If you’re still going on hikes and backpacking trips with an old-fashioned flashlight, you’re behind the game. (Or, even worse, do you not carry one with you on day hikes, just in case?). You really need to jump into the headlamp game and grab the Black Diamond Cosmo. The newly-updated Cosmo is now brighter than before, boasting a solid 200 Lumens out of its one TriplePower LED and one DoublePower White LED. This gives it a solid, respectable range of about 70 meters. There’s a whole host of different options to cycle through, including red night vision, dimming, strobe modes, and you can access them all without turning on the white light.
In addition to the bright lights, this headlamp is rugged and built for adventure. The construction is rated to IPX8, which means that it is dustproof, shockproof, and best of all, waterproof down to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. Hopefully, that’s all it will ever be exposed to, but with you tackle the backcountry, you never really know. The light runs off three AAA batteries, which are small, easy to find and to pack spares in your bag. It weighs only 2.9 ounces – practically unnoticeable on your head or in your pack.
All that and the whole thing is dirt cheap, which is probably the best part about it: it’s a waterproof lamp brighter than many more expensive models, that costs practically nothing and is the size of a matchbox. There’s a reason people love Black Diamond headlamps, even though there are many more expensive models out there.
