Chris Townsend reviews Black Diamond’s latest headtorch. Did it stand up to the test?
The Storm is a solidly made waterproof headtorch with an unusual feature, which is that the brightness can be varied by just touching the side of the housing. One touch brings up 100% brightness, a second touch returns it to the previous level. This is useful if you want a quick burst of light.
It doesn’t work with gloves however (or at least I can’t get it to work). The soft top button is easy to use with gloves. One press switches on the central LED, which is the spot, two presses the side flood LEDs. In both modes holding down the button alters the brightness level. From the off position holding down the button switches on the red LEDs.
The Storm will run on lithium batteries, which is good. However the battery compartment opens and shuts with a small screw. A section of a headband buckle can be used to undo the screw but this is quite fiddly, especially when wearing gloves. The headband itself is comfortable. The lamp pivots about 45°. It’s firmly attached to the headband and the whole unit is well-made.
The Storm is a good headtorch at a reasonable price but the weight is quite high for the power provided.
