# New cheap-o Chinese LED bike lights 2015



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I think we should start new thread about new Chinese lights for this year 2015. I would love to keep only informative posts, short data, link to review, but no long discussions. Here is MK96 statement from lastyears thread: "Let's keep it clean so we can get a good overview and info at one place ;-)"


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

*KD 2 x Cree XM-L2 U2 Neutral White 4700k - 5000k 4+10-Mode 2200 Lumens Bike Light wit*

Let start with just published variant of neutral white "KD2" set with all tipical accessories ie. battery pack, charger, mount o-rings. 








https://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S023857

While we already know much about KD2 - see the review, we don't know much about accessories. I've got opurtunity to test the battery pack and I got it measured at *decent 4125mAh*. Not very high, but very usable to start with and 2+ hours riding. Definitively above the average cheapo chinese battery packs.
More I'll post in the battery thread later on.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

ledoman said:


> I've got opurtunity to test the battery pack and I got it measured at *decent 4125mAh*. Not very high, but very usable to start with and 2+ hours riding. Definitively above the average cheapo chinese battery packs.


That's interesting! It used to be common for cheap clones to have 2p2s battery with 2200 mAh cells, but later almost everyone switched to complete garbage 1300 - 1500 mAh ones. Nice to see things are improving!


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## 300hp (Apr 23, 2008)

most more about your battery findings....did yours come in that nicer case pictured, or the standard shrink wrap and velcro job?


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

If you asking about the one I've posted in a KD2 set it's in the case as pictured. Not shrink wrapped. The connector is integrated into pack. Looks very sturdy. As I said above the average for cheapo chinese packs. The connector probaby not waterproof, but well, I would need to try, it can be somewhat weatherproof. I'm away for the whole week so can't take a close look.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Oh, I missed that thread! I should had posted my findings here :skep::eekster::madman:

Anyway the seca maybe 1400/900 clone from LM (head only) is on its way to review. We'll see what is it like.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Ok, finaly. Then continue here and leave 2014 behind, it's already gone 
You should lock 2014 for posting if posible.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

ledoman said:


> You should lock 2014 for posting if posible.


But before locking, MK, include link to this thread, of course!

Looking forward to your teardown of the Seca Impersonata. 

Moving right along:



MK96 said:


> Solarstorms got a new design or is it just another solarstormification? :eekster:
> 
> 2-led light
> 
> ...











:eekster:
Interesting mount at least.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

*SecurityIng TrustFire TR-D014 Clone on Amazon*

Just came across this SecurityIng branded version of the TrustFire TR-D014 reviewed previously here in glorious detail by MK96.









Funnily enough, looks like it comes with TrustFire battery pack. A bit less expensive then previously offered on any of the cheapo Chinese sites or eBay, and fulfilled by Amazon so quick free shipping in the States.

Am still waiting for NW version though...


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I don't think NW ever appears  The price for 7 XM-L2 T6/U2 is ~$30 with an aluminium MCPCB and heaps of soldering work. The price of this light is ~$70 but you can find more expensive one also. Great light if one doesn't mind the weight.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

andychrist said:


> Just came across this SecurityIng branded version of the TrustFire TR-D014 reviewed previously here in glorious detail by MK96.
> 
> View attachment 964963
> 
> ...


This lamp is using XM-L2, a big plus. It has three steady modes, another big plus. Are all LED's on for every mode?...That I want to know.


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## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> This lamp is using XM-L2, a big plus. It has three steady modes, another big plus. Are all LED's on for every mode?...That I want to know.


Sure is tempting with that easy Amazon return policy.....


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Yes, all led's on. The light head is itself quite heavy but a massive cooling is very efficient even on high and standing still.



Cat-man-do said:


> This lamp is using XM-L2, a big plus. It has three steady modes, another big plus. Are all LED's on for every mode?...That I want to know.


Meanwhile today arrived the seca clone:


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> Meanwhile today arrived the seca clone:


AND... ?

Beam shots, please!


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

At 8:00 AM?


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## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

A question regarding the seca clone. Is there a mode where only the lower row of leds are on?
It would then be a possible alternative when bikeing in traffic.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> At 8:00 AM?


Sure!

With eight LEDs, that thing should easily outshine the sun.

Kidding aside, would be interested to see the tint. Suspect CW, from the pics on AE. So a little indoor spot shot against the wall or ceiling like you did for the TrustFire 7X (TR D014) would be great.

Assuming you have curtains. 

(I don't.)

Thanks kuzmami.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Dunno, I'm @work right now with the clone head in the paper box


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Awaiting to hear more on that Seca clone! 

-Garry


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MK96 said:


> ....Meanwhile today arrived the seca clone:


Excellent! MK96, the Seca clone deserves it's own thread. A lot of people want to know more about this lamp. Like the others I'm interested in knowing what LED's it is using and of course the beam pattern and UI.

*Another Good find ( just moments ago )* >  SSX2 and X3 using the XP-L emitter!!

Up until now, the X2 could only be bought with the XM-L U2. Never did see it offered with XM-L2. Now it has skipped over the XM-L2 to go to the XP-L. People looking to replace their old Solarstorm X2's or X3's can now get them with XP-L emitters.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Wow, are those XP-L emitters really so much more efficient than the XM-L2s? Was reading over on CPF that low amperage was their forté. Apparently they are much cheaper than any XM-L2. Wonder how the colors compare. You gonna get one, Cat?

Cheez-its, I'm waiting on line at the PO at this very moment to pick up my NW SS 3X from GB.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

I don't think the XP-L has been THAT big of a deal over the XM-L2 (general chat around BLF). I can't remember off hand how they are with their vF (forward voltage), if it's higher than the XM-L2 that makes it even tougher to keep max output (i.e. stay in regulation). What has been nice about the XP-L is the availability of higher bins. XM-L2 is available up to U3 (cool white only), but the XP-L is available up to V6 (at least - I only quick searched) and available with some nice tint options.

The XP-L is really just XM-L(2) performance in an XP-G sized emitter.

EDIT - link to a test at BLF. Higher vF, more ouput (due to higher binning), but don't handle as high of amps as the XM-L2 (though we don't push LEDs to their max in bike light use!). It's a nice emitter, but not really something to go crazy about. The higher vF requirement will bring the lumen output down to the XM-L2 level (perhaps even lower). Same thing happened with the XM-L2 vs. XM-L. The XM-L2 has a higher vF requirement so the XM-L2 will come down to XM-L output level at same voltage input once it falls below the vF requirement. It all depends on emitter arrangement vs. battery input too. This is why I am liking LEDs in parallel with an 8.4v input.

-Garry


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

andychrist said:


> Apparently they are much cheaper than any XM-L2. Wonder how the colors compare.


Huh? The XP-L emitters have been running more expensive than the XM-L2's.

-Garry


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Well, the Seca clone's reviewed here. Make your own opinion.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

garrybunk said:


> Huh? The XP-L emitters have been running more expensive than the XM-L2's.
> 
> -Garry


Think they might be less expensive to manufacture. Of course they'll command a premium on the market for a while. XM-L2 costs about half as much per lumen to produce than XM-L, Cree is very up front about this.

Oh well, what ever the cost, I'd be interested in getting my mitts on a pair to replace the bluish XP-Gs in my MJ-816, if indeed the XP-Ls run whiter and brighter.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

andychrist said:


> Wow, are those XP-L emitters really so much more efficient than the XM-L2s? Was reading over on CPF that low amperage was their forté. Apparently they are much cheaper than any XM-L2. Wonder how the colors compare. You gonna get one, Cat?
> 
> Cheez-its, I'm waiting on line at the PO at this very moment to pick up my NW SS 3X from GB.


Actually the XP-L has about as much output as the XM-L2
I can't remember now which one is more efficient but I wouldn't think there would be a big difference. Right now the only thing I have using an Xpl is one of my torches. I will say though that I really like how the XP-L works with small reflectors. Looks like it does create a tighter hotspot. more than likely some people might not like that though.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> Actually the XP-L has about as much output as the XM-L2
> I can't remember now which one is more efficient but I wouldn't think there would be a big difference. Right now the only thing I have using an Xpl is one of my torches. I will say though that I really like how the XP-L works with small reflectors. Looks like it does create a tighter hotspot. more than likely some people might not like that though.


Yeah seems XP-L is a step up from XP-G, which crams well into small recepticles.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

About the XP-L; It's just a nice alternative to the XM-L2. Like was said, "Not worth going crazy about". I'm just glad when I see lamps get upgraded to the brightest LED's. I'm betting the output of the XP-L's are going to look nice coming out of the SSX2's. In my case It's not an issue because I already have brighter lights but if I was a newbe with little cash I would certainly consider buying one for the helmet.

Interesting thought; It's now possible to buy two LED lamps with a combined output of 2000-3000 lumen, two decent Li-ion batteries and walk away with only spending just over $100. Not bad considering just 6 years ago you had to spend $400 - $600 to get to that level of output. While it's true the more expensive lamps are by far the better quality, for the newbe looking to buy his first lamps the cheaper Chinese stuff is very inviting.


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## dawgman25 (Nov 14, 2010)

Amen to that! My XT-40/Yinding combo for $80 is a great set up. I don't have anything to compare it with, but if it is 80-90% of a $500 combo for the best lights out there, I'll take it. As you mentioned, $100 or less to get someone into night riding and have a great set up is fun.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

*Nitefighter® BT40S Cree XP-G2 Neutral White LEDs 1600 Lumens*

Amazon.com : Nitefighter® BT40S Cree XP-G2 Neutral White LEDs 1600 Lumens Rechargeable Mountain Bike Light- Bicycle light Flashlight-Black : Sports & Outdoors

Interesting sort of a clone of a clone here. If indeed a 5200mAh BAK pack is included, then at $40 this package might be good value. Claim three hour run time on "Turbo." Manufacturer's site shows the cells to be encased in a rubber boot, not shown on Amazon. 4X Neutral White XPGs, apparently interchangeable optics for High and Low beams. Four brightness settings (on Up/Down rocker?) No Strobe, hidden Off.  Four color, five mode status indicator. Loose lens pictured in box, guess that is alternative optic. Extension cable, velcro helmet mount. Big fat charger.






NITEFIGHTER BT40S 4xCree XP-G2 Neutral White LED 1600 Lumens mountain

NITEFIGHTER?BICYCLE LIGHT

Surprisingly, no NY tax on this through Amazon, huh.

Edit: Holy Crap, Amazon just raised the price from $39.95 to $109.95!!! :eekster:

Gosh, so sorry guys. :blush:

Glad I got my order in beforehand, only wish I'd bought two now! :madman:


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

*Nitefighter BT70 7*Cree XP-G2 LED Neutral White 2800 LM*

And the BT40S's big brother, the NiteFighter BT70 7*Cree XP-G2 LED Neutral White High Bright 2800 LM Best LED Bicycle Light.











Must get hot as hell on Turbo. GoPro Adapter shown attached wrong orientation.

Haven't found it retail yet. Best price $64 but minimum order ten. Currently Unavailable on Amazon. 

Think I'd take this 7X XP-G2 version over any current [CW] 7X XM-L2, because NW and 4*3400mAH Panasonics.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

*Mothra has landed!*

Happy Butterfly arrived today and I am half impressed.

http://www.kaidomain.com/Product/Details.S022912

With its 2800mA [rated] circuity, of course this 4X CW XM-L2 lamp is not appreciably brighter than any 2x Cree of the same class. OTOH, the four glass refector lenses do create a unique beam pattern: very intense hot spot, fading smoothly out from there with virtually none of the ringing or color separation typical with SMOs. Thing is quite hefty, all that mass keeps it from getting hot to the touch no matter how long run on high, even without ventilation. Was concerned at first that maybe there just wasn't good a good thermal path inside and that the LED board was retaining all the heat, but upon opening up the Butteryfly was relieved to see a fairly passible design. Couldn't get off the face plate, is held in fast, but from the back could see what appears to be about a 2 or 3mm thick shiny alloy plate cut to fit closely against the exterior case wall and sealed with thermal paste. Would have liked to see a lip around it but maybe that would not have been possible the way it is all assembled. Not sure but figure the four emitters must be soldered in series to a single board flush up against this plate, there is just a little odd cut out on top (behind the empty spot in front) through which the wires pass from the circuit board, which sits perpendicular to the cross section - there are grooves cut on either side of the interior case wall that support it like a shelf. Inductor coil so that means a booster driver, right? (Sorry I'm such a know-nothing here.) Anyway, plenty of air around both sides of the board, this thing shouldn't fry. Lamp might actually be under-driven, wonder whether it could support closer to 4A. Kind of a waste of the four emitters as it stands, I think. Though given the beams' hot spot, I'd want to swap out a couple of the lenses for wider angled ellipticals first. And of course upgrade to Neutral White... something for KD to consider.

Most interestingly, the power/mode button (four levels brightness, no Strobe, long press for Off) is self contained within the thick back plate, which is finished like glass. In MagicShine style, it illuminates in four different colors to indicate state of charge, and flashes red at the lowest. Most interestingly of all, and which is not mentioned in the product description, is a feature I've not seen on any other light head: When initially connected to the battery pack, or going from any powered mode to Off, the button illuminates for about seven seconds, then flashes ten times before turning off, after which the silicon boot glows in the dark. Thus, the lamp can remain connected when not in use without draining the cells, yay!

Sorry but as HTML is temporarily disabled, may be a while before I figure out how to link pics from my stupid iPad. Have to say, with its smooth satin finish and burnished red anodize, Mothra looks a LOT better in real life than in the shots on KD. Perhaps their watermarking KAIDOMAIN all over everything detracts from the images a teensie-weensie.

<crickets>


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback! Is the optic used in the lamp in usual dimensions like the one used in yinding? If yes then it is easy to replace and mix a personal taste.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> Is the optic used in the lamp in usual dimensions like the one used in yinding?


A little hard to tell, kuzmami, because the face plate on the Yinding is more deeply beveled than on Mothra, which utilizes instead a very thick gasket over lenses that I think are glass and are flat across, not conical like the YD plastic resin optics. Appear to be mirrored like reflectors, but shaped kinda like optics (can see cylinders over the emitters.) Actually looks to be same diameter as small side lenses on SS X3; seem shallower but again hard to tell with the reflections and such. Hex screws all came out of both front and back plates easily enough, but I'd probably have to sever the internal wires to push the LEDs and stuff from the light body. Not sure I could even accomplish that without cracking something, seems pretty well sealed together somehow and I can't see much past the alloy heat sink. BTW, connecting cable not secured inside of case, only a water-resistant gasket there. Typical!

Again, wish I could post pictures easily, but until I figure out how to do that, if you'd like you could PM me your email adress MK and I'll send you some. Am sure you'd have a much better understanding of the workings than me!


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback! A simple sense resistor mod would likely kick that baby into high gear! What is the spacing of the 4 modes like? 

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

garrybunk said:


> A simple sense resistor mod would likely kick that baby into high gear! What is the spacing of the 4 modes like?


Yeah Garry that's what I figure, Mothra certainly looks built to handle more oomph.

According to the Overview on KD:

Mode Arrangement:	15% > 45% > 75% > 100% > OFF (Long press for 2 seconds)

That seems about right to me, the progression is pretty evenly spaced.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Okay, here's a link to some pics of Mothra and her little side kick Angle Eye.

https://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157651076813781

If this works I'll post the dissection later.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Yes! We have lift off. 

And break off. 

Two wires delicately soldered to the power/mode switch came undone as I was man-handling the wee beastie trying to capture the above tear-down for everyone's edification and delight. Hope you're all happy now! :madmax:


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## EFMax (Aug 20, 2008)

mtrain said:


> Sure is tempting with that easy Amazon return policy.....


Don't forget that this light has some good upgrade potential..
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do-yourself/upgrade-trustfire-tr-d014-7xcree-xm-l2-t6-4-mode-3000lm-bicycle-light-936159.html


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## EFMax (Aug 20, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> This lamp is using XM-L2, a big plus. It has three steady modes, another big plus. Are all LED's on for every mode?...That I want to know.


In standard form, all the LED's are on for each and all modes, both steady and flashing.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Been off for a weekend. Thanks for the pics. There is a 3A limit due to the diode (SS34) and from what I can see the sense resistor is under the inductor. I just wonder what for are the 2 black wires there. Keep an eye on the uninsulated parts of the wires or drop a silicon glue (fujik) to keep them insulated and prevent metal to metal contacts. I'd also attach the driver to the body with a glue. It seems it is hanging in the air or at least bouncing in the upper half of the body. If the LEDs were in series a sense resistor could push them a bit higher. Thermal path seems fine also - at least the LED plate is glued to the body. I like the control switch has a special connector easy to remove. Many lights are hard to tear down b/c of the small switch.



andychrist said:


> Yes! We have lift off.
> 
> And break off.
> 
> Two wires delicately soldered to the power/mode switch came undone as I was man-handling the wee beastie trying to capture the above tear-down for everyone's edification and delight. Hope you're all happy now! :madmax:


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> ...I'd also attach the driver to the body with a glue. It seems it is hanging in the air or at least bouncing in the upper half of the body... I like the control switch has a special connector easy to remove. Many lights are hard to tear down b/c of the small switch.


Yeah I was surprised it wasn't glued or otherwise secured. But that little neglect did allow me to pull the board out for examination more easily! Will glue it back once I've taken care of the other little potential problem you pointed out and resolder those wires to the switch. Only wish they could have socketed it there same as on the circuit board, but it's obvious why that was not done.

Thanks for your great insights, MK. Will probably put this little monster on the chopping block when/if I am successful at making the requisite repairs. Great beam pattern and UI, am just not loving the Cool Whites and looks like they'd be a bear to replace with NWs, afraid I might accidentally tear the wings off this precious butterfly along the way. But will certainly give her a run on the trail before parting, just to see how she handles. Who knows, the CW might grow on me... like a cocoon. Yech.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

A small note on the LEDs and the limiting diode. If the LEDs are in parallel and driven with 1.5A the diode hit its limit already.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> A small note on the LEDs and the limiting diode. If the LEDs are in parallel and driven with 1.5A the diode hit its limit already.


