(Hid) light for SnowBoarding?

[Raoul_Duke]

Now is a good time to get prepared for snow boarding at the satrt of next year.

I have a few lights for general EDC, but I realy want to do a few runs after dark, and will need a LOT of light to navigate down the slopes.

I have lots of 50 - 150W "torch" style mods in various forms, ( 2D size to bigger than 6D) and some running 150W to 250W lamps for up to 15 minutes, but a prehaps a little big ( 6C - 7C size )

These hotwires would be fine for single runs,

( I think 150W+ 64633 is the best candidate for max output on a long run in the cold, any more and its getting silly in a mag)

& I think the cool air racing past will help keep the cool) & the beam and type of light of the 100+W lights would be good for a mix of flood and throw idealy suited for boarding.....

But I was thinking more runtime may be required in one night, and while I have spare battery packs, i'm trying to think out of the ( hotwire) box.

Do you think a Mag hid convertion could be a good candidate

Having not seen one I dont know a great deal about them. Cant the beam be spread out for a mix of flood and throw? Do they cope with low (ish) temps?
How do they handle a tumble....Suited to snow boarding?

The 3 x 18650 elephant hid mods are appealing, as the runtime is ~2 hours, in a fairly small form factor, but do you think they will put out enough light ( a mixture of flood and throw would be nice) for navigating over bumpy terrain at speed.

Or I could put one in a 3D mag with some D li-ions and get more runtime...


Any other suggestions are more than welcome.

 

[jzmtl]

Maybe a headlamp with battery pack made of 18650s (or bigger) in backpack? I only ski but still can't imagine holding something size of a maglite in hand while going downhill.

What trail difficulty are we talking about here? Green sure, blue ehhh, black and double back no friggin way.

 

[Raoul_Duke]

Green, blue and Red. Sure....:twothumbs

Black...at night I'd have to think about it :naughty:..But if its a fast black with little or no mogles ( mogles and snowboards dont mix well for me) then I'd give it a go...It all depends on how I could handle it in daylight.

A head lamp would be cool, as I could look where I was going, But I regulary hold a Video camera (or sometimes a beer :naughty when I go down. I always have a backpack stuffed with supplies so no problem with batteries in the back pack.

I think the reason I was thinking mag style was cause I'd use it for the other 11 months of the year away from snowboarding, and I have developed quite a thing for mag mods over the last few years, and definatley the last few months.

 

[scottaw]

First of all, your're nuts....and i love the idea.

second of all, thinking of how I would ski in the dark, you should be fine with around 1000 lumens, maybe a mag11 or 5761 would do the trick, and have a decent runtime as well.

Mag mods may not be your best option though, the ever popular eneloop for hotwires isn't meant to be used in extreme cold... just something to think about.

 

[Raoul_Duke]

OK, Well I have 5761 lamps, (but never bothered to use them, as I always grab the 64633 ( 150W type lights.) and infact ( near enough) every osram lamp from 20W to 250Ws now. Here is an old pic, but I have a huge bunch more lamps and mags around now.

Dont know the temp constraints on the nimh's, but Emoli must be good for low temps......... I think :thinking:


Thanks for the replys :twothumbs

 

[GPB]

Isn't 100+ watts kind of extreme ? Not that too much light is ever a bad thing, its just that you'd be able to have a longer burn time, or a lighter/smaller battery pack with less light. If I recall, I belive a car headlight is 55 watts.....so twice that seemed like overkill.

 

[Raoul_Duke]

Well prehaps it is aproaching overkill....but You have two headlights in a car...with big mirrors/ reflectors, so the beam goes much further.

When I hold and shine my 2D 64623 ( 100W osram) out of the car window, and compare it against my car headlamps ( Ie switch the headlights off and turn on the mag) the Mag 623 is not quite as bright, and the throw is not quite there, although Its a bit whiter, Hard to tell/ remeber realy.

But I take the point, and will try a few lower wattage lamps when I get home to see if I can make do.

BTW, 100W may sound like alot within CPF, but I have 60 & 100W lightbulbs in my house, and up to 6 in a room, so its not realy that much light, I have become quite used using a hotwired mag, and my smaller edc lights, tht put out 100- 200 lumens seem near useless to me, unless its totaly dark.

 

[ambientmind]

It sounds like youre stuck on incans, but have you thought about an LED mod? An easy solution would be to use the new D bin P7 and direct drive it off of 3 D size NiMHs in a 3D mag. So you'd have about 800-900 lumens and maybe three hours of runtime. And that cold air would actually help efficiency in that kind of light. Just an idea. And it would only cost you about $100us. :twothumbs

 

[Raoul_Duke]

Well, not stuck persay, Thats wy I was asking about HID...I just have lots of incan stuff.

