Cavechat.org

I don't recall that this has been mentioned on Cavechat before....

Black Diamond seems to have a new clone of the Princeton Tec Apex lamp. The main difference I see is that the Icon uses 3AA instead of the 4 used by the Apex.

I haven't had time to look at the lamp closely, so I can't say too much about it.
http://www.bdel.com/gear/icon.php

I did think it was a little strange that Black Diamond has an "Ion" model as well as an "Icon." Man, one little typo could cause a lot of confusion!

I think black Diamond is trying to copy Princeton Tec. By the looks of the BD it does not look as durable as the PT. I have had a BD Moonlight and it shoted out on me. I have THe PT Apex and i love it and had not probles with it.The orginal is better than the copy.

The main problem with the BD Icon is it uses a 3 watt Luxeon LED, and they emit lots of heat , and the Icon doesn't have an external heatsink. Therefore, it probably has some sort of regulation system to reduce the power to the LED when it starts to become hot, which means you won't get close to full light output on high power.

The PT Apex has a much better design IMHO - it has the same 3 watt LED but with an external heatsink, which means it should run much cooler and deliver more light.

Toshi

I have this light and until I read this post had not opened it. I have not used it caving as of yet. It will be with me on the next trip. In just checking it out I am very impressed with it. The single beam that the 3 watter throws is really impressive. The light of the 4 leds is nice and wide. I had to have it because it is Bright Green. I have lots of lights and I can be sure in saying this is becoming one of my favorites. I have almost every light that Black Diamond makes and have been very pleased with the constuction and durability. I have never been left in the dark by one. I give it 2 thumbs up!
ireedz

ireedz wrote:I have this light and until I read this post had not opened it. I have not used it caving as of yet. It will be with me on the next trip. In just checking it out I am very impressed with it. The single beam that the 3 watter throws is really impressive. The light of the 4 leds is nice and wide. I had to have it because it is Bright Green. I have lots of lights and I can be sure in saying this is becoming one of my favorites. I have almost every light that Black Diamond makes and have been very pleased with the constuction and durability. I have never been left in the dark by one. I give it 2 thumbs up!
ireedz

Yeah, I always give a piece of caving equipment two enthusiastic thumbs up before I take it caving

I don't have to be underground to determine if something is quality or junk. I have had enough lights to know what I like and I don't like. You seem a little grumpy.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone (like ireedz) about their experiences caving with the Black Diamond Icon. I have one that I'm trying out to write a review for the NSS News, but would like to hear of other's experiences.

I do agree that it appears to be less ruggedly built than the Apex. And its one-button system takes some getting used to and doesn't afford the redundancy and versatility offered by the Apex's two switches. But it is lighter, and about a third less expensive.

I'll see how it fares underground, though.

Dave

ireedz wrote:I don't have to be underground to determine if something is quality or junk. I have had enough lights to know what I like and I don't like.

Until equipment has been proven under "conditions," making predictions on its performance w/o experience is called "office talking" here at Petzl. Love to hear back after some wet/dry/mud/silt/bash cycles.

no gloves