Hope Vision 1 - opinions?

[Brizzler]

Hi,

Looking into getting a new front bike light for around town duties - lost my SSC modded PT EOS Bike a while ago and have been making do with a small Fenix on a lock block.

New light should be compact, self-contained, not that expensive and of course adequately bright, i.e. running an SSC/Cree etc.. My preference would be for a single 18650 as a power source, but I haven't found any lights that are built like that.

I've now spotted the Hope Vision 1 on special offer -looks promising. Not too enthusiastic about having to invest in Nimh cells (raising the effectove price!) but other than that it seems to fit the bill. Opinions? Alternative suggestions? I'm happy to do straightfoward emitter swaps. I could also just go for the newer/brighter Rebel-based EOS Bike - a cheaper option though tricky to get hold of here in the UK.

Thanks for your help!

 

[srolesen]

i tried it and found the beam a little bit too focused on it's own, but maybe it would be good if suplemented with a helmet light :shrug:

 

[I Know Nothing]

Do you really need something like that for "around town duties"? Where you can see with streetlights? I use a Fenix L2D as a bike light (mostly offroad) and looking at it from the front from a distance as car drivers would see it there isn't the same perceivable difference on the different outputs as there is looking at the beam from behind. Seems to me that surface area and beam angle are more important than high output to make you visible to other road users and as such something much cheaper and with much better battery life could actually be better.

 

[spankone]

what about an ultrafire wf-503b

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.19617

takes 1x18650

and you can change the drop in if you want. I have a surefire 6p much the same as the ultrafire using a nailbender dropin has around 500 lumens on high and last just over an hour on high.

I've just order the ultrafire so that I can mod it with an external battery pack

 

[Brizzler]

Thanks for the replies! :thumbsup:

spankone, I'd ideally like a light designed to be mounted on a bike. I've admittedly only tried the TwoFish Lockblock, but so far I'm not convinced by flashlight-to-handlebar mounts: fiddly, likely to move when you don't want it to etc.

In view of the rather narrow beam mentioned by srolesen and I Know Nothing's assessment that the Hope light is unlikely to meet my requirements as well as a much cheaper light, I think I'll just try to buy another PT EOS Bike of some sort, either the old version to mod again or just the newer version...

 

[pe2er]

... I think I'll just try to buy another PT EOS Bike of some sort, either the old version to mod again or just the newer version...

In order to further confuse things for you:
In another thread, JackJ says the following concerning your PT EOS Bike light:

...Not that you seem interested, but the stock optic is sub-optimal for cycling--too narrow a focus, not enough spill. Replacing it with a reflector is a significant improvement. But as mentioned above, the output is more suited to "being seen" than "seing." I use mine primarily in flash mode--it's got an appropriate strobe rate, at least, though again, side visibility is lousy in the stock config.

I like it as a headlamp; not so much as a bike light.

The lack of side visibility would rule this light out for me. I Also want to 'be seen' from the sides

 

[spankone]

Thanks for the replies! :thumbsup:

spankone, I'd ideally like a light designed to be mounted on a bike. I've admittedly only tried the TwoFish Lockblock, but so far I'm not convinced by flashlight-to-handlebar mounts: fiddly, likely to move when you don't want it to etc.

In view of the rather narrow beam mentioned by srolesen and I Know Nothing's assessment that the Hope light is unlikely to meet my requirements as well as a much cheaper light, I think I'll just try to buy another PT EOS Bike of some sort, either the old version to mod again or just the newer version...

just some thing else to consider my nailbender linger drop in has a great flood with little hot spot lights up my local english back roads very well and I quickly attach it to my helmet using elastic cord and a plastic toggle

 

[Brizzler]

pe2er thanks for pointing out the other thread. I realise the EOS has rather limited side illumination but I can live with that even if it is not ideal. The fact is no light not designed specifically for cycling is going to provide much light sideways, and certainly the EOS is no worse than a Fenix or D26 based light mounted on the handlebars. If there is some way of improving the situation for either the EOS or flashlights I'd like to know!
Do you have any specific bike light suggestions pe2er?

 

[I Know Nothing]

You could buy one of these very cheaply for urban visibility in addition to whatever else you need for riding away from streetlights. I have the rear red version which is very bright and puts out light directly sideways as well as to the front. Smart lights are the same as the Planet Bike stuff in the US as far as I can gather.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14833

Edit: Hmmm... just noticed the description for that says green rather than white btw.

 

[BrianMc]

You might want to check this one out:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=252835postcount=4

The link to the MBR post shows a light completely covered, and so not what you want on a front light.

If your light has some weak side spill you can do without, and which you can intercept, then translucent wings like the plastic of a ping pong ball on each side instead of a complete ping-pong ball dome might do the trick. Easy enough to try with some printer paper taped in place.

No one said the side marking couldn't be another light or string of LED's.