Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - $16 Costco Headlamp mounted on my helmet

Got the tip off this forum about this headlight. $16, 3 zip ties and some mucking with the straps and it is on there nicely. Did not notice the extra weight on my helmet on the 12 mile ride in this morning. I am going to ride on a dark trail this evening and write a follow up on how it works.

http://www.rayovac.com/flashlight/lux3aahdlt-b.shtml

Thanks :)

OK, back from the ride in the dark. 10 of the 12 miles was on an unlit trail by a lake.

-Light was very stable on my helmet, no vibrations and stayed on there nicely.
-Cone and spread was good, I had good visibility 5 to 30 feet ahead of me and the width of the trail of about 6 feet, 0-5 feet was lit but dim.
-I like that it lit up where I was looking not just where my bike was pointing.
-I could switch bikes and not have to deal with moving lights around.
-I was still able to make eye contact with drivers, i see their eyes they see my bright light :)
-Would be nice if it was brighter but it is bright enough.
-Would be nice to have a handle bar light to cover the 0-5 feet infront of me.

Riding in the dark on a quiet trail is lonely.

Wait the rayovac site isn't working for my browser - what wattage is the LED? And is it Luxeon?

You can buy a 3-Watt 'miners' headlight nowadays at Wally-World for a little more, and you would have blinding light.

I just got and mounted this light on my helmet successfully. It will allow you to see about 100 feet in perfect darkness, less if your eyes are forced to deal with street lights and headlight glare. For $15.79 I am thrilled. I plan to use it along with my Light & Motion Solo headlight for some serious lighting. Notice the little red blinking led in the battery pack -- nice touch.


You can buy a 3-Watt 'miners' headlight nowadays at Wally-World for a little more, and you would have blinding light.

It says the light is 3w on the rayovac site.

Thanks for the post!

I just picked this up to compliment my handlebar lighting (Minewt X2 Dual). It's cheap enough I may even be able to talk my friends who bike commute into getting them as well.

I took off all the elastic and used velcro strips (purchased to organize computer cables) to attach it to my helmet. Tomorrow morning I will be able to test vibration with that method. If it works it will be easier to remove than zip ties which I think will be nice.

My helmet now looks geekier than I would have previously thought possible (it also has a PB superflash and reflective tape on it).

Anyone have experience using it in the rain? I have a feeling I may be testing that tomorrow morning.

This is identical to the River Rock K2 sold at Target. I purchased one of those and love it. A few more dollars than this Ray O Vac version.....but I don't see any difference so I would go with the Ray O Vac.

The only difference might be the spread? Is this more of a flood beam? The River Rock is a DEFINITE spot with not much spill at all. It goes down the road more than a hundred feet too. Very bright and a great bargain no matter which one you get.

Some in the Candlepower Forum mentioned the heatsink not being sufficient to handle the temperature build up from getting 80 lumens in high mode.....bad enough to melt the plastic. I have not experienced this.....mine barely gets warm. Not sure the difference.....maybe newer model.

One other note.....if your helmet has a visor you don't even need to strap it in. You just wrap the strap underneath the visor on both sides and it holds very snugly. Then you can take it off easily if needed.

I haven't been able to find this light yet. I have tried Lowe's, Walmart and Sears Hardware, but no luck. I would like to have it for a night ride later next week. I have seen many others for sale, but none are right. I found one on ebay, but it has different packaging. Where else should I look, or is the one on ebay ok?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160160095357&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

-I was still able to make eye contact with drivers, i see their eyes they see my bright light :)


It is illegal to shine a white light (possibly other colors too?) into a drivers eyes. And dangerous, they can become temorarily blinded. Don't look at drivers faces. That's a point in favor of a good powerful handlebar light when in traffic.

It is illegal to shine a white light (possibly other colors too?) into a drivers eyes. And dangerous, they can become temorarily blinded. Don't look at drivers faces. That's a point in favor of a good powerful handlebar light when in traffic.



Yeah, did not think about that I will refrain from looking into their faces.

Well I've now used it for two round trip commutes and am very impressed.

It's brighter (though much more focused) than a 10W halogen lamp. I notice the extra weight on my helmet but it's not enough to be a problem. One of my friends and one of my professors already want to buy one for themselves, they were quite impressed with the amount of light for the size/form factor and the price.

I haven't had the chance to test it in the rain yet but it did not overheat or have any problems when I kept it on high for an hour last night. The velcro strips I used for mounting work great and I have not had any issues with vibration.

Ok, I ended up getting it from Target for $24.99 and right now just have it put on my helmet like normal.

