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After a self contained 1000-1500 lumen light to go on a helmet , needs to have a good helmet mounting system eg go pro mount or similar. Sub 100 pounds.
Over budget, but good. Four4th Scorch.
Looks good but yes over budget also would be nice if you got both mounts for that price , like the replaceable battery idea too
2nd the four4th, mine arrived a few weeks ago and it’s an incredible bit of kit.
I couldn’t recommend it more highly
I have started using my Fenix on my helmet (This one). It is a fantastic quality headlight anyway, but I found that if you slip the head strap off (simple to do in a coupe of seconds) you can thread a Polaris velcro strap onto the headset part and mount it on a helmet via a couple of vents. It sits there absolutely solid, is central and much more low profile than most helmet lights. I carry a spare battery in my pack but haven't needed to change it on 3 hour rides, provided you only use it on full power for the downs. I can get a pic of it on my helmet if you're interested
I replaced my diablo with a four4ths scorch. It's worth the little bit of over budget as it's a better light than the diablo (and cheaper to boot).
Moon will do that, with helmet mount.
I’ve got a Diablo to sell. Pm me if interested.
@Burchy1 it's more powerful (even than the latest diablo). Has longer run time and just a nicely made. Lower profile (more like joystick size) and sits lower on helmet. You can swap the batteries for ones with more or less capacity but most importantly allowing for long rides. Can be us as a running torch (with the harness which is admittedly extra). The battery attachment also means the charge port is protected from the elements with no silly runner cover. It also doesn't have pointless features like TAP which sounds good but in reality is unusable when helmet mounted. And to top it off its considerably cheaper.
It's not perfect, the touch screen switch doesn't work with all my gloves however with the longer runtime it just stays on high anyway.
180 quid with the extra battery, looks good though to be fair, I'd like to try one, I like the idea of full power for 3 hours (from a confirmed exposure fan 🤫😉)
Think I may punt my mk7 Diablo and give it a go.
Would one of you with a Scorch be able to weigh it please as they don't state the weight on their website for some reason, thanks
116g by our kitchen scales not including the helemt mount as I cant be bothered to remove that from my helmet. Mount is not heavy though.
Think I may punt my mk7 Diablo and give it a go.
I sold my Mk9 diablo on eBay for only £20 less than the scorch cost me (after eBay/PP fees)!
I caught up a guy road riding with a Four4ths Scorpion earlier in the year - one of the ones with a green LED. I could literally see it miles away. Had to ask him what the hell it was. Brightest/best visible rear light I've ever seen.
I've got a scorch. It's more floody than a joystick but really good. The only annoyances for me are that it fits at the front of the helmet so can try to push the front of your helmet down a bit. Second is the touch activation is not the greatest if you're riding with gloves, which you usually do at night in the winter. But I see why they've had to do that due to the changeable battery.
Oh final moan is that it uses a proprietary charger.
Sounds like I'm moaning a lot but I do really like it. Also got the head band so I can use it for running.
@jeffl I've been thinking of getting the running band and using it to mount the battery to the back of my helmet (was actually going to use an old exposure mount for the battery but need the linking cable). With the particular helmet I have that would mean the light was hidden entirely in the visor and the battery on the back would be balancing the helmet.
The new version of the Moon Vortex Pro would do what you want and be well under your max budget. 1300 lumens and comes with bar and helmet mounts. Looking at my slightly older (900 lumen) one it looks like the back of the light can be easily undone so I’d assume you can get spare batteries.
Mine are secure in the helmet (I use their gopro adapter) and seem to last ages. You can see the spot through the light on my Maxx D just about - so with 1300 lumens I reckon it would be awesome.
Edit - looks like Merlin have it in the sale for £54.
Scorch and spare batteries out of stock for another 4 weeks yet, just had an email back from them.
@jeffl, is the only way to operate it by touch function?.
@Nobeerinthefridge - Yes, press and hold to turn on. Tap to change light output. Press and hold to turn off. If you're only going out for an hour or two then it's fine to just run it on full power all the time. But if you want to get more life out of it by changing power it's a bit annoying. Also I tend to turn mine off for any road sections as it massively antisocial for road use.
Does the tap function without work okay on the bars?
I love my exposure lights, but extra batteries make this quite appealing.
Sorry by tap I mean tap/touch the face of the light.
How about something that fulfills the requirements but takes an 18650 battery?
I have a Diablo 1300 that i haven't used for ages I am going to sell. Its 1300 lumens might need a service form Exposure costs £11 last time and would need a helmet mount. £50 plus postage? Comes with charger obviously.
Just another note on the scorch, I was out on Thursday for 2.5 hours with it on full and it just works.
As jeffl said I turn it off on the road because is stupidly bright ( 15 mins of my winter bimble )
It’s a very impressive bit of kit and as I’ve said previously it outshines my trusty Troute Lumen Liberator
If I was in the market to replace that ( which I hope never to have to, by the way a nod to Mark at mtb batteries for turning around replacement battery) I will be going to another four4th product
Do you use it on the bars or lid Monty? I love the joyrider with its rear LED plug in on my helmet, but that runtime on full is the business.
How about something that fulfills the requirements but takes an 18650 battery?
I’d go for that, but which? Surely there are lots of Cree torches around 2k lumens that would be up to it? Just buy good battery/ies and charger?
I have the scorch on the lid and the Troute light on the bars.
To be fair I am over lit but there is a couple of iffy bits where the lid light comes into it’s own.
The build quality of the scorch is also top notch,
Cheers Monty.
Gonna order one with a spare battery when they're back in stock next month.
Nay worries, I’m also going to get a spare battery and a bar mount for the road bike.
