Originally Posted by canklecat

The Light and Motion Taz 1200 might come closest to the original goal of a bright trail light at around $150. I see it advertised for $177 with free shipping on Amazon right now.

I tried the Taz at REI this week and it's very good, the nearest I've seen to a motorcycle quality light for a bicycle -- broad beam pattern, evenly distributed, very bright.

Unfortunately like most such lights -- USB rechargeables -- the limited run time per charge makes it less useful for commuting or longer nighttime rides. But it's probably well suited to trail rides since you probably won't be riding for more than an hour to three hours (unless you have a lot more energy than I do). Reportedly the Taz can't be charged continuously while running, which limits its usefulness. Even my cheaper low power USB lights can be charged while running from an external USB battery pack, although it's awkward to use that way and not suited to wet weather.

I just got the L&M Urban 500. It's a good value. But the limited run time per charge on high means I won't be able to use it on full power for the longer group rides I join a couple of times a month. The group rides along often run two hours, and it's another two hour round trip from and back to my home.

So I'll still carry my Serfas SL-255, which runs on a pair of AA batteries. It's not as bright and the beam pattern is a bit narrow. But it runs for several hours on full power, and much longer on lower power. Drop off varies depending on whether I'm using NiMH rechargeables (these tend to run at nearly full brightness and suddenly extinguish) or alkalines (long gradual drop off in brightness).