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Old 11-02-11 | 10:58 AM
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CptjohnC
Old, but not really wise
 
Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Fairfax, VA commuting to Washington DC

Bikes: 2010 Kona Dew Drop (the daily driver),'07 Specialized Roubaix (the sports car), '99 ish Kona NuNu MTB (the SUV), Schwinn High Plains (circa 1992?) (the beater)

I too decided to see how the super-cheap-Chinese-lights-from-China were (note -- these are similar, but not the same as what I bought); I got a headlight and rear blinky for a few bucks each (including shipping) to use as my third line backups :-)

The 'headlight' is essentially a cheap tactical flashlight, aluminum body with plastic lens. It is pretty bright (definitely as bright as my 100 Lumen cheap tactical flash from Costco - maybe brighter) but the spread is awfully wide. Also it lacks a blink mode, which I like on a 'to be seen' light. It is also definitely cheaply made; the battery holder is much 'cheesier' than my other lights, the springs seem weaker, etc... and the threading between the rear cap and the barrel is not well machined. As a backup, it isn't bad, but it isn't great either. I'd probably go back to my three pack of costco lights for backups next time.

The blinky is a little harder to decide on. To begin, the light is really cheaply made! it feels like it will shatter on any impact. It is also kind of large for what it is. But it is BRIGHT! it casts a good, solid red light behind the bike -- competitive with my Radbot. Most of the blink patterns are too fast, however, and the switch is awkward to use (and cheap, duh!). The light also lacks any sort of weatherproofing, though it is possible that the body seal is sufficient for light rain. Not significantly worse than my cheap walmart/target blinkies that I have been using as backups, and definitely cheaper. I think I would definitely re-buy when it comes time to get some additional replacement/backup blinkies, but I would NOT want to rely on this as my primary.

Last edited by CptjohnC; 11-02-11 at 11:07 AM. Reason: included link to similar package.
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