scolo light review??

[Rogue_monkey]

I see a few people have ordered these lights. So what are they like, has anyone done a review on them? I'm thinking about ordering a couple for either my helmet or bar light.

What are your thoughts and opinions.



http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=174344

 

[Mayqswet]

Let me know what you think - I'm contimplating getting a couple myself.

 

[RGB_LED]

I saw the posting in CPF MP and I ended up ordering a couple of the Scolo's as well since Spec's look good for the price and they use the Cree Q5 emitters. In hindsight, I probably should have waited for a review since I don't know how efficient the driver is.
I'm hoping that some of the early purchasers can provide more info... anyone?

When my lights arrive (hopefully, in the next week - 10 days), I'll post my thoughts on the Scolos...

 

[HEY HEY ITS HENDO]

Well they are very bright, very white, very easily upgradeable, smart looking, relatively inexpensive ..................
as you can see driver efficiency is heavily outweighed and its a bicycle light not a pocket light
if i need longer run time i will use a different or larger battery pack
i agree, yes we need a review .......

 

[fightnut]

When my lights arrive (hopefully, in the next week - 10 days), I'll post my thoughts on the Scolos...

So? What's the word?:bump:

 

[RGB_LED]

It's been a bit busy with work and I have yet to really take this out on a mtb ride but here are some thoughts on the Scolos... you can take a look at this Scolo sales thread link in CPF MP for pics.

Build / Size
- Small compact size... I fit both on my handle bars
- Anodizing seems pretty clean (don't know if it's HAIII or not)
- Toggle switch is basic Low/Off/High with Off in the middle setting

Mounting
- I have oversized handle-bars so I use what is now called the Quick Mount, the lights are mounted via friction fit and, while it feels just a wee bit loose, I haven't seen any shifting when road-riding. Again, haven't had a chance to test off-road.
- The power cable comes out of the body of the light at about a 90 degree angle towards the back of the light but there is room to still mount the light. That said, the power cable does rest right at the back of the mount.
- The power cable is also about a 1-foot

Battery Pack
- IIFC, the light will accept voltage between 5-7.5v (someone correct me if I'm wrong)
- You have to purchase a la carte and there may be delivery restrictions depending on your location. I made two battery packs, one from a 2x18650 Li-Ion battery pack and one with a 6xAA battery holder, connected the appropriate DC connector, coated battery pack with Plastidip

Output / Beam
- The Scolo apparently uses a Cree Q5 and a proprietary-designed reflector (Not sure if that is supposed to provide a good balance of throw and flood)
- In actual use, it provides a pretty good balance with decent throw and a somewhat star-shaped flood. I can see the star when riding but I don't really mind either way

Runtime
- I've done non-scientific runtime tests with both battery packs and have gotten over 3+ hours of runtime with one battery although, towards the end of the runtime, I noticed the light had diminished quite a bit (Note: The original Sell thread is gone so, if someone remembers the driver information, please provide it)

Personal Observations
~Likes

• Small form factor
• Light-weight, mount is easy to use
• Output is a pretty good mix of throw and flood (My 6PD+M60 has better throw but it's a Malkoff)
• Mount allows you to shift the light so you can create one hotspot or have lights overlap at edges for wider hotspot
• Provides a pretty decent amount of light that compliments a helmet-mounted light

~Dislikes

• Toggle switch feels a bit loose and it's easy to hit accidentally and switch modes
• Difference in output between 'Low' and 'High' is almost negligible
• Power cord coming out of body of light at 90 degree angle is annoying but doesn't really interfere with function
• Output values are a bit misleading as I don't think it's 200lm
• Colour / output varies from light to light (one of lights is warmer and has noticeably less output) but that may be due to Cree lottery

Overall Impressions
It's a lightweight addition to any lighting system and provides decent throw / flood. Mounts are straightfoward and design allows you to easily place a small battery under your stem and have decent light for off-roading. It works better by augmenting a helmet-mounted light but I personally don't find it adequate enough on its own for mtb'ing. I would also still like to see how sturdy the mounts are in actual mtb'ing use and I hope to find out tomorrow night.

Now, having said all this, I'm still on the fence about whether this light is worth the money that I spent...

2 x Scolos = 90
1 x Y-cable = 5
2 x Quick Mount = 14
1 x 7.4v Charger = 25
1 x 7.4v Li-ion Battery = 14
Batter holder, dc connectors, shrink wrap = 10
Total = $156

Those looking into this may want to do the math in advance to see if this is a worthwhile alternative based on output / price of bike lights that are available on the market. Also, P7 based lights are beginning to appear as well. In fact, Litemania will be offering a P7 light that they are advertising on CPF MP... If it was available when the Scolo was around... /sigh

 

[herulach]

Thanks for that RGB, looks good as an alternative to ay-ups and the like as a helmet light. Is it a High-off-low-off kind of switch?

 

[fightnut]

RBG_LED, very nice write up, thanks that.

Quick clarification if you could, you said..... "It works better by augmenting a helmet-mounted light but I personally don't find it adequate enough on its own for mtb'ing".

Is that referring to BOTH Scolos at once, or do you mean ONE alone?

 

[jirik_cz]

Can anyone measure real power consumption/runtime? Thanks.

 

[RGB_LED]

Thanks for that RGB, looks good as an alternative to ay-ups and the like as a helmet light. Is it a High-off-low-off kind of switch?

Np. I'm not sure if it's that good an alternative to the Ay-ups... I've been reading about them and, while they seem pretty basic, the kit does include 2 sets of lights which have two heads plus two batteries and the runtimes are excellent. I think you're right though, the scolo would make a better helmet light as it's really lightweight. The switch is a toggle, so it's basically Left = High, Middle = Off, Right = Low.

RBG_LED, very nice write up, thanks that.
Quick clarification if you could, you said..... "It works better by augmenting a helmet-mounted light but I personally don't find it adequate enough on its own for mtb'ing".
Is that referring to BOTH Scolos at once, or do you mean ONE alone?

I meant both scolos... I went for a 25k ride this past wk on easy trails - mainly dirt trails by a river and a few easy single-track trails and here are some add'l observations:

- Pretty good for short to medium distance but the hotspot is diffused and not that intense so I could not make out detail at longer distances
- On less knarly and fairly straight single-track, trail, I aimed the hotspot at about 20-25ft ahead and it lit up pretty well, decent but not great contrast. I wonder if the proprietary reflector is actually a good or bad thing... :thinking:
- I found that the spill quickly faded on the sides, especially with one scolo and my friend's cygolight had a more intense hotspot at the same distance. His 2 x emitter (don't know which) Cygolight had two intense hotspots, but with ringy sidespill.
- For the long double-track / fireroads, I was just about outrunning the scolos even when I aimed them further down the trail - the light just got lost in the background so there is an optimal distance for me at about 20-25 ft.

I'm going to try and post pics but I can't seem to get imageshack to host properly... I was thinking of trying a cheap P7 light mounted to handlebars but now I'm thinking that an MC-E emitter light on the handlebars might provide a bit more throw. I'd like to compare them to the scolos though...