Am thinking of getting a Diablo on the basis that I am fed up with wires. I have a Hope 4 on the bars so it will be a dedicated helmet mounted light.
Curerntly I am using one of the 1000 lumen Chinese jobbys but its recently died. Based on the short run times of the Diablo it will never last the course on full power. So on my usual 2-2.5 hour night rides I will have to use on Medium most of the time. Just wondering what the output is like on Medium ? particulalry in comparison to my Chinese light on full. And is it easy enough to toggle thru the settings with gloves on ? I wouldnt intent on getting a backup battery as the only benefit I want from the light is wire free. Its a lot of dosh for a 1 hr burn time head light, but if I can get rid of the wired and also get the same performance as my other light then I’d be happy to pay

I find it perfectly OK, I do use the high setting for descents but tend to toggle through Medium and low for all other aspects.

I get a good 2-3 hours out of mine as long as you use the settings wisely.

Is it easy to toggle through with winter gloves on ?

yip, it’s a push button on the back. The helmet mount is also brilliant

I bought a Diablo last year and find it fantastic. Use it helmet mounted to backup the handlebar mounted Chinese unit. Rarely use it on high and generally scroll between medium and low. No problem when wearing winter gloves and the helmet bracket works really well. The unit I have is the 975 lumen with just the 3 settings. My girlfriend has just bought the new 1100 lumen model; having borrowed my unit she couldn’t live without it!

The new unit has the ability to select a power band, tricky to explain but basically it allows you to pick a 75% (for example) and then cycle through high-medium-low in that power band; quite nice if you need that extra battery life.

The output of both units on high is very impressive and the beam has a good spread. I’d certainly recommend it.

BTW. She bought her unit from Shiny Bikes; at £160 an excellent buy.

I have one of these – http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skyray-1000LM-CREE-XML-XM-L-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Lamp-Light-2x-18650-Charger-/290778308356?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item43b3bcdf04%5D.

My mate has a Diablo. It’s arguable which has the better beam. I can replace the battery in mine if it runs out but I rarely need to on a 2-hour ride.

I use mine mostly on low and stick it on high when going fast/downhill so I guess it depends how fast/technical your normal night rides are (mine are just on fairly smooth man-made trails hence can get away with it on low most of the time). You could always buy a piggy back battery if it didn’t give enough battery life for you but then I guess that’s missing the point of cable-free…