My C&B Seen 1200 Lumen vs My Exposure Enduro 720 Lumen

I ordered a C&B Seen 1200 lumen light yesterday afternoon and it arrived this morning, pretty quick service indeed but is it any good?, I already own a Exposure Enduro 720 lumen and a Exposure Joystick 240 lumen that are approx 3 yrs old but still hold full charge, the Enduro`lasts 2.5 hrs+ on full power and the Joystick lasts for a similar time so i made sure these were fully discharged before recharging them this afternoon and a few hours ago i headed out into the night for a totally unscientific test.

Results and pics below, all pics were taken on my iphone (told you it was unscientific) and each light was covered up before taking the other pic.

C&B Seen 1200 lumen

Exposure Enduro 720 lumen

C&B Seen 1200 lumen, the end of the fence was approx 100ft away

Exposure Enduro 720 lumen

C&B Seen 1200 lumen, the arch you can just make out is over 150ft away

Exposure Enduro 720 Lumen

I must admit i was rather shocked at how much brighter the C&B Seen light is compared to my Exposure Enduro, to be honest i’ve been riding with the Enduro/Joystick combo for a couple of years and i’ve been more than happy with the output for high speed singletrack use and i’ve never felt underlighted (if that’s a word?) but occasionally on high speed singletrack sections such as coming off Talnotry hill @ Kirroughtree more light would obviously be beneficial but i’ve not been in a position to upgrade nor felt the need to. However the output and beam along with spread of the C&B Seen light has to be seen to be believed (no pun intended), it makes my Enduro look positively inept and as the above pics show the depth of the beam is very powerful – i was out for 3.5hrs t’night and covered over 20 miles round all my local singletrack, sometimes twice/thrice round the same section and i ended up heading round the coastal loop road as i had simply run out of singletrack to ride, the exposure lights both gave up the ghost round about the 2.5hr mark, the C&B Seen light kept going……past the 3hr mark at which point i was hungry n’ tired so i gave up and made my way home which took me up to near enough the 3.5 hr mark and i left the light burning as i made an espresso, cleaned the bike, threw my dirty riding kit in the machine for a quick 20min wash, hung my kit up to dry and by this point the C&B light was just starting to die as the green led switch flickered to red and the light dimmed to 40% which indicated 10 mins remaining, it continued to burn for another 15 mins then flickered out.

Over 4hrs of a very useable 1200 lumens from a light that cost £36.00?, my Enduro cost practically 10 x that a few years ago but i’m not peeved about that really as the Enduro has enabled me to get out in the hills and experience some incredible night rides and sights in the Galloway hills so it’s been fantastic value imho, but i’ll never buy another expensive light like it again, i was considering one of their new Reflex models and new Joystick before i decided yesterday afternoon to take a chance on the C&B as what’s £36 really?, perhaps this C&B light will fail prematurely, we’ll have to wait and see but i’m perfectly happy with it and for actual singletrack use it is far superior in beam and penetration compared to my enduro, ill buy another battery pack then i can have a permanantly charged spare so i guess the enduro is now relagated to a back-up emergency light just in case.

Thanks for this, I think I’ll try it out beside my Magicshine MJ782.

That should be an awesome set up!!

I picked up a C&B Seen light a couple of months ago. I must say I am very impressed with both the service and quality of the light.

I replaced the rubber band clamp with a Hope one but that’s neither here nor there.

Why anyone would want to spend/charge 10 times as much for a light is beyond me. I recommended them to a few mates who have also now gone out and bought one too. One guy is even going to use it as a spare landing light for his plane!!

Brilliant.

Nice review, I’ve just taken a punt on one of these as i figured for the price of it, even if it only lasts a year it’s still a bargain. I was looking at the C&B seen lights, but wasn’t sure if there was a difference apart from the colour options.

I got a c & b seen 1200 and one of the 3600 lumen Chinese imports both about 38 pound delivered and difference in quality is a no brainer the c & b seen is so much better, from the head strap to the water proof connectors

So, would you recommend one for the bars and one for the helmet?

I want to try night riding and everything I read suggests two lights in this configuration is best.

Good review. I should have one coming today. Did you get a confirmation email when you ordered yours?

Can someone post up the size of the light head?

How does it compare to the usual T6 jobbies? It looks smaller….

I’ll post a pic on the bars later t’night for size comparison, i’m away to work now 😀

I think the 500Lm rear light would be perfect for Mountain Mayhem night laps 😉

good review, thats me totally sold. I’m getting one.

elliot-20 – can you give me some more details on the clamp that you used and how you made it fit the c and b light?

As promised earlier here are the light head sizes along with the battery pack compared to my Exposure Enduro,

Battery pack as compared to the standard UK measure of size “the humble teabag”

If it can fit on a teabag then it’s small enough, serious note : you may want to waterproof the battery by use of an old inner tube, extra strong durex, serious amounts of cling film, duct tape/gorilla tape etc.

For my peace of mind i”ll be 2using 2″ wide Gorilla tape wrapped round the battery – waterproof and helluva strong.

