Originally Posted by
Garfield Cat
I have the Cygolite Hotshot. One reason why I chose Cygolite is the location of its shop. Its close to me and if I need anything I just drive there and pick stuff up. With Australia its not possible. So I was looking at their web site and cannot find any local distributor. Even if there were a distributor, it would have to be able to handle repair issues.
It may be a great light and different than the Hotshot because of the beam, but its the "afterwards" that concerns me. A couple of years ago, I bought the MagicShine from Geomangear. But even then, New Mexico, and all that, it really doesn't work that well.
There are 3 manufacturers in California, well maybe just 2: Niterider in San Diego and Cygolite in Santa Ana. Then there's Lezyne in San Luis Obisbo. I find it difficult to justify buying from Australia.
I have both the RedZone and the WhiteZone. While it's an Australian company, my lights shipped from the U.S. I don't remember exactly where, and I didn't kept the box, so I can't check.
I emailed them with a few questions before buying, and their reply was prompt and helpful. After the lights arrived, I discovered that the mount that comes with the WhiteZone didn't work for my bike. They sent me a different mount at no charge. Thier customer service was excellent on both occasions.
Given how much I love this light (brightness, beam width, features, rock-solid construction), I would find it difficult
not to buy one if I had to do it over - regardless of where in the world the company was from. I'm simply not going to do without such a great product just because the manufacturer isn't within driving distance. The companies that made my bicycle, car, cell phone, washing machine, etc aren't within driving distance either, and those are all much bigger ticket and more complex items than a simple $100 light. If I only bought stuff from manufacturers within driving distance, I wouldn't own very much stuff at all, and certainly not a single bike light.
Not trying to discount your opinion, just offering a different viewpoint.
I have a Cygolite Hotshot too, BTW. They are both great lights, but very different. I keep them both on the bike and use them both, often at the same time. Their different strengths complement each other very nicely. You can read my thoughts on the RedZone/HotShot combination in
this post.