I have lots of hosts, so no probs there, and some D nimh's, sO I guess all I need is a Heat sink, and a P7.

but do LED's offer adequate depth perception....That prehaps is a whole thread in itself.

 

[ambientmind]

but do LED's offer adequate depth perception....That prehaps is a whole thread in itself.

There's a lot of discussion on that as well. I think between HID and LED it would be about the same. A small 10w HID light is around 6500k, and the D bin P7s that are for sale in the marketplace are 5700k-6300k. So you might get a bit better performance out of the led. Also, a 10w HID is about 500 lumens, even overdriven its probably around 700, so you'd be getting more overall light from the P7. FYI, I've had great luck with H22As P7 sinks, and the MOP reflector from kai on my personal builds.
here's the link for the reflector:
http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1739

 

[brucec]

What you need is a pair of night vision goggles, black snowboard, black gloves, and black wetsuit, all with GITD racing stripes.

Seriously, I'm only half kidding about the night vision...

 

[DM51]

You'd probably do well to have a powerful headlamp as back-up, in case you drop your torch and wipe out, lol.

 

[snidera]

What you need is a pair of night vision goggles, black snowboard, black gloves, and black wetsuit, all with GITD racing stripes.

Seriously, I'm only half kidding about the night vision...

I'm not a professional (ie, soldier) but my NV goggles don't do much good when i need depth perception. I can't shoot very well with them on. I can drive with them, but i have to focus a lot on the action and keep my head moving (and i've only tried in areas that i know the terrain very well). I don't think i could snowboard with them on (but i'm a crappy snowboarder)

 

[BVH]

I can't imagine needing less than 3000 Lumens to make night runs down twist & turn, mogaled slopes at substantial speeds. I'd think you'd want substantial light 10 seconds or so out in front of you down-field before you get there so you have time to react? I don't know anything that would be easily adaptable with that output.

 

[Raoul_Duke]

You'd probably do well to have a powerful headlamp as back-up, When you drop your torch and wipe out, lol.

Your probably right :laughing:

 

[Illum]

Not that too much light is ever a bad thing...

it could be a bad thing if your dealing with snow, lets not forget its reflective properties. A light thats too bright could hinder vision or decreases contrast and making distance reading more difficult....

 

[Raoul_Duke]

What you need is a pair of night vision goggles, black snowboard, black gloves, and black wetsuit, all with GITD racing stripes.

Seriously, I'm only half kidding about the night vision...

Sounds great...but budget doesn't extend that far.

I can't imagine needing less than 3000 Lumens to make night runs down twist & turn, mogaled slopes at substantial speeds. I'd think you'd want substantial light 10 seconds or so out in front of you down-field before you get there so you have time to react? I don't know anything that would be easily adaptable with that output.

Yep I feel the same, I think I'm going to plan to limit it to a few short runs, and take a couple of 2D 64623's with me......the more I think about this they would be best strapped to a helmet so they are pointed where I'm looking.





The last place I was at had a bit of ambient lighting from the surrounding buildings on some of the runs...I think that and a good old incan hotwire or two should do the trick.


Still interested in what cells could take the cold....the 2D 64623's I have are nimh, and if hid can take a bumps and knocks.

 

[brucec]

OK, night vision aside, I've done quite a bit of night skiing and snowboarding when I was living in Colorado. Maybe 50-100 times at night or so. On a clear night, and on open runs or in a terrain park (like at a ski resort), you can do this easily with just moonlight alone. I used to do black diamond runs on skis or snowboard regularly. Even in the backcountry, above treeline, a full moon really lights things up. Heavy forest is another matter, but forest is not much fun on a snowboard even in the daytime. You want skis for forests. And handholding or headholding a strong light is going to accentuate every little bump due to the low angle. You really don't need to see those anyway. And the need to see 10 seconds out? Forget it, that equates to about 100-200meters of FLOOD! Not suitable for a narrow beam sweep.

And I'm sure with all the motion, you will end up blinding yourself at some point. Right before you hit a tree or some other poor soul. And if you eat it, you will be leaving equipment all along the slope, potentially blinding other people too.

So sorry, I am challenging your basic premise that you need a LOT of light for night snowboarding. In fact, I think it is flat out a very bad idea. My honest suggestion is to put away the HIDs and enjoy the beauty of the mountains by natural moonlight. An LED headlamp will be fine for digging around in your pack. Or simply find a ski resort with night skiing lights. If you can't do this safely, then please pass before you hurt yourself or someone else.

 

[monkeyboy]

I'd go for the Lupine betty X head torch. 7 LEDs, 1400lm. You don't need the throw of an HID for snowboarding. A light designed for mountain biking would be ideal. You also get multiple levels so you could use low for walking up the hill and high for coming down.