Parallel.


__
https://flic.kr/p/r8NPHi

Too bad the wiring is unalterable.


__
https://flic.kr/p/raxP7Y

At least the face plate is made as well as the rear.

Still scratching my head over this one. Why lavish all that material and workmanship on such an underpowered lamp head?  So right and yet so wrong.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

andychrist said:


> Parallel.
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/r8NPHi


On this picture LEDs are chained in series... :???:


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I see a series connection too. It is just a doubled wire on the PCB. Parallel will run from the red "+" wire to at least two "+" sides at the LEDs. Here on the picture a series connection (red) and a parallel one (blue):


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

-Archie- said:


> On this picture LEDs are chained in series... :???:


Okay now I get it, was looking at the two paths around the leds before, mistook them for parallel circuitry, D'oh! Would be great if Mothra's circuit board could be upgraded easily, but still the thermal pathway is not so good. Emitter board not in contact with any internal structure, just crammed into case and barely touching in four places. Needs to rest against a lip.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> I see a series connection too. It is just a doubled wire on the PCB. Parallel will run from the red "+" wire to at least two "+" sides at the LEDs. Here on the picture a series connection (red) and a parallel one (blue):


I don't think the wire is doubled, because the embossing surrounds everything including the holes for the wiring. So maybe there is a single conducting ribbon within those boarders, sandwiched between the front and back of the emitter board?


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Maybe, but to see that you need to scratch off the paint and that is not what you want to ;-)


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> Maybe, but to see that you need to scratch off the paint and that is not what you want to ;-)


No, I've done enough damage already! :lol: Still would be hard to scratch, seems like some kind of enamel or laminate over the board. The two channels running around the perimeter are inset, and the entire surface has a woven/microdot texture like a superfine screen. Pretty high-tech application in comparison to any other emitter boards I've seen pictured. Makes me wonder even more why the'd have gone through all that trouble to produce such a relatively under-powered lamp. I mean the machining on the red anodized face plate alone would be worthy of MOMA, it's like 7mm thick and absolutely flawless. Guess the whole thing was designed by a committe (whose members did not get along too well.) Too bad I don't have the skilz to metamorphosize this poor little moth into the magnificent butterfly it should have been.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

So you all seen this "13,000 lumen" 8x light? Looks like it would make your bike front heavy!










-Garry


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

garrybunk said:


> So you all seen this "13,000 lumen" 8x light?


Too weak & outdated by today's standards. Use 15.000 lumen 9x one!


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Oh wow! And that one is even "tactical"! What are you going to do, rip it off your bike and throw it at someone (or something)?

-Garry


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

No, just switch it on, pointing to the enemy. That's enough.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

*Nitefighter BT40S Arrived*



-Archie- said:


> No, just switch it on, pointing to the enemy. That's enough.


Yeah 9X Cool White should cause anyone to flee in horror. 

Moving right along, my new BT40S ordered on Amazon was delivered by USPS to the candy shop downstairs from me the other day. Grrr...

Well, it is shweet!









Rated 1600 Lumens (Measured) seems about the equivalent to my NW Yinding, in power if not color temperature. In the latter department it is very close the the NW SSX3, maybe leaning ever so slightly more toward the green spectrum. In comparison with Yinding, looks Blue-Green, and YD appears pink. At least no hint of blue; alone the color bias is not very noticeable at all, just your typical NW Cree, but this time in an XP-G...2! And there are four of 'em! With optics, not reflectors. So beam is as smooth as smooth can be; no highly defined hot spot, no rings. Does not seem as bright in center as any of my dual or multiple XM-L2s, but that is obviously because the NiteFighter has such spread. Comes with additional circular diffuser which seems like overkill, only an elliptical diffuser could possibly have any advantage here.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157651076813781/

Lamp cable is not gasketed into body, but at least the BT-40S has been machined flat on the bottom to attach flush with the mount. MagicShine style connector, watertight seal with battery cable. Interestingly though, the male connector on the charging cable fits without a burp into the battery's female plug. Kinda makes sense, as the charger is only rated for indoor use and this set up makes things easy. Cells are encased in rubber boot, and the two-strapped nylon carry pouch is pretty well padded, really the best one I've seen of that kind (which might not be saying much.)

Couple things I noticed different about this package, not mentioned in product description:

Indicating LEDs only come on when the lamp is active, not just whenever it is connected to a live battery. Also, charger blinks red toward the end of its cycle, until the green LED turns on to indicate Complete. This 2A puppy was able to charge my MJ-828 to 8.5V, where as the one made by MagicShine that came with the batteries only ever got it to reach 8.4V, according to the back-lit display on the pack.

Control button in back is huge, and divided between top and bottom switches behind the translucent silicone boot to raise or lower brightness through four levels (no strobe, long press Off). Lowest setting seems not all that low, manufacturer claims 25%. Very subtle increments from there to full brightness. Cool feature to be able to go up or down, not have to cycle in only one direction or the other. Was pleasantly surprised that the unit did not get too scaldingly hot when run on High without any ventilation. According to the Users Guide the BT40S will step down to the middle setting should it begin to overheat on Turbo but that never happened while I was grabbing beam shots. Will have to let it run longer later under a fan to see just how many hours the 5200mAh BAK pack is good for, remind me to report back.

Haven't had a chance to take the BT40S outdoors yet and am really dying to. Will be interesting later to compare this lamp with its big brother, the 7X NW XP-G2 BT70, once that becomes commercially available as well. Head of sales at NiteFighter, Andy Wong, told me it should appear on Amazon some time in March, and that the orientation of the optional GoPro mount will have been addressed upon release.

Any of you guys still awake after reading this please let me know what crucial details I've left out.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Yawwwwwwwwnnnnnnn . . . I'm still awake  . So this is another (better?) MagicShine MJ-872 clone. I have the cheap clone (see this link to my beamshots and current measurements) and I really like the beam pattern. I've picked up 4 Neutral white XP-G2's but haven't modded it yet. Note that 4 XP-L's would also fit into the optics with a recently learned optics mod learned over at BLF to open up the XP-G opening just a touch wider using a torx bit.

Nice light, but I ain't paying $110 for it.

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

garrybunk said:


> Yawwwwwwwwnnnnnnn . . . I'm still awake  ...
> 
> ...Nice light, but I ain't paying $110 for it.
> 
> -Garry


If you're still awake, then you haven't been paying attention! :nono: 

Anyway I only paid $40, caught the one minute sale on Amazon.

Garry, what is the clone light like with the XP-G?, MagicShine claims the same 1600 lumens. Twin XP-Gs on latest MJ-816 are very blue, even in comparison with the Cool White XM-L2 center beam.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Yes, looks like yet another MagicShine MJ-872 clone. In fact, MJ-872 (and its cheap copy) were probably the best flood lights I've seen - the only reason I haven't ordered neither of them was insufficient overall power.

Andy, thanks for information! :thumbsup:


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

I haven't used my 872 clone much, but the buttons are a weak point. There is some info on it around MTBR and I know I read someone saying their buttons quit working. Others also loved it. 

Like I said, I really liked the beam! Very wide throwy beam pattern. I compared it to an SS X3 in my link above. Mine was a very nice crisp cool white (as shown in my pics). 

There is a review of it in Russian somewhere if I remember (use Google Translate), but I might be confusing it with this same one or the original. 

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Funny Garry but on my iPad your shots with the MJ clone look very blue-green. SSX3 look perfect. Huh.

Guess there may be some difference between models as well, mine with the XP-G2 being more recent might have also addressed some previous issues. Buttons feel perfect to me, no space between the boot and the switch, similar action almost to SolarStorm. But the sentinel_cases Stealth is rather different to the NiteFighter, fins more similar to MJ original.

Yeah you did post that link in Russian to the NiteFighter BT40. There was also a video unboxing and lens swapping on YouTube, dunno if was the same guy, might have been a Ukrainian rather than a Ruskie though. Wonder how in the world he ever got a hold of one, there are like zilch other references to any NiteFighters online save for a German video comparing them with Gloworms. Was that one ever a snorefest!


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

You know, I was having White Balance issues with my camera for awhile and they probably affected those shots (but not the SSX3). I even stated in that link that they pics weren't as cool white as it was in reality. 

At $40 I'd be tempted to pick up the Nitefighter. 

-Garry


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

I don't know about anyone else but I'd really like to see some Trail beam shots of this new Nightfighter bike light. I know that its a magicshine clone but it is using neutral white LEDs so that does make it of interest. I do think however that the seller needs to drop the $100 price tag just a little.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Cat, was it the NightFighter BT-70 or this BT-40S you were asked to review, or some new super secret model that you're not free to discuss yet? Certainly you can tell _us_, it won't go any further... I SAID SPILL IT. NOW.

:lol:


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I'd say $40 is a great deal Andy


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

garrybunk said:


> So you all seen this "13,000 lumen" 8x light? Looks like it would make your bike front heavy!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Now if the heat path is fine it can do the 80W and maybe more with XM-L2 on copper. Still I wouldn't mount it on a carbon fiber stem and handlebar 



-Archie- said:


> Too weak & outdated by today's standards. Use 15.000 lumen 9x one!
> 
> View attachment 969501


OMG that is a "tactical" hand grenade. It blinds you first and hits you in another moment 

It is still not clear for me why they use 7.4V source for the multi-emitter lights that need to run >25V. I can see a short life of the driver that boosts like a beast all the time to these levels from 7.4V and blowing capacitors.


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

MK96 said:


> It is still not clear for me why they use 7.4V source for the multi-emitter lights that need to run >25V.


Because of wide availability of 2S packs & chargers, I suppose. It's de-facto standard for bike lightning voltage nowadays, kinda like 12V used in cars.



> I can see a short life of the driver that boosts like a beast all the time to these levels from 7.4V and blowing capacitors.


In fact, step-up drivers aren't differ much from step-down ones. BTW, my 7*XM-L light still works flawlessly with that scheme (all the LEDs in series, power from 2S battery).


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Yes, mine dual 7-UPs are fine too. But many cheap lights blow the cap OTOH it may be a design issue.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Or underrated / low quality caps...


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

That is what I included in the design issue.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

andychrist said:


> Cat, was it the NightFighter BT-70 or this BT-40S you were asked to review, or some new super secret model that you're not free to discuss yet? Certainly you can tell _us_, it won't go any further... I SAID SPILL IT. NOW.
> 
> :lol:


Originally I was asking for the two emitter version but I was going to wait till spring. Now I'm thinking it would cool to take a look at the ( 7-up? ) lamp they have but all depends if I can get back in touch with the dealer and whether or not that lamp is available yet. I guess what I'm saying is that it might not be up to me.

Now I'm curious, which of the Nightfighters would most like to see reviewed?


----------



## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> Originally I was asking for the two emitter version but I was going to wait till spring. Now I'm thinking it would cool to take a look at the ( 7-up? ) lamp they have but all depends if I can get back in touch with the dealer and whether or not that lamp is available yet. I guess what I'm saying is that it might not be up to me.
> 
> Now I'm curious, which of the Nightfighters would most like to see reviewed?


Oh, was that the FandyFire-looking dual emitter you're talking about? Think that might be the lowest lumens of the bunch, will have to check. [Nope, new one is 1800 Lumen, 2x NW XM-L2. My bad! Earlier model only 1200 though, one I saw on YouTube.*] Anyway, as I've already got my mitts on the 1600 lumens BT40S, and plenty of NW dual L2s, would love to see a review of the 2800 lumens 7X NW XP-G2 NiteFighter BT70.

*Warning: Snoozefest Ahead





Ooh, just saw again they threw a Sigma Pava into that mix. I had one of those, what a POS! 20 min run time; weak green LED (I mean the spot here, not the charge indicator!); clamp cracked apart right away, and wonky power switch - kept having to remove all the loose cells in order to reset the circuit board just so it could turn on. Dealer who sold me mine never figured out that little trick and told me he had returned his to the distributor. Bleh. But that was years ago, feels like eons.


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## mtbcraig (Mar 17, 2005)

Hey Guys - 

What is your favorite helmet mounted "cheap-o Chinese LED bike lights 2015"?

Thanks in advance


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

andychrist said:


> ...Anyway, as I've already got my mitts on the 1600 lumens BT40S, and plenty of NW dual L2s, *would love to see a review of the 2800 lumens 7X NW XP-G2 NiteFighter BT70.*.


Yes, so would I! I'd also like to see a beam pattern comparison between the Nightfighter BT-40 and the Solarstorm ( NW ) X3. I know it's not spring yet but I'll get in touch with the dealer to see if they still want a reviewer. I'll push for the BT70 but it might not be up to me.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Cat-man-do said:


> I'd also like to see a beam pattern comparison between the Nightfighter BT-40 and the Solarstorm ( NW ) X3.


Well Cat, I've got both of those now and in a couple of days it should be warm enough out doors at night for me to take some comparison shots. 

One thing I can say right now, BT40S doesn't have all that much throw, but then it's not really meant to. In that tedious German video linked above, they demonstrate each of the various bar lamps paired with helmet spots. Interesting how the lower lumen lid lights appear so bright over a distance, all on account of their tighter beams. Gotta see whether 10º optics work well enough in the [NW!] Yinding that it could spot for the NiteFighter. Too bad KD doesn't offer their little Angle Eye in NW, it's actually light enough (in both weight and lux) to hitch a ride on the noggin without too much sloggin'.

There are some new indoor beam shots in my Bike Lamp album now, might give you a general idea the difference between SSX3 and BT40S. Probably gotta enlarge to see the descriptions.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157651076813781/


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

*Got some better outdoor shots*

Was warm enough this evening for me to take my gloves off and shoot some crappy pics with this stupid iPad.









You can see how the two KD Angel Eye lamps with their diffusing lenses over Cool White XM-L2 and 12x SMO illuminated the front of the tunnel, while the Yinding contributed that warm glow in the top center inside it. NiteRider BT40-S spread over the entirety, helped make the tunnel appear uniformly bright, almost as if the light were coming through the tiles rather than being reflected off them. Now that's what night time mountain biking is all about!  

More new pics at same link as above:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157651076813781/


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

New small Trustfire light at KD which seems to have a nice mount:




























Don't care for the USB power connector or the fact that it's 4.2v, or the High-Low-Strobe modes, and it seems underpowered (if specs are even true).

I can't figure out the purpose of the slotted holes under the light either.

-Garry


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## slcpunk (Feb 4, 2004)

maybe they are related to the stainless steel "attacking" head!


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

By the way, it's listed on Banggood too with more pics.

-Garry


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The things china keeps coming up with, but at that size should be able to get a good puck driver for it easily, crank that thing up  and voltage means crap really, 8.4v systems are stepped down anyway. 3v is max rating for cree and it comes down to amps from the driver. Bring amps up. More light.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Oh, there's a dual emitter version too! Still only a 4.2v light.










-Garry


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks for posting these. I'd say they use a 3.7V power source. Still it might be a boost driver in. OTOH it has to pull huge amps to be as bright as SS X2.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Garry, actually the single reminds me on a more expensive slick light: Small Sun T011 Cree XM-L T6 650LM 4-Mode Bikelight with Power Indicator-Black(4*18650) - LightsCastle
Without the assault/attack extensions :thumbsup:


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

That SmallSun looks nice!


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Hey, that NiteFighter BT40S I linked to a while ago is on sale again at Amazon right now, dunno how long it will remain this way but they're aking $59.95, no now I'm seeing $49.95:

Amazon.com : Nitefighter® BT40S Cree XP-G2 Neutral White LEDs 1600 Lumens Rechargeable Mountain Bike Light- Bicycle light Flashlight-Black : Sports & Outdoors

Do I hear $39.95? 









5200mAh BAK battery pack and 2A charger alone would have to set you back at least $40 retail. And that 4x XP-G2 lamp head ain't exactly chopped liver either. Comes with a nice little extension cable too.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Very tempting! How much did you pay again? (Too lazy to look back.) I'll pass for now, but at $39.95 I might have to give in. I realize $50 is a good deal; it's just a little much for me to shell out right now with other expenses. At $40 I'd jump on it and make it work out.

And nice review you posted over on Amazon.

-Garry


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Hmm . . . here's a light head only option for that nitefighter BT40s, apparently sold by nitefighter's ebay store. "On sale" for who knows how long. I'm probably going to buy this if it's still on sale by Friday.

-Garry


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Light head is a great deal!


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Yeah, at that price I'll take my MS-872 clone from Ebay which I planned to mod to NW XP-G2's and set it on the shelf! (I hear reports that my model has problems with the switch wearing out).

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Wow great find Garry! Had no idea they were selling these on eBay, and I'd been _looking_. Paid $39.95 for the complete package when it was on sale at Amazon for that one minute last time. Must say, the 5200mAh BAK pack lives up to the specs. But jeepers, just $23.66 for the lamp head alone, that's less than the Yinding! Similar Neutral White, interface and control buttons work better on the BT40S too. Different beam pattern, NiteFighter wider but little less throw than YD. Guessing lumens are roughly the same but I'm not the best judge.

Still waiting for the BT-70 with 7x XP-G2, dunno if NiteFighter is ever gonna release that one...


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

garrybunk said:


> (I hear reports that my model has problems with the switch wearing out).
> 
> -Garry


Not sure if this is the cause with yours but noticed the first time I re-assembled the rear of my BT40S, the circuit board rotated a little out of place as the silicone boot turned against it while screwing the end cap back on. Corrected the alignment and tamped the board and nylon retaining ring more securely the second time, and made sure to hold the boot more or less in place while screwing on the cap. Works a lot better with the silicone arrows and inner switch stubs in sync! Though as you can see from the pic, stubs on board are 90º/perpendicular to the indents inside the boot. Of course, if they fit together perfectly, then the switch probably wouldn't work, there'd be like no travel.


