Originally Posted by
williaty
I was able to borrow a MagicShine and ride on a MUP tonight. It's better than the LD20+, but it's not that awesome. I didn't feel like I could see meaningfully farther. It was obvious, however, that a much wider area was illuminated. However, for me (I have pretty bad night vision), the flood area wasn't bright enough. I could see things vaguely in the flood area, but not enough to be really confident about what I was seeing. It still had me swerving a bit to move the beam side-to-side so I could see into corners and whatnot.
Still, I don't think it gets any better than that for less than $800.
Don't be ridiculous! You can definitely, definitely get better than that for "only"...$700...LOL
The most economical way to have enough light to see around corners is to buy a helmet light, for sure. Then you can keep your handlebar light pointed forward, but point the helmet light wherever it is you're trying to see. It's a *lot* less expensive than buying a light bright enough to illuminate everywhere you're trying to see.