Originally Posted by
Burton
According to what I've looked at on the Lupine website - the Betty 4,500 lumen animal is available in only ONE beam spread -26 degrees. I have seen other Lupine lights with 10, 15 and 26 degree configurations but all of those are way too narrow for my tastes. I wouldn't drive a car with that kind of beamspread and I'd prefer not to drive a bicycle with it either. Obviously our tastes differ.
The width is important to me because I want to pick up pedestrians and animals that might be headed across my path. The tops of tree and anything else over my head I don't need to see. So currently I'm using 15/45 degree lights that have less vertical coverage than the Lupine - but LOTS more horizontal coverage. Visibility when cornering isn't even a hint of a problem. Will be outfitting a couple more bikes and since to date I haven't tripped across anything else that performs better - have reordered exactly the same components.
The only thing I'm considering changing is the connectors. The ones I'm currently using are rated for about 10x the amperage I'm using so I'll be going down a size. And those will still be overkill for a load rating, but maybe only 2x.
Yes everyone has their own preferences. Rarely do you get everything you want when you buy a light system. If you get 80 to 90% of what you want you've done well. You certainly do prefer a much wider beam pattern than most people. The problem I've found with lamps that have had "wide optics" is that there is a discernible lack of distance throw when used on the lower power levels. If you are using a second lamp with more throw than it's not a problem I suppose but it has never been my preference. On the road I like using just one ( bar mounted ) lamp most of the time if I can get away with it.
Another reason for my preference for a more narrow beam pattern ( with narrow optics ) is that I've found ( even when using so called "narrow optics" ) that as long as the lamp has multiple emitters there is usually enough side spill to illuminate objects far to the sides. I have no experience using the Lupine lamps but I would think with all the raw power that the Lupines offer, if you were using 15° optics you should get a nice mix of throw and side spill. In comparison I use a Gloworm X2 on the bars using one narrow and one intermediate optic and have no problem seeing anything on the road as long as I'm using a 500 or higher lumen setting. The only time I feel the need to add the helmet lamp is if I'm going downhill at higher speeds ( @ > 30 mph ).
Nice to have a lamp that offers different optics so you can dial in the type of beam pattern that you want, or at the least comes very close to what you want. If you couldn't be happy with the 26° beam pattern of the 4500 lumen Betty than you a tough customer to please.
Personally I've always found that too much light in the foreground leads to diminished distance vision but to each their own.