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So whats the best deal on a helmet light for around £50 at the moment?
No preference for an all in one unit or separate lamp/battery.
Cheers
Rio
I've just bought a supposedly 1800 lumens (but probably more like 1000) torch from eBay for £7.50. Add decent batteries, charger and helmet mount for circa £20 and the job's a goodun. I bought another one as a spare. Happy so far. Much broader and more consistent beam than the P7 torch it replaced.
I just bought one of these from ebay for just over a fiver:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160897374147?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
No flashing mode, but focus is good and fits pretty much perfectly in to an endura joystick helmet mount.
Tried it for the first time last night on pretty dark park paths - worked great, but not sure yet what the battery life is likely to be. Will probably try rechargeables in it too once the current batteries die.
Nick
Purchased a Cand B Seen light for about £40 for occasional night rides can't fault it
[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-in-1-CREE-XML-XM-L-T6-LED-Bike-Bicycle-Light-HeadLight-HeadLamp-1200LM-9W-/170876182742?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item27c903a0d6 ]this for £17[/url]
cut the elastic strap off the head mount, stick a velcro strap through it and it mounts to a helmet perfectly, stick the battery in the camelbak. A bit "spotty" compared to P7 lights but not an issue on a helmet mount where you don't need so much spread.
This XML torch:
I have two of these, which are externally identical but actually different in a few minor ways. One I bought about a year ago and is branded Trustfire; it has an orange peel reflector and gives a lovely spread of light. The other I bought a couple of weeks ago and is branded Skyray; it came with two batteries and a charger for £11. It has a plain reflector and is more spotty with a surrounding halo. Not quite such a nice beam but has a bit more reach.
Price seems to have gone up a bit on Ebay since I bought.
Recently bought a U2 XML for £7.50 via Light malls.Cracking little light, noticeaBly better than my old P7.
I'd not choose the cheap XML bike lights, they're bright but the beam pattern's just too tight for my taste, I don't like chasing dots. Wide beam lenses are available but just make the beam pattern weird and distracting. Much prefer the old P7 bastids, they're nothing like as bright but the beam pattern is pretty good, much more usable.
There's a triple XML light on ebay that can be had for about £35. Mine is quite ropey! Weak battery, cheap charger has some swarf inside it when I opened it up. But it's a lot of light for not much money. I don't think I can totally recommend it tbh but it's an interesting option.
My latest Cree purchase is one of these and it's kickin'.....
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.... it's a zoomable flood with a nice, even spread and no rings, dots or fall off of light, etc and came with two rechargeables and a charger.
It only took a week to arrive and I'd post up the ebay link but it seems to have gone up from £11 to £31 😯 Maybe a temporary Xmas price hike. However, there's proably another Chinese ebay seller knocking them out at a decent price.
Here's the [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-XM-L-T6-1300Lm-LED-Zoomable-Zoom-Torch-Flashlight-2-x-18650-charger-/170844183772?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:3160 ]link[/url] anyway 'cos it's got the description and other useful information on it.
Cheers slugwash, I'll check it out and keep an eye on price