Looking for advice from someone who’s tried all the Hope Lights.
Is the newer R4 significantly better than the Original 4-LED? I have the 4-LED and I’ve been pretty happy with it. My brother is thinking of picking up a used one and wants to know if it’s worthwhile spending the extra dosh and looking for the newer R4?
Cheers.

Get Trout to Liberate the hidden beast in your light (see what I did there..)

Ive had hope lights and still use a hope 2 on my head, however ive recently bought a new lumenator light from MTB Batteries and ive got to say its awesome for the money am well chuffed with it there 2000 lumen and only 120 quid 🙂

Well, not quite what I asked – but thanks guys LOL. 😀
I’m thinking we already have a Hope 2, a Hope 4, 3 Hope batteries between us so swapping out the Hope 2 lamp for a 4-LED lamp makes sense.

The Hope R4 is brighter than the original vision 4, it is smaller and lighter but you would need to be sure you have the right connectors. IIRC there are at least three different connectors that have been used which look very similar but are not completely compatable.
I agree that a better option may be to get a Vision 4 or even a vision 2 cheap and get it upgraded by Trout. I have had both done, and the upgraded 2 is brighter than the original 4, the upgraded 4 is significantly brighter than the R4
Edit:
I should have said that I have a number of friends with R4’s to get a direct comparison.

I’ve got an original V2, upgraded by trout. Its lovely and bright, but the body isn’t really designed for the extra heat so it sometimes dives down to low power, especially at slow speed/stationary in warm conditions.

Ir_bandito,

Talk to Trout about raising the temp. Threshold. I had similar problem with V4 upgrade, and he sent me details on how to do this- cured the problem and no reliability issues in 15 months regular use

I have the R4 and while it can get drowned out by the £600 million lumen Exposures, it holds its own 95% of the time. Battery life is mega on the big battery and the light unit is small enough to use as a helmet light. The box also includes a headstrap which is useful.

Sorry TimCotic, I used a Vision2 with a 900 lumen head torch. I then bought an R4 but got Trout to upgrade my Vision2. This made the R4 look weak (although I love the size/weight/bracket,etc) so he upgraded my R4. I am now happy 🙂

Never tried an original 4 so still not much help!

Have they finally fixed the wiring issues with the R4 or are they still just doing the standard Hope warranty thing? (ie, replace the part when it brakes but never fix the underlying issue) It’s a really nice wee unit but everyone I know who’s had one has had issues.

Meanwhile I bought 2 Magicshine MJ872s which together cost less than a single R4, perform almost identically, and which have been flawless 😉

In our house we have a vision 2 an R4 (which I won in their FB comp) and magic shine 872 + 808

The vision 2 I find ok on a helmet as it has a very narrow beam this part is v bright. The R4 has been used a lot since I’ve had it and has been flawless. It is has a much wiser beam, a smooth brighter spot in the centre but the wider part of the ‘throw’ is still very bright and usable. Battery life is good. I have the two smaller batteries.

The MS872 is probably as bright as the R4, seems well made but with less good battery life, i have a much bigger battery with a built in meter a lot heavier that the R4 set up.

The 808 was good, while it lasted, but the battery shorted and over all its not as well made as any of the others.

Who is this trout chap? Can he he pimp my vision 2?

ianfitz – Member

The MS872 is probably as bright as the R4, seems well made but with less good battery life, i have a much bigger battery with a built in meter a lot heavier that the R4 set up.

Fair point that, they come with various batteries and the quality varies. I had that massive unit with the meter etc but the actual cells etc didn’t seem very good, other one came with a lighter, better battery with no clever stuff. Inconsistency can be a bit of a problem with the cheaper lights sometimes.

Trout Lights

My Vision2 is pimped and it’s a night & day difference. The R4 is better for pimping but the difference isn’t quite as huge.
I think Trout has got some big gains out of the Vision 4

Wow – thank you everyone! 😀