Black Diamond Spot 400-R head torch review: The battery life is hard to beat

The Black Diamond Spot 400-R is a well-rounded head torch that strikes a solid balance between power, durability, and weight.

Designed for hikers, backpackers and hillwalkers, it delivers 400 lumens of output with a beam distance of up to 100 metres – suitable for trails, campsites, and general night navigation. It’ll do the job year-round through four seasons for all but the most demanding or specialist users.

Its unibody construction is rugged and compact, featuring an IP67 rating for full waterproofing and dust resistance. The 1500mAh lithium-ion battery is USB-rechargeable, with competitive burn times: 4 hours at full power, 8 hours at 200 lumens, and up to 225 hours on its lowest setting.

User-friendly features include two reasonably intuitive top buttons, a dimming function, red light mode, and a handy “Powertap” sensor that instantly boosts brightness – useful when scanning further ahead down the trail.

A strobe/SOS setting adds an emergency safeguard just in case you ever need to call on Mountain Rescue. The adjustable headband and pivoting bracket offer good comfort and fit without slipping or feeling bulky.

While it lacks the latest USB-C fast charging and is slightly outpaced in brightness by updated rivals like the Petzl Tikka or Ledlenser HF4R Core, the Spot 400-R still outperforms some of the best hiking head torches when it comes to battery life and weatherproofing.

It’s a great mid-range, reasonably priced choice that does almost everything well – ideal for backpackers, wild campers, and hillwalkers who want a reliable, practical and versatile torch.

Design and features

The Spot 400-R is a compact little head torch with a unibody construction. It’s made from hard and durable plastic with a softer, rubberised surround that incorporates two buttons positioned on the top of the unit. The front LED array consists of a main projector-style spot lens with a secondary white floodlight LED and a third red-light LED.

On the side of the unit, you’ll find a micro-USB charging port covered by a tight-fitting hinged cover. Below that is a three-LED battery charge indicator and Black Diamond’s touch-sensitive ‘Powertap’ function.

A hinged plastic bracket acts as a mounting point for the one-piece adjustable elastic headband and also allows for roughly 45 degrees of light angle adjustment. Unlike some rivals, the design doesn’t click into set positions, allowing for greater adaptability. It’s stiff enough to stay in place however you angle the light unit.

Operation is mainly via those two top buttons. The power button is oval shaped with a dimpled surface, while the other ‘mode’ button is circular, allowing you to easily tell them apart by touch alone. Hitting the power button switches the lamp on and off (well, duh).

When switched on, pressing ‘mode’ allows you to cycle between spot, flood and red-light settings. Holding the power button in any light setting allows you to dim the brightness as desired.

A short press switches the unit to maximum brightness, engaging both spot and flood lenses together – though an easier way to do this is to simply touch the side of the unit using the ‘Powertap’ function.

It’s a feature of higher-end Black Diamond head torches, and it’s one we really like, as it makes it easy to instantly switch from medium or low-level light to full beam – useful for looking further down the trail to see what’s up ahead.

We also like the fact that the Spot has a memory function. This means that when you select your preferred brightness, the next time you turn the lamp on it’ll remember your last setting rather than reverting back to a default light mode.

In turn, this allows you to access red light mode without cycling through white light modes, preserving your night vision.

You can double press the power button to turn on strobe, and again, pressing ‘mode’ cycles through spot, flood or red-light strobe settings. You can also hit the Powertap to switch from standard strobe to SOS (three short – three long – three short flashes) flashing and back again.

Usefully, the head torch also has a button lock feature to prevent accidental operation if it’s getting bounced around in a pack, safeguarding against battery drain. Simply press both button for two seconds to turn it on and off.

The Spot 400-R has a high ingress protection rating of IP67, thanks to the adoption of integrated buttons, a sealed battery compartment and a tight-fitting charging port cover. This means it offers totally dust-tight protection and can withstand complete immersion in up to a metre (3.3 feet) of water for up to 30 minutes.