Happy trails
You too bud.
Ive still not narrowed anything down , anyone used the Halfords 1000 lumens on the lid? Wondering how heavy it is as the 1600 is too heavy.
Moon Vortex Pro - 1300 lumens - easily helmet mountable either with the supplied mount or an optional go pro mount if you have a gopro base already stuck on your helmet (or buy one from eBay for a few quid).
My 900 lumen older one is pretty good really - I run it on the 700 lumen setting in combo with the maxx D on the bars.
I have considered a moon , I was worried about the beam pattern being more focused. Have you found that?
I have one of these attached to my helmet and plug my Diablo into it for extended battery life.
https://www.anker.com/products/variant/powercore--mini-3350/A1104011
Still loving the Evolva/Nitenumen X8.
Tripod thread on the bottom so a GoPro mount fits and is far more secure. Weight barely noticeable on a Bell Super 2R. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071DX232Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabt1_UiwWFb48RJ5EB
Did get one of the lightmalls "2000lm" self-contained units someone on here suggested but it was shite in comparison.
https://www.lightmalls.com/cycling-light-bike-front-headlight-2x-cree-xpg-led-bicycle-light-built-in-18650-battery-usb-rechargable-waterproof
@Jimmy748 how long does that keep the diablo going? May try that with my joystick.
Would this power a Diablo? If so would it do a full charge? Anker PowerCore 5000 Portable Charger, Ultra-Compact Power Bank
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-Compact-Fast-Charging-Technology/dp/B01CU1EC6Y/ref=pd_lpo_107_t_0/257-5945486-6587245?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01CU1EC6Y&pd_rd_r=0197db0c-dd90-4fb3-a568-14a4710c5c83&pd_rd_w=Fjo23&pd_rd_wg=68YeJ&pf_rd_p=7b8e3b03-1439-4489-abd4-4a138cf4eca6&pf_rd_r=MF42RNTE4ZSZ6ANVAW0H&psc=1&refRID=MF42RNTE4ZSZ6ANVAW0H
I run my MK10 in Program mode 1 so normal 1/3/5 hours, rides are normally around 3 hours out the door and with the power bank connected I’ve got around 50% left in the Diablo, I’d say I have it on medium 50% of the time and then high and low about 25% each.
You need to connect the power bank while there is still at least 10-15% charge in the light, if it goes flat it can’t charge and run at the same time, but it should work with any Diablo/Joystick.
I'll give it a bash, ta.
I had my Garmin plugged into one doing a 28hr ride, was still at 100% at the end!.
@zippykona, yes any power bank will work, a Diablo is 3,500 mA capacity so that should give it an extra 1.4 times capacity.
Does that not negate the point of a diablo?
The point of my Diablo is to light the trail ahead of me without running out of power, so no it doesn’t, I could run it on lower power but that would negate the point of the Diablo for me.
Aye, agreed. Pisses me off having to manage the power on it, to see you through the full ride.
Replaceable batteries would be great, would sort that issue, that's why I'll give the scorch a go.
My point about the point of a Diablo was that it's a self-contained unit. If you're going to have a separate battery attached by a cable for whatever reason would or not be better to have an all-in-two light instead?
Jimmy 748 you got me thinking.
We sell these in the shop 5400 capacity and it does indeed power a Diablo. Sorted, thank you!
@teethgrinder I know what you're saying, but I'd prefer a replaceable battery.
Riding with no pack, a separate battery is a no.
@teethgrinder a separate battery pack is different to a separate booster pack, this way I can use the Diablo on its own but I like the back up when riding solo or further afield.
And the light is my camp torch, battery pack will charge my phone. Dedicated bike light with battery pack is pretty much only that.
I have considered a moon , I was worried about the beam pattern being more focused. Have you found that?
The Vortex Pro is fairly focused yes - it’s ideal for a helmet light with a floody light on the bars.
Bit of a thread resurrection. For a while now I've been wondering if my Scorch light will fit an Exposure helmet mount. Thanks to a PSA on here I bought a cheap (all things being relative) Exposure helmet mount from Evans. It arrived yesterday and the Scorch seems to fit it ok.
Haven't had a chance to actually take it out for a spin yet but so far it's looking good.
Jeffl - do you prefer the Exposure mount to the Scorch one? Have got a joystick (which I'm selling because I've bought a Scorch) but I never thought of swapping the mount
@stevemorg2 - The answer is I don't know yet, but I think I probably will. Reason being that he Scorch one had a lot of the weight on the front of the helmet as I had to mount it quite far forward to get the beam at the correct height. I know the weight of the battery is towards the rear of the fixing point but still wasn't great.
With the exposure mount it can be placed more towards the top of the helmet, so the weight is more central (front to rear). I think the only concern is that it would sit fairly high up. Oh and the light doesn't have a lanyard so could ping off if I give it enough of a clout.
I'll update the thread when I've had a chance to ride with it.
Cheers - my only slight issue with the Scorch is that the battery means I can't always tip the light as far back as I'd like so the exposure mount may be a solution
Yes the scorch does fit the exposure mount. I bough the head strap for the battery connector. I use the exposure mount to hold the battery on the back of my helmet with the light unit up front. @stevemorg2 the arrangement I'm using sorts the issue you have.
So bit of an update on this. I finally went out for the first night ride last night with the exposure helmet mount and scorch light. It worked really well. The ball and socket joint allows you to easily alter the direction of the beam. For example if you're sitting up to spin up a hill or head down and elbows out going downhill you can easily alter the angle to point the light where you need it, although TBF it's a pretty wide flood beam rather than a spot.
The weight and stack height wasn't a problem as it was nicely centred on the helmet.