Black Diamond Cosmo Review

The Cosmo is a solid headlamp with good performance overall, and excellent flood lighting for close proximity use. At $30 list, it falls into a tough price range where a little more money gets you a much higher performance headlamp, like the Spot, and products like the Tikkina offer better overall performance for 33% lower price.

Trail Finding

A score of 4 for trail finding is disappointing for a $30 headlamp, and most similarly priced competitors offer significantly better performance.

In comparing the Cosmo (above left) and Black Diamond Spot (right), two products from the same manufacturer and priced just $10 apart, it is remarkable that they can vary so much. The Spot casts a much superior distance beam.

Close Proximity

The strongest performance from the Cosmo is when used around camp, or in the tent, for close proximity work. The flood beam is one of the very best of all headlamps we tested, wide, evenly lit, and dimmable from nice soft lighting for use in the tent, and brighter for use in the camp kitchen. It is worth noting that the Black Diamond Astro offers a flood beam that is nearly as good, at a price 33% lower.

Battery Life

Battery life is where the Cosmo edges slightly ahead of the Spot.

Weight

At 3.0 ounces or 86 grams, this is a compact but not ultralight headlamp. It is about the same weight as the Spot. For comparison, the featherweight champion Petzl e+LITE is less than a third the weight at 27 g.

Conclusion

This is a solid light but tough to justify buying. At $30 list it is wedged between competitors that either score much better for another $6-10 or offer the same or better performance for lower cost. The BD Spot, for example, performs significantly better for only $10 more. It has a nearly identical form factor and mass with a much better beam. On the low-end, the Petzl Tikkina offers better all-around performance at 33% lower cost.