Originally Posted by
chele519
I was rereading reviews again before making my decision and yes, I think some of them were about the battery. I don't see that as such a big deal. How hard is it to forget to unplug it unless you charge it in the basement out of sight somewhere?
I remember reading something that said it really wasn't that bright for the money but the reason I hesitated is I saw the Trail Rat Select and the 2.0 but could not find much about the Select which was at Nashbar. I read so many reviews of so many different lights, I was getting overwhelmed. I ended up ordering the Cygolite Rover extra from REI. That doesn't have the smart charger either but I'll plug it in when I get home from work at 4:30 to have ready for the next morning at 5.
I'm thinking about making something for next spring. How hard would it be to learn how to solder over the winter? I've seen a lot of posts mentioning that so I assume that is how you connect everything?
I use smart chargers for all of my batteries so that I don't have to think about unplugging them. I use Maha C777+ which aren't cheap but they do a very good job and they have analytical features that come in handy.
The nice thing about the Niterider, and the Cygo, for that matter, is that the bulb can be easily changed to a brighter one. Halogen bulbs are cheap at BatterySpace...about 3 bucks. The TrailRat will handle a 15 or 20W bulb. Overvolting the bulb gives you about 50% better light output at a slight reduction of life. Not a bad trade off.
Yes, I solder connectors together but you can also use crimp RC car connectors. They work but soldering just makes them more rugged. I also use connectors with low resistance called Dean Ultra connectors. They are futzier to make but are very rugged once you've made the connection.
I'd suggest looking for a Niterider Sport 50. It was designed to be used with D cell alkaline batteries but the lamp and bracket are the same as the TrailRat. Ditch the bulb, keep the wiring, ditch the battery pack and pick up some RC batteries at BatterySpace or All Battery. You can make a pretty good system for around $100 and a damned fine one for $200. I'd go with 2 lamps minimum.