Originally Posted by
SHiZNiLTi
Are any of the lights posted here brighter then the Portland Design Works Danger Zone Tail Light, I'm unsure of the lumen output that it has?
The Cygolite Hotshot 50 is brighter, for about the same price.
That's not necessarily a good thing. The Hotshots are too bright for nighttime group rides, so I switch mine to steady low, and switch on an older steady red LED taillight/reflector combo. I'll switch the Hotshot back to full power quick strobing for daytime rides, especially in traffic, and the slower zoom mode for nighttime rides in traffic.
I've see a few PDW lights in nighttime group rides and they're plenty bright enough without being painful or distracting to follow. But they wouldn't be as visible in daylight traffic.
Also, the two aren't entirely comparable. The Hotshot is a USB rechargeable. While convenient and economical there are advantages to ordinary AA and AAA lights -- you can be a fresh battery practically anywhere.
If you want the brightest available for $25 the Cygolite Hotshots still appear to be the ticket. But if you ride at night with friends either switch it to steady and dimmer than full output, or hang at the back so you don't blind your fellow cyclists.
An alternative is to tip the Hotshot downward a bit. These are intensely bright within a narrow aperture -- directly behind the light -- and less bright at any angle. While the Cygolites allow this adjustment it requires a screwdriver -- although I suppose a wingnut or thumbscrew could be substituted for easier adjustments.
I just ride with two sets of taillights and switch to the less intense taillights for nighttime group rides.
While you're shopping take a look at comparably priced taillights from Blackburn and Serfas. Blackburns have a wider angle of view compared with Cygolites -- Blackburns don't use reflector cones and lenses to intensify the light within a narrow aperture like the Cygolites, PDWs and others. I use a Blackburn on the back of my helmet for a wider angle of view behind me in traffic.
Planet Bike seems to use older LED tech like PDW, but I really like their combination taillight/reflectors, like the discontinued Rear Rack Blinky 5 and similar models. They're less piercing than the Cygolites but still very visible at night.