Black Diamond Distance LT1100 headtorch | Tested and reviewed

Black Diamond is a technical mountain brand hailing from the US, originally founded as Chouinard Equipment by Yvon Chouinard, founder of fellow US gear behemoth Patagonia. Here at Trail magazine and LFTO, we’re big fans of their gloves – particularly the ‘best in test’-winning Glissade – as well as their packs, apparel and winter hardware, such as ice axes and crampons.

The brand’s lanterns and head torches are also highly regarded. Last year, Black Diamond’s excellent Storm 500-R headlamp scooped a coveted Trail ‘Gear of the Year’ award. This year, they’re back with a brand-new offering in the Distance LT1100, which promises even better performance, new tech and redesigned beam optics. We got our hands on it and headed for the mountains of Snowdonia, where we hiked out after dusk and delved into various dark, disused slate mines and quarries to see just what this headlamp has to offer…

Design and features

The new Distance LT1100 takes its place as one of the brightest and best-equipped headlamps in the Black Diamond range of essential hiking gear. It has a unique design compared to the other lamps the brand offers, with a removable, pivoting light unit attached to a 2200mAh lithium-ion battery. In turn, this fits to a removable, low-profile and fully adjustable elasticated headband.

This design puts all the weight and bulk at the front of the unit, though fortunately it is relatively compact and lightweight overall, weighing in at 108g. The fact that the battery sits close to the head and remains stationary even when you adjust the light unit also ensures minimal bounce and movement when moving quickly in the mountains.

Operation is fairly intuitive, though the brand has also produced a handy instructional video to help you get the most from the headtorch. You simply hit the big main button to switch on the two proximity LEDs, giving a 300-lumen output that is ideal for illuminating general camp tasks. From here, pressing the smaller ‘mode’ button cycles through the brighter spot beam (600 lumens max), then red-light mode (great for preserving night vision), and finally back to the initial setting.

Holding the mode button in red light mode also switches the LED to green or blue light respectively. Green light has less of an impact on your night vision than white light and can also be useful for spotting wildlife. Meanwhile, blue light can make maps easier to read in low light (and is the only coloured light that will cut through fog). They also make your tent look cool in Instagram photos…

Helpfully, the lamp is equipped with a dimming function on all light modes, which can be activated by holding the big main button. As with most technical headtorches, the Distance LT1100 has a handy button lock function too. Press and hold both buttons on top of the unit for 3 seconds to lock and unlock the lamp. This guards against accidental operation if it gets bumped around in your pack.

There’s also a battery life indicator positioned on the side of the pivoting light unit, with 3 blue LEDs that show remaining charge. The headlamp charges via a USB-C port located on the underside of the light unit, and a charging cable is supplied with the product.

However, by far the niftiest feature is Black Diamond’s ‘Powertap’ tech. We first came across this when we tested the brand’s Storm 500-R headtorch last year. Basically, it’s a boost function that can be activated by simply pressing the touch-sensitive side of the unit. This instantly switches the light output to its 1100-lumen maximum, regardless of what setting you’re on. After 10 seconds, the lamp returns to its previous setting to conserve battery life.

Performance and comfort

The Distance LT100 is fitted with a soft and comfortable headband, with suspended fabric at the rear of the unit to ensure that no plastic parts touch your forehead when you’re wearing it. This stops it from feeling sticky or sweaty, even when worn for hours on end. It’s also pretty stable, despite lacking an overhead strap.

The pivoting light adjusts smoothly through 45° and stays put wherever you position it. It’s very bright at full power (600 lumens) and has a piercing 1100-lumen boost function for when you need to shed maximum light on what’s ahead of you. In boost mode, the Distance LT1100 throws its beam up to 125 metres too, which is more than enough for most hillwalking or mountaineering scenarios. As an added plus, it’s easy to activate quickly, thanks to that clever Powertap function. We really came to appreciate this convenience, especially when you’re hiking and want to quickly see what’s down the trail.

Burn times are good thanks to a high capacity 2200mAh battery. Modern USB-C charging also ensures quicker charge times than headtorches equipped with older micro-USB technology (including Black Diamond’s own Storm 500-R).

The removable light unit means you can also swap out the battery unit for a fully charged spare. Obviously, one comes with the unit, but if you wanted a second as a back-up, they are also available to buy separately (£30). This adds almost as much versatility as hybrid rivals that will work off either a rechargeable li-ion battery pack or alkaline AAAs. The only downside is that because the USB-C charging port is located on the light unit, not the battery pack, the battery needs to be connected to the light unit in order to charge it.

One key design oversight for us is that the USB-C charging port on the underside of the light isn’t protected by a cover. The Distance LT1100 actually has an impressive IP67 ingress protection rating, meaning it is dustproof and water-resistant (tested to withstand total submersion in 1 metre of water for 30 minutes). But the exposed port does seem vulnerable to getting clogged with mud, fluff, dust or dirt – something to watch out for.

Another potential weak point we noted with this lamp are the plastic brackets that attach the headband to the battery pack. These are fairly flimsy, so if you are swapping battery packs over, be extremely careful when re-attaching the headband.

Price and competition

With an RRP of £100, this is hardly a budget headtorch, but you do get a lot for your money, both in terms of performance and functionality. With dimmable flood, spot and RGB settings as well as that boost function, it’s supremely well equipped for hiking, hillwalking, mountaineering and climbing. It is also light enough and stable enough to use for trail running if necessary, if a little bulky compared to dedicated running headlamps.

Having said that, the 1100-lumen boost and 600-lumen max power output is probably overkill for general hillwalking and wild camping use, even in winter. You could certainly save some cash by opting for something a bit more basic, like the latest version of the Petzl Tikka CORE, the Silva Explore 4RC or the great value Alpkit Qark. All of those are solid headtorches that still do a decent job for most users. Alternatively, there’s the versatile BioLite HeadLamp 425, our overall best in test winner for 2024.

In terms of direct competition at this price point, our top rival to consider would be the Nitecore HC65UHE. Like the Distance LT1100, this is a high-performance headtorch with a great waterproof rating. But at 2000 lumens, the Nitecore is even more powerful than the Black Diamond model, as well as being more robust. For demanding users, it might be the better choice. On the other hand, it’s also a fair bit heavier and bulkier.

If maximum stability and comfort for fast-paced activity is what you need, then perhaps consider the Petzl Swift RL, which won a Trail ‘Gear of the Year’ award in 2022 and 2024. It matches or betters the Distance LT1100 for price, power, weight, performance and functionality, but loses out when it comes to waterproof ratings.

A powerful, multi-functional headtorch with some unique and genuinely useful features, but a couple of key design oversights that are potential drawbacks.

About the author

Matt Jones is a freelance journalist based in the heart of Snowdonia National Park, he’s a vastly experienced gear tester and self-confessed outdoor kit geek. Matt’s been one of our main gear testers for the last couple of years and is the first person we call with any complicated kit queries that need in-depth and forensic analysis.

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