----------



## bdubut (Jul 24, 2012)

Would this Nitefighter make a good headlamp or is it a bar light only?


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

bdubut said:


> Would this Nitefighter make a good headlamp or is it a bar light only?


I'd say it's probably better on the bars. At least that's how its demonstrated in that German video I linked to way up above, they show it being paired with a 400 lumen spot, IIRC. The Nitefighter beam has adequate throw but maybe not as far as others because it has such spread - comes with a swappable diffuser too, to make it even wider. But I haven't had the opportunity to ride with it on my noggin yet, have only tested it out with a head band to take demonstration pics like the one posted a little earlier today. At least it's not too heavy, most dual XM-L2 lamps in my arsenal weigh considerably more. Just the Yinding is lighter, but that's without the external heat sinking I felt compelled to add.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157651076813781/

Sorry these shots are not the best, took 'em with my iPad which doesn't have user adjustable white balance or anything.


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## bdubut (Jul 24, 2012)

Thanks for the info. I ordered one so we will see how it goes.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

How many is enough?  The 9 emitter light that used to be a 7 emitter light.








There are now blue, red, gold and the original black color 3 XM-L2 heads only at LM site. At some point it is still tempting when the back of the light has a button that supposedly has to switch between normal and stepless. According to LM it is only 5-mode lamp thou


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> There are now blue, red, gold and the original black color 3 XM-L2 heads only at LM site. At some point it is still tempting when the back of the light has a button that supposedly has to switch between normal and stepless. According to LM it is only 5-mode lamp thou


Forget now, you know this because you asked LM or is this just from what it says in the product description? Because it could have five modes with 1, 2, or 3 LEDs plus Strobe and SOS, and stepless dimming in the three steady modes. Still not clear how you'd "click" between anything with what appears to be just a single touch sensitive control. :skep:

BTW looks like Amazon sold out of that NightFighter BT40S they had on sale earlier today. Says Currently Unavailable yadda yada. Hope everyone who wanted one got it.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Depends on usage - where/how long, ... . You should define that first. 
In general you need 3 AA cells to compare with one Li-Ion 18650 cell energy wise. So to have decent runtime and amount of light we are used nowadays you would need 6 AA cells. I doub't you'll find much of that kind if any. So with AA cells you are more or less stucked on low output/runtime side.

Also this is not the topic of this thread.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

andychrist said:


> Forget now, you know this because you asked LM or is this just from what it says in the product description? Because it could have five modes with 1, 2, or 3 LEDs plus Strobe and SOS, and stepless dimming in the three steady modes. Still not clear how you'd "click" between anything with what appears to be just a single touch sensitive control. :skep:


I asked LM staff b/c I wanted to get one. Yes it appears to be touch control involved here. The price is higher than most of other cheap-os. I might get one in future  Still wonder why nobody pulled the trigger on this one :eekster:


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## kpsxtyone (May 22, 2008)

just ordered the BT40 as my handle bar light. Any recommendations for a helmet mount light? preferably a longer throw than the BT40's on its stock form with out moded drivers.

It will be used for mtb night race (Each lap is about 1.2 hrs coz im slow lol). I have used the Magicshine 808 for the past 3 years and its time for an upgrade 

cheers!


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

@ kpsxtyone:

Good question, and one which I myself am particularly unqualified to answer - But that's never stopped me before! Anyway a few things do immediately come to mind:

The NiteFighter BT40S's four XP-G2 emitters are Neutral White. Dunno if that was a factor which influenced your purchase but if you don't wish to mix light tints then your choices for an accompanying helmet lamp are a bit limited right now. Only budget models in NW that come to mind are the Yinding, SolarStorms X3 and XT-40, and Kaidomain's MJ-880 and Yinding clones. Of all those the SS XT-40 is probably the most powerful, but as it's not in my possession I can't make specific comparisons.Think GJHS here mentioned in passing that the XT tends to step down by itself even when running under ventilation in as low as Medium, perhaps someone else here can verify?

Also seems NiteFighter's circuitry is already pretty well optimized, wouldn't surprise me if 1600 lumen claim is close to accurate, at least "theoretically." Sales director wrote me the following:

"Andy, The four LED of BT40S is 2s2p, the current for single LED is around 1.4A... this is the information i got from a reviewer. Our electronic engineer on business trip，he not in office recently.... "

So am thinking you might want to wait until you actually have the BT40S in your hot little hands before making any decision on what helmet lamp to pair it with - Testing it out with your current MJ-808 might give you some idea of where you'd want to go regarding beam angle and brightness. I've found that even my iddy-biddy Yinding makes an agreeable companion to the NiteFighter, and you can't beat its [lack of] weight. Am sure though others here will insist the YD itself has too wide and short a throw for a helmet light. Eh, we all have our own preferences.

Hope you enjoy your new bar lamp, kpsxtyone.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

andychrist said:


> Wow great find Garry! Had no idea they were selling these on eBay, and I'd been _looking_. Paid $39.95 for the complete package when it was on sale at Amazon for that one minute last time. Must say, the 5200mAh BAK pack lives up to the specs. But jeepers, just $23.66 for the lamp head alone, that's less than the Yinding! Similar Neutral White, interface and control buttons work better on the BT40S too. Different beam pattern, NiteFighter wider but little less throw than YD. Guessing lumens are roughly the same but I'm not the best judge.
> 
> Still waiting for the BT-70 with 7x XP-G2, dunno if NiteFighter is ever gonna release that one...


The light that Garry posted has been around for a long time. Here's a thread about it
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/good-chinese-flood-bars-873174.html

I used mine for many months until I moved onto another light.


----------



## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

varider said:


> The light that Garry posted has been around for a long time. Here's a thread about it
> http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/good-chinese-flood-bars-873174.html
> 
> I used mine for many months until I moved onto another light.


But the Lamp that Garry just linked to is the newer NiteFighter BT40S with the 4x NW XP-G2 emitters, was only released this past December and that price for it on eBay is _extremely_ low. Older MagicShine clone listed there was only XP-G and I guess Cool White; according to Garry ran at half the current of this BT40S and was maybe kinda crappy overall.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

andychrist said:


> But the Lamp that Garry just linked to is the newer NiteFighter BT40S with the 4x NW XP-G2 emitters, was only released this past December and that price for it on eBay is _extremely_ low. Older MagicShine clone listed there was only XP-G and I guess Cool White; according to Garry ran at half the current of this BT40S and was maybe kinda crappy overall.


Sorry for the confusion. I was talking about Garry's post here
New cheap-o Chinese LED bike lights 2015 - Page 4- Mtbr.com

I'm curious about the NiteFighter with the XG-G2. I suspect it's similar to the $15 flood light, except that it will be a little brighter. They are good lights, but they don't have much throw at all (the $15 light). They do put a huge swath of light.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

varider said:


> Sorry for the confusion. I was talking about Garry's post here
> New cheap-o Chinese LED bike lights 2015 - Page 4- Mtbr.com
> 
> I'm curious about the NiteFighter with the XG-G2. I suspect it's similar to the $15 flood light, except that it will be a little brighter. They are good lights, but they don't have much throw at all (the $15 light). They do put a huge swath of light.


Yes I am familiar with that older thread and Garry's excellent demonstration. 

NiteFighter twice the current, have already posted about it extensively both above and on Amazon, where it is currently sold out.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157651076813781/


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Just ordered the Nitefighter BT40S. I'll compare it to the old MS 872 clone.

-Garry


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

The price popped to $30


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> The price popped to $30


Yeah the listing said limited time sale, there was a count-down timer.

But the complete package including 5200mAk BAK-pack, 2A charger and extension cable is (supposedly) available on DIYTrade for only $38, minimum purchase ten. Of course they don't make it easy to order, you still have to contact NiteFighter sales.

I'd be more interested in their 7-up, which comes with a 6800mAh cell pack and goes for $64 with the same minimum order of ten.

Nitefighter BT70 7*Cree XP-G2 LED Neutral White High Bright 2800 LM Best LED Bic - NITEFIGHTER (China Manufacturer) - Car Light & Auto

As you can see from the pic, they got the GoPro style mount oriented the wrong way, but Andy Wong assured me that would be taken care of when the lamp re-entered production.

Anyone interested in a group buy?


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

I got a shipping email with tracking number (which is working now) within minutes of placing my order for the BT40s.

-Garry


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Holy crap andychrist, I realized the mystery light that I was thinking of for cheap with the decent battery pack is the bt40! Now it all makes sense and I don't feel crazy. Now where can I find one of these?


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

@manbeer: Apparently nowhere right now for retail. Originally the NiteFighter BT40S listed for around $110, IIRC, I was just lucky to have found it that one time it was on sale on Amazon for $39.95. Then since the last big sale there it's been Currently Unavailable. There were still a few of the individual lamp heads that Garry found on eBay last time I checked but they weren't offering the complete package with the BAK pack, 2A charger, helmet mount and extention cord. Only place I see it listed is on DIYTrade, but like I noted before, they're a wholesale site and the minimum order is for ten, but at only $38 per item with everything included. Not sure though whether that's still an active listing, you can't order direct from DT but have to contact the manufacturers' sales reps, in this case Andy Wong. He's very diligent and does respond promptly to inquiries.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

MK96 said:


> I asked LM staff b/c I wanted to get one. Yes it appears to be touch control involved here. The price is higher than most of other cheap-os. I might get one in future  Still wonder why nobody pulled the trigger on this one :eekster:


Well they have the same lamp over on KD now.

Not clear from their Cheenlish about the stepless dimmings, seems it might just be an induced mode from when the lamp overheats?

Also Header says XM-L T6 but photo looks like they've got XM-L2 emitters in there. :skep: Know it's dangerous to trust color representation but phosphor looks nice and orangy, like some kind of NW or even warm tint. Because regular ol' standard, Bright or Cool White coating is usually Lemon - slightly greenish to perfectly yellow without any hint of orange. Even the Blue model looks like that so it's not just picking up a reddish tint from the casing.









Wonder how easy it might be to mod the individual LEDs with optics. Says Aluminum Textured/SMO Reflectors but looks like they're embedded in a monolithic receptical.

Guess I should email KD to find out about the emitters. 

Thanks for bringing this lamp back to our attention, MK96!


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Already send them question about LED tint and suspicious charger (at least on the pictures). I mighht get an answer soon.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

andychrist said:


> Thanks for bringing this lamp back to our attention, MK96!


As I wrote it still looks interesting! Now they changed the description and stated it is actually 2 group driver with stepless modes. KD does not have the head only option


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Wow! My Nitefighter hit ISC New York already! That's some great "free economy shipping"!

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Yikes that is amazingly fast Garry. What Postal Product does it say?


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

China Post. 

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

garrybunk said:


> China Post.
> 
> -Garry


And what does it say on USPS tracking site for Postal Product? That will determine how fast (or slow) it gets to you from Customs. Registered Mail can go all haywire.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

andychrist said:


> And what does it say on USPS tracking site for Postal Product?


"First-Class Package International Service"

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

That's great Garry, means you should be getting your BT40S delivered soon and not have to sign for it.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

So I received my BT40s yesterday (unexpected fast shipping) and I'm quite impressed. It's definitely a step up from the $15 (+ shipping) Ebay MJ-872 clone. I know users Sirius9 & Cat will be posting full reviews on this light, so I don't want to steal too much of their thunder, but I do want to post my impressions. (I'll at least hide my impressions in this thread rather than start a new one.)

First off, the lights are identical in size; I thought the NiteFighter would be a tad longer, but it's not. They are pretty much identical in construction, except that the silicon button (one "button" works the up & down switches) is much better on the NiteFighter. Like Andy has mentioned previously, the nubs on the inside of the silicone button are in the opposite direction of the switches, but it works fine. The rear of the light unscrews and reveals the driver (which I have not pulled out all the way yet). There is a nice o-ring at these threads. The front bezel unscrews easily (tip - use snap ring pliers to remove these easily), however there is no o-ring here. The bezel does screw tightly up against the optic though which will keep it mostly water resistant.

The optic was a little tough to pry out, but after working around and around I finally got it to pop up. It's not secured by anything other than the pedestals resting in holes, the openings pressed over the LED domes, and the bezel screwed against it. The emitters are mounted on a single pcb which is mounted against a solid backing which is part of the light body!!! Woohoo! (Note - I checked the $15 clone and it is identical too.) There was even a good amount of thermal compound in place evenly spread out! (Note - the $15 clone had way too much of a very runny compound in place.)

My light tested at the following current draws on 2 fully charged unprotected cells in a Pannova case:
Low-0.43A (20%)
Med-0.95A (44%)
High-1.43A (67%)
Turbo-2.14A (100%)

These currents are higher than I tested on the $15 clone (which reached 1.48A on high. The 2.14A on high roughly translates to 1.07A per LED. An XP-G2 on aluminum star @ 1.0A puts outs roughly 350 lumens (not accounting for losses), so we're talking roughly 1,400 lumens. I do believe this light could be pumped up quite a bit more. (Note: I was experiencing quite a bit of voltage sag even when I tried 4 cells, and I wonder if that is due to the battery pack / lights cabling. It's possible that the light would pull more current with better cabling, high-drain cells, or from a power supply.)

There is driver hum in all modes except high. (The $15 clone also has hum but I could only hear it when held up to my ear.) I don't believe this hum would bother me in actual use. I'm not susceptible to PWM, so I can't comment on noticing any. There is a slight fast fade up and down from one mode to the next.

I compared the tint to a XM-L2 T6 3C and an XM-L T6 4C and I'd say the NiteFighter is between the two, but very close to the 4C, a nice creamy white, definitely not orangish.

My PhotoBucket gallery is here, but here are a few pics posted:

Driver (same Andy?):









Bezel removed revealing star mounted with thermal compound:









Solid backing! Direct thermal transfer to the body! 









For comparison, my older $15 clone:









Two side by side (NiteFighter on the right):









Again, NiteFighter on the right;









NiteFighter on the LEFT this time:









Sorry, no beamshots yet. On my basement wall it defintely looks like a wide swath of light as expected (same as my $15 clone, but a bit brighter).

-Garry


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Thanks Garry, seems like decent light!


garrybunk said:


> I know users Sirius9 & Cat will be posting full reviews on this light, so I don't want to steal too much of their thunder, but I do want to post my impressions.


I think, all the reviews are valuable - as they're typically covering various details of the same thing.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

I am jealous, one of the few lights I really really want. We should look into a group buy for the 10pc minimum on the bt40 and bt70


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## Moguo (Apr 3, 2012)

bt21 looks good too


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Yeah Garry looks like both our lamps have the same driver, did your BT40S come with the additional wide angle lens as well? Glad you find the control button, brightness and color temperature compare favorably to your ebay clone.

Hope NiteFighter is still in business, can't access the website right now. Really wanted to get my hands on the BT70, oh well.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Mine did not come with the wide angle lens. Would have been nice to try it out. 

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Too bad Garry, but then the BT40S has a pretty wide beam to start. I would actually have prefered the inclusion of narrower optics. Think Carclo manufactures such a cluster, as well as the 4X 10mm flood for XP-G2. Gotta find a distributor who carries those skus.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

andychrist said:


> Yeah Garry looks like both our lamps have the same driver, did your BT40S come with the additional wide angle lens as well? Glad you find the control button, brightness and color temperature compare favorably to your ebay clone.
> 
> Hope NiteFighter is still in business, can't access the website right now. Really wanted to get my hands on the BT70, oh well.


I wouldn't worry, I believe that in another thread a few days back Cat said they are supplying him with a bt40 to review so I doubt they are going anywhere. Site is working for me just impossible to find a vendor. Maybe they are making some changes to the line or something


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Thanks for the heads up, manbeer; can access NiteFighter.com again.

Yeah I saw where they'd been offering a bunch of their BT40S' for review.

Only listing now is wholesale, through DIYTrade. Not sure whether they even have any quantity to ship. Told me BT70 would be offered on Amazon in March but now none of their products are available there at all. This does not exactly bode well.


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## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

Nitefighter also sell them on ebay.com for $29.99 delivered for the lighthead only. They still have quite a few available there.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

SlSto said:


> Nitefighter also sell them on ebay.com for $29.99 delivered for the lighthead only. They still have quite a few available there.


interesting, I may have to grab one of those. Wondering if they are only selling like that because of issues shipping batteries perhaps. Either way, 29.99 if pretty fair, would love to pay a bit more for a complete set if batteries are as good as stated though


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Yeah manbeer, the 5200mAh BAK is giving me really great runtime. Also full package came with what's marked as a 2A charger, plus an extension cable, helmet mount, and that extra wide angle lens, all inside a custom NiteFighter BT40S box too. Which is why the fact that they are now just distributing the lamp head alone in an unmarked package, and that all their other products seem to have disappeared, leads me to believe they are drawing down last remaining inventory. Still hope I'm wrong, would kill for a BT70!

BTW, the BT40S NiteFighter is sending out for review: that just the lamp head, or full kit?


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Ugh. The bt40 is back on amazon for 70 bucks now. Part of me wants to buy it, the rational part of me is saying just wait it out and see if the price comes down or order just the lighthead on ebay for 30...decisions, decisions.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

So close to just buying the bt40 set for 70 on amazon. I keep telling myself I should wait and see what comes along but I want it so bad. In theory it's basically like buying the lighthead for 30 on ebay and buying a decent 4 cell pack (35ish for a 5200 mah pac from xeccon ) but the 2 day shipping kind of seals the deal. Plus I have nothing in neutral white, have been dying to try it, and don't want to wait for shipping from china


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## pwu_1 (Nov 19, 2007)

what does the mount for the BT40S look like? Is there a flat spot on the bottom of the light for a mount so I can use vancbiker's gopro mount? 
GoPro adapters for bike lights

sigh, I really need to stop reading this forum. It all started when I got a new helmet with a removable headlight/camera mount and I wanted to find a go pro style mount for my old MJ-808 light. Now I have 2 KD2 lights and 2 Neutral white emitter boards on the way for the KD2 lights and then reading about the nitefighter BT40S and thinking it would be a great handlebar light to complement the Neutral White KD2 on the helmet.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

There is a flat spot, but it is kinda narrow. The plastic mount curves up around it in a shallow embrace of the barrel.









