Originally Posted by
no1mad
Let's pretend that I need a front light and my budget is really tight- a max of $50. Don't want the hassle of a external pack or wiring, as I'm a commuter who doesn't have the most secure parking and has to remove anything that I expect to use again. So what would be my options? Oh, yeah, forgot to add I'm night blind...
Not sure I see the external pack/wire as a hassle for that situation. Just picked up a claimed 1200 lumen (prob. really about half that) bike specific light for $35 which included both a handlebar mount and a head/helmet mount. For the situation above I'd opt to use the helmet mount and put the battery pack (four 18650 cells in thick shrinkwrap) in my pocket. That way there's nothing to remove from the bike and the light has plenty of runtime.