BLACK DIAMOND Distance 1500 Headlamp | 1500 Lumens | Rechargeable Battery Pack | PowerTap Control | IP67 Waterproof Running, Mountain Biking, Adventure Racing Light

But spare batteries. If you use this as much as I do you’ll need them. I have three total. Always one on the charger and one in my pocket. This tool is highly functional, bright and durable. I Use it in harsh all weather industrial environments and backcountry hiking. 10/10

I’m approaching this review as an ultrarunner who primarily uses a headlamp for nighttime running, often for long stretches. As a general‑purpose headlamp for walking around camp, running errands in the dark, or occasional night hikes, the Sprinter 1500 is excellent. As a dedicated running light, especially compared to the Sprinter 500, it’s more complicated. First, the build quality feels premium, and I have no doubt these will hold up over time. The light output is undeniably impressive: it’s very bright, very wide, and powerful enough to illuminate well beyond what most runners actually need. However, that performance comes with a trade‑off—weight. The Sprinter 1500 is noticeably heavier than the Sprinter 500 I’ve been using for over eight years. While I understand the added brightness and larger battery, the practical benefit for running doesn’t fully offset the downside. One of the things I loved about the 500 was how well‑diffused the beam felt. The Sprinter 1500’s light is wide and bright, but I wish there were more diffusion. As you run, you can clearly see the beam bouncing up and down on the ground, which becomes distracting over longer efforts. For ultras, I care most about what’s happening several strides ahead, not lighting up the woods twenty yards away. Battery life has also been a mixed experience. On normal settings, it feels mediocre given the size and output. The low‑power mode technically reaches far, but it’s very narrowly focused. In an ultra race, low light mode should prioritize a wider, softer field right in front of you, not distance. I’d rather sacrifice reach for better short‑range visibility that’s easier on tired eyes. Fit is another area where the added weight shows up. The Sprinter 1500 takes more fine‑tuned adjustment to sit securely, and even then I found myself readjusting more frequently during longer runs. This never happened with the 500, which simply disappeared on my head once dialed in. The red blinking light on the back is appreciated (and something I loved on the 500 as well), and the removable battery is a nice feature, even though I haven’t personally needed to swap batteries mid‑run yet. Overall, the Sprinter 1500 feels like a powerful, well‑built headlamp that excels as a hybrid “everything” light. But as a runner—especially for ultras—I still prefer the Sprinter 500. It was lighter, more stable, better diffused, and more aligned with what I actually need during a long night on trail. Bottom line: The Sprinter 1500 is impressive and high‑quality, but for running‑specific use, bigger and brighter isn’t always better. Ultrarunners may find the added weight and beam characteristics outweigh the benefits.

I use this for nighttime snowshoeing. It is bright and throws a beam that is both wide and far. It doesn't seem to have fixed brightness settings so you press and hold a button to brighten/dim the beam kind of like you would use a slider to adjust the lights in say your kitchen etc. This light is overkill for people looking for a basic light like if they were jogging on the street but is definitely useful on the trail. I don't care for the blue or green light modes. They don't seem useful at all other than looking cool. Honestly I would prefer 3 brightness levels low medium or high and nothing in between for each light mode.. those being spot or flood. The instructions give you runtime amounts for each of the brightness levels but who the H knows what level they are at when you can dim the entire way from high to low. I can forgive that oversight however. Again this is a bit overkill for nighttime Street excursions but a necessity for nighttime wilderness excursions. to address what the other reviewer said about finicky buttons i have had no issues whatsoever so barring a defective unit the controls are just fine. on top there are two buttons... one turns it on and off (the button that is like a long rectangle on the right side of the top from the perspective of you wearing the light) while the light is ON pressing and holding this button brightens and dims the light in whichever mode you are in (spot, flood, RGB color) the second button which is a small circle on the top left side cycles through the modes - the above mentioned spot, flood, and RGB color. pressing AND holding this button cycles through the red, green, and blue colors when using the color mode. double pressing the on&off/dim button (long rectangular button) puts it into strobe mode. while in strobe mode pressing that small mode button on the top left cycles through flashing modes using the flood beam, spot beam or color (just like before pressing and holding it allows you to change colors so strobe in red blue or green. the power tap feature which accesses the ultra bright 1500 lumen beam is located on the right side (while you are wearing it) it is not a physical button instead like a touch screen type of thing so it detects your finger. you can either tap it or slide your finger down to engage it. while it is on tapping or sliding again turns it off (before the 10 seconds after which it automatically dims to save battery power) the RGB light doesn't have a 1500 lumen mode so tapping that wont do anything except going to max brightness if the color led was set to be dim and then back again. pressing and holding both buttons on the top simultaneously will engage the lockout feature so the light doesnt accidentally turn on. doing that again disengages the lockout. as for the button on the battery... one press shows you the battery charge level, pressing again while it is showing the charge level enables the rear red light (after turning on the red light you can cycle through the slow flash, fast flash, and static mode via single clicks HOWEVER you need to do this quickly after turning on this light otherwise it turns the light off.

My original review is below. I got a second light and I am not having as much trouble. The main switch still seems a little finicky but I really like the light. I use it working outside in the fall when it gets dark at 4:30pm. The strong light helps me a lot. I have a second battery I can change out to work longer. I increased my rating to 4 stars. I like the light a lot. I haven't tried it for long duration because the switch doesn't seem reliable. Maybe I'm not doing it right but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It's a new product and I think this is the first review. I am returning fort a new one and we will see what happens.

great and bright. only priblem is battrery getting very hot while charging