FUNCTIONALITY
It’s not just the volume of functions that stands out, but how genuinely useful they are, once you know how to use them.
The modes include full strength in proximity (perfect for map reading) and distance, dimming, strobe, red night vision, and lock mode. Its brightness memory means that you can turn the light off at a chosen brightness without it reverting back to the default when you switch it back on, and PowerTap function means you can alternate between full strength and dimmed light by tapping the side of the torch, though it is very easy to do this by accident! The red light can be activated without having to cycle through the white light settings too. They’re small details, but in dodgy conditions or precarious spots, they make a big difference.
The one downside to all these functions is that it takes a little bit of learning how to operate them all. I strongly suggest sitting down for five minutes at home and getting the hang of it before you head for the hills!
POWER
I was skeptical of Black Diamond’s claims that this torch’s battery could hold up for 4 hours at maximum output with a 1 hour reserve for low intensity activities, but observing the battery meter after a good couple of hours of scrambling and rigging abseils in the dark, I’d say this is actually pretty accurate. Black Diamond uses ANSI FL-1 testing to measure this, which is the lighting industry’s standard battery life test for LED products, and the three hour flat-to-full charge time is reasonable.
The beam intensity and distance is impressive for a torch of this size and weight. Often with headtorches, weight and power are something of a trade-off, but the SPOT 400-R is an exception to that rule with a maximum distance of 100m at 400 Lumen output.