As such, it’s a good choice for use in mixed environments and will continue to function in the worst downpours – heck, it should even survive the odd dunking.

Performance and comfort

The Spot has long been a stalwart of Black Diamond’s lighting range, sitting just below the excellent Storm 500 and the newer, high-performance Distance LT1100 in the brand’s line-up of all-round, multi-activity head torches.

The latest model was released in late 2022. At launch, it was one of the lightest head lamps in its class, offering superb power output to weight and some of the longest battery life (for its size) on the market.

Three years on, it’s starting to show its age in some respects (for example, it uses older micro-USB charging technology rather than a faster USB-C port), but it remains competitive in terms of specs and functionality.

And you can still take the Spot from dead to fully charge in about 3 hours. The three blue LEDs on the side of the unit illuminate to show you total charge capacity, from >10% (a single flashing LED) to 100% (all three LEDs lit up).

With a maximum power output of 400 lumens, and the ability to throw its beam up to 100 metres, it is well equipped for general outdoor use, from hiking and hillwalking to backpacking and camping.

Admittedly, there are better specialist head lamps for fast-paced runs, sustained night activities and technical pursuits that demand serious illumination, but overall, the Sport 400-R is a great jack of all trades.

The 1500mAh battery offers higher capacity than most similarly-specced rivals, which translates to longer burn times. Black Diamond quotes 4hrs at 400 lumens (with a 1hr reserve), 8hrs at 200 lumens (with a 30 min reserve) and 225hrs at the minimum setting of 6 lumens.

These figures are tested in accordance with the ANSI-FL1 lighting standard, which isn’t a perfect reflection of a head torch’s performance, but does at least promise some standardisation between products – and prevents manufacturers from wildly overstated claims in terms of battery life, brightness and beam distance. Our testing didn’t find anything to contradict BD’s figures.

In addition, it has an overall weight of just 73g, as well as a compact build, and a slim but durable headband that offers a comfortable, secure fit.

Earlier versions of the Spot had a thinner and more breathable headband, but it was prone to stretching, meaning it required regular readjustment. That’s not a problem with this version. It’s also more sustainably made, incorporating Repreve recycled textiles.

Although the integrated design puts all the weight of the battery pack and light unit at the forehead, on the head it feels well-balanced and not too front-heavy.

Price and competition

Here at Trail and LFTO, we’re big fans of Black Diamond’s Storm 500-R head torch, and there’s lots to like about the Spot 400-R too, which is basically its little brother: lighter and more compact but not quite as powerful or fully-featured.

Still, at 400 lumens it’s suitable for year-round hiking and hillwalking, as well as wild camping and backpacking. At £55, it’s around the same price as the popular Petzl Tikka. It’s not quite as bright (400 lumens vs 450 lumens) and lacks the Tikka’s hybrid power versatility but has more features, better water resistance and a higher capacity battery. It’s also a bit lighter.

For the same weight, you could also look at the Ledlenser HF4R Core, which is a bit brighter (up to 500 lumens in boost mode), with superior beam penetration and even higher water-resistance (IP68). It’s also fractionally cheaper. But it has much shorter burn times.

Alternatively, if you want a genuinely ultralight head torch, there are a few ~50g rivals out there, like the BioLite Range 300 and the Nitecore NU25 UL. The Nitecore in particular is one to consider, as it matches the Spot 400-R for power output whilst undercutting it on weight and price.

But again, it can’t compete on burn times due to a much lower battery capacity.

Verdict

A robust, feature-rich and reliable head torch that is a great choice for hiking and backpacking – and still a great buy despite newer competition.

For more lightweight options, check out our roundup of the best running head torches.

About the author

Matt Jones is a freelance journalist based in the heart of Snowdonia National Park, he’s a vastly experienced gear tester and self-confessed outdoor kit geek. Matt’s been one of our main gear testers for the last couple of years and is the first person we call with any complicated kit queries that need in-depth and forensic analysis.