Thanks for that feedback.

I assume that "MUP" means a trail, with that said, I don't ride trails when it is dark. My main concern is when I come out in the morning for my commute, it is dark, and when I come back home it is dark. I see the high price lights, they will have to wait. For the time being I settled on the Planet Bike Blaze 2w to go on the handlebar mount, and the Planet Bike Beamer to go on my helmet. In that morning and evening commute, I need to be SEEN.. I also got a Planet Bike blinky for the rear..

Not trying to blind anybody or get their ere, just want to be seen. In the short time I been commuting my greatest fear is not being seen. Crashing don't even enter my mind! Let me crash, but to let a cage take me out because they didn't see me, is a disaster, and in my humble old opinion should be avoided at all cost.

Now, when it comes down to having TOO BRIGHT a light, opposed to not being seen, only speaking for myself, that is a no-brainer. Also, I don't think I am even close to blinding anybody, the high price high output headlights are cable of that, and I am not there..

I will make sure my 2w headlight is aim downward, and anything coming out my rear aim in a respectfull manner. But, when it comes to my safety I am going to try not to slack..

Again, thanks for the feedback, well appreciated..

On the street portions of my commute, I use my PB Blaze 2W on strobe and my 500 Lumen flashlight on high. For the MUP sections, I turn off the strobe or turn the PB to steady because I need to illuminate the path. Fallen branches and eucalyptus nuts everywhere make for a treacherous ride in the dark this time of year. Alternate is a twisty road barely wide enough for two cars but autos will still try to pass in blind sections.

During daytime hours, I have the PB 2W on strobe on the road but turn it to steady off the road or in MUP. Rear light is always on strobe.

I found the PB 2W useless for lighting my way -- my most regretted purchase.

The Niterider 250 cordless was better but the strobe was way too intense. I like my 500 lumen flashlight even though it doesn't have strobe. About the only thing I liked about the Niterider 250 strobe for was riding in the fog where sometimes it's thick enough that there is no visibility beyond 100ft/30m except for lights.

We don't know the circumstances nor when/how the OP commutes.

I run an 800 and a 400 Dinotte on the front and ride 20 miles each morning on a MUP. That said, I rarely if ever see another rider @ 2:30am so the OP could be in a similar situation. Prior to buying the Dinottes I had two deer collisions. Overkill to now see a deer @ 100 yards after the last collision cost me surgery? I think not.

For the deer hazard, I find that a helmet light helps quite a bit, because the reflection from their eyes shows more strongly to a helmet light than a bar light. One of my optional rural commuting routes involves going pretty fast through an area with tons of deer, it's not uncommon to see 15 on one evening.

Why do you refer to yourself as "settling" when you refer to the Blaze? Do you know for sure there is something better? I can afford any light I want; I buy what is a blend of practicality, durability and function.
MUP means multi-use path. Since the MUP is twice as fast as the street here, there is no reason to ride in the street.

The reason I said "settling", was because I got a lot of tips and advice on high-end-bike-lights. I would like to go there, but at the moment funds are a little short. The reviews on the Blaze were great, and so was the price. I was saying I will settle with the Blaze until I get something better. However, you are saying for the riding you do, and most likely the riding I do, the Blaze is more than enough. Great...

Thanks on the definition of MUP too. I am not privvy to them on my commute. My commutes are all streets, and roads. Also, being seen is the most important part of my lights. Not so much I have to see where I am going, but to be seen. Cars swooshing by me at 50 and 60 sometimes.

Looks like I picked a good one with the Blaze..

Thanks again...

The MUPs in San Diego are used for bum dormitories. The police and city hall want to keep them there where they are out of sight of 99% of the public. They refuse to clear the encampments which grow larger and filthier by the day.

Often the helplessly insane bed down right in the middle of the path, like harbor seals hauled out on the beach. Others erect makeshift barricades and try to stop bike commuters for strong arm robbery.

I use all the lighting resources available to me to light up these dark, unlit areas and turn them into day. I always dim, shield, and swivel the lights when another cyclist approaches from the opposite direction, but my primary concern is avoiding the bums who are always dressed in dark clothing and nearly invisible even in moderately bright light.

