I'd especially appreciate hearing from anyone who owns or is very familiar with both the Petzl and BD lights and can compare them. The kind of feedback I'm mainly interested in is usability / interface (how easy is it to operate, change modes etc, especially for someone who maybe never used a headlamp before and is not necessarily very tech savvy), optics quality, and realistic battery life- the numbers in the specs are meaningless as far as I'm concerned, since as far as I know the lights are not regulated except maybe the ReActik, and if a headlamp lists 260 hours of burn time an 3 AAA cells, I don't believe for a second that' it's going to provide more than a few lumens at that point.
![black diamond storm headlamp 350 black diamond storm headlamp 350](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/m8UAAOSwH75fFlUr/s-l640.jpg)
I'm also interested in thoughts on the Petzl Reactik from anyone who's used it- while this is an expensive light, the technology seems interesting and seems like it could either be a very useful feature that justifies it's price tag and simplifies operation, or an expensive and potentially annoying gimmick. The models I'm most Interested are Black Diamond Spot and Petzl Actik / Actik Core, since these are most similar in their feature sets, and the ones I've been recommending the most as they seem to be the more versatile and solid headlamps with good features without going overboard with unnecessary frills, but I'm also interested in feedback on other current models. I'm pretty familiar with the specs and features of the major models from each, but I would very much appreciate hearing about the experience of people who have actually used them. As much as a an obsessive flashaholic and light aficionado as I am, and currently owning at least 4 headlamps and more flashlights than I can count off the top of my head, I've actually never used a either a Petzl or BD light.
![black diamond storm headlamp 350 black diamond storm headlamp 350](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0vwAAOSwezVdUcUt/s-l300.jpg)
However, the vast majority of climbers and outdoors people in general go with Petzl and BD headlamps simply because they are the most well known and most available in the major retail and online stores, and some of them are very decent lights.Īnyway I recently started working at a well known outdoor equipment store where we sell primarily Petzl and Black Diamond headlamps, so I've been trying to learn more about the various models so I can give good advice to my customers. As several of us mentioned on a recent headlamp thread, the headlamps made by well known outdoor brands tend to be far behind more niche brands like Zebralight, Fenix, etc, and I usually recommend Zebralight.