Vancbiker's finned adapter would not be able to sit flush without heavy modification. But doesn't seem like the BT-40S really needs the extra thermal dissipation. Haven't seen mine stepping down by itself yet, though haven't particularly been timing it - just messing around taking beam shots.


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## pwu_1 (Nov 19, 2007)

andychrist said:


> There is a flat spot, but it is kinda narrow. The plastic mount curves up around it in a shallow embrace of the barrel.
> 
> View attachment 978155
> 
> ...


Thanks for the quick reply and the picture. I was thinking more of the original MagicShine mount. The width of the original mount is about 5/8 inch wide. 
Looking at the picture, looks like it might work.
Now I just need to see if I can score a BT40S on the cheap.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Well Vancbiker's MJ-880 style adapter would kinda fit but you'd have to file down the ends, because the flattened base of the barrel is just a tad too short to accomodate the entire lenght of the base plate.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ok first off, I hate u guys, seeing the bt40...ya mj880 clone put on back burner this light is cool. Hit eBay already.





As for vancs adapter: 





Finned adapter is easy. First head looks like all fins are on the same plane (based on pics) so thats plenty with thermal paste.





Secondly only mod needed is what I did for my kd2, drilled a second hole, "stock" hole is where wires fo through, a second hole toward front of adapter for mounting screw.





This is the last light im.buying for a while (except maybe mj880 clone cause I think case would let me get down right stupid with the driver output) because....





Have some tools to buy. My wife is upgrading my dremel for my bday (I have the 200series and its 8 yrs old), drill press set up for it, found mill plate that fits it, way to cut perfect circles with it....





Andy ill let your imagination run with that for a bit. My wife shook her head when she saw me diggin out and reorganizing all my electronics stuff for working with leds (well that and all the rcs that I got out of/sold several yrs ago). As I sold the toys, but none of the tools.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Yeah tigris you could mill a curve into Vancbiker's adapter so the whole thing would seat flush to the barrel of that NiteFighter. Haven't found the BT40S to be particularly in need of additional thermal relief though; it gets hot to the touch but have never seen it step down despite having that function. Only little problem is same thing common to ALL these lamps with the MagicShine style mount: M4 screw just anchored into a couple mm of aluminum shell and readily works loose from vibration. Probably worse on a road bike with puny high pressure slicks than on a FS MTB with low pressure knobbies — anyway nothing a little Loctite won't fix. 

Thing about this NightFiter is, only the full package like on Amazon comes with the extra, wide angel lens. Not particularly necessary because the default setup is already pretty generous in that regard; difficulty might just be finding narrower optics if anybody wanted a bit tighter beam with longer throw. Get the impression they are Carclo but can't find the exact same type of 4x cluster on their site, the little pegs that Garry describes have to align with the emitter board just so. Still, am happy with my BT40 just the way it is without any mods.

Yeah tigris, if that XM-L T6 Supernight MJ-880 clone you dug up on Amazon has the same internals as the original from KD, it is a steal at their price. $19.50 less than at Kaidomain and free two day shipping, can't beat that with a stick! So please get a move on that one ASAP because I'm dying to find out about it but am too much of a cheapskate to take the first risk myself.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh dude u missed my "hint hint". Everything to make something myself. Not vancs adapter, not simple mods to light heads but


Make my own lighthead, well try to


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> Make my own lighthead, well try to


Well that's a serious amount of milling to accomplish with a Dremel! Even with CNC imagine would be quite time consuming. Not to mention if you have to shell out for all the components separately will probably cost as much or more than buying a good cheap solo lamp head like the Yinding or KD 880 clone. But hey, go crazy. This I gotta see.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

andychrist said:


> Well Vancbiker's MJ-880 style adapter would kinda fit but you'd have to file down the ends, because the flattened base of the barrel is just a tad too short to accomodate the entire lenght of the base plate.
> 
> View attachment 978166


The adapters can be ordered with custom modifications to fit that light. Buyer just needs to give me good dimensions of the mounting location on the light.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Archie, really having 2 designs that I've torn into, its actually not that hard, just takes time. Still working on design (one that's actually achievable). Won't be china light price but this is for fun not to be as cheap as china, but make a custom light for the hell of it. also already working on stuff to anodize (clear anodize is stupid simple) aluminum too.

I enjoy this stuff and with access to cheap drivers (kd 2 drivers or solarstorm drivers for example) I can get interesting.

Vanc if it doesn't take too long to get mine ill get specs for you.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

tigris99 said:


> Archie, really having 2 designs that I've torn into, its actually not that hard, just takes time.


I'm absolutely sure you're right.


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## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

andychrist said:


> Get the impression they are Carclo but can't find the exact same type of 4x cluster on their site, the little pegs that Garry describes have to align with the emitter board just so.


Did you find the Carclo lens 10622 or 10621 on the website. I would imagine these would fit. They have all the physical measurements for the lenses on their website. That way it should be easy to see if they should fit in theory if you compare the measures to the original.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

Yeah those are the skus. Now I look at the photos, think they are a match. Was the diagrams on the PDFs that threw me, they are drawn differently from the way the actual lenses look, dunno why they did that. Also from the surface the optics on the BT40S appear keyed, but realize now that is just a manufacturing flourish - they polish in a little rectangle above one of the posts, it's visible upper left when lamp is viewed head on.









Wish I could figure out the difference now between the 10621 and 10622. They look the same, are both described as Narrow Spot, just 10621 says Finish: Top Lens; 10622 says Finish: Plain. WTF? Maybe the Top Lens cluster is frosted in the blank part around the four little lenses and the Plain one remains clear throughout? According to a post couple years ago on CPF, 10621 is narrower, they were calling it Tight Spot. From the beam shot, 10622 looks like what came with my BT40S. Amazon has the 10621, says:

Product Description
The 4-Up Carclo 24mm Quad lens is four separate 10mm Carclo optics packaged closely together and designed to throw light in several specific illumination patterns. These 4-Up optics are designed to fit the 24mm Round QuadPod LED.

Will have to investigate further. Maybe Garry has figured this one out?

Eh, just ordered the 10621 from LEDSupply. $2.38 free shipping, WTH.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Nope, I was wondering too what the real difference is in those two Carclo lenses. What's your wide angle lens look like that came with your BT40S Andy?

-Garry


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

10624 | Carclo Optics

Frosted there but one came extra with my BT40S looks dot-textured. Also doesn't have same semi-cylinders running between the four little individual lenses on the underside.









Default optics are actually frosted around the tops of the lenses, as shown in my previous post. Guess they're the Medium Spot Array. Finish: Frosted.

Funny Carclo doesn't give the specs for beam angle on these clusters, unless they're just really well hidden.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

If you go through mouser, they have datasheets that show beam shot (lab wall but still) that gives u a comparison to each optic as all are in a lab, controlled testing.



Btw just landed auction on my bt40. $25 . Saved $5 off normal head only listing. I think 20-25 is just going rate for most "heads only". Yet I found a blue ss x2 clone that's like $16 bucks shipped. Not buying it but wth, anyone want a blue one its there. 

Not just to figure out why my packages from china (except GB which used postnl) are taking FOREVER, far longer than you all.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Just ordered the kit from amazon. I shouldn't have but I'm impatient and figured at least I get a decent battery and some accessories and it'll be here soon. Done with these lights for the time being aside from maybe a yinding. I've been on a bit of a buying spree which happens every time it's too crappy out to ride for an extended period and also I've been working on the build out for my new store and promised myself no riding until it's done. Next up I think I'm going to get a gloworm xs as I haven't been able to get them off my mind


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> If you go through mouser, they have datasheets that show beam shot (lab wall but still) that gives u a comparison to each optic as all are in a lab, controlled testing.
> 
> Btw just landed auction on my bt40. $25 . Saved $5 off normal head only listing.


Congrats on your win, tigris, and on your purchase too, Manbeer!

Well Mouser's site does not really work on my iPad (Search results in the spinning gear) but sounds like they lifted those graphics right from Carclo. What makes it a bit confusing is that they don't have examples of every lens with both XP-G and XP-G2, and the jump in brightness between the classes changes how diffuse the beams appear. Anyway, the difference between their Wide Spot Frosted Array 10624 and the Medium Spot Frosted Array 10623 the BT40S comes installed with seems negligeable. Dunno what variance might be observed between the 10624 and the extra, dot-textured wide angle lens provided with the NiteFighter, can't find an example of that one for sale anywhere. Funnily enough, Carclo's two Narrow Spot Arrays 10621 and 10622 seem to share about the same size spot, but the 21 looks kinda square in comparison. Maybe that's what the description on Amazon I previously posted means when it says

"The 4-Up Carclo 24mm Quad lens is four separate 10mm Carclo optics packaged closely together and designed to throw light in several specific illumination patterns."









Well that's the one I ordered from LEDSupply so guess I'll find out!

Edit: found out the hard way. This thing is miniscule, not meant for the BT40S at all. Found the real one on another Chinese site but have to contact the vendor to order, dunno I wanna bother with that. Lamp is really fine as is.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Finally got an opportunity to get some beamshots of the NiteFighter BT40s (along with shots of my two custom built Convoy M1's to try out for helmet mounted duty). This BT40s puts out a wide swath of light! (As expected since the older clone does too.) Photos are clickable to get to my PhotoBucket gallery.

First shots - Distance to the trees is approx. 185 feet. Approx. 275 feet to the house off to the left of the trees.

Turbo:


High:


Med:


Low:


Now on my simulated wooded trail:

Turbo:


High:


Med:


Low:


Now another location, approx. 175 feet to the shed:

Turbo:


High:


Med:


Low:


Anyone interested in the Convoy M1 beamshots can have a peak over at BLF at the link above.

-Garry


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

I use to ride with a lumina 650 on the bar and a 700 on my head, but the 650 was stolen and ive been riding around with just the one on my head. while looking into a cheap replacement i found this thread and have been following it for a bit now. i was stuck between the nightfighter and one of the 7up type deals, but i realized that im wasting too much time trying to find the 'best' light when i really just need something to get me by for now. so i grabbed one of these: 6000LM 3X CREE XML T6 LED Headlight Front Bike Bicycle Headlamp Head Light 18650 | eBay

It should get me by until the nightfighter stabilized in price (or the bigger one comes out). i figure for $27 shipped i cant go wrong. as long as it works it will be good enough, and it comes with a tail light (i needed one anyway). it will be good to have an extra anyway if i decide to get a bigger one in the future. redundancy is good, as is having a loaner if im riding with somebody who doesn't have a light.
anyway, thanks for all the information. im going to keep an eye on this thread and for when i go to upgrade. it's great to see all the options out there, keep up the awesome reviews! :thumbsup:


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Nitefighter came in today along with my mj 880 clone and another mudder kd2 style. It was a busy day for the ups man. 

First impression of the nitefighter is that it's the bargain of the century even at the 70 bucks I paid for the kit. The lighthead is nice! All the accessories and the battery seem top notch. Even the packaging. Looks better than my original 872 set


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Be a couple weeks or so but can't wait for my bt40, besides maybe some thermal paste looks like I wont have to touch it. Nice to catch the "real" version of something before it gets cloned or cheaper out on.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Yeah dude I haven't had a chance to ride w it but it's a nicely made unit. Even the quality of the packaging spoke volumes on their attention to detail. Think it's more on par with a higher tier of Chinese lights, magicshine, Gemini etc


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

I have to say, after slightly disassembling the bt40 earlier, I really see no way this thing will have any problems dealing with the heat. Body is a hefty chunk of aluminum with good heat sinking and the entire emitter board butts up against the whole diameter with a nice amount of thermal paste. So far so good


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Manbeer, your killing me here. I got my bt40 paid/shipped on eBay same time as my ss x3 I got for 16.88(spare driver) and x3 shows in the states already. Went right past me to customs office in Chicago, then to west Virginia......wtf WRONG WAY, Chicago is 2 hrs away. BUT BE DAMNED, freaking bt40 isn't even showing in the states yet and should have been in the same plane, same crate. Both shenzen ems (which I laughed, the factory I work at, we ship blow molded plastic parts we make to shenzen all the time), scanned less than hr apart....

Dying for my bt40, freaking USPS needs to get a move on.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

If you want you can take mine, I haven't used it yet other than testing the beam. Then ship me yours once it arrives. PM me if you want to do that. I don't have another NW to pair it up with on the helmet yet so I probably wouldn't take it out for a while anyway


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Lol no worries I have lights just more I read about quality on this thing, the more impatient I get hehe.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

I actually have a magicshine 872 that I am going to compare it against when I have more time. It's being borrowed by a friend at the moment. All in all I think the bt40 may come out on top though


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## pwu_1 (Nov 19, 2007)

tigris99 said:


> Manbeer, your killing me here. I got my bt40 paid/shipped on eBay same time as my ss x3 I got for 16.88(spare driver) and x3 shows in the states already. Went right past me to customs office in Chicago, then to west Virginia......wtf WRONG WAY, Chicago is 2 hrs away. BUT BE DAMNED, freaking bt40 isn't even showing in the states yet and should have been in the same plane, same crate. Both shenzen ems (which I laughed, the factory I work at, we ship blow molded plastic parts we make to shenzen all the time), scanned less than hr apart....
> 
> Dying for my bt40, freaking USPS needs to get a move on.


tigris, you should be getting your light soon. I bought the same light a day after you(I think we were probably bidding against each other, ha) and mine is scheduled for delivery today! I'm in California though so it'll probably take a day or two extra for you.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh ya forgot bt40 is basically a 872 clone. Looking at specs I can bet (provided drivers are both pushing the same current) the bt40 comes out on top. Bt40 is latest version emitter, xp-g2, 872 is xp-g. But if 872 is cool white vs neutral on the bt40 its going to appear lower.

I'll look up 872 info when my bt40 arrives and see if u can compare current output, see if their the same. Though bt40 theoretically could push same lumens with less current.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

pwu_1 said:


> tigris, you should be getting your light soon. I bought the same light a day after you(I think we were probably bidding against each other, ha) and mine is scheduled for delivery today! I'm in California though so it'll probably take a day or two extra for you.


Ya iif you were bidding it up too then it was me and you, there was only one listing and seems u stopped just before I was about to lol.

Sweet, just not showing in the states yet, surprised other one has been for a few days already.


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## pwu_1 (Nov 19, 2007)

Got the BT40s in the mail today. It was bought off ebay as light head only.
First impression of the light is that it appears to be pretty well made. Also the one I got has no marking or anything on it to identify it as nitefighter but the seller on ebay is nitefighter and it was sent by a Andy Wong so I'm pretty sure I got a genuine Nitefighter.
Maybe its the Neutral White, but for some reason I thought the light would be much brighter than it is. Seems like my cool white KD2/mudder can over-power the BT40s but like I said, could be just the different tint. I have Neutral White boards coming for the KD2 so I think once that gets here I'll have a much better comparison.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Cool white looks ALOT brighter than NW in matching specs. But neutral though it appears dimmer you can actually see more, your brain can process it more like daylight. I dont even own a CW light anymore, all switched over (even ones shipped in CW get switched almost immediately as they make it in my door). My yinding, KD2 and SS X3 all have been boosted a bit (driver output) so medium runs a bit higher. 

I did notice my KD 2 thing with remote driver/switch though output is way lower, it didnt seem much if any lower than the yinding at 3A max output. Switched to L2 U2 3C emitters so tint matched and then things went to normal. 

If your coming off cool whites all the time for riding, it takes some adjusting (ask poor Cat, hes having issues adjusting hehe) but for me they seem like having small car headlights on my bike. BUt never road after dark besides lit roads commuting to/from work. So NW is my norm now.

Going out for my first night ride in the next couple days, got on the bike today and road the street for a couple minutes around my house, I CAN RIDE AGAIN,lol.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Pwu_1 neutral will definitely give that impression of you compare them side by side. Also the bt40 has major spread so it can appear that way. I will test the current draw on it one of these days to see how hard it's being driven but I know garrybunk speculates that it would be around 1400lm, so I think it's one of those things where it has to be brighter, it's just hard to perceive


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

I see KD added their Tri units as head only now.










-Garry


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Today just got grey sample of that light. No accesories except mount o-rings. Haven't had time to test it.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

garrybunk said:


> I see KD added their Tri units as head only now.
> 
> -Garry


Yeah and now says XM-L2 T6 5000K. That might not be bad. Waiting for ledoman's exposé.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Its full reflectors, cool white etc, im gonna wait see if ledoman gives a worth while reveiw. Dont want to have to do a full convert again unless its really worth it.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

OMG and they wonder why USPS is bankrupt,lol. Why is it 2 items from china on the same plane over here, one hits chicago (tracking scanned) 5 days before the other one, then the first one bounces around the country for a week before finally getting to the main hub before heading to my local post office.......

So be another week before BT40 shows up, USPS is going to get chewed out over this one.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Brilliant, just let us know if it comes with stepless feature. If the cooling is decent I might get two of these in NW tint.



ledoman said:


> Today just got grey sample of that light. No accesories except mount o-rings. Haven't had time to test it.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

OK. Quick first impression. Including cable it weights 139gr, so not the lightest  From outside no visible sign how to dissasemble it, no screw or anything else so it must be under the mount.

