Originally Posted by
bikebreak
I have some chinese lights and use them at night - but they don't get more than a few hours life on strobe mode. And the "strobe" mode on the imported flashlights I have seen is very fast. I'm looking for something that blinks, not for the disco.
The other problem is the flashlights tend to have a deeper reflector, meaning the light is focused into a smaller area - and less visible to cars that are not coming head on. I would prefer a light with a shallow reflector, so it is visible from more angles.
So is there anything low profile, visible from a wide angle, and with a long run time in flash/blink mode?
It they made the PB superflash or the 2 watt cygolight tail lights with a WHITE LED, I would buy that. (though even the cygolight tail is not very visible unless you point it right at the cars).
I have a couple Blackburn Voyager 2.0 lights that in my opinion, are seriously under-rated. They're actually brighter than the more expensive Voyager 3.0 and unlike direct Chinese imports, are covered by a lifetime warranty. Specs on Blackburn stuff is pretty sketchy, but I can give you a relative comparison: its far more visible, has greater reach and spread than a Serfas 1 watt TL200. Yeah - I realize we're comparing a white light to a red light, but its visibility we're discussing.
In that price range ($20-$30) I can't recommend a better light myself. Runs off three AAA batteries for over 100 hrs on flash mode and I've been using rechargables myself for years with no issues. Don't know of anything short of a 360 degree strobe that gives visibility from all angles and those suck a lot more power than I think you'd be interested in. Daytime high visibility clothing probably works the best and would be easier to see from any angle.
On the odd ocassion that traffic conditions or light angles (sun at your back) might warrant it - you can still switch on your Chinese main lights for a few minutes, otherwise these are fine for anything short of heavy downtown traffic. (Of course there are always a few people that tackle heavy downtown traffic with NO LIGHTS even at night but I'm not one of them.)