Question about this light for biking.

[BirdofPrey]

I'm considering buying this light for my girlfriend for her bike. We'll be riding mostly in town but from our town to the next (which we'll occasionally get stuck traveling that stretch) is fairly long via highway and extremely dark.

I was looking at this light ( http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25149 ) due to her express order of not spending more than $100 on a light for her.

First I have to ask, does anyone have any experiance on it? I tried searching for info but since it doesn't really have a name per se, I didn't have much luck.

I was curious about run time (real), actual brightness (equal to my eagle-tac), and whether or not it would get overly hot. Granted, it will be used while on the move so have air blowing over it but still....

So, any yays or nays? It has a fairly high review rating there on DX but I've never ordered a single thing from DX so I don't know what to expect from them. I've heard good and bad from both this forum and others. I know not to expect a top-notch build quality but if its good enough to work then I'm interested at this point. I just don't want to buy a total piece of crap and have it break in a month.

 

[pe2er]

It's the Magicshine MJ-808. There is a quite extensive thread about this light here: Anyone played with the new DX P7 bike light?

I Own one myself and am extremely happy with it. It does however have some items of concern, so be sure to read the thread I referenced above.

Erwin

 

[BirdofPrey]

Thanks, reading about it right now.

Quick question before I dig in more to the thread if you don't mind answering.

Can you use your own 18650s? I use EagleTac 2400s and a Pila IBC. Feel much safer with them than a all-in-one battery and charger pack.

How long have you had yours and has it held up well?

 

[pe2er]

I Have not had is for long. I Think I received it by the end of November. That means I have only driven about 4 weeks/ 600km with it (I have just started riding again, after a short break since Christmas...).

What I Have done is, add some heatsink paste under the P7 star and on the threads between the heatsink and housing to improve heat management. I Also waterproofed the battery pack, as some have failed due to corrosion.

So far, it has held up and did not fail me once

You can use your own batteries, but you will have to add your own battery holder (the supplied pack is 2p2s). I Did not and am satisfied with the endurance (I get around 3.5 Hours 0f light - need 3 hours each day).

 

[trout]

For the money it is a good light and the build quality is as expected for the price

the main failings of the ones in use in the UK are the battery dieing and the battery terminals coroding if allowed to get wet so keep the battery dry at all costs.

the odd light head failure but they seem to fail straight out of the box .

I am supprised the heads are not failing more as they are not very waterproof but they seem to be robust

down side seems to be the long lead time from order to recieving light from DX.

 

[BrianMc]

If you are US based, Geomangear has separate light units, etc and excellent rep.

PS Not related, haven't bought from him, but prompt answers to two queries.