I've got the version with neutral leds. Will make some picture for tint comparation later at evening. To bad it is very likely going to rain so output pictures are postponed.

Now the user interface. It is quite funny and it takes some time to get used to. After power on it shows red dot on display and switch is lightly blue iluminated. It has 5 standard modes (Low, Mid, Hi, Strobe, SOS) + Off in the cycle. To switch it on it neds some sort of longer short press. To change modes you need to be quick with very short press. At any mode including off two quick short presses gives you stepless mode. Holding button it ramps up. Releasing the button and press again it ramps down until off. It is hard to catch bottom level just before it goes off. I have found one blink sometimes and don't know of its meaning. Maybe has something to do with very low battery level I had. To bad it doesn't show the brightness level on the display. On mode change it just show mode for a few seconds otherwise it shows battery output level.

The hosing is quite rough and it is unpleasant feeling when you have to hold two fingers in front when pushing button behind. It gets warm pretty quickly which implya good thermal path, but it also might be because of three leds.

The light has visible hotspot which is expected with reflectors. Looking on the light front pannel from narrow side angle the front glass looks foggy when the light is on. Probably this is because the front is made of plastic intead of glass and it has a lot of internal reflection ie. looses. Oooops, sorry when testing just relized it is covered by thin foil. The same is valid for the back side. So you have to ter down the foil on both sides.

Will continue ......


----------



## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

ledoman, I don't see an option on Kaidomain specifically for Neutral White, was this special ordered? Or is the 5000K considered NW? Thanks.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Yes of course 5000K is about NW. It was negotiated before they have published it on their site. Per KD sales it shoud be 3C tint. To bad I don't have 3C Yinding plate yet. I can compare only to NW KD2 (TIR lenses) and KD880 (reflectors).


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Your 880 should be about right since it has reflectors too. I realized you have a hard time with tint comparison when its reflectors vs tir optics. My x3 vs kd2 was a big difference till I converted x3 to optics.

Can't wait to see tear down pics. Starting to sound promising if its not too bad to convert to optics, especially if its getting good and hot, means its pushing a fair amount of power.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Tear down would be the last stage to do. You know the Murphy's law. Probably I also should start new thread since this is mostly to point out to the new lights.


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya true lol


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

It continues here: http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...ess-5-mode-2000-lumens-bike-light-963466.html


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

I hate it when this kind of thing happens;...I'm just about to get ready for work and the post man knocks on my door. Good news; Nitefighter BT40S received. Bad news, I can't play with it till I come home. I did turn it on though. Looks like an interesting lamp. Hopefully the weekend will be dry enough for me to give it a test spin or to take some photos. One quick comment; It is much smaller that I expected.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Glad to hear it arrived. I've yet to actually ride on it but so far foe what they have been selling for it seems like the reigning champ bar light at that price point at least as far as build quality goes as long as you prefer a major flooder


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Mine made it into Chicago 2 days ago last scan so far, so sometime late next

Got my ss x3 in today....omg what a joke. Looks like ss x2/kd2 driver stuck on the x3 plate. R100 sense resistor. My nedo redline flashlight on 3AAA is better. I wasn't expecting much, just wanted a spare driver but 3x parallel (looked at PCB very closely was hoping it was series) with max 2.5A ....no room besides stacking more resistors.... 

Plus side, case is WAY MORE WELL MADE THAN what GB gets. Better tolerances, screws came out 0 issues, way more aluminum left inside the head with tighter PCB fit. So gutted mine stuffed in new case. My mods seem like they were made for it. Press fit (took a hammer to get my custom uni-pill in), alot of material to dissipate heat before it reaches driver.

So can't totally complain for 16.88 free shipping. fixed the short comings of the gear best NW version case. Not sure what ill do with the other thing, maybe see if I can push it to 1.5A per emitter and put L2 U2s in it.


----------



## 123ski (Jun 16, 2008)

Does anyone have any experience with this one:

AliExpress Mobile - Global Online Shopping for Apparel, Phones, Computers, Electronics, Fashion and more

They claim it comes with an 8.4v 6400mah battery.

I may still be a noob when it comes to these.cbeapo bike lights, but that seems pretty good...


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Reality is divide lumens and mAh by 3. If reflector you get is really OP (Orange Peeled) then it is usable, otherwise hotspot would be to strong for MTB. Can be usable for commuting.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

123ski said:


> Does anyone have any experience with this one:
> 
> AliExpress Mobile - Global Online Shopping for Apparel, Phones, Computers, Electronics, Fashion and more
> 
> ...


Man there are so many better options out there. I mean alot.

Its best to check the and see what people know and trust.

If your set on that like look around ull find versions of it everywhere. And be cautious buying off aliexpress.


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## 123ski (Jun 16, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> Man there are so many better options out there. I mean alot.
> 
> Its best to check the and see what people know and trust.
> 
> If your set on that like look around ull find versions of it everywhere. And be cautious buying off aliexpress.


Thanks for the quick feedback.

It seems like most people in this thread are liking the NightFighter. What else are people liking (open to doing some mods, but don't want to build a light from the ground up).

Thanks


----------



## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

To name a few - MagicShine, Yinding, SolarStorm... I think, if you'll spend day or two reading this forum, overall picture of budget light spectrum will be more or less clear.

Good luck!


----------



## 123ski (Jun 16, 2008)

-Archie- said:


> To name a few - MagicShine, Yinding, SolarStorm... I think, if you'll spend day or two reading this forum, overall picture of budget light spectrum will be more or less clear.
> 
> Good luck!


Awesome, Thanks.

So people have had pretty negative experience on AliExpress? I've bought several (non bike) items from there in the past and have been generally "satisfied".


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

AliExpress as such is just trade platform: exactly like eBay or Amazon. It by definition can not be "good" or "bad"...


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## 123ski (Jun 16, 2008)

-Archie- said:


> AliExpress as such is just trade platform: exactly like eBay or Amazon. It by definition can not be "good" or "bad"...


haha. i understand that. but someone on here just told me to be careful. And since the majority of bike lights on that "platform" are being sold by just a handful of sellers, I was hoping that the negative feedback would steer me clear of those bad sellers.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ive never bought off there, but read some bad things (not sure how old the info was though) so have avoided that and alibaba. Apparently things have changed to better protect buyers which is nice cause some things there you can't find at normal places.

As for lights:

Nitefighter bt40
Yinding
Solarstorm x2, x3 etc. But from gearbest, not sure where else carries the good versions.
KD 2 (also known by about 10 other names).

Next is if you want cool white or neutral white tint. 

Look for lights that use xm-l2 emitters. 

And remember cheaper can be better but not always.


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## 123ski (Jun 16, 2008)

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

"Be careful" is an universal advise for any internet shopping, especially if buying from East. Feedback is of great help here, but be aware that quality of goods isn't constant: you can buy two (supposedly identical) items from the same seller - and one of them will be quality item, and another - total crap. Hence the term "Chinese roulette"... 

As for the light you've mentioned above - it's perhaps most widely copied one, and I've seen quite different samples: from excellent to the inferior ones. But typically, the problems are related to the assembly flaws, and most of them could be easily fixed. One general note: the quality of battery packs supplied with cheapest lights is marginal...


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

That's the nice thing about the Nitefighter package on Amazon — lamp head is really good quality, plus comes with waterproof 5200mAH battery pack made from genuine, new BAK cells, along with a decent charger. So might seem a tad expensive at $69.95 but there is no way you could buy all the necessary, comparable quality components individually for any less. BT40S eligible for Prime, relatively fast and free delivery of everything all at once, rather than buying lamp, battery pack, charger, & extension cable piecemeal from China with no guarantees.

My three cents.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Andy that advise worth more than 3 cents. Nitefighter bt40 deal on amazon is best of everything. Good quality light, realistic output (prior to losses) and excellent battery pack. When it comes to "bang for buck" nothing direct from china can beat it.

And look through the threads, on my phone so can't link it, hopefully manbeer will chime in, there is a coupon code that takes like $10-15 off the price.

But for all who read this, best to ask here before just buying. Hate to see ppl waste money unless your after modding a light. Yinding and nitefighter bt40 are the best bang for buck light heads currently for budget minded ppl.

For package deal, especially having amazon prime access so 2 day delivery, the bt40 package is just dumb to ignore if you need a light, battery and charger. As everyone has pointed out, stock batteries that come with most Chinese lights SUCK, bt40 is only below that of packs using the best (and most expensive) cells.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

Yeah I have had mixed results with aliexpress. I would say that I have about an 80 percent success rate even getting the package. Granted that this was a few years back but I have since moved on. Part of the problem I'm sure is that other than aliexpress I haven't really ordered things from china either so it may just be the nature of the beast

As far as all in one package the nitefighter is hard to beat. It's a bargain for what you are getting and you can just throw it on, charge it up and go without ever really worrying about anything. There was a coupon code, not sure if it's still valid but here SK7PMBLU 

If it doesn't work let me know and we can request another


----------



## patski (Dec 12, 2005)

How much is it elsewhere?

Amazon:  Ultra Bright 1600 Lumens Rechargeable Mountain Bike Light



andychrist said:


> That's the nice thing about the Nitefighter package on Amazon - lamp head is really good quality, plus comes with waterproof 5200mAH battery pack made from genuine, new BAK cells, along with a decent charger. So might seem a tad expensive at $69.95 but there is no way you could buy all the necessary, comparable quality components individually for any less. BT40S eligible for Prime, relatively fast and free delivery of everything all at once, rather than buying lamp, battery pack, charger, & extension cable piecemeal from China with no guarantees.
> 
> My three cents.


----------



## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

patski said:


> How much is it elsewhere?
> 
> Amazon:  Ultra Bright 1600 Lumens Rechargeable Mountain Bike Light


It isn't elsewhere - 'cept sometimes on eBay but for the same or more.


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

10 dollars more on ebay, or 20 more if you factor in the coupon code


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

123ski said:


> Thanks for the quick feedback.
> 
> It seems like most people in this thread are liking the NightFighter. What else are people liking (open to doing some mods, but don't want to build a light from the ground up).
> 
> Thanks


I got the 7 emitter trustfire from page 1, I like it a lot.


----------



## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

What the heck is this new light from KD!



















I just don't get the purpose of the holes! It looks like someone took it out for target practice!

SMH! 
-Garry


----------



## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

That's one of the most ridiculous looking things I've seen. Thanks, I needed the laugh! Watch, it'll be some kind of freakishly good performer


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

garrybunk said:


> I just don't get the purpose of the holes! It looks like someone took it out for target practice! SMH! -Garry


I'm suprised you don't get it. Isn't it obvious, holes are to whistle. Faster you pedal, higher the pitch of the sound. Specialy on fast descends it can be very high. ;-)


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## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

It's a deer whistle


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

ledoman said:


> I'm suprised you don't get it.


Who says I didn't order it? 

-Garry


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Sorry, I should know it


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

Anybody know if the bt40's are still available anywhere? Amazon doesn't have any.


----------



## manbeer (Oct 14, 2009)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> Anybody know if the bt40's are still available anywhere? Amazon doesn't have any.


Andy Wong of nitefighter sent me a estate a few days ago that the lightheads would soon be arriving at Amazon. I now see that even the kit is unavailable so I'll have to see what's up. They should be listed by now


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> Anybody know if the bt40's are still available anywhere? Amazon doesn't have any.


There's a group buy deal going on through gearbest. 25 for the head, 50 for the kit. And its actual nitefighter not clones (not been out long enough yet lol)


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

tigris99 said:


> There's a group buy deal going on through gearbest. 25 for the head, 50 for the kit. And its actual nitefighter not clones (not been out long enough yet lol)


How can I get in on that?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Nitefighter group buy thread.


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> Anybody know if the bt40's are still available anywhere? Amazon doesn't have any.


2 days ago (or so) I bought one from Nitefighters ebay store for ~15$ (auction) and several weeks before I bought one for ~17$ also auction so now I have 3 pcs  and I will buy more if you don't outbid me 
Between this two BT40S's i bougth one Nitefighter 158C for ~7$ ...


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

Sirius9 said:


> now I have 3 pcs  and I will buy more if you don't outbid me


Wait, why do you need 3 (or more) of them?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

they dont have kits on there though to bid. Just the light heads going for about $23 lol.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

I just looked up the group buy thread and followed the links to GB. The coupon code still worked, and $50 later its on its way to my house.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

So I'm not sure if this is worthy of a new thread, but are there any good all-in-one style lights available? I've been a big fan of night rider's lumina series for years, they fit neatly on the helmet without any cables to worry about. 
Thanks to you guys I now have a couple awesome bar mounted setups, but my third lumina is on it's way out and I'm on the hunt for a helmet light. Any suggestion? I would hate to spend 100+ on another lumina when I have seen that there are much more capable lights out there for much less.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well more capable self contained lights that fit on the helmet...not so easy to come by. Not for budget Chinese lights anyway. Most want and use packs so that seems to be how it goes. Also depends in tint cause you don't want to mix neutral white and cool white. Short of branded stuff fenix really is about the only option and they are much cheaper and you have to buy batteries etc. Having a wired battery pack does open up far more options though more to deal with.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

See this Helmet light Recc. Thread and my recommendation for using a flashlight (custom built, reliable and cheap).

-Garry


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya I didn't think about flashlight.

Self contained like the Lumina means your literally throwing away money after a while. The light still works by the battery goes bad. I can be your luminas would work just fine if they WERENT self contained to the point you can change the battery.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

tigris99 said:


> Ya I didn't think about flashlight.
> 
> Self contained like the Lumina means your literally throwing away money after a while. The light still works by the battery goes bad. I can be your luminas would work just fine if they WERENT self contained to the point you can change the battery.


Yes, no doubt a replacable cell would give the light a better lifespan, but my previous ones died due to rain riding and connector failures.
I like the flashlight idea, I just don't want to deal with a battery pack on a head light.
Thanks for directing me to that thread, I will look into building a flashlight
:thumbsup:


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

so i see the the bt70 is now available on DX, anybody had a chance to review it yet?


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## SlSto (Dec 4, 2013)

It's somewhat worrying to see Nitefighter lights appearing at other stores. This happened with solarstorm and yinding when clones and inferior versions started appearing. It made it very difficult to work out who stocked the decent version.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

I don't see it on DX or on DX Soul.

-Garry


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

garrybunk said:


> I don't see it on DX or on DX Soul.
> 
> -Garry


my mistake, it was GB:
Nitefighter BT70 2800 Lumens CREE XP G2 7 LEDs Neutral White Light Bicycle Headlight-108.99 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Mine will be here next week for review, reason only GB has it is because nitefighter only released it to them so fare. But their for real, I review for both GB and nitefighter and its all good. Of course other stores will follow but GB carries the real ones for sure.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

tigris99 said:


> Mine will be here next week for review, reason only GB has it is because nitefighter only released it to then and I done think anywhere besides gb sells nitefighter cycling lights anyway. But their for real, I review for both GB and nitefighter and its all good.


glad to hear it, i will look forward to hearing what you have to say.

this is bad, i haven't even received my bt40 and i'm already looking to upgrade. i think you guys gave me your addiction.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Lmao, awesome, we corrupted another one!!!


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

:lol:


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## warimono (Nov 23, 2010)

I wish the amazon BT40S was still available. I ordered from gearbest but selected DHL (to USA) as the shipping method and they came back with saying that DHL could not ship batteries. I could not find anything on their site or DHL's site saying that lithium batteries could not be shipped. It sounded like there was new restrictions but on damaged batteries and such but not an outright ban.

Now I doubt I will get my lights before my 24 hour race so I will have to use the ones I have without backups.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

warimono said:


> I wish the amazon BT40S was still available. I ordered from gearbest but selected DHL (to USA) as the shipping method and they came back with saying that DHL could not ship batteries. I could not find anything on their site or DHL's site saying that lithium batteries could not be shipped. It sounded like there was new restrictions but on damaged batteries and such but not an outright ban.
> 
> Now I doubt I will get my lights before my 24 hour race so I will have to use the ones I have without backups.


Strange! I chose "Expedited Delivery" and DHL delivered my BT21 Kit today. Ordered on 6/5 and arrived 6/10, China to Arizona in 5 days. I've had good luck with GearBest but they don't seem very consistent.
Mole


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## warimono (Nov 23, 2010)

Grrr. I have some lose 18650 cells on the order, is that what is causing the problem? Or is gearbest just being a crackhead? I was pondering ordering a BT21 kit as well, maybe just that would fair better.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Loose cells are the problem. Especially if their not protected cells. DHL will ship protected packs but unprotected loose cells I dont believe they will.


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## warimono (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks, I ordered a BT21 separately and hope it goes through. I tried to get them to take off the loose cells and try to re ship the order via DHL. The language barrier has been tough to get through. They keep parroting the DHL doesn't ship batteries thing but that doesn't seem to be exactly true.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

i know the kits go through on DHL, thats how i have all my orders shipped usually, never a problem. Loose cells i buy in the states 99% of the time, except a couple apirs of samsung protected cells that fastech has on sale, couldnt pass it up to try samsung cells ($11 a pair) and protected on top of it.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

so my BT40 came in the other day... all i can say is wow!
i know that everybody raves about the build quality, but it far surpassed my expectations.
i may have to pick up another for the girl, as she is pretty jealous now. :thumbsup:


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

They have 2 other lights too now, bt21 and bt70 for other options if your curious


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Don't want to spoil the X30/X40 thread to much so I'm moving infor about SSX6 here. All in all it's new light, right?

Just noticed Kaidomain lowered the price for the head only. $22.46 CW and $22.86 for NW:

http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024230
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024229


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Nice to see that! The BT-70 head only for ~$30 is a killer deal at GB.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

MK96 said:


> Nice to see that! The BT-70 head only for ~$30 is a killer deal at GB.


how much for the full kit?


