Originally Posted by tuolumne
RECOMENDATIONS PLEASE I'm not sure I can afford any of these options, but I would like an HID bike light. Here are the best prices I saw with a quick scan of the net (not counting ebay bids). I've read reviews and looked at beam comparisons until extreme dizziness set in. What do you folks (having experience with these lights) think of the following options (all NiMH and HID):
JetLite HID Blast - $375
Light & Motion ARC HID - $329
Lume Lighting Strada (slow charger) - $280
Nightpro Extreme - $299
Niterider Rage (LED/HID) - $420
Edison anything - forget about it
I need 3 hours (maybe more) of light for a snowy commute (32 miles R.T.) . I do not think Lion is worth the cost or potential problems with cold weather. I like the LED combo of the niterider, but $400+ ...yikes. Charging time is not important...I've got all night. Does Cygolite make any HIDs? HID is important to ride 25 mph+ if possible as much of my commute is in the country with some long hills. I'm not sure a LED would be enough to avoid the deer in time. All of this may prove academic with no budget. This will be my first winter commuting...right now I start my mornings with a hiking headlamp and handheld LED flashlight. This mostly makes me visible to other cars as the mornings are not fully dark. I've only got a few weeks tops before it's too dark for this setup. Thanks...
Charging time
is important. If you get home at 6:00 pm and have to leave at 6:00am for work, you only have 12 hours to charge your light. Many of the overnight charger lights take that long or even 14 hours for a full charge. You may have much longer, but think about it when purchasing. To get three hours in the cold you need to include extra time for a flat or something else. I would go with 4 hours for a three hour commute. Cygolight does not seem to sell their HID anymore.. The batteryspace lights are less $$ anyway. They will give you your 4 hours. And of course less in the cold.
The only thing on the market today that will give you 4 hours, bright light, and be close to your budget will be HID right now that's where the marketplace is. You can build your own Halogen light for less than $100.oo that will do that. You may have to get a huge SLA battery to do that. They can be insulated and have a chemical hand warmer put inside the insulation. I have not tried that myself, but maybe others here have?
As you alread have seen, you will get light recomendations from others that do not have the run time you need. If you need three hours in the cold buy a four hour light.