Headlamp life

[Chunder fuzz]

I've got a couple of Black Diamond headlamps (Storm and Spot); had one for about 4 years and another for about 2 years, they don't seem to get as bright anymore with new batteries. I use them for hiking and winter running, used at ~3-4 times a week + occasional weekend use.

Is this normal for headlamps? They're fine for reading a book or having a loo break but just don't seem to throw the light they used to - don't seem bright enough to run with anymore.

[Orion]

I've got a couple of Black Diamond headlamps (Storm and Spot); had one for about 4 years and another for about 2 years, they don't seem to get as bright anymore with new batteries. I use them for hiking and winter running, used at ~3-4 times a week + occasional weekend use.

Is this normal for headlamps? They're fine for reading a book or having a loo break but just don't seem to throw the light they used to - don't seem bright enough to run with anymore.

Yes, it's the flip side to LEDs. With the incandescent bulbs of yesteryear's headlamps we all carried spare bulbs since they could just die suddenly. With the superbright LEDs we now use outright failure is quite unlikely but the LEDs get progressively dimmer over time. If you want to read about the physics here is an explanation. Or you can google "LED dimming" and find lots of stuff.

The most common cause of failure for high-brightness LEDs is dimming over an extended period to the point that the light is no longer sufficient for its intended purpose. The primary cause of this loss of output is a reduction in quantum efficiency as dislocations in the chip’s crystal structure increase adding to the number of sites where non-radiative recombination can occur.

By the way, I thought Aussies called them torches. Have you guys given that up?

[Chunder fuzz]

Cheers for that. Couldn't get the right google terms to find anything useful.

I've always used the term headlamp. If I hold it in my hand it's a torch though.