New BD Icon

dirkomatic

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
25
Has anyone had the opportunity to try the new BD Icon? I love my current (now old model), but the seem to have updated the new one to deal with some of the short comings...

These are the improvements:
One QuadPower LED spotlight and 1 DoublePower white LED emit 500 lumens (max. setting)
Programmable Brightness Memory gives you the option to set the brightness level when first turned on
Removable battery pack (longer cable included)
Red, Green and Blue night vision modes cover the spectrum of night vision needs

I don't really care about the RGB, but I guess some people may. 500 lumens and programmable memory are the biggest improvements in my mind...
I'd love to read a review (or have one to review myself...:laughing: )
 

Going_Supernova

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 20, 2015
Messages
249
Location
The Free State of Kansas, USA
After wanting one for some time now, I finally pulled the trigger and got one. This is supposedly my "upgrade" from the Princeton Tec 350 Lumen Apex.

First off, the packaging is ridiculous. Layers and layers of cardboard packaging, that make it extremely difficult to remove the light from.

Second, Black Diamond makes a big deal out of their products being made in the USA, but what do they package with their light? Made in China Duracells! I know USA-made Duracells are available at Walmart, so there is no excuse to package made-in-PRC Duracells with their products. I never expected batteries to come with it in the first place, and I would rather BD had skipped it and just made the price lower. Everyone has their own battery preference, why should I have to pay for PRC-made Duracell alkaleaks?

Third, the instructions that are packed with it SUCK! You can get a better explanation of how it works by watching the u-tube reviews on the web.

Fourth, I had difficulty getting the battery compartment door off--it was stuck so hard, I was afraid that I was going to break it just getting the door off!

Fifth, When the compartment door finally came off, the door seal had molding flaws. I'm tempted to send it back under warranty, but I have a feeling they are all going to be like that. No O-rings, there is a molded flexible belt around the door with...difficult to explain, but I guess "ridges?" would be a weak explanation of it.

Sixth, the light controls/user interface are complicated, and not well explained in the instructions, so I need to watch a video and play with it to get it figured out. I like simple, intuitive controls on my devices, and this simply isn't. The operator has to know how to use it, they can't simply look at it and figure it out. This is not a headlamp that you can hand to someone at a disaster site and expect them to "know" how it works, simply by looking at it. I'm a CERT member, and that capability is important to me. @BD, K.I.S.S.!

Well, that's about all I can think of now, I have to learn it better and have some time with it to see, but so far, I'm having some buyer's remorse. :mad:
 
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