I have a B&M Ixon Core headlight, though I don't use it frequently. It has a shaped beam. I really like shaped beams. Beams from headlights tend to draw my eyes to the brightest spot. I think I suffer from that more than others do. If a headlight has a hot spot that is not far forward, I focus on it even when I need to see farther ahead. In other words, if there is a weak part of the beam and it is aiming where I need to see, I don't look into the weak part. This is a big problem for me. B&M's shaped beam is strongest at the farthest point where it cuts off drastically. This works extremely well for me. Not knowing much about how to engineer a light, I'm sure this was difficult to do, so I give them a lot of credit.

The higher I point the beam, the farther ahead I can see, but of course, this makes the beam dimmer, since spreading it over a greater area puts less energy on any given point. It is still quite easy to find the optimum angle for me. I aim it as far as I can while still being bright enough. If it's so dark that I wish it were brighter, all I need to do is slow down.

It would be nice if the beam were also wider but only if it didn't sacrifice brightness in the main part of the beam.

One problem with this light is that it comes with a rubber band mount which slips slightly. The center of gravity is slightly behind the mount point, so eventually, vibration tips the light up. I could correct this by weighting the back or using the optional clamping mount. I don't use the light often, so it doesn't matter much to me.

The construction is impressive, as is the battery life. The user interface is excellent, too. Every so often, the power button flashes. In high power mode, it flashes red; in low power mode, it flashes blue. It flashes a number of times corresponding to the charging state. When freshly charged, it flashes five times. When slightly discharged, if flashes four times, and so on, down to nearly completely discharged, when it flashes once.

Here is someone else's review of the light. It says that it charges with a mini-USB connector, but actually, it's a micro-USB. This is important, because micro-USB has the advantage of directing damage to the cable rather than the connector when there is wear or abuse.