Talk about frustration .
I have an inbox full of enquiries for lights and prices .
some hear the estimated price and never reply and about 30% get back still interested .
I have no housings left and the guy who CNC machined them last time seems too busy to do some more for me despite the fact they were £32 each and the last run was 43 units
also I am still waiting for the new XPG leds to be released as I dont want to use the older stuff .
Here is the breakdown so you can see what goes into a light.
The big boys will get it all a lot cheaper and will be getting their lights made in asia though Hope do their own stuff as we all know.
As I have to buy most of the bits in $ last season it had a huge impact on costs .
this is what is inside a Troutlight MK1 and what it costs me to build at todays exchange rates and prices
6 XPE leds @ £3.55 ----------------£21.30
optics @ .80 ----------------------£ 4.80
led driver - Maxflex --------------£22.00
waterproof switch ----------------£ 5.00
housing ---------------------------£32.00
anodising -------------------------£5
other bits like 4 M3 bolts
wire
thermal adhesive
silicon
strain relief for cable
cable ( found 100 mtrs in a skip )
lexan face plate
estimate for these ----------------£10/12
total cost ---------£ 103.00
the total cost last season was about £115
I sold the kits to DIY for £135 plus postage
and for those who did not want to diy £165 .00 plus postage
What you got for the money was a Light with on paper lumens of 1200 with a beam that was taylored to suit either helmet or bars and for those who bought one a light that was as good or better than any of the big players lights
OK no fancy box , an email with instructions on . no fancy mounting brackets though it could be bought ready drilled and tapped to take a Lumicycle bar mount and the user had to find a velcro strap to helmet mount it or in my case 2 zipties
Now for the New stuff
I cant give prices yet as we dont know the cost of the new XPG leds but all the others things stay the same .
If I can get some more housings done then there will be 2 lights maybe 3
but first up will be the 6 led Troutlight redesigned to be even better.
the on paper lumen count will go up to 2070 lumens at full power
again with a beam pattern as good as the pics you have all seen.
then a 4 led version I am hoping to do . smaller lighter and with a slighlty better lumen count of 1380 Lumens.
again both with a tuneable beam to suit the user.
So you can see what it costs me to do a light and the huge profits I make .
I do it because I enjoy it
Yes costs could be brought down a little .
a cheap driver with no hi low or thermal protection could be used but then the lights would start to come back broken due to users letting them overheat , not something I want to be repairing lights for free.
I could go to China and have a shedload made but have no money to risk on that route, then I just become a reseller in it just for the money .
There you go folks my cards are on the table with no bullshit in there
I could easily buy a reel of P7 leds and knock up a light for the £50 but no way include the battery/charger it would be nearer to £100 or more .
but that is not what I want to do an average light
I want to do a great light.
And on Batteries / chargers
that is Smudges domain and he helps me out loads so get your replacement packs from him . they are top quality cells
)and a battery pack off Smudge. But theres the thing, at the moment I couldn't afford it. When my aging -and cr@p- cateye halogens with their giant lead battery finally died I had to get new lights and the bastid was in my budget.
