I bought the L&M Vega from eBay for around $120 last winter. I had previously been using a Cateye EL520. No comparison, the Vega is much brighter. However, a few caveats:

- The light has a "breakapart ring" whose function is to break and release the light (in order to minimize damage to the light) in the event of a crash. So one night I'm doing about 35 kmh down the shoulder of a busy highway and I went over a hard bump. The breakapart ring broke apart, dumping the light onto the roadway. I had to brake hard and ride back to pick up the light. No way to mount it until I got home. For some reason, it didn't come with any spare breakapart rings as advertised in the instructions (eBay vendor kept them?). So I just used a steel washer. The breakapart feature will no longer work, but who cares? At least the light is not going to fall on some cheesy bump.

- Even after tumbling down the pavement at 35 kmh, the light still worked fine. The crystal is inset slightly, so no scratches where it matters.

- I'm supposed to be getting over an hour of light at the high (4W) setting. I get maybe 50 minutes before the indicator starts flashing. At the second highest setting, I get over an hour.

- The instructions say that to remove the light from the mount, you need to press down on the front of the light. Wrong. You need to lift up on the front of the light as you pull it back.

- The light will rotate left and right in its mounting. I think it rotates too easily. I would have preferred the light to just be fixed in one position, pointing dead straight.

But having said that, it beats the hell out of the other lights I have used. Light & Motion makes lights for underwater use. Vancouver in winter is very wet. No problems with water seeping into the light. Previous lights (Cateye and Planet Bike Superspot) were not impervious to water, especially in the inverted postion (I like to mount the light underneath the handlebar so it's slightly closer to the road). (I'm running the Vega in the upright position, though.) I like having the battery and light in one package. I just carry the charger with me to work and let the light charge during the day, then recharge after I get home at night.

I'm waiting for HID lights to achieve roughly the same price and form factor...

- L.