helmet light

[nunuboogie]

can anyone recommend a small bright helmet light, run time 1-2 hrs.
Thanks

 

[TONY M]

can anyone recommend a small bright helmet light, run time 1-2 hrs.
Thanks

:welcome:
The Fenix L2D makes a great helmet light and runs brightly for 2 hours on max mode with 2xAA NIMH cells. It is a very popular light for this purpose and does very well, and a lot better than most purpose made bikelights that cost more.
I've used one for this and you really can't go wrong.

 

[diff_lock2]

12v 20w mr16 halogen lamp ("spot") and a 30watt hour battery pack, 14 nimh cells. Should give you just under an hour of some good light.

 

[greenLED]

:welcome: nunu!

You'll need to be a little more specific so we can help you better. You mean "helmet light" as in caving helmet, climbing, bike, industrial...

There's a ton of lights that can be mounted on helmets but knowing where you'll use it would help us make a better recommendation.

 

[herulach]

I use two Romisen RC-I3s modded with a 3 mode DX driver & run off a 3 nimh pack. Taking the battery tube out of the light makes them absolutely tiny, andthey fit nicely in teh vents on my lid (spesh airforce) 2xQ5s at 1A gets about 50 minutes and is bright enough to ride on it's own, knocking them down to c.500ma gets just shy of 2 hours while remaining usefully bright.

Presumably this isn' your only light? Having had some comedy leaving battery at home experieces, i wouldn't reccomend riding just with the helmet light.

:welcome: nunu!

You'll need to be a little more specific so we can help you better. You mean "helmet light" as in caving helmet, climbing, bike, industrial...

There's a ton of lights that can be mounted on helmets but knowing where you'll use it would help us make a better recommendation.

 

[vkan]

An important consideration for a helmet light is whether you can angle the light the way you need for your riding position.

On a road bike where you're hunched over, you need the light to point fairly upwards from your helmet.

On a hybrid or comfort bike where you are more upright, the light needs to point more forward.

On a recumbent bike, the light needs to point downward a bit.

If like me you ride both a road bike and a recumbent bike, this is a bit of a dilemma. The L2D is OK, not great for this because of its length. A shorter, lighter light like the L1D would work out better (again, you need to mount it solidly at the angle you need).

After some playing around with some of those light mounts from DX that's a block of rubber and some velcro straps, I've found positions on my helmet that are OK for the two types of bike I ride. A tilting mount would be much nicer.

 

[Buck91]

NiteRide MiNewt USB?

 

[mechBgon]

NiteRide MiNewt USB?

For helmet mounting, you'd want the USB Plus, IIRC.

I use the Fenix L2D Q5 and it's sort of OK, but I wish it had more throw and more total output. A lot more. Maybe one of those new Oilight M20 Warrior Premiums is in my future... oh wait

 

[nunuboogie]

Thanks for the info.
The light is wanted for cycling, MTB communting and off road. Already have 2 x lumicycle halogen light for the handle bars, but wanted a spare / back-up light for the helmet. Cheap and small with no wires would be prefered.

 

[Jarl]

For helmet mounting, you'd want the USB Plus, IIRC.

I use the Fenix L2D Q5 and it's sort of OK, but I wish it had more throw and more total output. A lot more. Maybe one of those new Oilight M20 Warrior Premiums is in my future... oh wait

I used to use the L2D and had the same problem as you. Switched to a TK11 and no more problems (apart from it's fairly heavy)

 

[TONY M]

12v 20w mr16 halogen lamp ("spot") and a 30watt hour battery pack, 14 nimh cells. Should give you just under an hour of some good light.

This is basically what I used to have (20w 7degree mr16) but I still find the L2D a better option and less hassle too.

Jarl I'm glad you like the TK11 you will have a stronger neck by now. I prefer the forward clicky of it over the L2D, I'm also temped to buy one but I'll try to stop myself.

 

[Jarl]

Look at the regulation graphs

That'll soon stop you!

 

[TONY M]

Look at the regulation graphs

That'll soon stop you!

Thats what has stopped me, a pity too as it is seems really quite good otherwise.

 

[fightnut]

Look at the regulation graphs

That'll soon stop you!

Fill a noob in on what you mean?

 

[TONY M]

Fill a noob in on what you mean?

:welcome:
Well basically it means that the output (brightness) will not be constant over the duration that the light running - it will gradually dim instead of having a steady output which is generally preferable.

Look at the graphs on this link http://www.light-reviews.com/fenix_tk11/
You will see that when the TK11 is running on 18650 batteries the graph shows that the output diminishes gradually over 2 1/2 hours.

Fenix lights usually are very well regulated.

 

[RGB_LED]

Thanks for the info.
The light is wanted for cycling, MTB communting and off road. Already have 2 x lumicycle halogen light for the handle bars, but wanted a spare / back-up light for the helmet. Cheap and small with no wires would be prefered.

Hi nunuboogie, :welcome:! Your decision may come down to balancing how much runtime you want vs. weight vs. personal preference. I used to carry around an older Fenix P3D as a back-up / helmet light on my night-time, trail rides. It gave me 3+ hours of light on High... but, it lacked in terms of throw. I then carried a Dereelight CL1H but I found that, after 3 hours of riding, my neck was sore. Carrying smaller lights such as a P2D-Q5 might be lighter and more reasonable but it doesn't quite have the throw or runtimes as a 2-cell light. If you only need an emergency, get-back-to-the-trailhead type of light, then a small 1-cell light might do the trick. If you want something more, then you'll have to get a larger 2-cell light (ie. P3D-Q5, TK11, M20, CL1H) but be prepared for the added weight... it surprised me how much I noticed it during my rides. Hope that helps.

...You will see that when the TK11 is running on 18650 batteries the graph shows that the output diminishes gradually over 2 1/2 hours. Fenix lights usually are very well regulated.

Well, you can always pack a second 18650 battery... I still carry a CL1H (3SD pill though) as a back-up and I pack two additional 18650's with me just in case.