Black Diamond
Black Diamond Astro 300-R (300 lumens)
- Brightness: 5/10 How much light it gives at full power, for finding your way in the dark.
- Runtime: 10/10 How long one charge or set of batteries lasts at a level you can walk and cook by.
- Weight: 5/10 How much it adds to your pack and your head.
Lowest price we found
£29.99 at Ultralight Outdoor Gear
Go to Ultralight Outdoor Gear Compare 3 shopsA simple, light rechargeable lamp for camp, huts and walking home in the dark
- Brightness
- 300 lumens (FL1)
- Runtime
- 12 h at 150 lumens
- Weight
- 100 g
- Power
- Rechargeable
- Water rating
- IPX4
Where to buy
Ultralight Outdoor Gear £29.99 In stock. Free delivery. The shop shows its own RRP of £34.99; Black Diamond's UK store lists it at £35.
View at shop: Ultralight Outdoor GearBlack Diamond (UK store) £35 In stock. Delivery £10. Black Diamond's own UK store, which is also its UK list price. Graphite and Azul in stock (Octane, Alloy and Lilac sold out). Free delivery over £150, £10 under £150.
View at shop: Black Diamond (UK store)Needle Sports £40 In stock. Delivery £3.95. Free UK delivery over £50, £3.95 under that (Needle Sports' delivery page); UK delivery only.
View at shop: Needle SportsPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Brightness
From maker's figures 5/10How much light it gives at full power, for finding your way in the dark. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
300 lumens at full power, from the ANSI FL-1 table in Black Diamond's instruction sheet: the 300–499 band.
Runtime
From maker's figures 10/10How long one charge or set of batteries lasts at a level you can walk and cook by. 10: The best you can buy for this.
Black Diamond's instruction sheet (linked from its product page) gives 12 hours on Medium (150 lumens) on the built-in 1500 mAh battery, the longest it gives for a mode of 80 lumens or more: the 10 h+ band. High (300 lumens) lasts 6 hours. The product pages show only 140 hours, which is the 6-lumen Low mode.
Weight
From maker's figures 5/10How much it adds to your pack and your head. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
Black Diamond's own pages (US and EU) list 100 g, the 90–109 g band, while its instruction sheet gives 75 g (the 50–89 g band; Needle Sports and Ultralight Outdoor Gear also print 75 g). The two Black Diamond figures disagree across a band, so we band the lower-scoring one, 100 g. The lamp has a built-in battery, so both are as sold.
What reviewers say (out of 10)
Ratings marked * are from reviews and are not part of the trip score. They are reviewers' scores, not our own measurements. How we score
Comfort*
Reviewers' average 8/10How comfy and steady it sits on your head.
4 reviews on comfort, e.g. "The easily adjustable, low-profile headband, made from recycled materials, remains comfortable on your head for hours and does not bounce when you’re moving quickly.".
Ease of use*
Reviewers' average 8/10How easy the buttons, modes and lock are, with gloves too.
4 reviews on ease of use, e.g. "It is, however, noticeably lighter; and the simpler controls make it easier to use.".
In short
Good for
- A simple, light rechargeable lamp for camp, huts and walking home in the dark
- Three-season backpacking where the 150-lumen mode for 12 hours is enough
- A backup lamp in the lid of the pack
Strengths
- 12 hours at 150 lumens, and 140 hours on the 6-lumen low setting (Black Diamond's figures)
- Brightness memory and a digital lock
- Recycled elastic headband that testers found comfortable
- 3-year Black Diamond warranty
Weaknesses
- No red light and no spot beam, so it is a poor choice for route-finding or fast night travel
- The 1500 mAh battery is built in and charges over micro-USB, not USB-C
- IPX4: it handles rain, not heavy wet use or immersion
- Black Diamond's product pages give 100 g while its instruction sheet and UK shops give 75 g
- Some buyers dislike the strobe that flashes when the lock is set
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (6)
- Black Diamond: Astro 300-R Headlamp product page (specifications; US and EU sites)
- Black Diamond: Astro 300-R instruction sheet (PDF linked from the product page, part M14513_C: modes, burn times, weight)
- The Great Outdoors: Black Diamond Astro 300-R review (Alex Roddie)
- The Big Outside: Review of the Black Diamond Astro 300 and Astro 300-R headlamps (Michael Lanza)
- Black Diamond customer reviews: Astro 300-R (57 reviews, 4.5 out of 5, 54 verified buyers, on the maker's own US store)
- REI Co-op Expert Advice: The 8 Best Headlamps of 2025, Tested (Black Diamond Astro 300-R named Best Budget Headlamp and Editors' Choice, score 95; REI sells the lamp, so this is retailer-run editorial)