Recommend me a light for £50/$100 (please) noobie

[Chris-C]

I've read a few reviews and threads on this site, spotted unknowns stairway shots of various lights and they are all very impressive.

I'm after a small LED light preferably one that can be powered by AA batteries.

It needs to be waterproof(ish) as it'll probably spend most of its life strapped to my bike helmet.

I've got a normal 3W Light & Motion Vega that is my handlebar light but need more light (preferably a spot).

Whats the brightest i could get for this money?

Also do any of you have any gripes with dealextreme as things like THIS seem very bright for not a lot of money.

Thanks.

Chris

 

[Sgt. LED]

Peak, call peak as their website sucks. Ask for a P4 Kino Bay it's a 1xAA twisty and you quote the brightness level. For $10 more you can get it as a momentary. Right now there is a christmas sale going on and it will be the best handmade light for the money you can get. You can have a body in HAIII AL, Brass, or my tough favorite Stainless Steel. If is going on your bike helmet, get the stainless as it will come flying off a few times at least and it will be tough enough to still be in fine shape. Others will tell you to try DX cheapies and it is hit or miss on if they will work, and Fenix is cheaper while still working but I just don't care for them. If you need high high output you could get a Fenix Q5 4 in one pack for $75.00 https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_69_51&products_id=226

 

[9volt]

Dealextreme lights are fine for the money. The one you linked to isn't an AA light though. One possible option for a bright AA is the Nitecore Defender Infinity, but they aren't widely available just yet. I have a Q4 Cree Jetbeam MKII-R for sale in the BST right now that might meet your needs :naughty:

 

[Chris-C]

Peak, call peak as their website sucks. Ask for a P4 Kino Bay it's a 1xAA twisty and you quote the brightness level. For $10 more you can get it as a momentary. Right now there is a christmas sale going on and it will be the best handmade light for the money you can get. You can have a body in HAIII AL, Brass, or my tough favorite Stainless Steel. If is going on your bike helmet, get the stainless as it will come flying off a few times at least and it will be tough enough to still be in fine shape. Others will tell you to try DX cheapies and it is hit or miss on if they will work, and Fenix is cheaper while still working but I just don't care for them. If you need high high output you could get a Fenix Q5 4 in one pack for $75.00 https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_69_51&products_id=226

Thanks for that. I've realised now that the one I linked to is completely wrong anyway. It isnt essential that it is to be AA based. I am willing to spend some money on some more rechargable batteries but that would detract from the money I am willing to spend on the unit itself.

The link you have shown does seem very good. It looks like it will be very bright and they're not that expensive.

I'm still reading about the Fenix T1's and they seem the best bang for buck so to speak but i'm not going to rush. I'll look at other suggestions and the site you suggested.

9Volt - I'll look into those too.

Thanks

 

[Sgt. LED]

T1 is very bright, but a little heavy for your head?

 

[Chris-C]

T1 is very bright, but a little heavy for your head?

Havent actually looked at the weight. Thats a very good point

cheers!

 

[pipspeak]

fenix L2D Q5 runs about 35 quid in the UK, I believe. It's bright, has great runtime but might be a bit too long for a bike helmet (although you could get the L1 tube so you have the option of using 1AA instead of 2). With the smooth reflector it's still fairly "floody" but is powerful enough to provide useful pathfinding light in an urban environment and it has a strobe/flashing mode. It does not really throw far enough for fast mountain biking, however.

Lights with more throw tend to have bigger heads/reflectors, which tends to make them too bulky for strapping to helmets. You could check out the Lumapower D-mini, however. Even a "older" model (which costs about $50) will throw way further than the Fenix but the reflector head is about 35mm in diameter. It also uses CR123 batteries (although only one of them).

 

[Chris-C]

Cheers for the comments guys.

Another thing i forgot to add was that i'd like the light to have a minimum of 1hr light as its very annoying having to fiddle with a light halfway through a journey.

Thanks!

 

[Chris-C]

Right, I ended up buying a Ultrafire WF-606A just after I posted my first post. I got it this morning. Powered it up with 2xAA's and my god its impressive.

I'm getting another $20-25 light soon and when i do i'll happily compare them to my $250 bike light.

Currently my ultrafire wf 606a seems to walk all over it. okay its a tighter spot but it really does show how far modern technology has come

 

[awberke]

what about a zebralight H50 Q5? i've heard nothing but praise about it and if it would fit around you helmet it would have great flood for bike-riding.

 

[flash_bang]

Surefire 6PL, warranty, bright, awesome. Definately a good starter light if you want to keep your doors for upgradability open.

Flash

 

[BigD64]

For a bike light i'd use a Fenix P3D. It's bright, light and they make bike mounts and helmet mounts for it.