Black Diamond's 50-metre LED Headtorch

LEDs have always been great for close-quarter work with long battery life, but up till now the bright white bulbs haven't really cut it for longer range stuff like navigation or mountain route finding.

That could be about to change though with Black Diamond's launch of a radical new head torch which incorporates a central, high-powered, new-style LED to give a claimed 40-metre light beam. The increased range is down to a combination of the new LED and a housing incorporating a lens to give a concentrated beam.

The new Zenix - above - also incorporates twin standard LEDs for close-up use, but the big plus over existing LED / halogen hybrids is that the long-distance beam still gives a claimed battery life of 20 hours from the three AAA cells. Halogen bulbs munch batteries in a matter of hours, which should give the Zenix a serious edge. You still get around 200 hours from the standard LEDs as well, but you should be able to tackle alpine starts in full beam mode without decimating your batteries.

Price is an extremely reasonable £40 and the Zenix should be in the shops come January 2004.

Other changes...

Alongside the Zenix, BD has uprated its entire headlamp range. Elastic headbands have been redesigned for improved comfort, there are smaller, neater adjustement fittings across the range, prismatic coated reflectors eliminate rings and dark spots in beams and headlamps are tested to IPX waterproof standards for robustness in damp places.

More Black Diamond information - web site.