Just received a Nite Rider Minewt 600 cordless. I have a couple of old 680 lumen Light & Motion HID systems and I love 'em but I wanted something simple with no wires for my road bike. I came across the Minewt 600 for about $125 shipped on Amazon. I couldn't believe it because I paid around $500 each for the L&M Arc back in the day.

I took them out to the streets to compare. The color of the Minewt is much more natural. The HID system is very blue in comparison. But the HID beam is a good 30 degrees wider and seems slightly brighter. The Minewt 600 definitely isn't a pencil beam flashlight though. The flood light of the L&M is VERY wide. The width of the 600 isn't uncomfortable. It's plenty wide to ride fearlessly through town. I've noticed that there really isn't a hot spot. The beam is very smooth.

Down side, the mount is a bit quirky. It's not the typical thumb screw type. Rather a ratchet clamp style. Not terribly reassuring. The helmet mount is probably never going to be used because, although this light is a lot smaller than I pictured, it's still a bit heavier than I'm used to because the battery is built in. Charging took quite awhile. It took about 3 or 4 hours to fully charge it. But it's a common 5V 500mA mini USB charger so you can pretty much charge it off of your laptop at work or from a car charger.

I like that it has a "walk" mode good for 10hrs rated at 100 lumen. Incase you're far from home with a mechanical failure and you need to trek it on foot. The only thing that I would like is a different mount available. Probably won't be a problem on my road bike but on my mountain bike, dunno.

Anyways, definitely glad to see such a powerful and effective light for a fraction of what I paid a few years ago.