Black Diamond  Cosmo 350-R Rechargeable Headlamp

The Black Diamond Cosmo 350-R Headlamp is one of several headlamps I've had over the years. Previous headlamps were all of the replaceable battery styles, and had predictably average battery lifetimes. The rechargeable LiOn battery in the Cosmo headlamp is far longer in all modes, and charges rapidly with a USB-C cable. At the lowest setting the lamp will function for 9 days, i.e., 9x24 hours. At this level of lighting one can easily read a book or have a useful night light in a hotel bathroom for the duration of a typical vacation. At full brightness one can easily see where they are hiking on dark forest trails at night, or even when riding a bike at moderate speed. The adjustable band is fairly comfortable, though when appropriately tight marks are made against one's forehead. There is a tilt adjustment available to direct the light as needed. I did not test the waterproof features, but the seals for the switches and USB connector appear to be adequate for shallow water immersion. The level of charge remaining is displayed by three tiny blue LEDs that illuminate when the light is turned off. I'd also recommend this for paddling excursions. The only negative issue encountered - and this will happen with any headlamp - is that insects are attracted to light and therefore your face.

I've had a couple Black Diamond headlamps (a very useful tool for backpacking, working on the car, in the yard, or having for an emergency). This is the most user friendly solid one I've had yet. Other versions had boost mode or more buttons but this combines the new convenience of recharge-ability with two simple buttons to accomplish usual features (red, white, multiple brightness levels). Pros - easily switch between red and white light, easily adjust brightness, easily see battery level, long battery life, bright enough for most tasks, can switch between red and white lights without having to turn it off, light and comfortable Cons - none that I could find for the value photos: brightest level, lowest level, red light, unpacking and charge level indicator

Headlamp I’ve used several different brands and models of headlamps over the years. I was provided this one to review. It arrived locked, but that was easy enough to disable following the directions provided. It had about 75% charge to begin with. I fully charged it and have been using it off and on for the past three weeks. I haven’t needed to re-charge it yet, so I’d judge the battery life to be pretty good. With a 3-year warranty you should be able to count on the product to last that long, but with a non-replaceable battery, it doesn’t make the best long term solution for me. I’m a BIFL kind of person and once I like something, I want to keep it for a long time and I’m willing to maintain things. If you like to update as new products are released, this would feels like a durable product that would last until you’re ready for the next new one. It’s a minimalist product with a flat profile all the way around. The buckles stay even as the strap sides adjust simultaneously. The strap feels abrasive on my forehead, but it would be easy enough to put something around the part of the strap touching there, or to use an entirely different strap. The headlamp has cutouts that allow changing straps or attach it to a chest strap on a backpack which I think is a cool feature. The provided cable is of average quality and short, 4” total length. Short works for me as it’s lightweight and easier to pack, although it is disappointing that the cable is USB-A to micro USB. At the least, the headlamp should have USB-C instead of the outdated micro USB. There’s no charging block, but that’s not uncommon. The box had conflicting water resistance ratings (IP67 on the box, IPX8 in the instructions), but I emailed Black Diamond customer service and they were quick to reply (IP67 is correct) and they let me know they’d forwarded the information to the design team to correct the discrepancy.

I really like black diamond headlamps, and was eager to get my hands on a rechargeable one. This is lighter, smaller, a little less bright, and has less fancy features than the Spot, but in my opinion the simplicity is better for a lot of applications. Most of the time when I use a headlamp I don't need a crazy number of lumens, or for the beam to throw 1000 yards - I use a headlamp for cooking in camp or setting up a tent after dark. The 350-R has more than enough light for that. I like that it's rechargeable - I can either recharge from a power bank or from my car while it's running. Would this be the headlamp I used if I was Yosemite Search & Rescue? Prolly not, but I'm also never gonna be Yosemite Search & Rescue. I'm keeping one of these in my nightstand and one in my truck center console emergency kit.

I purchased the red version of this earlier this year and really liked the product so I purchased a second for my partner. I took both camping this past weekend to Summer Lake to watch the eclipse with my toddler. While I was in the tent changing my toddler's shirt the first night, I set this on my Big Agnes King Solomon down sleeping bag for maybe 30 seconds until I started smelling a burning smell. I grabbed the headlamp and it had burned a hole in my sleeping bag because it had gotten so hot in that time. This is a fire hazard. I could have started a fire in my tent with a toddler because of this headlamp being defective. The other headlamp I purchased does not heat up in the same way. Check your headlamps before use to make sure they do not heat up as they could cause serious damage.

i have always been a little skeptical about electronics that have an internal battery. i am always afraid i will run out of power or that the battery will go bad. i took this headlamp on a short trip and was impressed. it is light weight and has a comfortable strap. the operation is not complicated unlike some headlamps i have used. simple on/off hold for brightness plus a separate button for red light. the light doesn't have an adjustable beam but gives a good general illumination. battery stayed charged for several days and could probably go a few more. overall very impressed and may replace my 20+ year old BD

I used this product camping and evening hiking so far. It is good to see more rechargable headlamps entering the market. I was impressed with the features of this headlamp which seem to be durable and quality. My headlamp comes with a red light separate from the main light. This lamp has a unique way of adjusting the brightness which is to hold down the button rather than click through them. Then to click briefly to turn it on and off. Best of all, memory brightness so you don't have to start from the beginning every time. I think this all means that the buttons will last longer. It did take me a few times practicing to use the buttons effectively, but now I like it a lot more. The brightness of the red light was just about right for reading or to move around at night without disturbing others nearby. I appreciate the clarity of the main light the most which seems to deliver to a higher level than I've seen in other products. This headlamp also tilts down nicely and can strap to your waist. My friends reported that this worked well and didn't blind them when I looked at them. I plan to take this backpacking on the JMT this summer. According to the manual, a medium setting will last 10 hours and low for 225 hours. This weighs 75g but I think I can cut back on half of that by using a shock cord instead of the bulky head strap.

I went too lightweight with my last Blackdiamond headlamp, wasn't bright enough for night hiking/backpacking and needed a replacement. I was absolutely blown away that this "new" product uses micro-USB instead of USB-C. I haven't bought or used a product without USB-C since 2017 and getting this would require that I carry two different cables when which is a non-starter for backpacking. Additionally, this is environmentally speaking a huge waste. Hopefully Blackdiamond will realize what decade we're in and resolve this major shortcoming. For now I'll go with the non-rechargeable version.

I was tired of using batteries that I had to dispose of and the rechargeables although they're a great thing they just didn't hold a charge very long. I had to carry a pocket full of those aaa's. I had bought my wife a black diamond rechargeable headlight and she was really enjoying it. I had an upcoming camping trip fishing / in the woods high altitude and I needed a Dependable light. I'm happy to report that I charged up my light went up to near 7,000 ft, the temperatures got down to 27° the light performed just fine.

I was not able to use this in the wilderness because it got wet on my way to a campsite and stopped working. The packaging states it is submersible, IPX7, so it can be submersed up to a meter, for 30 min. I had an unfortunate accident where my gear was floating in about 6 inches of water for 10 minutes. My headlamp stopped working after that, water got behind the lens, and it wouldn't hold a charge. Fully charged (3 battery LED's) before the accident - one battery LED after the accident. It would turn on, but only had about 30 min of "on-time" left. Had to cut a trip short because of this. If you plan on being in or around water with this headlamp, test it out before you get into the wilderness!