Upgrade from the L1Tv2?

A little background... I've been using my L1Tv2 as a helmet like for bike commuting and mountain biking for well over a year now and in that time it has worked flawlessly and left virtually nothing to be desired. Its bright enough for any type of riding I do, flawless reliability and a great balce between throw and flood for use on the helmet. But you can always improve, right?

Not sure if there is anything out there (for a reasonable price) that would improve on this light, but idealy I would be looking for:
- Single cell, use rechargable NiMH
- weatherproof to waterproof, I don't let the weather tell me what days I will or will not ride
- Brighter and longer runtime that the L1Tv2 (else why change?)
- As tough or tougher than L1Tv2

Probably seeing a pattern... I don't need anything with a bunch of modes, just high and low. High is obvious, low is nice for when the ride outlasts the battery supply at least you can creep back. Again, smaller is better, I like the UI on the L1T but not hung up on it. Any thoughts? I also use my L0D-CE sometimes on my commute if I'm running light or get cought out without my pack- works great on the street but definately lacks runtime, so I doubt anything in a AAA would fit the bill...

Using single cell NiMH I would suggest Fenix LD10. Its gonna be tough finding anything any brighter with longer run times then that using Nimh single cell.

http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_65&products_id=466

Yeah, I've looked athte LD01 but I don't see how going from a rated 98 to a rated 120lm is worth it.

Buck91 said:

Yeah, I've looked athte LD01 but I don't see how going from a rated 98 to a rated 120lm is worth it.

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You have to look really closely to see any difference between the High (98) and Turbo (120 apparently) modes of the LD10.
Only leaving on high and switching to turbo will show a change that cant be seen by comparing the light on its own,
On a ceiling shot its a an ever so slight increase, slightly more so with a 1.7v Lithium than a NiMh.
Not worth it, all it adds is the little lower low and the midrange with flashing modes.

I have both now (LD10 and Leatherman LGX200 version of L1Tv2) and would be happy with just the LGX200.
I'm getting LD20 body for the LD10 to make it a more versatile camping light and the LGX200 will stay my daily carry light with a small gun.

Another AA I have ordered in the iTP C7T.
But its going to be so close to your L1Tv2 that you may not bother either.
I doubt you will find enough in any other AA to justify a swap.

Rather look small (AAA) or bigger (2xAA)
As performance is going to be similar and the simple user interface of the L1Tv2 rocks then you can only have a look at different reflectors and light colors.
You say you are happy with the throw/spread of the L1Tv2 so I think its a losing battle.

If you're looking for more power on your helmet for riding (I bike at least 50 mi. per week) why not look into the new HP10 Fenix headlamp? It's got a lot of power and uses one of the quad-core Cree emitters if I remember correctly. It will certainly be heavier and bulkier but you'll get a lot more flexibility, because you'll be able to use it for camping, caving, etc.

The L1T-V2 is about 90 Lumens. The brightest XR-E 1AA-NiMH lights are still only ~30 Lumens brighter and hence not a significant jump. The L1T-V2 is not really a thrower so on straight downhills your brake distance can easily extend beyond the throw of the light. (A dangerous condition who's technical cycling term I can't recall.)

I think you need to UP the power and look into a 3.6-4.2 Volt lithium-ion solution. I have been very happy with my eagletac P100C2, its UI is exactly like the L1T-V2, but significantly brighter (180L OTF) and throws much farther than the L1T. It is bigger though, so I think a handlebar mount might be better. Together with the L1T-V2 that would give you almost 300L. I use mine with a 17670 cell and find there is no difference in brightness or regulation running it at 4.2V. But you can also run it at 6-8.4V just as well from primaries or RCR123.

Have you considered running the L1T off a 14500 Lithium Ion cell? I am not positive it can handle the 4.2V, but I think its worth your while to look into it.

kramer5150 said:

Have you considered running the L1T off a 14500 Lithium Ion cell? I am not positive it can handle the 4.2V, but I think its worth your while to look into it.

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I'd bet a month's pay that at the very least a 14500 in an L1T will at least break regulation, if not fry the emitter completely.

In my 25 years of cycling experience (I ride 50 mi/week now; when I was younger it was 400 mi/week at times) a floodier light is more useful than a narrow beam light with a lot of throw. You need to be able to see in front of you no matter where your front wheel is pointing. A very narrow beam when turned slightly to the side is not going to illuminate where you're going. I use a Cateye Single Shot plus which as 2x1 watt Luxeon LED's and it puts out about 110L in a very nice wide beam. There are brighter lights out there you could use for cycling, but again, they have much narrower beams. I use the Cateye on my handlebar and also a more narrow beam light mounted on my helmet for the best of both worlds.

LiFePo4 cells (around 3v charged) work fine in my L1T. Short runtime though, only about 25 mins.

The most sensible option would be to move to 2AA if you want significantly enhanced output or runtime. Even with the latest emitters you're not going to see a gigantic increase in runtime or output if you stick with the same 1xAA power source. I'm not sure how you're mounting your light, but check out this page for some nice ways to mount a 2AA light to your helmet. Since your current light is doing well for you, I'd recommend holding off for another month or two till the XP-G equipped lights hit the market. Then you can pick up a 2AA XP-G R5 equipped light that will have 3x the lumens output, 2x the throw, and equal or better runtime compared to your L1Tv2.