Black Diamond Equipment recently announced new testing protocols for its lighting category. In collaboration with other headlamp manufacturers and retailers, the working committee established an additional metric for “end of battery life.” This metric, called “Reserve,” provides an opportunity to re-define the threshold cutoff and coincides with the Moonlight Standard from 2002, said the company.
“Black Diamond addressed current industry-wide communications for the lighting market,” states Joe Skrivan, technical cirector for Black Diamond Equipment’s lighting category. “Specifically, we added to our ‘Moonlight Standard,’ used as a reference for testing lighting by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). We updated it to include a supplemental battery life testing protocol.”
Under the guidance of the Portable Lights American Trade Organization (PLATO), the FL-1 Standard uses a cutoff of 10% of original output rather than a “threshold” or “minimum light output.” The Reserve will be the battery runtime from the end of the FL-1 cutoff to an output level of 0.25 lux at 4 meters. As a result, the 4-meter cutoff will be much more useful to the end consumer engaged in activities that require more light output. The Reserve is the additional time after the FL-1 cutoff is reached. This new testing protocol is in addition to the testing procedures detailed in the ANSI/PLATO FL 1-2016 Standard.
“There is a great deal of misinformation in the portable lighting industry around performance metrics,” states Andy Skoogman, executive director of PLATO. “Consumers can be confident that Black Diamond’s product claims are presented clearly with technical expertise and organizational integrity.”
To help consumers make more informed buying decisions, Black Diamond’s website, instruction manuals, packaging and relevant marketing materials now include both the FL-1 runtime and Reserve time.
