Originally Posted by
Ziemas
I stand corrected. After doing some testing last night I've found that the Mars 3.0 is much more visible than the SuperFlash from the side due to the amber flasher, and much more visible during low light conditions such as dusk due to it's larger bank of lights.
Where the SuperFlash excels is in total darkness where the small but powerful light is noticeable due to not only it's power, but also it's odd flashing pattern.
In conclusion I'd say for riding when it's not pitch black out the Mars 3.0 is more visible than the SuperFlash. During pitch dark the SuperFlash is a bit more noticeable due to it's odd flashing pattern.
NOTE: I've noticed previously that during daytime or in low light conditions the Cateye TL-1000 is more visible than the SuperFlash, yet during pitch dark the SuperFlash is much more noticeable than the TL-1000.
You beat me to it. I was going to test my Mars 2.0 and 3.0 tonight against my buddy's Superflash. I turned them on yesterday afternoon in bright sunlight and they were much more visible during the day than I expected.
I ride in pitch black in the winter with a group. I have both Mars for redundancy and better visibility when it is pitch dark. I got a view of our group from behind once. It was a sight to see. Everyone had their light in the brightest flashing mode and many have two tailights. You cannot believe how much visibility a group like that creates. It looks like a fire scene with all the firetruck lights and police car lights flashing. Motorists probably think they are approaching a bad accident scene!
I have 2 Mars 2.0's and the plastic tab connecting the seat post bracket to the light has broken on both, in less than a year. I use the clip-on bracket and secure it to my saddle bag with twist ties.
I have not used the 3.0 long enough yet to comment on it's durability. But I like the seat post bracket better since the clip-on bracket slides in to it instead of using a small plastic tab that can fail. I have seen comments that battery life is very short and others say that it is easy on batteries. Again I have not used it enough to know. I just put brand new batteries in mine so I will have first hand experience this winter.
I was torn between the Superflash and Mars 3.0 but chose the Mars mainly because of availability from my LBS.