Anyone out there make a light that is suitable for bike use AND caving use? Really don’t want to spend out twice for similar lamps optimised for different markets

Should have been a bit clearer:
Caving – I want 700 to 100 lumens, head mounted, rechargeable battery, variable output, waterproof, tough
Bike – 500-100 lumens, head or bar mount, rechargeable battery, variable output, waterproof, tough

Hope R4 comes with a real nice head mount thing, suspect it’d be right up your street, and a bunch of different modes.

Can’t remember ever knowing the lumen output for caving lights – we tended to use carbide lamps with a Petzl or similar for back up. Surely you would need 5/6 hours plus for caving – not sure the ‘low’ settings on bike lights would give you enough light?

Its been a while tho…

Light & Motion Seca 800 might be of interest to you although maybe a touch too bright.

http://www.lightandmotion.com/sport/seca800.html

This thing:

Up to 8 hours on low power

Cheers, both of those look interesting.
cb – caving lights have really come on. I would guess a carbide system was about 30 lumen, the lights of 5 years ago we’re about 100 but people are now using some really bright lights and its a whole new experience. Probably want 100-200 most of the time and for 10 hours, with the ability to ramp p to 700+ to admire big passage

yeah when i first started mtb’ing about 3-4 years ago i regularly went caving so i strapped my Petzl caving lamp on me noggin…. tho it wasnt bright enuff really… the head lamp itself took about 6 small batteries…. was bright enuff down a cave cos its proper pitch black down under…. but when i went nite riding i was out longer hours and the batteries soon dimmed and didnt last long enuff… shame really…

Hope R4 is superb for caving, I’m testing one at the moment.

For a few moments I actually got the urge to cave again…

One of the biggest arses in my day was the hassle with lights. I can see how leds will have altered the whole experience.

Where abouts do you cave timwillows?

MTB helmet light which is also supplied with a head band

Dave… you haven’t been testing an R8 as well have you?

I’m waiting for one to arrive….

cb – mostly go caving in Wales, so lots of light can be appreciated 🙂

and for you info i went caving in the yorkshire DALES……
calf holes, and long churns was good….. then a few tight spots in settle… done quite alot round the Dales…havent been in a while tho…wtith all this rain we been having i guess alot of them will be to roof height nearly..lol

Dave
How is the R4 holding up after a few months caving?

I use a Petzl Duo for caving and a Hope Vision 4 for biking, while there is a head mount with the Hope I wouldn’t dare risk taking the Hope caving. I often wonder how bright it would be but I suspect it would get battered very quickly.

there always smudge’s light from mtbbatteries.co.uk, it comes with a head band for your helmet or if you ask nicely he might be able to sort out a headband for use without a helmet

700+ is pretty bright for a head torch – things like Stenlight and the Petzl Ultra are about 350 which is plenty bright enough for almost everything. You could take a hand torch – a Fenix TK40 or the like – if you need more illumination in the biggest chambers.