Originally Posted by
sillypjs
Could you explain why I'd want 4 of those lights compared to one of the other ones? Even if I kill my batteries more quickly with my short commute, I'm not seeing why that solution is better. And are those lights much different? I guess the viewpoint is for a focused beam and the cateye is for a wide cone of light?
The link I put in was for the Fenix L2D RB100 btw. Is there any place I can compare the light spreads of these lights? I've been to the site that has the high-end lights, but I haven't found anything that shows the stuff I'm interested in.
You misunderstood. You should always have 2 lamps of any brand in case something goes wrong with one. Preferably one should go on your bars and one on your head. The one on your head is the most useful of the two. I suggested the two that I did because they are a little more economical then the Fenix...but not by much. Any of them would be good for your application.
As for batteries, you can leave alkaline for months or years sitting in a drawer and still get power out of them. Rechargeables can be left for only a few days to a few weeks before they self-discharge. They need regular charging to keep them going. For a short application like yours (maybe 30 minutes per day?), there's no need to mess with recharging. Alkalines will probably last you the whole season.
The market for lights is changing so rapidly that no one can keep up in making lamp comparisons. There are a few outdated sites out there like
this one