# Black Diamond ReVolt 2015 review



## zako (Jun 3, 2015)

*BLACK DIAMOND REVOLT 2015
*




*Characteristics:
*

Weight (standalone): 64 grams
Weight (with 3xAAA batteries): 97 to 100 grams
Runs with self-usb-rechargeable or alkaline batteries
1 TriplePower led, 2 SinglePower led, 2 red leds
Three-level battery meter at startup
IPX 4 splash resistant from any direction
Locking mode
Modes: 5 (strobe, spot, flood, red light flood and red light strobe)
Spot: dimming capability, 130 lumen max, 1 TriplePower led
Flood: dimming capability, 25 lumen max, 2 SinglePower led
Red light: no dimming capability, 2 RedPower led, no lumen specified. Also strobe mode
Strobe: no dimming capability, the 2 leds from flood mode


*Package contents:
*

Headlamp with strap
Box
3x Energizer AAA alcaline batteries
3x NiMH AAA rechargeable batteries Black Diamond brand
Quick start guide
User manual
USB male to micro-USB male cable, 57 cm total length

*Pros:
*

Self-rechargeable or standard batteries, for the house, car, camping, etc
Lightweight and compact for the given capabilities
Spot and flood modes are enough for everyday jobs (the spot is much brighter)
Tilting mechanism is solid, won't move up or down
The strap has a good range of adjustments
Will remember if last session was red light, so you don't lose night vision 

*Cons:
*

Red light is very low power, comfy up to half a meter. Also beam is almost as narrow as the spot mode. If you need powerful night vision, look for another headlamp, even dedicated

*Minor annoyances:*


The plastic wire that holds the two halves together may break if too much force is applied. Luckily is has no real function (may prevent you from losing the cover in black pitch)
Opening the headlamp to replace batteries requires quite a bit of force
Doesn't remember flood mode, strobe mode or dimming status.
Is not possible to use the headlamp while being charged, powers off automatically
Ingress protection is IPX4: water splash proof, but can't be immersed in water. Probably you can wear it while raining
By default, it only supports Black Diamond brand of rechargeable batteries, but you can modify your own NiMH to recharge them directly on the headlamp, see the youtube link on comment #9. They did it so unaware users don't try to charge alkaline cells or other incompatible types.






The whole set






Front side of the box (the sticker says REVOLT - SPECTRUM BLUE)





Back side of the box





From the front






From the top






The battery compartment can be opened levering the center of the housing with the strap






Battery compartment opened, notice the two parts are hold together by some plastic wires. Once it's closed the two tabs keep them in place






Putting the batteries inside






Micro-USB port to charge the ReVolt (only black diamond's rechargeable batteries). It has a plastic cap to in case water splashes






Notification light for both battery charge and locking status






The strap can be removed for cleaning or replacing






The power button from the side. It's slightly convex






The tilting mechanism has 4 positions. This is totally closed






Next tilting position






Next






Maximum opening






Spot mode full power






Flood mode full power, beam width is about 160 degrees, but quite less powerful than the spot mode






Red light for night vision (no power regulation)






Red light in action






Blue led indicates locking mode is on when trying to power on the headlamp






Battery level is measured just after powering on the headlamp
Green led indicates battery level >50%
Orange 25%<50% battery level
Red <25% battery level






Set of 6 AAA batteries, 3 are rechargeable and 3 are not






USB cable, 28 AWG. Any usb male to micro usb male can do the job, smartphone, etc






Mini guide front






Mini guide back





Complete user manual is available in 6 languages: english, french, german, italian, spanish and japanese (click to see higher resolution at tinypic). More languages available in digital format






Since there's no official case for the revolt, bough a cheap smartphone bag. It also has a lace to hang down your neck which I gathered inside






Here it is


*Final thoughts
*
Recommended? Yes, very. It's a multipurpose headlamp, stays solid on its position and has several modes in a compact size. Ready to recharge anywhere near a power supply or on alkalines, and splash resistant. Red light is a plus but disappointed me, was expecting more power. Also, I don't like the way Black Diamond measures burntimes. Instead of measuring the runtime from maximum lumen to 10% of such maximum for each mode, they just wait for the batteries to deplete until it has 0.25 lux or something like that (which is pretty useless and you can barely see anything). Because if you expect the spot mode to light at 130 lumen for 70 hours on alkaline you will drive mad. There's NOTHING mentioned anywhere that lumen output will decrease over time which is exactly what happens. They should follow the standards more often, and advertising should be much more accurate (a plot of lumen versus time will be the ideal).

Read more about it here: Why Headlamp Claims are Deceptive


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## Woods Walker (Jun 7, 2015)

How could it work with only their NiMH? Why not all? My speculation is that no one around these parts expects the light to run at 130 lumens for 70 hours on 3XAAA. Thanks for posting the review.


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## dwong (Jul 5, 2015)

thanks for the review, just gave my storm away and thinking this or the zebra HL (warm or daylight) for night hiking...
anyone try both?
tia


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## WarRaven (Jul 5, 2015)

dwong said:


> thanks for the review, just gave my storm away and thinking this or the zebra HL (warm or daylight) for night hiking...
> anyone try both?
> tia


Isn't the new Storm around 320 lumen?
I've the older one at 160, mounted on front of my RC in my avatar.
Tough little light. 
Has imo advantage of four AAA instead of three as well.
Jmtc


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## dwong (Jul 5, 2015)

WarRaven said:


> Isn't the new Storm around 320 lumen?
> I've the older one at 160, mounted on front of my RC in my avatar.
> Tough little light.
> Has imo advantage of four AAA instead of three as well.
> Jmtc



Nothing wrong w/ the Storm, I only use 20-40Lumen for dry hiking or general in house use. 
Would like to try lighter weight per 3x AAA (or even 2 AAA), or 1 AA. 
My main HL SF vision is already kinda heavy.


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## WarRaven (Jul 5, 2015)

dwong said:


> Nothing wrong w/ the Storm, I only use 20-40Lumen for dry hiking or general in house use.
> Would like to try lighter weight per 3x AAA (or even 2 AAA), or 1 AA.
> My main HL SF vision is already kinda heavy.


Gotcha, weight thing.
Makes perfect sense, wondered about that supposed battery warmer, or just more weight lol.

I'm kind of in limbo for a new HL myself so I'll be watching to see what you wind up with.


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## Camo5 (Jul 21, 2015)

I have the 2013 version, and almost exclusively use the flood mode with the smaller led's, the hotspot from the main light is way too narrow, imo it should be 90-100% floody


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## zako (Jul 21, 2015)

Camo5 said:


> I have the 2013 version, and almost exclusively use the flood mode with the smaller led's, the hotspot from the main light is way too narrow, imo it should be 90-100% floody



The flood mode in the ReVolt is not that bright for working several consecutive hours in a garage. In fact I thought of buying also a dedicated flood torch. But since I'm not a hardcore headlamp user I'll wait for now.


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## blozart (Nov 28, 2015)

Woods Walker said:


> How could it work with only their NiMH? Why not all? My speculation is that no one around these parts expects the light to run at 130 lumens for 70 hours on 3XAAA. Thanks for posting the review.



Hello, and sorry for my poor english, as i'm French...
I was also wondering about the way this lamp can't recharge others NiMH and here is the way the lamp detects those : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAzMlAHd60w

So just minor modifications has to be done if you want to put your own NiMH in it.


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## zako (Sep 24, 2016)

First post updated with two more pictures and description improvements (added IPX4 rating and NiMH battery compatibility). Great headlamp working perfectly to date. In the end I just use regular cheap batteries so I don't bother with charging.


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