Originally Posted by
Richard Cranium
Lighting advice is almost always confusing because everyone has a different definition or expectation as to what it means to "see" satisfactorily. And then of course, "specs" are used to try and give a new user an idea of how one light may compare to another. But again, all "specs" are not created equal and each user has a different priority of their importance.
This means you can have several lights with nearly identical specs and you will find some lights appearing to "work better" than the others.
Keep in mind, if you really want to check out what makes you happy -
the only way - is to
use the light in the conditions you expect to use it in. The next best thing is to search you-tube for flash light and bike light demo movies.
If you wait a while - I'm going to post a movie about a light I just became aware of. It's impressive, and my demo will show how the concepts of
throw, flood and
pattern can distort simple specs like lumen.
I currently endorse this light as the best "all around" light because of the flood to throw adjustable lens.
I appreciate the work you've done - but I would strongly argue no! Even Hell No!
- This light is unregulated, meaning that the level of light will vary greatly with battery strength. (A good light will shine at constant brightness until the battery is almost drained, then go into a lower mode. A really good one will blink a few minutes before doing the switch to warn you.) With an unregulated light you'll never be sure how visible you are or what level of detail you can see.
- That 3AA power pack is inadequate - a real light of this lumen rating, a regulated one, would drain it in less than an hour.
- Zoom optics are notoriously artefacted, limiting the light's ability to reveal a poor road surface because of the inconsistent light. No, I've not seen the beam on this light, but I have seen other Lensers.
These flaws might be acceptable on a $20-shipped light from DealExtreme, but at this price, no. And DealExtreme probably can sell you a regulated light for $20 if you give up the zoom. Ymmv, but I'd say that the first thing you should look for in a decent cycling light is regulation. There's little point buying a 140 lumen light that only spends 15 minutes before diving to half that brightness.