[Closed] Best budget helmet light?

I use this but its quite old now:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14909

I get an hour run time then just stick some new batteries in it....

This looks good though:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15578

Ohh dear here we go...Magicshine

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.29489
Yes it's Hong Kong based, but are a throughly repliable shop. No these lights aren't £300 build quailty, but there fricken ace and are as bright as many if not all the larger 'bike' company LED units. All you need to do is seal the battery a bit better, buy a strap to secure the pouch properly & wait 10days for them to be delivered.

http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/magicshine-bike-light-set-mj-808-900-lumens.php?item=1&s=2
UK supplier of the same unit. More expensive but a UK based warrenty & you may need to buy the helmet mount seperately.

Deal extreme also do much better torches than S_R's link (similar output the MS unit)
Eg: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16500
But after buying a charger, batteries, & a mount (2fish lock-block) you may as well buy the MS unit above - unless you want to use it off the bike too.

Just bought the Magicshine from HK. £51 I mean, thats just silly money!

Z1ppy
Did it come with a UK plug on the charger? seems to be american on there?

ta

i ordered the 3 mode one, appears to have US plug.

5 mode appears to have UK.

An Alpkit headtorch ?

My choice:
[url] http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12325 [/url]
2 mode P7 High/Med/off not sure why anyone would want a flashing mode?

1x 18650 lasts ages (mostly using lower power setting) but it's easy enough to carry a spare, not too weighty on the noggin either...

With a Magicshine/Bastid on the Bars I have plenty of light...

Cookea
i like the idea of a torch i can use elsewhere, how do you attach it to your helmet ooer

i like the idea of a torch i can use elsewhere, how do you attach it to your helmet ooer

[url= http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12000 ]http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12000[/url]

Ahh je vois mange tout

thanks guys!

UK plug version of the Magicshine

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30864

UK plug version of the Magicshine

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30864

That's correct although it's a 5 mode light so you have to cycle through 5 modes when switching it - the others are 3, I think.

THey never have exactly what you want in one thing do they?

Can anyone tell me which are the best 18650 batteries for powering head mounted torches? I started wading through them but gave up....

If you're also buying the batteries from DX make sure they are the 'protected' ones. also check the information about them as some state a higher capacity to what they actually are. 2.6Ah and are only 1.8 or even 2Ah which is shown under the main information. Don't know how they get away with it.

if you have already ordered the light, don't worry as I still have a few protected cells and chargers.

Cookea
i like the idea of a torch i can use elsewhere, how do you attach it to your helmet ooer

I use a couple of old velcro straps through the vents on my helmet, I think they came with MBUK in the mid to late 90's, it's only taken me 15 odd years to find a use for them....

choices choices...

Do folk generally prefer to have a light on the bars and one on the helmets as well? I currently have a single light on the bars, but cant make up my mind whether to double that up with a unit like cookeaa has suggested, or get a helmet mounted one..

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15335

[img] [/img]

battery lasts a couple of hours on full and is as small as a joystick

How does it work with import duty / customs buying from HK? I bought some bike parts from the US a couple of years agao and got hammered on import. Might as well have bought them here.

racingralph - member
battery lasts a couple of hours on full and is as small as a joystick

Looks good as a helmet light, what's the run time like on the lower power mode?

How does it work with import duty / customs buying from HK? I bought some bike parts from the US a couple of years agao and got hammered on import. Might as well have bought them here.

On DealXtreme you can click the "Add Drop Shipping Service" button and it removes the DX logos and marks the item as a gift. Haven't been done by customs yet on any orders.

namastebuzz - Member

[i]UK plug version of the Magicshine
> http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.30864
[/i]

That's correct although it's a 5 mode light so you have to cycle through 5 modes when switching it - the others are 3, I think.

It's hardly difficult to cycle through the modes, can you not press a button and count at the same time? 😉
On the hand held torchs, the 5 modes are better, as they have a decent high/low beam, the 3 modes have a rubbish 'low' mode IME.
Though I would mention that though the link might have a UK plug, it doesn't seem to have a helmet mount?

xcgb - I bought a UK adapter for a quid or so from the DX site and these batteries (a while back, so there maybe better ones out there)

Batteries - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.05790
Adapter - http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.02709

dh - Member
choices choices...

Do folk generally prefer to have a light on the bars and one on the helmets as well

I use both, one on my helmet and one on the bars, using one or the other can cause small issues... If you have a bar mounted light, you can't see round corners or through dense vegetation (think late summer/autumn) but does give you depth perception. On you helmet you can see round corners & over the vegetation but the light will flatten any shadows and you loose 'some' perception of the terrain. It's not impossible to ride with only one, just a 'little' harder, but then the rigid single speeder police would have us using the light of the moon to navigate at night, if they had there way.

How does it work with import duty / customs buying from HK?

There is none, or at least out of the 10 odd orders I'm personnally aware of and thousands off here, I've never heard of anyone being charged impost duty/VAT on a Dealextremem shipment.

retro83 - Member

racingralph - member
battery lasts a couple of hours on full and is as small as a joystick

Looks good as a helmet light, what's the run time like on the lower power mode?

racing_ralph - Member
5-6 hrs

Nice one, thanks