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Their just under $90
http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_190305.html

See the bt70 review thread for all the details


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

tigris99 said:


> Their just under $90
> Nitefighter BT70 2800 Lumens CREE XP G2 7 LEDs Neutral White Light Bicycle Headlight Suit-86.55 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com
> 
> See the bt70 review thread for all the details


i read it when you started it and it looks great, i didnt know if it had come down. $30 is short money for a lamp like that. is the battery pack really worth the $60 step up? i know it's Panasonic cells, but it still seems like a big jump.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

4 Panasonic cells is $30-40 for loose cells, plus everything else so imho its worth far more than their charging.


----------



## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

It does look really nice, but it's almost twice as much as the bt40, so I'm going to hold off for now. Keeping my eyes open for a group buy or something though. 
Besides, im starting to have the problem where I head out for a ride and don't know which light to grab.  

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

There wont be a group buy for this light, the price is already as low as it goes. Twice the price of BT40 is due to battery pack mainly. I was shocked they are selling the light head so cheap.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

FYI, I've just published review of SolarStorm X6 -> http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/review-solarstorm-x6-4x-xm-l2-t6-nw-version-981332.html

Be aware it is version from Kaidomain which has NW XM-L2 leds. The others I've seen so far have been using an old XM-L leds (at least by description).


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

I don't think this has been posted. It's a new light made by Shenzen Blackshadow Technology, who I believe are the original Solarstorm manufacturer. It's a two led light with one pointed downward.

It looks like it also has a removable remote, which is a very nice innovation.

StarryLight RX02


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

I'd rather see this type of light as a quad (2 downward, 2 throwers). This one seems better than the last one posted up. Wonder if it's for sale anywhere?

-Garry


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Or 6 and you have the SECA light


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

You may be able to chain two (or more) of them together. The remote just uses a regular headphone jack. If you attach a splitter on the end of remote cable and then run an additional headphone extension cable to the second light I think you may be able to control both lights at once.

The real question is who is going to try it out. 

I'm not sure if it's on sale yet, a quick google search didn't bring up anything


----------



## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Appeared today, a small light with two leds:









Might be interesting to mod due to its size and XP-Ls.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

I just found out that Kaidomain is selling XP-L "high intensity" ( 6500K ) LED drop-ins. Shouldn't be too long before these emitters are offered with bike lights. Sadly though it might be a while before we see the neutral white versions ( 4000K and 5000K ). Who knows, would be nice to see a XT40 with neutral white XP-L Hi before Christmas....funny, I haven't gotten the XM-L2 neutral yet and I already want the next neutral version for more throw...:ihih:


----------



## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I have triples with xp-l hi NW (5000k/3c) on the way to test out in my modded 880clone


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> I have triples with xp-l hi NW (5000k/3c) on the way to test out in my modded 880clone


Mountain Electronics?....I saw those on sale there. Didn't understand why they only had triples. I'm thinking a SSX3 or XT40 with xp-l hi ( 5000k) will have even more intensive throw yet still have a wide beam.

Anyway, I guess you're going to use two triples and replace the reflectors with triple optics?

Hey tig, I think either you or GJHS contact the Gearbest rep and see how long it might be before we can see a Solarstorm product with neutral ( 5000K ) XP-L HI. Actually I'd like more like 4500K but according to the Cree specs they are only offered in 4000K and 5000K ( both neutrals ).
Seeing I use the SStorms for helmet the 5000K tint should be fine. All depends though on how the XP-L HI works with mini reflectors. Might be some strange artifacts in the beam pattern if the reflectors aren't correctly matched.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

OK, new kid in the town at Kaidomain - SSX5:








Cool White
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024279

Neutral White
http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024280

I'll probably get one with XM-L2 T6 3C (NW) for testing purposes. Funny, eliptical lenses are positioned for vertical beam instead horizontal. Well it should be simply corrected.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Actually after using my fenix light, that kind of set up for elliptical spot makes very good sense.

Cat, check out my mod thread in the DIY sub, ull see what im doing. My 880clone is currently running on 6 xp-g2 emitters.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

ledoman said:


> OK, new kid in the town at Kaidomain - SSX5:
> 
> I'll probably get one with XM-L2 T6 3C (NW) for testing purposes. Funny, eliptical lenses are positioned for vertical beam instead horizontal. Well it should be simply corrected.


Interesting. I'm looking forward to your review.


----------



## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Well, it hasn't been even shipped yet so 3+ weeks to get it, at least.


----------



## Advard (Sep 26, 2008)

ledoman said:


> OK, new kid in the town at Kaidomain - SSX5:
> View attachment 1002565


My deep conviction: one such lamp is not enough. We need two, and separate them slightly apart. Then the spreading of light (both high and low) will be remarkable. It would be nice to have two asymmetric bodys. Than a pair of high beam will be "inside" and the low - "outside"
Well, the remote switch - just must to be by default)


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I dunno I can ride with just one light no problem, probably not this one (doubt its capable or high output knowing how solarstorm makes their lights) but small lamps are plenty for the bars. I know several riders that ride the same trails I do with nothing more than a niterider Lumina 750.


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Hmm . . . that X5 sounds interesting and I THINK I like the mode operation EXCEPT that it sounds backwards. Sounds like a quick click is the "flood" elliptical light and that's the one you're more likely to leave alone. It's the thrower you want to change more frequently IMO. Looking forward to the review. 

-Garry


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya im curious about it as well. They put some thought into optics situation, I would hope the rest of the design is at least decent. the 120g weight though concerns me since their is no finning either. Afraid their under driving it like everything else do to lack of mass/surface area.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

ledoman said:


> OK, new kid in the town at Kaidomain - SSX5:
> 
> View attachment 1002565
> 
> ...


It seems every time they make one of these, " one spot , one flood " set-ups they incorporate a two-LED mode set-up. This makes operating it similar to operating two separate lights. That's kind of a PITA. Might work for road riding but MTB?....ehhh...I don't know.

I wouldn't put too much stock in that they are calling this an " Elliptical Diffusing TIR Optic". Likely just a standard flood. _Interestingly though it looks like the flood side might be tilted down slightly._ Look forward to the review.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I agree with you cat, something like that required a remote or at least dual button. Imo on trails flood could be a "set and forget" one mode with the thrower on modes. 

Or just one control all the way for the ones that just use bar light.

More I look at this the more im curious.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I'll be probably getting X5 very soon (this time sent with fast mail). What do you think I should compare to? I've got Yinding, KD2, SSx2, MJ880 clone. All stock versions of neutral white. Well, Yinding is still warm white tint.


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## bhocewar (Mar 15, 2009)

I don`t think X5`s TIR lense is for eliptical beam, but for shading the beam, so orientation seems OK.

Still, not as good design as Yinding... looks like it uses a flat glass/plastic lens over TIR lenses...double the "lumen" losses.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Got the SS X5 today. First feelings are mixed. I woud say it is more commuting light than MTB. There are two independed (well almost) beam profies and two distinct hotspots. I would say we have low and high beam. Left XM-L2 NW led is verticaly dispersed and right is aimed higher. I've tried to get beam pictures, but I have yet to see if they are good enough.

Power used is on the low side. Low beam is using 5.1W and high beam only 3.3W. Both on full about 8.5W. Will see how the driver looks like and if it's modable.

User interface is bit different that we are used to. Short press is dealing with low beam (left led) and long press is dealing with high beam (right led). Both has 3 levels. The best combination I think I've found out for commuters was 1st level on low beam and 3rd level on high beam. Long press then turns high beam off which can be used on car aproaching. In the urban places you can use only low beam and choose leve depend on street lights. I would only wish to be both beams more powerful, specialy the high one.

Will try to make (p)review in a few days.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

bhocewar said:


> I don`t think X5`s TIR lense is for eliptical beam, but for shading the beam, so orientation seems OK.
> 
> Still, not as good design as Yinding... looks like it uses a flat glass/plastic lens over TIR lenses...double the "lumen" losses.


Lenses are proprietary made and for both leds in one piece. There is only silicone seal under the optics edge.

Optics and seal:

























Angled "low beam" optics which aims the light more downwards:


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

I am not sure if this one was mentioned already but if ont here it is 














chinese are taking a new approach in designing bike light or they just saw some of the older lights with 90 degree reflectors


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

WTH? Link? What is it?

-Garry


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

might be this one RichFire SF-619 XM-L2 U3 1-LED 800lm 3-Mode Cool White Eagle Eye Bike Light Headlamp (6 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme



garrybunk said:


> WTH? Link? What is it?
> 
> -Garry


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

only a single emitter for $60......


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## Lordie (Sep 27, 2005)

hi all,

currently using lezyn power drive XL. its not bright enuff for pitch black night off-road friend told me i need 2000+ lumens. can recommend me something like that and need to go thru 4-6hrs.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

If it would be an XPH-70 driven hard no probs


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

I'd recommend Nightfighter BT70 with a decent 6-8 cell pack.



Lordie said:


> hi all,
> 
> currently using lezyn power drive XL. its not bright enuff for pitch black night off-road friend told me i need 2000+ lumens. can recommend me something like that and need to go thru 4-6hrs.


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## Lordie (Sep 27, 2005)

MK96 said:


> I'd recommend Nightfighter BT70 with a decent 6-8 cell pack.


cool will check it out.


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## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

MK96 said:


> might be this one RichFire SF-619 XM-L2 U3 1-LED 800lm 3-Mode Cool White Eagle Eye Bike Light Headlamp (6 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme


I'm useing the philips saferide on my commuter bike and I really, really, really like the beampattern of that light (and I hate getting blinded by bikelights that is not designed for road use). If the chinese starts to work with reflectors it is a good thing.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

MK96 said:


> might be this one RichFire SF-619 XM-L2 U3 1-LED 800lm 3-Mode Cool White Eagle Eye Bike Light Headlamp (6 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme


interesting if it produces a usable beam pattern with cut-off. Would be nice to see what the beam pattern looks like.


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

garrybunk said:


> WTH? Link? What is it?
> 
> -Garry


Yes, its the one from DX



tigris99 said:


> only a single emitter for $60......


LOL, I am sure you already requested free reveiw sample


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Nope im careful about what I recommend and review


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## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

(Hey all, first post but long time reader)

Anyone ever bought from DealsMachine before? They have the BT70 kit for about $80. I put in a code for $8 off, then with expedited shipping it comes to 94.23 USD. GearBest wants 110.

DealsMachine: Nitefighter BT70 7 x Cree XP - G2 Rechargeable Neutral White LED Bike Light ( 2800Lm 6 Modes Full Package )

Look legit?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I dont know of anyone who has ordered from there, didn't know they existed till today.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Shipping charges are high for that site. I'll stick with Gearbest as they have been good to us.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

JediMindTrixR4Kidz said:


> (Hey all, first post but long time reader)
> 
> Anyone ever bought from DealsMachine before? They have the BT70 kit for about $80. I put in a code for $8 off, then with expedited shipping it comes to 94.23 USD. GearBest wants 110.
> 
> ...


Interesting, do you know where they ship from. To me this just looks like another Chinese website. Their website says they ship from China. Expedited shipping is available to certain locations but I'm sure that is an extra cost. I figure even with UPS or DHL it might take 7-10 days before you get it ( if in USA ) and that's if they have the item in stock. ( I have no prior information on D-machine so I have no feedback as to how reliable they might be )

If you can get in touch with them using their "live chat" you might want to double check on all of the issues I mentioned before ordering. I tried the "live chat" myself but it didn't work. Might have to do it later at night ( China time ).

Keep in mind that Gearbest will likely match the price if you provide them with the link. I think Gearbest also has expedited shipping but I don't use that so you might want to ask tigris99 about the shipping options with Gearbest. Your choice, roll the dice with either one when you're ready.


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## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Looks like shipping out of China yeah. For the expedited shipping it says:

"6.　For expedited rate shipping we ship by DHL,UPS or other expedited shipping, depending on your location; shipping time is 3-7 days."

They want to charge just under $19 for the expedited shipping to me here in New York, and that is only $2 more than their cheapest option, which is flat rate:

"4.　For flat rate shipping we’ll send your package by post office, which takes about 7 to 25 business days to most countries in the world.
　　a. To the USA, Canada and Australia it takes about 7 to 14 business days."

I found a code online for a discount that takes $8 off too - "goodshop100"

You can add insurance on the order for just under $2.50, so I did that and the grand total comes to ~$94. That's about $15 off the GearBest price, and from what I read, I think GearBest can take quite a while to arrive with the free shipping so that might be an improvement.

I would hope it would never come up because these lights sound pretty damn well built, but the one thing sticking out to me is that the GearBest warranty might be safer. They specifically mention something about flashlights possibly not being covered on the DealMachine warranty explanation, and you also have to pay shipping both ways with DealMachine if your product is covered under warranty, while with GB you only pay to send it to them, and they cover getting it back. 

As far as stock the status claims to be in, but I'll definitely try to check with the online chat to be sure, and clarify on the warranty. I'd like to know if they'll fix it if a light blows out in the first year, or if the whole thing bricks if they'll take care of it. 


GearBest sure does have a good track record here though, I think I'll shoot them an email and see if they'd price match. If they did that and still used free shipping that would be a win (but the season is getting cold so I don't wanna wait too long haha)


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

*Update on BT70 price at dealsmachine*

Sorry I didn't notice this before my last post; When you go to this link the price is actually *$75.99 *for the BT70 full kit. This is the page with the sale price. When you click on the item it comes up at regular price but when you go to the payment / cart page you get the discount applied. There are other Nitefighter lamps on sale as well. If I'd of seen this before I might have gone with the full kit. Couldn't hurt to have another Panasonic battery at that kind of price. If you're into lamps with neutral tinted LED's these are at a decent price. Get it before they run out.


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## Thiagooo (Aug 28, 2015)

Good day.

I need to buy a led light for the bicycle, those that comes with battery pack.

But I see that has in 4.2v and 8.4v
What is the best? 8.4 is stronger? is more brighter?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The voltage matter is a very long discussion to explain but it primarily depends on the light. 8.4v is generally better when you use an external battery pack. There isn't many 4.2v lights out there that use battery packs, most of the lights we discuss on here are 8.4v or more.


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## Thiagooo (Aug 28, 2015)

tigris99 said:


> The voltage matter is a very long discussion to explain but it primarily depends on the light. 8.4v is generally better when you use an external battery pack. There isn't many 4.2v lights out there that use battery packs, most of the lights we discuss on here are 8.4v or more.


hmmmmm

here in Brazil only encounter with battery pack 4.2v, will be that the brightness is the same?

:madman:


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Thiagooo said:


> Good day.
> 
> I need to buy a led light for the bicycle, those that comes with battery pack.
> 
> ...


To be short, most LED bike lights use an 8.4 volt battery. It is simply a matter of convenience. To answer your other question, no the higher voltage doesn't make it brighter. The higher voltage is just a requirement of the circuit configuration being used to power the lamp. It is better to get a lamp that requires the 8.4 volt battery because when it comes time to replace the battery those are cheaper and easier to find.


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## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

My last post still hasn't popped up yet from yesterday if it looks like I post two all of a sudden haha


Will the neutral white light from G2's in a BT70 look like the same neutral white as put out from the L2's in a BT21? And more importantly, if I buy the BT70 kit, can I use that battery pack to run the BT21? 

I think my plan now is to buy the BT70 kit and a BT21 lone head. Then I can pick up a really nice battery pack to run the BT70 on, and hand-me-down the panasonic battery it came with to the BT21 for a helmet mount. 

Thanks


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

JediMindTrixR4Kidz said:


> My last post still hasn't popped up yet from yesterday if it looks like I post two all of a sudden haha
> 
> Will the neutral white light from G2's in a BT70 look like the same neutral white as put out from the L2's in a BT21? And more importantly, if I buy the BT70 kit, can I use that battery pack to run the BT21?
> 
> ...


Yes on the battery question. As for the tint difference between G2's vs. XM-L2's...ehhh...hard to say. Optics and beam pattern make things look a little different but both are good neutral set-ups. To my eyes the tint of the BT40S seems a little warmer but that might have to do with optics and power output. Here's something else to consider, I've run two BT40S's on the bars and didn't like it because it made the output seem more cooler. I guess that means ( in a nut shell ) too much neutral light directly in front of the bike can be a bad thing. Since most of the light from the 40S is projected in the 0-75 ft. range you really don't need more light directly in front of you or you end up dealing with the same glare factors you have with the cool white lamps.

I guess what this adds up to is that with neutral lighting you need a proper balance of flood and throw or you end up losing the advantage of using neutral lighting.


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## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

^lol well that's not a good sign, I guess last nights post is lost

Um... to recall.. Definitely looks like shipping from China. I looked up the shipping, they use DHL or UPS for expedited shipping at DealsMachine. They claim 3-7 days for delivery, which would be impressive. 

I just googled the site name and 'coupon code' and got a nice list to pick through, found one that gives about 10% off. That means you don't get the sale prices listed, but it still came out a little cheaper going with the code by a few dollars. I put a cart together with the bt70 kit and a bt21 solo head, expedited shipping + insurance and it's just under $130. It's getting late in the year so I'd like to have it sooner than later, that's why the free shipping that seems to take a long time at gear best is off putting. 

One thing that has me a little worried is the warranty factory. DealsMachine mentions flashlights specifically might not be covered in their warranty. If DM does cover a repair, you have to pay to ship it both ways, where with GB they cover the shipping it back to you part. I'm under the impression that if a light blew out or the thing completely died in the first year you can get it fixed by GB, I'm not sure about DM. 

I do like what you said about GB possibly matching prices, I think I'll email them and check with them on that since they've proven themselves to the site here.


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## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

Good to know on the battery, thanks for that and the light explanation. I'm thinking I lost last nights post because that last one popped right up. Tried to rewrite it and think I lost it again. ohh well. 


