I would welcome your suggestions for a powerful bicycle light, to upgrade from my Ultrafire C2 (XM-L T6, 1×18650). Specifications:
- something that is clearly more powerful than my current light
- budget max $50 excluding batteries (I already have 18650s + charger so that battery format is preferred)
- torch rather than bicycle lights which are trickier to attach; no external battery packs for the same reason
Some questions:
- would a 2x18650 torch provide a lot more than 1x18650 in terms of light output? I'm not concerned about battery life (an hour or so would be fine at max output), but in terms of size, anything longer than 2x18650 would not be good to mount on a bike.
- would multiple emitter lights such as 3 x Cree XM-L2 or 4xCree be a good choice? Would they compare favorably to similar bicycle lights which use a 4×18650 battery back? I have seen some of those in action and they are a lot brighter than my current torch.
- everyone seems to recommend flood rather than thrower for a bike light. Typical test pics show a dark backyard where flood looks better...but in reality, almost every light looks good in that situation. In real life, the toughest situation for a bike light is a rainy day and lots of secondary lights (e.g. city or car lights). In those conditions, it's hard for me to say if my current light is on or off as the black, wet asphalt reflects nothing. Would a thrower be better in these conditions?
The above example were just based on quick search - please let me know if you have better options in mind...or if my specifications are not realistic ;-)
- something that is clearly more powerful than my current light
- budget max $50 excluding batteries (I already have 18650s + charger so that battery format is preferred)
- torch rather than bicycle lights which are trickier to attach; no external battery packs for the same reason
Some questions:
- would a 2x18650 torch provide a lot more than 1x18650 in terms of light output? I'm not concerned about battery life (an hour or so would be fine at max output), but in terms of size, anything longer than 2x18650 would not be good to mount on a bike.
- would multiple emitter lights such as 3 x Cree XM-L2 or 4xCree be a good choice? Would they compare favorably to similar bicycle lights which use a 4×18650 battery back? I have seen some of those in action and they are a lot brighter than my current torch.
- everyone seems to recommend flood rather than thrower for a bike light. Typical test pics show a dark backyard where flood looks better...but in reality, almost every light looks good in that situation. In real life, the toughest situation for a bike light is a rainy day and lots of secondary lights (e.g. city or car lights). In those conditions, it's hard for me to say if my current light is on or off as the black, wet asphalt reflects nothing. Would a thrower be better in these conditions?
The above example were just based on quick search - please let me know if you have better options in mind...or if my specifications are not realistic ;-)
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