just-in-case light on long and adventurous trail running loops in the Indians Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park. This winter, I’ve found the Sprint 225 ideal for night-running on Boulder’s bike trails, streets, and some very easy trails.
![how to use black diamond storm headlamp how to use black diamond storm headlamp](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k-f8uG1XwCc/maxresdefault.jpg)
![how to use black diamond storm headlamp how to use black diamond storm headlamp](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000085016266-2f7fpi-large.jpg)
I’m uncertain if Black Diamond felt that the improvements warranted a rebrand or if “Sprint” speaks better to the intended end-use. The Black Diamond Sprint 225 Headlamp is technically new for spring 2020, but essentially it’s a brighter and updated version of the three-year-old Iota, which will be dropped from BD’s line. The two share a similar price point, weight/size, and feature set. The Sprint 225 (left) will replace the Iota (right). An early production version was sent to me last fall for review.
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Its 150 lumens were plenty for 3-season conditions it weighed only 1.9 ounces (56 grams) and packed away small and I loved that it was rechargeable, so that I could keep AAA batteries out of the waste stream and so that I could recharge it mid-trip using the same portable battery that I use for my phone and inReach.įor spring 2020, the Iota has been updated and renamed - it has become the Black Diamond Sprint 225 ($45, 1.9 oz). On most backpacking trips last year, I carried the Black Diamond Iota Headlamp ( my review).