On the MUP, I generally point mine almost straight down and turn it to a lower setting.

Dam, if I had to commute through that, I would be carrying my Samurai sword, and my derringer!!

I need my bright lights for the really dark unlit areas. I'm only on the mup for maybe 15 minutes of my 1.25 hr commute . So I light to be seen and for cars and such. I need my lights bright so I don't outrun them at 20 or 30 mph. A 1/2 to 2 watt light ain't going to cut it. 100 and 150 lumen lights are at the low end of the spectrum.

I was surprised when I started seeing skunks after I got decent lights. I'm not sure if I was able to see them for the first time, or if it was a coincidence that they showed up for the first time when I got better lights, but I was glad to see them before I got too close.

I need my high beams for dark unlit roads. When driving at 40+ mph, the low beams just don't suffice, so I turn on the high beams. I still dim them for oncoming traffic, though, because I'm not a d-bag.

I try to not be a d-bag cyclist as well, so I slow down when passing peds and the like on the MUP, which handily ensures that I don't need high powered bike lights to safely cycle past people. I understand that you need bright lights for the road, but this thread is about MUP etiquette.

So, in 15 minutes of mup riding with 3 or 4 road crossings I'm supposed to keep switching my lights? What about the d-bag cars at the crossings? The minewt mini's only have an on-off switch. Anyway, I thought you guys in AK only rode moose and ski mobiles? Pedal a mile in my shoes before casting the first stone. Cars blow through red lights and crosswalks with peds in them all the time. MY safety comes first. Yes I can point the blinkie down for a stretch. Maybe some other MA types can chime in here.

I use a generator light with a cutoff optic, mounted below my front rack so it's not blinding people.

For my road crossings (I've got quite a few in the first 6 miles) I use a Princeton Tec Quad LED on my helmet. Single button on/off, waterproof, easy to operate even when wearing big lobster mitts. I just turn that guy on the first setting (high/photon torpedo) and use it to jacklight drivers so they know I'm crossing, then I turn it off when I'm back on the MUP.
Could be an option for you.

Moose are untameable; we eat them, not ride them (and occasionally get stomped by them, ornery buggers). WTF is a ski mobile? Do you mean a snow mobile? We call them snow machines up here (stupidly ambiguous term, I know), and they're as legal to operate in Anchorage as ATVs are in Boston. This isn't the sticks. If they live on the road system, the vast majority of Alaskans drive cars. A very few walk, and even fewer bike.

I understand that MA drivers probably suck, but I really doubt that AK drivers are any better. Anchorage is the only city that I've been where you'll regularly see pedestrians walking down fully lighted boulevards with both headlamps and rear blinkies. Pedestrians, not cyclists. Because AK drivers are that oblivious to anything that isn't another car (and sometimes even then).

Can you angle your steady lights down? Can you turn them off and rely on your helmet light to get you through crossings? How do pedestrians manage the road crossings without headlights? Is it possible that there might be solutions to your road crossing issues that don't involve bombarding fellow MUP users with painfully bright lights? While it might be true that you're safer currently doing what you're doing, that doesn't mean that it isn't anti-social; people use the "my safety FIRST" excuse to justify all kinds of anti-social behavior, e.g.- insisting on driving gigantic SUVs.

I agree with Clifton that a helmet light is probably your best bet. You don't even have to turn it off or change modes, just angle it away from oncoming MUP traffic, and angle it towards crossing auto traffic. Works well for me, anyway; I have a headlamp that I wear when road riding for the sole purpose of being able to point it into the cabs of cars and trucks that might try and cross hook me. My fiancé has the Princeton Tec headlamp that Clifton mention, and that thing is painful to get speared by, and can light up the inside of a car from a respectable distance.

Sometimes the issue of brightness is really one of angle. It may just be a matter of pointing your lights lower...the visible distance will be lower, but oncoming traffic will still be able to see. This is the equivalent to dimming your brights when driving on the highway.

You did well. Just give them a chance before you spring for higher.
I have to ride by 5 casinos in the dark before I get home. I don't think I'd commute if I had to do that on the road. Not in Vegas. Not where they sell double malt scotch right beside the Cheerios.

Daaaamnn!