Um... to recall.. Definitely looks like shipping from China. I looked up the shipping, they use DHL or UPS for expedited shipping at DealsMachine. They claim 3-7 days for delivery, which would be impressive. 

I just googled the site name and 'coupon code' and got a nice list to pick through, found one that gives about 10% off. That means you don't get the sale prices listed, but it still came out a little cheaper going with the code by a few dollars. I put a cart together with the bt70 kit and a bt21 solo head, expedited shipping + insurance and it's just under $130. It's getting late in the year so I'd like to have it sooner than later, that's why the free shipping that seems to take a long time at gear best is off putting.

One thing that has me a little worried is the warranty factor. DealsMachine mentions flashlights specifically might not be covered in their warranty. If DM does cover a repair, you have to pay to ship it both ways, where with GB they cover the shipping it back to you part. I'm under the impression that if a light blew out or the thing completely died in the first year you can get it fixed by GB, I'm not sure about DM.

I do like what you said about GB possibly matching prices, I might email them and check with them on that since they've proven themselves to the site here. Paying them for the faster shipping could work out nice if they price matched.

Thanks again.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

Hello all,

Im looking for something to replace my three emitter MJ808(?) clone for the bars.
I want more flood and more light so I am looking at these
TrustFire 12000LM 7x CREE XM L2 LED Cycling Front Bicycle Bike Head Light 70W | eBay
And
12000LM 70W 7x CREE XM L T6 LED Front Bicycle Bike Cycling Head Lamp Rear Light | eBay
They look the same except the location of the on off buttton. My question is which of the two looks to be better quality and how long will a standard hunk lee four battery pack last with 7x emitters. My normal night ride is around 1.5 to 2 hours. Would I need a bigger battery pack? Are these 7X emmiters a huge improvement in total light over a 4X emmiter like the BT40? Thanks for any help.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

12000lumens lmao, not even close. How long battery will last no one can tell you because the specs are lies. And hunk lee sells alot of packs. Can't begin to guess without knowing which one.

Could just buy a bt70 kit, have a good pack and be done.


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## dawgman25 (Nov 14, 2010)

Buy something on GearBest that is a proven commodity and has great reviews. I have yet to read a good review on that Amazon light. BT70 would be great. The XT40 would still be a much better light than that one on Amazon or eBay.


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

Instead of those crappy and insanely overrated lights I would go this route:
- I would buy 2 BT40S heads only, not kits, if you don't mind waiting on a ebay auctions you could get them for under 40$ shipped both
- and I would buy 2S4P battery pack with Panasonic 3200-3400mAh cells, like this one or if you have skills you could build one for about 50-60$
+ Y cable from DX so you could power them both at the same time.

This way you know you have good quality product and you have 8 levels of light intensity, you can run only one light and get super long runtime (because of high capacity battery pack) or you can use both light on max for about 2-3 hrs...


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Swissam said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Im looking for something to replace my three emitter MJ808(?) clone for the bars.
> I want more flood and more light so I am looking at these
> ...


My thoughts; Someone did a review of the ( first ) Trustfire lamp a while back but I forget who. It is a very bright lamp. Not as bright as listed though.

If I were to chose one it would be the Trustfire. It has three steady modes. The beam pattern will be somewhat narrow as the lamp uses a multi-reflector. Still should have some a good amount of spill. Yes, it should be brighter than the BT40S and have more throw. There are also modding options if you can find the thread. Emitters should be cool white. I'd recommend a good quality 6-cell battery.

Your other question:


> Are these 7X emmiters a huge improvement in total light over a 4X emmiter like the BT40?


That would be a matter of opinion based on real output and beam pattern. My opinion is that you only need so much light coming off the bars. Beam pattern is the more important issue. It's possible that the Trustfire 7-up might not supply a lot of "near bike" light. I don't own one so I can't say. There might be options to improve "near bike" illumination. If it were me I'd buy about three small dispersion lenses and try to glue them to three of the small reflectors to increase flood illumination if it were needed.

I wouldn't go with the other lamp. I don't like the idea of controlling a lamp from the top. Pay attention to the provided chargers. Some are using euro style plugs.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> My thoughts; Someone did a review of the ( first ) Trustfire lamp a while back but I forget who. It is a very bright lamp. Not as bright as listed though.
> 
> If I were to chose one it would be the Trustfire. It has three steady modes. The beam pattern will be somewhat narrow as the lamp uses a multi-reflector. Still should have some a good amount of spill. Yes, it should be brighter than the BT40S and have more throw. There are also modding options if you can find the thread. Emitters should be cool white. I'd recommend a good quality 6-cell battery.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the tips guys, I should mention I live in Switzerland so Ebay is my best option without having to pay a fortune in shipping. I have the wide angle lense for my MJ clone but I find it creates a wide spot vs flood. It's hard to find that sweet spot that's close to the bike yet still has some throw. Throw is not so important for my bar lights as I have a duo clone on my helmet that offers enough throw but a little more on the bars is what I'm looking for. I still have some time to decide before night season kicks in. Best option would be to buy both and sell the one I don't like to a friend. 
Ditto on the Hunk Lee assortment. Too many options for a newb to decide. I have a Panasonic 4pack from him from last year which works great. But this year I am riding a carbon bike and the top tube is far too big for the normal packs to fit around. I want to put my battery pack in a saddle bag but I need more cable, can anyone give me a link for an extension cable (about 1 meter long) with the standard plugs ( whatever they are called)
Many thanks.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Cheap 5.4mm Male to Female Extension Cable for SKU 29489/30864 (100cm)

If you ask me I wouldn't use any of those 7led lights you linked. They are to bulky/heavy and would not hold it's position on the bars while riding on bumpy trails. BT40s is sufficient in compare to what you have now.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

ledoman said:


> Cheap 5.4mm Male to Female Extension Cable for SKU 29489/30864 (100cm)
> If you ask me I wouldn't use any of those 7led lights you linked. They are to bulky/heavy and would not hold it's position on the bars while riding on bumpy trails. BT40s is sufficient in compare to what you have now.


Thanks. Just ordered two plus a Y adapter. You raise a good point with the weight. Don't know if they would bounce around with a Hope universal bar mount as that thing holds tight. Maybe the BT40 is all I need with my MJ clone and Duo clone on the helmet.
I see a rabbit hole approaching on the horizon. It seems some of you have long since fallen into this hole. Lol.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Keep in mind Y cable has more thin wires so besides you add another connector along the way from batteries. This means more looses and bigger voltage drop. Not noticeable with low powered lights, but can be significant in lights with more than 2-3A. In case of using two lights in paralell this would be even more pronaunced as current is doubled.

About BT40s I think just go for it. You can't miss with it, specialy for the price.


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## nathan89 (Feb 7, 2015)

Not sure if I should post here or a new thread but what would people recommend as a commuter light? There's a 1.5 mile road that has no streets lights and is quite busy so I want to be visible but nothing overkill. Maybe nitefighter bt40s? Not keen on bt21, i had a solarstorm light but the screw holes were badly threaded so the design of the bt40s would be better as I'd be wanted to modify/swap lenses etc.


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

Not sure if so powerful light with a battery pack as separate unit would be a best solution for computer light.
Maybe you would be better with one of those self contained light that you can easily remove from your handlebar and easily install it back when you need it!


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Bt40 u can't change/mod optics but would work well. A couple of use have ridden around town with them and can do it on low, medium is usually perfect. Be advised to strobe mode though. Bt21 has a strobe mode and can ride around on medium fine, high when u need more. Bt21 and bt40 use same mounts. Bt21 is 100x better quality than solarstorm and a huge selection of optics that fit it. Or you can go smaller since your simply commuting and get a yinding which all things I said about bt21 apply, just bit less output and smaller.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

None of those BT and Yinding are commuter lights by design. They can be used as such, though, but some are overkill. For this very limited purpose Nathan has described self contained light could be enough as Sirius suggested. For example I'm using simple Convoy S2+ single 18650 unit which fits all those 20-21mm lenses we are using in a yinding and BT21. It has two different UI (with or w/o strobe) so I can choose which one need. I'm using 25 deg lenses. Enough light to safely pass some darker area.

What is missing from Nathan is info about oncoming traffic. Does he needs to change low/high beam and want to use strobe. In that case some lights designed for commuting might take a place. From some Solarstorms (X5) to the HD-016 or the ones from Kaidomain we had discussed lately. There are several variants also with wide lenses. Our 21 mm lenses might fit here also. Did not try it, but this wide one has about the same dimensions.


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

I just remembered one light that just might be perfect for nathan89 and it is a JETbeam BR10.
- it's quite affordable with the price of around 40$,
- excellent build quality
- sturdy mount provided with the light (better than those rubber bands that com with most of the other lights)
- very good mode spacing,
- you get a good quality battery with the light (included in the price)
- you don't need separate charger, light has a USB port and you can charge the battery from any USB port you have (computer, phone charger, power bank...)
- battery level indicator is integrated also
- its narrow and can fit even crowdet handlebars
- if you using it as an hand held flashlight it has an excellent fit in hand because of the rectangular design (it's hard to explain it, you just need to try it for yourself)
- red and black are available.


but it's not 2000 lumens powerhouse...


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ledoman, the bt21 functions much the same as anything else. It has strobe (double click the button), low mode is lower than several lights which is good to not blind oncoming traffic. I had thought the yinding had flash but I apparently was wrong. That's really the only difference between a commuting and non commuting light, whether is has a strobe mode. Some better ones have the lip on top to help with the glare for oncoming traffic.


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## nathan89 (Feb 7, 2015)

Thanks for the quick replies. I don't think I'd have any need for any strobe/flashing mode as I find them quite annoying. My commute is basically 0.75 mile "normal" road, 1.75 mile on a cycle path and then the 1.5 mile of riding in a narrow cyle "lane" at the side of an often busy road with no street lights. I already have some 18650 batteries, charger + battery box (forgot to mention, sorry!) If i opt for the BT21/40S would I need to change cable on my battery box as has the connector that screws together. The reason I mentioned having a light that is easy to mod is I just enjoying taking things apart etc..


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

You dont have to change the cable on the box but its a good idea so it doesn't accidently come loose. No one but that one company and its clones uses those type of screw together connectors. Most others use the standard round snap together ones (like come on nitefighter and most others)


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## nathan89 (Feb 7, 2015)

Gearbest shipping is confusing. Anyone from UK know which couriers they use for these options: "British Express" & "British Express Direct"?


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

nathan89 said:


> Gearbest shipping is confusing. Anyone from UK know which couriers they use for these options: "British Express" & "British Express Direct"?


Hopefully not Royal Mail. I stopped ordering things from UK sellers who use Royal Mail which is royally slow. Seriously it takes over three weeks to go from the UK to CH. On my order from Gearbest it just said Swiss post. As long as it arrives is all that matters.

Anyone know of a good gloworm XS clone? I like the two spot one flood optics idea for the helmet.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Swissam said:


> Hopefully not Royal Mail. I stopped ordering things from UK sellers who use Royal Mail which is royally slow. Seriously it takes over three weeks to go from the UK to CH. On my order from Gearbest it just said Swiss post. As long as it arrives is all that matters.
> 
> *Anyone know of a good gloworm XS clone? I like the two spot one flood optics idea for the helmet.*


That's a tough question. Are you looking for a parallel three-across emitter set-up or will any 3-up do ? ( round lamp vs. flat lamp ). What emitters are you looking to use, neutral or cool white ( > 5000K )? Do you have a weight limit on how much weight you are willing to have on your helmet?

It's going to be hard to beat the Gloworm XS simply because of it's versatility. It's powerful, it's lightweight, low profile, great UI and good mounting system. Not cheap but price is reasonable considering what you get.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> That's a tough question. Are you looking for a parallel three-across emitter set-up or will any 3-up do ? ( round lamp vs. flat lamp ). What emitters are you looking to use, neutral or cool white ( > 5000K )? Do you have a weight limit on how much weight you are willing to have on your helmet?


I'm not too picky or experienced enough to have a preference regarding the emitters. I guess something that would pair well with a BT40s. 
I would prefer a flat 3 that's not too heavy but also open for a round case.
All I really want is something that has spot optics with good throw and a flood optic to fill in the light between the spot and the bike. Maybe that's not even needed? Just thought it looked and sounded cool.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Swissam said:


> I'm not too picky or experienced enough to have a preference regarding the emitters. I guess something that would pair well with a BT40s.
> I would prefer a flat 3 that's not too heavy but also open for a round case.
> All I really want is something that has spot optics with good throw and a flood optic to fill in the light between the spot and the bike. Maybe that's not even needed? Just thought it looked and sounded cool.


Okay, you just made it easier. If you're going to use a BT40S on the bars ( you won't be disappointed ), I would suggest getting the neutral LED version of the Solarstorm X3. ( < lamp head only ) It's basically flat but uses mini reflectors. Not to worry, the mini reflectors provide a nice wide beam with decent throw. The emitters are Xm-L2 ( neutral binned ). I have one of these myself and found it worked very well on the helmet. Eventually though I moved up to the Solarstorm XT40 ( neutral LED's ). A bigger lamp but not much heavier. The output from the 4-mini reflectors does a very nice job. It's big and ugly but at night back in the woods , who cares what it looks like as long as the output and beam pattern is really good.

Another option for a lamp with neutral emitters you might consider for helmet use is the Nitefighter BT21. No, it's not a 3-up BUT it's pretty bright and comes with a good battery. Many people are buying these are putting in different spot optics to make it more useful on the helmet. I have one too but haven't gotten a set of good spot optics yet. I have tried it on the helmet and it does a good job. I suspect with better optics it will have more usable throw and make a very nice helmet lamp using neutral XM-L2 emitters.


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## jadesophia (Sep 7, 2015)

Hello, I have recently purchased this and it is amazing! My other half has a 'hope' bike torch and this is just as good, if not better, which he agrees to!! BUT LOOK AT THE PRICE!!! I saved myself a lot of money


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Nice to point it out.

Depends on what you are comparing it could look amazing, but for the price you could get much more. Don't want to be rude, but:

- On the pictures there is XM-L led while it advertize XML 2 (should stand XM-L2). Which led you have actualy got? If you don't know, make a picture.
- Battery pack is only 4.2V so half less energy than we mostly use. Probably there are just two 18650 cells that make 4400mAh setup. If they are 4 then they are totaly crap regarding capacity
+ nice modes and no strobe (70% mode is sufficient though as there is not much difference to 100%)
+ lightweight (but can't stand high current, so less output than led can make)
+ USB adapter (while you have 4.2V pack) but wonder if it has some chip inside to follow CC/CV Li-ion charging scheme


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## jadesophia (Sep 7, 2015)

Only 2 battery's 18650, so it keeps everything lightweight. The led is xm-l2 as that's what's on the box. I use it on my helmet, and i hardly notice it. check out the add on Amazon as full details are there. I can't find anything that light and small for that price.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Regardless what says on the box I would check if it is really XM-L2, just in case.

If you are happy with it, it's OK. I still think for the price you could get twice that much of light with not much bigger head (Yinding, KD2, ....) and very likely better beam profile. Just my 2 cents....


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

Cat-man-do said:


> Okay, you just made it easier. If you're going to use a BT40S on the bars ( you won't be disappointed ), I would suggest getting the neutral LED version of the Solarstorm X3. ( < lamp head only ) It's basically flat but uses mini reflectors. Not to worry, the mini reflectors provide a nice wide beam with decent throw. The emitters are Xm-L2 ( neutral binned ). I have one of these myself and found it worked very well on the helmet. Eventually though I moved up to the Solarstorm XT40 ( neutral LED's ). A bigger lamp but not much heavier. The output from the 4-mini reflectors does a very nice job. It's big and ugly but at night back in the woods , who cares what it looks like as long as the output and beam pattern is really good.
> 
> Another option for a lamp with neutral emitters you might consider for helmet use is the Nitefighter BT21. No, it's not a 3-up BUT it's pretty bright and comes with a good battery. Many people are buying these are putting in different spot optics to make it more useful on the helmet. I have one too but haven't gotten a set of good spot optics yet. I have tried it on the helmet and it does a good job. I suspect with better optics it will have more usable throw and make a very nice helmet lamp using neutral XM-L2 emitters.


Many thanks for the info. On second thought I'm just going to be happy with what I have. I'm getting caught up in the shinny new toy syndrome. (N+1). All I really wanted was something better on my bars which I have now ordered (BT40s). But these things are so cheap it's hard to refuse buying just one more that "might" be better. Anyways many thanks, again. 
Here is my current helmet light which is not bad at all.
Amazon.com: SecurityIng Waterproof 2800 Lumens XM-L U2 LED Bicycle Light 4 Modes Super Bright Lighting Lamp Bike Lamp Headlight with 8.4V Rechargeable Battery Pack and Charger for Camping, Cycling, Hiking, Riding - Black: Sports & Outdoors


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Swissam, your SS2X clone has very likely fake Cree leds. They looks like they are LatticeBright. At least from the pictures at Amazon. Take a very close look and compare it to this thread at BLF. I would really like to see if this is the case. When have you purchased this light? It would tell us about when fake Cree leds came to the market. If you can make really sharp macro picture of your leds would be even better.


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## jadesophia (Sep 7, 2015)

I'm very happy with the light it does everything I need. It does have a very good light beam, it's a long and wide spread. And I got an extra 10% off so light was £36 for me


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## jadesophia (Sep 7, 2015)

I emailed the seller and he said its 100% crew led unit. I purchased it last week as its been available since 24th August. I got it 1st and have used it every night as I ride to the gym. 💪


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I would not trust the seller, it's tipical Chinese claiming something. If the light is the same as on the pictures I'm 100% it has fake Cree leds, so please take a close look.
Edit: Sorry I thought it was Swissam post above.

jadesophia, it could be Cree, but is it XM-L2 or XM-L? On the Amazon page there are several different claims.


