Commuting - Need 2 new items, please share your wisdom

I read everything about the lighting systems but still can't make my mind if HID is the best way to go. I believe anything that will last less than 4 hours is pretty limiting, so that leaves me with the $400+ light systems. For what I need, 10W is the way to go (at least). Anything better than the NiteRider Moab?


Second item:

I WILL get a lot of rain on my commute, and since anything below 60 is really cold to me, I would like to stay dry in mid november and later. What is the REAL WATERPROOF rainjacket that is prooved to be waterproof out there? I had a US$189.00 Dollar jacket that after 3 months all the seals came lose and the jacket became a big water retainer. Too bad a can't remember the name of it, but I had the pleasure to BURN IT.

Thank you.

Let's just say the budget for the items is unlimited. :)

The NiteRider haters will be along shortly to boo me, but what about a NiteRider Classic Plus dual-halogen light (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=LT9009) with a custom bulb setup, combined with a cheap Cateye LED backup light?

The Classic Plus comes with a 12W spot and a 20W flood. If you took out the 20W flood and replaced it with an 8.5W spot, you could run 8.5W spot, 12W spot, or both at once for descents. At 8.5W it should manage 4+ hours (ideally about 4.7 hours). You could add a Cateye EL300 for long slow time-consuming climbs where you don't need lots of light, to stretch out the runtime of your primary system.

If you got the NR, then the daytime-visible taillight (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=LT9030) is worth a look too. It's light, compact, weathertight, and cuts very little off the runtime of the headlights.

If budget is unlimited, you could opt for a second battery for another $120 and double the runtime that way, too :) If budget is absolutely unlimited, ask 2manybikes about that $1500 Nitro(?) light system he mentioned a while back, the one that makes his $900 Lupine Edison 10 look pale by comparison :D

Anyway, the NiteRider is not as lightweight as the Light & Motion ARC Ultra or the NiteRider Moab, and won't put out that much light for that many hours, but you get two bulbs for failover safety and they're not $100 bulbs in $500+ lights either. I've used the NR dual-beams in the past and they're as weathertight as you could ask for.

I would recommend the LightNMotion (http://www.bikelights.com) Solo Logic. Had that for 5 years. Replaced the bulb once. Now they come with LiIon batteries.

Edit: I see they only have a 2 hour burn time on max power. I swear I have run it 3 hours no problem. Oh well.

Does anybody have anything bad to say about ARC Li-Ion Ultra from Light&Motion?

LBS has it for a decent, competitive price and it seems bright enough...

REI, Burley, and Performance all sell descent waterproof jackets. I have an REI one personally. Burley's are popular here too in Portland, OR. Also Performance sells their own branded jacket as well as GORE brand Gortex jackets. If Portlanders wear them, you know they got to be good in the rain :)

I purchased the Showerspass Elite rain jacket: http://showerspass.com/cart/product_info.php?cPath=21_25&products_id=29&osCsid=cd43e06b2aca1de1aa57bc4c0df92b14
and couldn't be happier. It's pricey, but the E-vent is a great material.