To rock your world you might need to light it first. This excellent new model Cosmo headlamp from Black Diamond flew in over the transom a few days ago — it’s impressive.
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| The object at hand — or in this case, on the head. Louie reduces his carbon footprint by turning all the house lights off. Headlamps as a carbon offset? You bet. |
Available in November, this new version of the Cosmo model uses a single 1/2 watt LED for the spotlight mode (1st in the industry), instead of one watt’s worth of LED. Result is better battery life with a super-bright beam that’s just slightly weaker than the 1 watt version. How? A good reflector is key to getting light out of devices like this — I learned that from automotive lighting.
Additional moderated and less “spot” light is provided by a pair of smaller LEDs to the sides of the middle larger one. You change brightness settings with half-presses of the on/off button — eight settings in all including that wonderfully obnoxious but potentially useful flashing mode.
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| Cosmo in detail, showing the 1/2 watt LED flanked by two smaller ones. The new 1/2 watt version will still be available in several colors so you can stun onlookers with your style sense while you keep the room lights off. Remember, available in November. Thumbs up from the WildSnow.com crew. |
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.