Alfanator, what did you do with the strap that goes across the top of your head? Cut it off?

3W CREE or 3W Seoul LED headlamp, 10 bucks shipped from hong kong from dealextreme.com. expect 2ish weeks for delivery.

3W CREE or 3W Seoul LED headlamp, 10 bucks shipped from hong kong from dealextreme.com. expect 2ish weeks for delivery.

Both of those use AAA batteries and have an estimated runtime from the manufacturer of less than I've already run my Rayovac headlamp for and not noticed a drop in output. While the AAA batteries are lighter, the runtimes you can get with them are shorter.

The chart listed for the cree light indicates that by an hour and 45 min in you are at 50% brightness.

I think the Rayovac light is a great balance of price, brightness and runtime. It doesn't have enough spread to make me want to use it as my only light but I doubt very many LED headlamps in this price range would.

Ok, I ended up getting it from Target for $24.99 and right now just have it put on my helmet like normal.

Alfanator, what did you do with the strap that goes across the top of your head? Cut it off?

It comes off without having to cut. It is sitting in a drawer somewhere.

I've been using this for 2 weeks now so I thought I would give some feedback on it now.

Water resistance:
Still haven't had occasion to test this. The days it rained I either missed it (once by ~10 seconds) or had to drive in for other (non rain related) reasons.

Battery life:
I got about 4-5 hours on high before I noticed significant dimming using Eneloop batteries (2000mAh). For me, this means it lasts for a weeks worth of commuting before I need to charge the batteries. Once I figure out where I put the normal NiMH batteries (think I've got some 2700mAh) I'll switch to using those.

Brightness:
Because the beam is so focused this light is able to keep up with my MiNewt X2 Dual setup and not get washed out. It works well as a supplement to that light IMO. I can see around corners better and it helps in visibility when I need to cross roads. In dusk/dawn conditions I usually just run it flashing for increased visibility.

Temperature buildup:
Despite that it is still 80-90F ambient temps where when I'm riding in I have not had an issue with heat buildup, even when riding with it on high, very slowly (8-12mph) for over an hour while looking for bugs (I'm a bio grad student an a friend has to collect them for a class). The back of the light will get warm but not warm enough to cause problems with the plastic and the light has not started to act funny after running for a while.

Mounting:
I've been really happy with the velcro strap based mounting. It has stayed in position even over curbs and such. There is no vibration issue with the light even when I go over a wooden boardwalk. I was at first a bit concerned that the tilt part of the light might be too loose and get knocked around over bumps but that has not happened so far. Mounting takes about 2 min, removal should be very quick though.

Weight:
It's no lightweight but after a week I barely notice a difference in my helmet. As a commuter I'm not prone to worrying much over weight though.

For the price and availability I'm thrilled with this light.

-Would be nice to have a handle bar light to cover the 0-5 feet in front of me.


check out http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Adjustable-Fork-mounted-Supplementary-Bike-Ligh/

a $2 solution that will easily light up the 0-5ft area.

check out http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Adjustable-Fork-mounted-Supplementary-Bike-Ligh/

a $2 solution that will easily light up the 0-5ft area.

Very cool, I will have to give that a shot! Going to China on biz in a couple of weeks where LED lights could be had for pennys on the dollar.

Anyone use this light for trail riding? I picked one up (River Rock version), but haven't hit the trail YET with it & was wondering IF/HOW you guys fixed the light to STAY in one position EVEN if you hit some branches??? I can't wait for time to allow me to try it.

I was going to MAKE my own velcro strap w/ a d-ring, but found Micheals Craft store has 12feet, 3/4" wide velcro "wrap" for $8.00 or $9.00 (can't remember which), MINUS a 40% coupon from the paper! Plenty left over in case you need to make a second one for a buddy or Wife/G.F. It is double sided so you just wrap it around the helmet like the wire "wraps" others have used.

Chris

One other nice thing I discovered about this set up is that it will be really hard to forget to turn off the lights when you are done. You take off your helmet and the lights are screaming 'turn me off'...not so for bike mounted lights especially in a lighted area.

Thanks to the OP, I like this light setup better than the 10 watt Nighthawk halogen I have on my helmet. Its bright, cheap and no bottle Battery to carry. This is a perfect supplement to my 35 watt homegrown Solux handlebar headlight or my 30 watt HID.

was wondering IF/HOW you guys fixed the light to STAY in one position EVEN if you hit some branches??? Chris

Anyone have a good idea on "fixing" the light angle?????

Thanky ou,
Chris