List Price: $126.36
Sale Price: $50.25
Today's Bonus: 60% Off
If you'll pardon the cliche, there should be a picture of this bad boy next to the word bright in the dictionary. It is no joke. I have a thing for lights: Mag lights, Streamlights, Petzel, Princeton, Brinkman, Black Diamond; all types: lanterns, flashlights, headlamps, spotlights. I've got some of the brightest lights ever made and this guy goes into that category. It's measured in lumens and that just doesn't do it justice, this thing is along the lines of 1 million candle power. It has three settings that are all way too bright to shine in someone else's face. I'm talking about weaponized levels of light. You can't hang around the campfire at night with this joker on, there's the danger of flash blinding to possibly incinerating your bros. SAR, night time rock climbing, melting your way through a blizzard, night time hiking or finding your way back to camp in the dark, starting fires, spulunking, are all ideal applications for this guy.
The quality is good. Much more solidly and cleanly built and put together than most of what I get from China and it exceeded my expecations here, especially considering the price.
The are three minor downers. The elastic headband width is adaquete but not excellent. And it connects to handlebars or the headband with thick, heavy rubber bands that have tabs (to make them easier to manipulate) instead of a solid bracket, adaquete but not excellent. You can see these rubber bands in one of the pictures. The clip that connects the light to the battery pack doesn't lock so it likes to disconnect; a little Duct tape or a rubber band or even re-wiring it with a locking clip would remedy this short coming. Again, it's adaquete but not excellent. Don't let these three meager drawbacks dissuade you about this light. it's a shinning example of what awe inspiring light can be.
The tabbed rubber bands contribute to the meager overall weight which is 1/3 or perhaps less than the petzel mega belt which is the only headlamp that I have that can even be compared with this solar flare in brightness, but even with a halogen bulb the petzel doesn't compare. This pulsar seems like you could use it to charge solar cells.
The battery pack is about the size and weight of 4 AAs instead of the 3 C cells of the pretzel mega. Like the Petzel Mega belt ithis light has a belt pack or can be attached to the headband. It is comfortable either way or you can slide this battery unit into your shirt pocket, it's that lightweight.
The light unit houses three bulbs and will feel big and heavy when compared most other LED headlamps, but it's about the size and weight of a large non LED headlamp , but this light isn't about size or weight, it's about light and a lot of it. Three brightness settings, 1 bulb blind, 2 burn, 3 burst into flames. .
Get this one for serious light and get a little Petzel or Princeton tech 70 lumens for around the campfire and you will be set up right. The price left me feeling like I got a buddy-pal association, hot sheet deal. I would be psyched to get this as a gift.
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After having a 1200Lm single CREE headlight on a bike that was stolen, I wanted something similar on my replacement bike. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this deal on Amazon. Not one, not two, but THREE CREE LED's in one headlight, for less than what I paid for my old one. Shipping was faster than some US shippers (ordered 12/19, it was delivered 12/24) and this light is insanely bright. It has four modes: First is just the bottom LED, second is the top two LED's, third is all three, then fourth is all three flashing. I set it to flash during the day, just make sure it's aimed low enough to not cause on coming drivers to go into convulsions! I highly suggest this light to anyone, whether you need it for extra visibility during the day, or to see where you're going at night.EDIT: After posting this review I see I got one heck of a deal on this light. I paid just over $35 shipped; now the price is $65. It's still worth it at any price though.
Best Deals for SecurityIng® Super Bright 3 X CREE XM-L T6 3600Lm 4 Modes White
Well I purchased this one and the cheaper one (same company) with supposed 3800 Lumens (a third less expensive) to compare. DON'T make the same mistake, buy this one, it is worth the difference. You can look at the 3800Lm one on Amazon for a detailed review on the differences. Here I will focus on this one and it's weakness/strengths.So it has 3 LED's in a triple reflector. I live in a city and typically only ride at nightly for about 30 min. The four modes are:
1) top LED on
2) bottom two LED's on
3) all three LED's on
4) all three LED's flashing like a strobe light
The difference between mode two and three is barely noticeable? Science would say the third LED being on should be 1/3 brighter, but alas, the power and cord on this device is undersized to provide the current all three LED's would need to be on full bright. I have a three watt LED as a headlight (a commercial product modified for my bike) and the difference in quality is amazing. My 3 watt has a cord almost twice the diameter as this one, and when you strip the wire, the wires inside the Securityling cable is tiny (like 20 gauge) vs mine which is 16 gauge. No way that can drive 3 of these LED chips. That is why the brightness doesn't change much along with limitations inside the light as well, since I cut the cable and hooked it into my bikes existing power supply, it still is similar. I don't want to take it apart and redesign the circuit board inside, as the two LED's are plenty bright. It is just a shame, they didn't utilize the full capability of the light sources.
Another factor, I have no idea why they use an 8.4V battery pack? Where does this come from? Some made up standard? If the voltage was a little higher, the current restriction wouldn't be as bad and the lamps could run full throttle. Oh well. I am using my bikes power grid which is comprised of two RC NiMH 9.6V battery packs in parallel (4000ma/hr). These are commonly available, have great chargers designed for them (including a heat probe that goes between packs to ensure they don't charge too fast) and they work well with this light and most other lights. It is also the same voltage as 8 AA LiIon, or NiMH rechargeable batteries which you can get anywhere.
The beam on this light is a spot (probably around 10 degrees). This does not change with the different settings, it is always a spot. Also take note that the lens offered by others for similar lights do not fit this light (this has a slightly over 2" lens, and the spread lenses sold on Amazon are 1.5"). Don't make that mistake. I was thinking it would be great if someone made a split lens (like a bifocal) with a linear spread lens on the bottom for the single LED and a clear lens for the two top LED's You could then have a good riding light spread and a high beam spot. I am looking into that modification..
So far so good. I don't understand why the light shuts off when the battery gets low instead of just dimming? My other headlight dims down until the battery is dead letting you know you need to charge the batteries. This one just leaves you in the dark. Not a problem since I have another headlight with a 30 degree spread that is on at the same time to light the road directly ahead. I use this one to point further ahead.
One more issue, The mount is really insufficient. It has a rubber ring which hooks a half cylindrical plastic base around your handlebar. The light is pretty heavy and it barely stays upright. It also jiggles significantly when riding causing the spot beam to be all over the map. I found I had to hold it while riding to keep it from jiggling so much it was embarrassing. If you peel up the rubber pad on the bottom of the mount there is a screw which removes the plastic handlebar mount. It is worth mounting it another way. I made an aluminum 1/8" thick by 3/4 mount for it and it is now stable and not a target for thieves as it isn't just held on with a rubber band.
In closing:
Pros:
It is bright, and has two useable modes (1 and 2)
The battery seems OK but could be better
It seems well built
good price for what you get
Cons:
the third mode does little but eat battery life
the fourth mode is crazy unless you want to induce seizures as you ride, way to strobe effect for a light this bright.
the handlebar mount is not stable or secure
the circuitry doesn't allow the third LED to contribute (could be a third brighter)
only a spot distribution, no light to the sides
headlight shuts off unexpectedly when battery gets low vs dimming. no indication it is going to shut down.
Hope this helps others understand the light before buying. Also offers some suggestions to make it a better light.
Happy biking!
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