This headlamp is priced similarly to the Black Diamond Spot and $15 less than Editors' Choice winning Black Diamond ReVolt. With this price-point competition, Northbound Train really needs to step up their game. Performance across the board suffers next to these and other products we reviewed. We anticipate that this product is apt to be readily available on sale. In this case, as long as the price is competitive with our Best Buy winner, the Petzl Tikkina, we can recommend the Northbound Train as a household headlamp.
Northbound Train LED Review
Cons: No switch lock, short beam throw
Manufacturer: Northbound Train
Our Verdict
This headlamp is priced similarly to the Black Diamond Spot and $15 less than Editors' Choice winning Black Diamond ReVolt. With this price-point competition, Northbound Train really needs to step up their game. Performance across the board suffers next to these and other products we reviewed. We anticipate that this product is apt to be readily available on sale. In this case, as long as the price is competitive with our Best Buy winner, the Petzl Tikkina, we can recommend the Northbound Train as a household headlamp.
Compare to Similar Products
![]() This Product
Northbound Train LED | |||||
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Awards | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ||
Price | $45 List | $89.00 at Amazon | $50 List | $33.95 at Amazon Compare at 2 sellers | $28.74 at Amazon |
Overall Score ![]() |
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Star Rating | |||||
Pros | Simple design and usage | Bright wide beam, good battery life, durable design, rechargeable | Excellent trail finding and close proximity beam, waterproof, above average battery life | Excellent spot light capability, wide evenly lit flood beam, above average in most ways | Excellent brightness and beam control, often available online at discount |
Cons | No switch lock, short beam throw | Expensive, 18650 Li-ion battery is not included, heavier than average | More expensive, heavier than average, claimed battery life is very misleading | Below average battery life, claimed battery life is wildly misleading, single button hard to use, lame waterproofing | Average battery life, heavier and bulkier than most |
Bottom Line | Costing about the same as better performing headlamps, we recommend the Northbound Train LED for use around the house rather than on your adventures | A stunningly bright light that offers impressive battery life. If you can afford it, it won't disappoint | You can't go wrong with the Storm, high performance, quality optics, and durable design | Offering excellent optics, a bright wide beam, and strong performance for the price, the Spot is one of our favorites | We used to love the Coast, but competing lights have stepped up, while the HL7 is unchanged |
Rating Categories | Northbound Train LED | Zebralight H600w Mk IV | Black Diamond Storm | Black Diamond Spot | Coast HL7 |
Trail Finding (35%) | |||||
Close Proximity (20%) | |||||
Battery Life (15%) | |||||
Weight (15%) | |||||
Ease Of Use (15%) | |||||
Specs | Northbound Train LED | Zebralight H600w... | Black Diamond Storm | Black Diamond Spot | Coast HL7 |
Measured Beam Distance | 34 m | 121 m | 91 m | 94 m | 112 m |
Claimed Distance | 30 m | Not specified | 85 m | 80 m | 119 m |
Measured High Mode Run-time (ANSI) | 13.8 hrs | 3.1 hrs | 5 hrs | 2.9 hrs | 3.1 hrs |
Claimed High Mode Run-time | 2.9 hrs | 40 hrs | 30 hrs | 1.5 hrs | |
Measured Low Mode Run-time | 107 hrs | 232 hrs | 42 hrs | 9.7 hrs | 25 hrs |
Claimed Low Mode Run-time | 203 hrs | 120 hrs | 175 hrs | 70 hrs | |
Measured Weight | 3.1 oz, 87 g | 4.5 oz, 127 g | 4 oz, 112 g | 3.1 oz, 89 g | 4.5 oz, 127 g |
Battery Type | 3 AAA | 18650 rechargeable Li-ion | 4 AAA | 3 AAA | 3 AAA |
Water Resistance | IPX4 splash proof | IPX8 waterproof to 2 meters, 30 minutes | IP67 waterproof to one meter and dustproof | Splash proof (dubious IPX8 claim) | water resistant |
Manuf Claimed Lumens | 90 lumens | 1400 lumens | 350 lumens | 300 lumens | 285 lumens |
Beam Type | flood/spot | flood | flood/spot | flood/spot | flood/spot |
Red Light | yes | no | yes, red/green/blue night-vision modes | yes | no |
On Switch Lock | no | yes (tailcap lockout) | yes | yes | no |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Northbound Train LED light is a product that appears to be made and packaged in the same facility or facilities as some of the best performing products in our test. It is also priced like a better performing product. However, our experience with the Northbound Train indicated substandard performance.
Performance Comparison
Trail Finding
As you can see in the beam comparison below the Northbound Train light isn't even in the same league as the Editors' Choice winning Coast HL7. For fewer dollars on the Coast, you get what looks and feels like truly high-end optics and beam throw. We are somewhat perplexed by the Northbound's performance and price, to be honest.
Close Proximity
With a relatively clean lens arrangement and wide spreading beam, the close proximity lighting of the Northbound Train LED is its most competitive attribute. With a score of seven out of ten, the LED light sits solidly average among our tested products. As compared, however, to the beam of something like the Nitecore HC50, the beam is clearly rough and spotty.
Battery Life
Battery life on the Northbound LED as deduced from just our coffin test wasn't actually all that poor. Burning 4.2 hours on high mode is a respectable score, falls just above the middle of our test roster, and is pretty close to the similarly priced but otherwise much higher scoring Black Diamond Spot. As compared, however, to our Editors' Choice Black Diamond ReVolt, the Northbound's light-coffin score is clearly less. Additionally, overall battery life in actual usage is dependent on other variables. Lights with the brightest bulbs can be used in much lower modes, while our testing was only in high beam mode. We bumped the Northbound's battery life score down because of its lesser beam. You'll use the high-beam mode a greater percentage of the time, burning the batteries faster. Also, we bumped the score down again because the Northbound lacks a locking switch.
Brightness
Throwing a beam just 27 meters puts the Northbound only one spot away from the bottom of our test roster. Only the Black Diamond Gizmo casts light less far. Even the diminutive Top Pick winner Petzl e+LITE pushes usable light 30m. In a refreshing move, Northbound does indeed report their brightness pretty accurately. They claim the LED light shines 30m.
Weight
The LED light from Northbound Train weighs 94 grams. In that category, it sits solidly in the middle of our test. The much higher scoring Black Diamond Cosmo is the same weight.
Ease of Use
The switch on this headlamp is easy to use and clicks through just a couple brightness modes. We had no complaints about the usability of the Northbound lamp.
Best Applications
This is only an acceptable light for casual camping or for keeping in your car. Any one of our Best Buy lights (this year's winner, the Petzl Tikkina, or the ultra inexpensive Energizer 3 LED) would be a better choice, however, in this application.
Value
Given the low performance and narrow distribution of the Northbound light, one is likely to find it on sale. If the sale price approaches or drops below that of the aforementioned best buy lights, it could be considered as a value option.
Conclusion
While we generally choose lights to test that offer the promise of above average performance, the Northbound is an outlier. It should be telling that we are unlikely to choose to include this particular product, unless it is changed in design, in future OutdoorGearLab reviews.
— RJ Spurrier