Adventure Lights - Guardian
 

Decided I wanted to get a cheap blinkie of some sort without breaking the bank and came across Adventure Lights - The Guardian.

I have used Adventure Lights equipment at work for military applications. We use the VIPIR lighting system. So it's not the Guardian and I have no experience with the Guardian but I do have experience with the company and find them to be top notch.

So I order one and get it in the mail today. Pretty small but it has a decent intensity and I don't want to open the door to "my lights better than your light". Again I'm looking for a small, cheap light that won't break the bank and I won't cry if it gets stolen or broken.

It comes with a belt style clip that attaches firmly to the light housing.

http://homepage.mac.com/hagensieker/...c/gaurdian.jpg

Then the question becomes "How do I attach this to my bike or (preferably) my arc light rack on my Dahons?"

I try a variety of things with the clip and without and with zip ties......and I like none of it.

Then I put the clip on and I notice that it'll slide from the edge right over the light mount on the arc light rack. The clearance is perfect and prevents the light from bouncing up and even better bouncing off.

http://homepage.mac.com/hagensieker/.../guardian2.jpg

Then the problem becomes, what to do with side to side movement. I stuck a zip tie on there and didn't like it. Then I grabbed a short screw and nut and Voila'. Perfection. Light doesn't budge not a millimeter. Very secure and if somebody wants to steal it they need a screwdriver and a crescent wrench and 30 seconds or so. But nobody really steals anything in Japan not much anyway.

http://homepage.mac.com/hagensieker/.../guardian3.jpg

You may love it, you may hate it, but I just wanted to share my blinky solution on the cheap. I'd prefer it to be centered and have a solution or two for doing that but it involves drilling the plastic clip which is something I wouldn't hesitate to do but you know what? This is good to go.

John

I think it's a pretty good soln. And yes, I do park my bicycle with much less worry in Japan than my home country Singapore. There's a bustling black market in stolen bikes breeding here..... =/

nice. why don;t you add another one on the right side to balance it. having 2 rear blinkies would be awesome, right ??

I thought about adding another one but I wonder if 2 flashers not synchronized close together is somehow confusing to a driver or not.

As a side note I found that Adventure Lights makes a bicycle attachment for these and I bought several from this place

http://www.essentialgear.com/store/p...ttachment.html

I ordered and within hours got a "Shipped" email. They have Guardian lights as well albeit they're a little expensive. You can get them on ebay for less.

Don't know if anybody knocks these off or not though. Sold through a brand called eGuardian but made by Adventure Lights.

John

just saw it now and it look really nice. thanks for the link john. i will order some for myself as i am in the process of adding lights to my new dahon curve. ok, i will try ebay for the adventure....

thanks,
vic

On a side note I just contacted the Lighting Engineers where I work regarding the Guardian Lights. They messed around with them somewhat for a particular lighting mission that we do in military aviation. We're using another system but they found the Guardians to be not bright enough but we're talking apples and oranges here.

What we wanted to use them for and riding a bicycle down the street are two entirely different things.

Do I think they're the greatest rear steady/blinky light in the world? No I do not. Do I think they're more than adequate? Yes, especially when you factor in that you can buy one for less than $15 and the burn time of the lamps is exceptional.

John

thanks for the input. here's what i did on my dahon curve. i found an old cat eye rear light and messed with it and here's the result....

If it confuses them, they'll be paying more attention to you. And that, after all, is the whole point of rear lights.