There you go, review all done and one happy user (been out t’night for another 2hr run), i can see myself buying another one of these just for the hell of it, 2400 lumens on my bars for 4hrs ride/burn time?……. 😀

I ordered one to and I’ve been using it a month now, just amazing at this price. In country lanes cars pull over to let you through, something I’ve not experienced in 13 years of commuting. Conversely you can get the light reflecting off the hedgerow making it appear as though something is coming the other way something you see in cars with xenon or halogen headlights.

The customer service is very prompt and thorough.

Don’t know if anyones mentioned the two useless modes ‘strobe’ and ‘SOS’, one will make you foam at the mouth in 30 seconds and the other is only good for sailors and pilots.

Anyone who needs a diffuser can find one here…
http://www.action-led-lights.com/collections/accessories/products/wide-angle-lens
took 3-4 days to arrive.

All in all stupidly bright.

robsoctane – Member

Thanks for this, I think I’ll try it out beside my Magicshine MJ782.

That should be an awesome set up!!

I didn’t like it at all… Wasn’t the exact same light, but an equivalent. The XML just created an annoying bright dot but the 872 was still doing most of the work, halfway through the first ride I swapped the 872 onto my head and put the XML in my pack and was much happier.

YMMV of course but I wouldn’t recommend it. Oh yeah, tried it with the wide angle lens, even worse- just made the bright spot a more distracting shape.

This isn’t me recommending against the C&BS light, btw- just recommending against this particular combo.

Northwind – Member
robsoctane – Member
Thanks for this, I think I’ll try it out beside my Magicshine MJ782.

That should be an awesome set up!!

I didn’t like it at all… Wasn’t the exact same light, but an equivalent. The XML just created an annoying bright dot but the 872 was still doing most of the work, halfway through the first ride I swapped the 872 onto my head and put the XML in my pack and was much happier.

YMMV of course but I wouldn’t recommend it. Oh yeah, tried it with the wide angle lens, even worse- just made the bright spot a more distracting shape.

This isn’t me recommending against the C&BS light, btw- just recommending against this particular combo.

@Northwind: Yep, just about exactly what I now think of it. Bloody pity though as I thought I was going to have a cool set up…

I had a £10 eBay Chinese 1000LM torch delivered today (the one recently posted about). Strapped it to my helmet at 5pm and went out. How annoying that it’s useless with my MJ872. The light is very white/blue in colour and although I wanted a spot, it simply doesn’t throw far enough to be of use with the Magicshine. Have you got a suggestion for me Northwind? All I want is another lamp/light that will enhance my already great MJ. I would just buy a Spider-eyes but I’d love to see one before I spent that much cash – I know it’s worth it but does it compliment my MJ… There’s got to be something out there?!?

Oh crap, sorry- I didn’t realise it was such an old post. I’m so very helpful.

I’ve nothing very useful to add though, tbh for 9/10ths of my riding I just use the MJ, I love the field of vision it gives. P7 light on the bars purely as a backup. I guess it’d make sense to look at something like the new Smudge Light though.

Mine has had half a dozen trips now. It’s used on my fast gravel bashing CX. I wanted something to show me the deer and boar as far away as possible. Works fine. The spread is enough to light up the undergrowth on both sides even on low beam. Agreed the flash modes are useless, I would happily just have high and low on any light. I have modified the plastic mount to fit an old Cateye light so I can unclip it and leave the mount on the bike.
Recommended.

Hmmmm. I use an XML torch on my lid with an 872 on the bars and I like it. OK, with the Magicshine on full the torch doesn’t add a lot of light but it does what a headlight should – illuminates the place you’re looking at – and it doesn’t have an annoying bright spot.

I reckon 872 on the bars and Lumenator on the head would be hard to beat

So are opinions basically against the wide angle lens? I though it might be useful on the road to cut down on dazzling oncoming drivers.

oooh linky please (sorry if i missed it).
need.. well don’t need. would like something to go with my 872. ideally with same connector, is that also 8.4v?

somafunk, can you please find out and tell me what voltage your mains charger is?

i have a green version of the light, 2 things i have noticed, my charger is 9V at 900ma, the other, is the cable entry to the light is NOT sealed, take off the shoe with the rubber bit for the bars ( one screw) you can see thru the hole for the wire, the PCB

needs sealing with silicone?

Hi guys I was gonna purchase the c&b seen light kit. Front rear lights with big battery pack.
But then they came out with some rubbish that they had hit the vat threshold and raised thier prices by 20%.
So a £65 set went to nearly £80 and even dearer on amazon. I emailed them and offered to buy off eBay cash as there only 15 mins from me but the guy just flanalled me and didn’t even offer a light to me so didn’t bother and bought a MARWI NIGHTPRO EXTREME EVO HID. 10w-8w with 8 to 10 hours runtime.

HIDS dont like vibration too much ?

Yeah I know. I’m not a hardcore rider so should be fine. When it does die ill just swap it with an led set up.

My Cateye Stadium 3 HID has been fine for 5+ years of off-roading. But it is being changed for an LED light as they are so much lighter/better.

