Originally Posted by
no1mad
1. I just finished looking at the Dinotte site before checking back in here. They do have some nice looking lights, but when I can get 2 P7's that have a combined output roughly equivalent to the top of the line Endurance Series for about the same price as the entry level Dinotte, it's a no-brainer in my book.
Well to be fair, the P7's claimed lumen output is overinflated compared to the Dinotte's by about 100%, just like the Magicshine. If a Dinotte light claims "200 lumens", you can probably expect it to be equivalent to other lights like a P7 or Magicshine claiming "400 Lumens".
And the P7 has about half the runtime of the Dinotte.
Even so, you're right it's probably still cheaper. And if you're only looking for a light for "emergency use" not regular use, it sounds better. And if you're just starting biking, whether it's likely or not it's always possible you wouldn't stick with it and with the P7 at least you'd have a useful flashlight. :-)
Here's a Magicshine vs P7 thread -
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=636602
Both have their own...quirks. It illustrates my hesitation in recommending anything, though - at the beginning "ItsJustMe" writes about how the P7 he bought was brighter than his Dinotte 200L, about how the runtime wasn't a big deal, about how there was less of a chance of things going wrong with it than the MagicShine...etc, etc, it's fantastic.
Seems like the P7 is a clear winner...'till you get later in the thread and he writes about how it broke "FWIW, I'm now back to undecided. The P7 flashlight lasted about 5 months before wigging out. Now it sputters and changes modes every time I hit a crack in the pavement. I've had the switch apart looking for bad solder joints, and couldn't find one. Sometimes it's not too bad, others it barely runs. "
LOL
Seriously, even if I was somehow emotionally invested in what you get (which I'm not), I wouldn't be offended or anything with either way you go. It's not a straightforward choice. I'm kinda sad I don't have a clearcut answer for you!
Originally Posted by
no1mad
2. I understand about the city/country difference. The hardest part of my morning drive is through my small town. I tend to do better when there aren't as many light sources distracting me, if that makes any sense. I believe the term is 'light clutter'.
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about with unlit bike trails vs city lighting! I've heard several terms for it, but whatever you call it it's a weird quirk of lighting - with inconsistent city lighting, you need a brighter light than out on an unlit trail.
I could suggest a light I've used that's almost totally overcome this, but it's...expensive. Let's just say that!
Actually, my favorite economical combination of lights was my bike with Lumotec Cyo on the front (dynamo light), and Dinotte 200L on the helmet (yes, I'm sure there's plenty of other equivalent lights that would work as well).
Originally Posted by
no1mad
3. Weather permitting (and if I don't have too much to drink tonight), I'll get up and start doing a reverse of my cycle commute with the
Coleman to see how it goes. Don't really want to waste the gas, but I haven't ridden in two days, so I'll mark it up as a training ride.
I'd be curious to hear back what you think.
Other options include going out halfway and coming back (give you an idea of how it will go), or if it's ok to leave your car/truck in the lot and you can find a night you definitely won't need to drive, driving in, biking home, and biking back.
Good luck!
P.S. One other question - would the P7 take AA nimh batteries or the CR...something that's lith-ion? Be aware that regular ni-mh batteries have a fairly steep rate of self-discharge if you don't use them a lot - in other words, if the batteries sits around for a while it loses stored energy just sitting there. You could read about it here or here if you want -
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-32.htm
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=115650
It doesn't matter so much if you use the batteries regularly, but matters more if they'll sit for months at a time. There is an easy solution - buy the "low self-discharge" kind. Sanyo Eneloops are well reviewed, but I personally usually the Rayovac "Hybrid" batteries because they're $10 for a 4 pack at Target (probably Walmart to). Just wanted to mention it.