I just wanted to comment on the durability of headlights based on my experience.
I have owned several EL200s, an EL500, a NikeHawk Raptor, a NikeHawk Emitter, and a Nashbar brilliant(?).
All of these lights have started having failures after less than a year of use. The EL200s last 6-9months before they start turning off on large bumps. Shortly after this they fail to turn on. The Nashbar light had similar problems after a shorter amount of time (thou it was winter when I used this light).
After about 10 months the Emitter would no longer turn on follow a short period where it took repeated attempts to turm the light on.
The battery connection on the Raptor became loose after only a few months of use. I was able to resolve this issure with some ingenuity. The light was stolen with my bike before I got to use it much longer.
I've had the EL500 for about 6 months and the switch has started to give problems. It took me multiple attempts to turn the light both on and off the last time I used it.
Does anybody have a recommendation for a light as bright as the EL500 that will last for years rather than months? I hate buying new lights every few months.
Craig