Been waiting 3 weeks for my C&B/eBay Light…. Hurry Up! 😐

1200 kit is still under £50 delivered on their own site (costs more on amazon). however, i’ve now read Northwind’s review properly and won’t get this. hmm wanted something to go on bar with 872 on head (or vice versa) but not sure what’s best.

Basically, the 872 puts out such a wall of light, a little spot is going to be pointless with it. the problem with 872 btw is it doesn’t quite throw far enough for me to go fast into corners. any ideas?

I’ve just got the 1200, the only complaint I have is the velcro on the battery pack is poorly sticked on. The lights themselves and battery time are amazing for the money

badbob : my charger is 9v/900ma, cheers for the heads up regarding the cable entry, i’ll seal it up, it needs some sort of cable strain relief clamp but i dunno what?…..i’ll have a fiddle when i’ve got free time.

plastic part has one screw, remove that, then the metal plate has 2, remove that, but its attached to the wire

i then put silicone around in the hole, made sure of a “seal”, and a bit on the screw holes too ( on body of the light)

then screwed plate back on ( 2 screws), then a tiny bit of silicone on the hole 1 screw), before screwing on the bar mount back on.

ordered a light on friday, came saturday! ace service ( i dont work for them! just work in retail and normally just ever hear when is bad service…. not good)

ace light for the money, with a possible floody lens coming out soon, sealed the battery in bag too, happy to do this for the price. no issues!

Cheers for that badbob, i’ll have a fiddle before i head out with it again. Yeah i agree is is an ace light for the money – it just shows how much LED technology has advanced in the 3-4 years since i bought my exposure enduro, which was a fantastic light btw at the time but it’s outclassed in every way nowadays by modern LED outputs and beam.

I might use some of that mouldable Sugru rubber putty stuff round about the cable exit hole, it may hold it more securely.

the cable entry to the light is NOT sealed, take off the shoe with the rubber bit for the bars ( one screw) you can see thru the hole for the wire, the PCB

needs sealing with silicone?

I pointed that out to them, but they claim they’ve not had a problem with water ingress there as it’s protected by the two brackets – to be fair they probably have a point as the convoluted path should protect against most splashes, though I’m pretty dubious about it meeting the claimed IP65. I plan to seal mine with silicone, but haven’t yet got around to it. One thing to bear in mind, as was pointed out to me by C&BS, the light body gets fairly warm and standard bathroom sealant may not be up to those temperatures (I have some specialist high temperature electronics sealant I’ll be using).

Shouldn’t be a problem with strain relief once you’ve got it sealed, as the brackets provide a reasonably grip on the cable.

i used normal sealant ( not bathroom) still i am happy to do this, due to the decent price

well used the C&B 1200 light on my lid, with a 808E on the bars, good combo, but its a bit heavy on the lid ( have C6C7 issues with neck) so

i going to put the 808E which is lighter, but a tiny bit less bright on the lid, and the C&B unit on the bars, with a Nukeproof “standard lens” to defuse the beam, reduces the hot spot a bit!

so all round happy! 🙂 C&B seen say they will field a lens for their lights soon?

Just taken delivery of a 1200lm light. Not used yet but looking forward to it!!
Is there any after market clamp bracket available instead of the rubber band arrangement?

Not that i’m aware of BFITH, however the rubber band arrangement seems to work really well and i bought a few extra luminous green ones for peace of mind as i’m guaranteed to lose them.

As a side note i’ve recently bought a couple of their flashlights to check them out, The 7W Cree Q5 400 Lumen zoommable flash light that takes an AA battery, and yet again i’m astounded at how bright it is and the ability to focus the beam from a spot to a flood is ace for a helmet light – i’ve wrapped it in a bit of inner tube wi a bit of tape and it fits in my Exposure Joysick helmet mount a treat – and AA alakaline batteries are cheap enough when bought in bulk deal special offers.

I also bought their Ultrafire WF-501B CREE XM-L U2 1000 Lumen Torch/Flashlight and a couple of spare batteries and a charger from them and this is giggly stupid amounts of very useable light when fitted to the Joystick helmet mount, it is a very tight fit but i have the C+B Seen handlebar mount that i’m going to modify to fit on the joystick bracket.

Very impressed so far with no problems regarding the use of any of the lights in wet weather.

As this seems to be the most common C&B Seen thread just thought I’d post an update on the good customer service. I’ve had one of their older 1000 lumen lights for a couple of months now. Use it for the odd night ride and commuting.

Anyway the charger went on the blink. So I phoned them up explained the problem and they sent a new charger our in the post next day. No questions, no need to send the old one back and not left waiting for weeks. So overall well impressed with their customer service.

nice review. Be nice to have more like this too.

After reading this thread I called C&B Seen up and express ordered a 1000 lumen light – spoke to a guy called Roger – he was really helpful and even pre-charged the light up in time for our night ride. The light is great – many thanks

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I’ve just ordered a set of these. Am going to get a torch too and bridge it into a joystick helmet mount. They seem like a bargain on the face of it so hopefully they’ll be pretty good.

How have those who bought them nearly a year ago found them in the longer term?