XHP50(?) Mountain Biking Light

xnmw

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Oct 21, 2012
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I'm looking for light to replace or supplement my current mountain biking light, a SC600 Mk II L2 18650 XM-L2 Flashlight Cool White which I have mounted to my helmet. Currently that is the only light I use, I mount it to my helmet with zip-ties, and I generally use the highest available custom H2 level (670 lumens, can that be right?)


  • High: H1 1100 Lm (PID, approx 2 hr) or H2 670 Lm (PID, approx 2.5 hrs) / 356 Lm (3.9 hrs) / 162 Lm (11 hrs)

I'm looking at the SC600Fd Mk III Plus XHP50 Floody Neutral White NiteCore EC4S 2150 Lumens XHP50. Any thought or recommendations, especially as to mixing cool white and neutral white, whether neutral would be better for lighting the trail at ~13mph through dense woods, whether the SC600Fd would be too floody? I can mount a second light on my helmet or move one to the handlebars.

Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated. I have new-light-itus and it looks like the XHP50 is maybe the best thing out right now. Thanks!
 

xnmw

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Oct 21, 2012
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Hey coffeecup66 thanks for the reply--I actually already moved one this...went with the Zebralight SC600F III Plus Cool White parallel to the SC600 II L2 on the helmet and I have a Manker MK34 coming today that I'm planning to zip-tie to the stem. I'll probably do a write-up thread on it once I see how it works and work out the bugs. I've ridden with the SC600F added in already and it adds a nice element--it lights up the whole tree canopy and everything in my peripheral vision. I'd say it doesn't really add much functional light, but it is a luxury to have everything nicely evenly illuminated.

I'd say I'm as price-sensitive as anyone; I'd love one of these, for instance but it's not a good value for me: http://www.lupinenorthamerica.com/betty_R_14_helmet_light.asp

Still open to any suggestions, the Manker may not work out and I'm always looking for a better solution anyway--thanks!
 

xnmw

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Oct 21, 2012
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Well I ride in a group where everybody is running cool white or worse (think blue glare) so it's an arms race to keep the guy behind you from casting a (relative) dark shadow on the trail in front of you, otherwise I would have gone NW. Yeah I saw that GG video, that and the positive reviews led me to grab the Manker (so far so good--it is ridiculously bright.) Riding tonight so I will report back. I did look at the Noctigon and that seems like a nice proven option but I liked the compactness and smaller size of the Manker, despite it seeming like more of a gamble. So far it seems as-advertised, I'm feeling confident it will hold up even bolted to the bike, but we will see.

The SC600F Plus (the cool white one is the one I got) is great; it's a very nice addition, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you already have your core lighting setup sorted out--it's so floody that it really just fills in all the shadow and periphery. The one area it contributes is illuminating low-hanging branches and vines which is a problem where I ride. Most people would be better served with the regular SC600--it has a perfect beam profile for a helmet light. My old one takes any batteries, the new one only takes unprotected.

I did have to RMA the SC600F Plus for a minor issue--I would have kept it as-is but Zebralight wanted to take a look at it. Will look forward to having it back. Yeah I haven't found any reviews of the CW version--other than the defect with mine it is as you'd expect...looks like you get your advertised lumens, great build and interface. I think it would make a killer general-purpose light as well. Tint seems fine to me but all my light use is outdoors.

For batteries I ordered 10 NCR18650GAs which work perfectly in both the Manker and the F.

The Lupines seem great but for the money they want I think a savvy CPF user could get more. I have a fantasy of drilling the tailcap of the ZL and using either a blank cell or soldering or something to a remote 4-cell battery pack. I think that might be the ultimate DIY bike light. Maybe one day. In the meantime it will go over an hour on high and only takes a sec to swap the battery out.
 

xnmw

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Joined
Oct 21, 2012
Messages
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I think the Manker might be a winner for a biking light. No problems whatsoever, did not shift even with my suspect temporary mount, blew all other lights out of the water. It makes my ZL, which I previously used as my only light, seem puny by comparison. Turbo mode is totally ridiculous but it steps down immediately--high mode seems to be great and it lasted me the whole ride (maybe 2 hours?) Pretty unscientific, but so far this is looking very promising for mountain biking. Went over some small drop-offs, rocks and roots but no jumps/features anything like that. The switch/UI is not as good as ZL, but I think I'll probably just be leaving it on for the whole ride so it shouldn't be an issue. Hold for off is dump, clicking 5 times for high is dumb, but double click to turbo is easy enough. Might do a full review with a proper camera and all that...
eeeI9DW.jpg
4mc1Ubo.jpg
 

coffeecup66

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Dec 16, 2016
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217
Location
Cafner
Yikes !!! That's one heck of an ... "apparatus" !! :faint: Well, as long as it does the job. Funny, seems like with a "little bit" of heat and reshaping/rebending, that bottle cage could almost be a perfect fit for that type/size light.

Thanks for the follow up and the quality pictures.

Cheers.
 
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jeff400650

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Nov 7, 2014
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Location
Marin County, CA. Out in the woods
I ride a "gravel/adventure" bike, and recently went with Olight R 50 Pro Seeker with the XHP70 led on a Barfly mount and am very happy. 7.5 hours of a really good amount of light for road and easy trail (500 lmns), or 3 hours of 1000 lmns for technical trails. 3200 lmn turbo if you need it. Great UI. Easy to change modes. And a super recharge method with the magnetic cable. The Barfly mount holds my Garmin and light and does not budge on rough terrain. I just added a little velcro wrap strip to make sure the light stays put. No need to take the light off the bike or remove the battery for charging. I use the the Olight S1R neutral white clipped on my helmet visor for when I want to look around or work on the bike, and it has the same charging system.

http://www.barflybike.com/

http://www.olightstore.com/led-flashlights/safety-and-self-defense/olight-r50-pro-seeker

https://olightworld.com/store/flashlight/s1r-baton.html
 
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