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## nefertari (Apr 8, 2015)

*A little bit explanation...*



nathan89 said:


> Gearbest shipping is confusing. Anyone from UK know which couriers they use for these options: "British Express" & "British Express Direct"?


Um.. British express is a service ran by the ZHY Express( a Chinese express company ) and YODEL. And if there's a "direct" added... I guess that means the package will be shipped from GB's UK warehouse.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Swissam said:


> Many thanks for the info. On second thought I'm just going to be happy with what I have. I'm getting caught up in the shinny new toy syndrome. (N+1). All I really wanted was something better on my bars which I have now ordered (BT40s). But these things are so cheap it's hard to refuse buying just one more that "might" be better. Anyways many thanks, again.
> *Here is my current helmet light which is not bad at all.*
> Amazon.com: SecurityIng Waterproof 2800 Lumens XM-L U2 LED Bicycle Light 4 Modes Super Bright Lighting Lamp Bike Lamp Headlight with 8.4V Rechargeable Battery Pack and Charger for Camping, Cycling, Hiking, Riding - Black: Sports & Outdoors


Yeah, I have an X2 clone as well. Not a bad light. I do believe though that it would be better to get another lamp with neutral LED's just so you get the most out of the BT40S. I believe both Kaidomain and Gearbest sell the SSX2 with neutral LED's ( also sold as lamp only ). As lamp head only they are usually about $15 or so.

Then again it might be best to wait awhile. No telling but by next year I expect to see many of the Chinese lamps with upgraded LED's. ( XM-L2 U4 or XP-L High Intensity ) *I would LOVE to see an XT40 with neutral XP-L high intensity. * Come to think of it, Kaidomain had upgraded "neutral" boards for their KD-2 ( Duo clone ) earlier this year. Would be nice if they offered a neutral XP-L HI board for the same lamp. I'd be all over that real fast.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

ledoman said:


> Swissam, your SS2X clone has very likely fake Cree leds. They looks like they are LatticeBright. At least from the pictures at Amazon. Take a very close look and compare it to this thread at BLF. I would really like to see if this is the case. When have you purchased this light? It would tell us about when fake Cree leds came to the market. If you can make really sharp macro picture of your leds would be even better.


I bought it last year and judging from the link you posted it has authentic Cree lights. Used it last night actually and it performs pretty good as a spot lamp and the throw isn't too bad either.



Cat-man-do said:


> Yeah, I have an X2 clone as well. Not a bad light. I do believe though that it would be better to get another lamp with neutral LED's just so you get the most out of the BT40S. I believe both Kaidomain and Gearbest sell the SSX2 with neutral LED's ( also sold as lamp only ). As lamp head only they are usually about $15 or so.
> 
> Then again it might be best to wait awhile. No telling but by next year I expect to see many of the Chinese lamps with upgraded LED's. ( XM-L2 U4 or XP-L High Intensity ) *I would LOVE to see an XT40 with neutral XP-L high intensity. * Come to think of it, Kaidomain had upgraded "neutral" boards for their KD-2 ( Duo clone ) earlier this year. Would be nice if they offered a neutral XP-L HI board for the same lamp. I'd be all over that real fast.


I am satisfied with my current head lamp BUT this gives me a good excuse to buy another (eventually) and give my current light to my starving artist friend so I have a riding partner at night. Because riding all alone at night is kind of spooky, with all kinds of moving shadows and things that go bump in the night. Lol


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

They're not bike lights, but did anyone notice KD added bike battery packs advertised as being built with "NCR18650B"? There's a 4 cell and a 6 cell version. Someone needs to test these and see if they are the real deal. Price seems very reasonable if they are real Panasonic cells and well built.

-Garry


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

As far as new Chinese lights, here's this funky contraption with adjustable side lights: https://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024417 .










-Garry


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

garrybunk said:


> They're not bike lights, but did anyone notice KD added bike battery packs advertised as being built with "NCR18650B"? There's a 4 cell and a 6 cell version. Someone needs to test these and see if they are the real deal. Price seems very reasonable if they are real Panasonic cells and well built.
> 
> -Garry


Man, those are good prices if the capacity is as high as stated.


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## dawgman25 (Nov 14, 2010)

Looks just like a set on Amazon, but maybe with better batteries?

Amazon.com : Gugou Waterproof Replacement 6600mah 8.4v 4x 18650 Battery Pack for SSC P7 or XML T6 Headlamp and Bicycle Bike Light : Sports & Outdoors

I have 2 of these and they actually work very well. I think this is the best frame cover for batteries out there. I wish I could find one just like this for a 6 cell set up. Would buy that in a 6 cell in a heartbeat if they had the same type of cover as the 4 cell.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Someone needs to order the KD pack, they have a 6cell version in the rubber casing and includes pouch. Im debating on ordering one (last thing I need, more batteries lol) just to see if they are truly Panasonic/Sanyo cells.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I can ask KD about those two battery packs.

dawgman25, at Amazon it is just similar looking. For the price it can't be 6600mAh.


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## mb323323 (Aug 1, 2006)

I will go back and check who I bought Panasonic 18650 cells from as I believe they are fake. They have less run time 3400mah version than the cheap Chinese cells 3300 version I bought and the cheap version cells are a bit older. I bought them from one of the big names on here, not the advertisers but the mentioned vendors like DX or KD or the like. Just don't remember who.

I'm very suspect of all these sellers who get their product from somewhere else as all these vendors do is buy from the manufacturer or someone else in between so they have to rely on others (cheap Chinese goods) for reliability.

If those are truly 6 cell Panasonic's thay are a good deal.

MB


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Several years ago my cycling club's mate bought [supposedly] genuine Panasonic cells from FT, but was disappointed by unexpectedly low run time under heavy load. Measurements displayed normal capacity at small currents, but tremendous voltage drop at high ones. I've opened them, and found very bad soldering of protection PCB leads: after fixing that & re-wraping witn new heat shrink tubes, the cells worked perfectly...


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Mail about those Panasonic packs sent to the KD. Will se what they have say.
The price is very good for that packs. Not overly cheap so there are chances they are geniue. 

I've asked them to provide some data about PCM and if they can provide DIY kit without 18650 cells. 

Are you people interested in such a DIY kit which should include rubber shell, pouch, PCM and cable?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I'd be after just the rubber casing.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> I'd be after just the rubber casing.


That's not what she said.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

nope she prefers natural, no artificial filler, flavor, or packaging.


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## Swissam (Apr 8, 2008)

tigris99 said:


> nope she prefers natural, no artificial filler, flavor, or packaging.


My Mrs. prefers a natural package as well, I just wish she would prefer it more often. Lol


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Ahem . . . back on topic . . . I see KD offers a new light that runs on 4xAA's. I know it's not rated for extreme output, but it's a nice option for using AA's (NiMh recommended). Nextorch B10


























-Garry


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## DANger-is (Sep 11, 2015)

I've been reading these threads all day and I think I'm more confused than ever!

I'm chasing a bar mount light and helmet light for single track MTB riding, what would you guys say is the best setup for under $100 total?

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Nitefighter bt40s for the bars, a bt21 or yinding for the helmet.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

DANger-is said:


> I've been reading these threads all day and I think I'm more confused than ever!
> 
> I'm chasing a bar mount light and helmet light for single track MTB riding, what would you guys say is the best setup for under $100 total?
> 
> Looking forward to hearing your suggestions


Start a new thread with your question. People will happily help you. This thread is just for highlighting new lights that came out.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Nitefighter bt40s for the bars, a bt21 or yinding for the helmet.


I forgot, is the yinding also available with neutral emitters?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ya, both mine came with NW emitters, just had that early issue of being almost warm white tint the GJHS got fixed.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Cat-man-do said:


> I forgot, is the yinding also available with neutral emitters?


Yes it is.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> Someone needs to order the KD pack, they have a 6cell version in the rubber casing and includes pouch. Im debating on ordering one (last thing I need, more batteries lol) just to see if they are truly Panasonic/Sanyo cells.


Yeah I'm curious too, and wonder how does that pouch work - don't see any straps, and doesn't look like there's enough of a flap to wrap around a down tube. In the KD photo they didn't even bother to feed the cable out of the dedicated eyelet, D'oh!


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

It looks like its meant to wrap the frame, but based on the pics, someone screwed the pooch on that. For the price im tempted to order one, if their not ncr18650b cells, that's what PayPal is for lol.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Someone needs to order the KD pack, they have a 6cell version in the rubber casing and includes pouch. Im debating on ordering one (last thing I need, more batteries lol) just to see if they are truly Panasonic/Sanyo cells.


The fact that they claim these are Panasonic is encouraging. Someone should buy one just to test to see if these are real.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I'm not shure if those new battery packs are orderable, at the moment. At Kaidomain told me they have put it there for some special customer. I've encourage them to make it standard offer. Will see if they can make it.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

They'd be REALLY STUPID not to offer those as normal stock. Even if the price is a little higher. The cheapest we can find those packs atm is $75, which is a good price for Panasonic cells, but something around $40 for a 6 cell, they wont be able to keep them in stock.


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## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

*Half beam Full beam*

When can I order this light? A light with a good half beam. And with a simple click a really good full beam.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

What light is that, looks like 2 yindings stuck on top of god knows what.

Edit: That light isn't real, is a photo shop of exactly what I said lol, 2 yindings on top of some off light.


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

It's a Philips SafeRide: good commuting light...


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

Someone mentioned this one page or two back:
nice bikelight, more light than you would expect for comuter light


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## dabu11et (Sep 8, 2015)

So which one of these lights on amazon are good for riding in the woods at night? Just need one on my bar.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Nitefighter bt40s is the best option right now. Only company that uses quality batteries out of this long list of cheap lights.


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## dabu11et (Sep 8, 2015)

tigris99 said:


> Nitefighter bt40s is the best option right now. Only company that uses quality batteries out of this long list of cheap lights.


They seem to be out of stock.


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## JediMindTrixR4Kidz (Aug 27, 2015)

I ordered from this company in China, paid a little extra for express, and had my light in about two weeks 

Nitefighter BT40S Cree XP - G2 1600lm LED Bike Light Mini Neutral White Mountain Bicycle Headlamp-64.15 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I only said the bt40s because he wanted amazon, many of us get our lights from gearbest, just that free shipping takes a while, on rare occasion they never arrive.


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## patski (Dec 12, 2005)

I ordered from GB earlier in the year and had 10-12 day shipping to Sacramento, my neighbor ordered in Aug and it took 1 month, this light looks like another BT40 knockoff with very good reviews, 2 day prime shipping.... Amazon.com : VOMLITE VL-G2S Bike Light 1600 Lumen 4X Cree XM-L2 G2 LED Mounatin Bike Light Set Bike Headlight : Sports & Outdoors

Caveat, amazon reviewers tend to be less sophisticated than MTBR inmates... 



tigris99 said:


> I only said the bt40s because he wanted amazon, many of us get our lights from gearbest, just that free shipping takes a while, on rare occasion they never arrive.





JediMindTrixR4Kidz said:


> I ordered from this company in China, paid a little extra for express, and had my light in about two weeks
> 
> Nitefighter BT40S Cree XP - G2 1600lm LED Bike Light Mini Neutral White Mountain Bicycle Headlamp-64.15 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


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## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Another cheapo light at $23 (solarstorm style) Yesterday there was a promo and it was proced $16! Man for $23, you get a headlight, head straps, battery pack and charger. talk about CHEAP....
Dark Knight K2C 2 x Cree XML - T6 LED 3 Modes Bicycle Tail Light Front Lamp ( 2400LM 7000K )-23.90 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

You can easily image what the quality of a battery pack is. :/ But enough to start with to see if you like night riding.


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## canker (Jul 26, 2007)

The real BT40s comes and goes from amazon pretty regularly so just wait a couple days. Wish I had. I ordered from kaidomain since they were the only place that had them in stock when I decided I wanted one. I've been waiting 8 days now for them to ship something that was suppose to take 1-3. I was planning to tell them to cancel today and just order from amazon since they had them back in stock when I looked a day or two ago but they were out of stock again today lol.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

canker said:


> The real BT40s comes and goes from amazon pretty regularly so just wait a couple days. Wish I had. I ordered from kaidomain since they were the only place that had them in stock when I decided I wanted one. I've been waiting 8 days now for them to ship something that was suppose to take 1-3. I was planning to tell them to cancel today and just order from amazon since they had them back in stock when I looked a day or two ago but they were out of stock again today lol.


Over the years Kaidomain has been pretty consistent. Standard shipping usually takes 16 days to USA east coast. I almost forgot something. This is the time of year when a lot of people ( in our hemisphere ) start shopping for lamps. Days are getting shorter and people still want to ride when they get home from work. This of course means the Chinese run out of stuff and have to back order and delay shipping. It is what it is. Never had too much problem with K/D though. The Nitefighter stuff is popular right now. Delays are to be expected....unfortunately.


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## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Mountainking7 said:


> Another cheapo light at $23 (solarstorm style) Yesterday there was a promo and it was proced $16! Man for $23, you get a headlight, head straps, battery pack and charger. talk about CHEAP....
> Dark Knight K2C 2 x Cree XML - T6 LED 3 Modes Bicycle Tail Light Front Lamp ( 2400LM 7000K )-23.90 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


I made a mistake...Light still available at $16!!!!!!!!
DARK KNIGHT LR - 2 Bike Light Headlamp-16.98 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

..^^...Yeah, it's using standard XM-L. They have to almost give those away now. You might want to take a look at the video. You couldn't pay me $16 to use one of those. lol.


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## canker (Jul 26, 2007)

Cat-man-do said:


> Over the years Kaidomain has been pretty consistent. Standard shipping usually takes 16 days to USA east coast. I almost forgot something. This is the time of year when a lot of people ( in our hemisphere ) start shopping for lamps. Days are getting shorter and people still want to ride when they get home from work. This of course means the Chinese run out of stuff and have to back order and delay shipping. It is what it is. Never had too much problem with K/D though. The Nitefighter stuff is popular right now. Delays are to be expected....unfortunately.


Well after complaining about Kaidomain I went ahead and ordered a bt21 headlight only off Gearbeast last night lol. It was just too cheap at $22 not too and I already have batteries so why not. Guess I'll have a battle of slow shippers.


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## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Cat-man-do said:


> ..^^...Yeah, it's using standard XM-L. They have to almost give those away now. You might want to take a look at the video. You couldn't pay me $16 to use one of those. lol.


Im pretty positive these would ship with LatticeBright Leds .....


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

Interesting lamp...



midnight_rambler said:


> What do you all reckon to this, looks like an updated SSx2...
> http://kaidomain.com/product/details.S024280
> Id definitely have got one had a not discovered Nitefighter stuff...


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## -Archie- (Aug 25, 2013)

Most interesting thing IMHO is an orientation of elliptical optics...


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

-Archie- said:


> Most interesting thing IMHO is an orientation of elliptical optics...


One optic designed for wide beam, one for throw. Should make for a good bar lamp, not to mention that it is using "neutral XM-L2 3C " LED's. Always good to have another neutral LED option. Keep in mind you can still buy the standard SSX2 with neutral LED's as well.

Would be nice to see how the Solarstorm X5 compares to a lamp like the Nitefighter BT40S since both are pretty much designed for bar use.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Cat at that angle, at least for any other wide optic, that wont create a wide beam, it creates a long narrow beam. Its actually pretty smart imho. The "wide beam" as everyone likes right now to me sucks. Wide narrow spot lighting up everything that's pointless on a trail and narrow coverage front and back. I tried turning them 90 degrees and had a "ah ha" moment. It all made sense them. Creates a narrow elliptical spot from front tire up the trail, keeping the light where its most needed. Not wasted light up the trees 20ft to either side.

But that only applies to the narrower of the wide angle optics, you get the ones that are say 30x60 then they work good the way people are used to.

That's just my 2 cents though. I say if you got the optics, try it out, its different and works well on single track.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

midnight_rambler said:


> What do you all reckon to this, looks like an updated SSx2...
> http://kaidomain.com/product/details.S024280
> Id definitely have got one had a not discovered Nitefighter stuff...


Looks like it. The rubber band is integrated into the mount like you see on some of the commuter lights. It looks like it rotates 90 degrees also. Here it is on the official (?) solarstorm page
Solarstorm X5 2015 newest LED bicycle light mtb front bicycle led light, View LED bicycle light, Solarstorm Product Details from Shenzhen Blackshadow Technology Co., Ltd. on Alibaba.com

There's also a small hood over the led to prevent blinding the rider.


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Is the Solarstorm X6 a new light?

Solarstorm X6 2015 new 3000 lumen led bicycle light with 4 LED, View led bicycle light , Solarstorm Product Details from Shenzhen Blackshadow Technology Co., Ltd. on Alibaba.com


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

No ledoman has been reviewing one from KD, there's a thread somewhere on it showing the lack of thermal path and such


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

Yeah, I found it. Like you said, very poor thermal path.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Yeah, I've got SS X5 also. I need to do review, but need to be in the right mood  Not in the right one waiting my BT21 for 6 weeks now


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

ledoman said:


> Yeah, I've got SS X5 also. I need to do review, but need to be in the right mood  Not in the right one waiting my BT21 for 6 weeks now


Join the club. I'm not in a good mood either. Been waiting on NF BT70 for over 5 weeks ( after being shipped ....or so they said ). Monday I'm going down to the P.O. just to check just in case the postman somehow forgot to leave it. I've had that happen before so checking just to be sure I'm not blaming the wrong people.

Ledo...if you've got the SSX5 just tell us what the beam pattern is like. I'm just wondering if it's like what tigress said.

BTW, I'm on vacation again till next week. Sure would be nice to get my BT70 to play with before the cold weather hits. I'm not real big into riding night once it starts to get cold.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Yeah, low beam has vertical spread (vertical elipse) light, long beam has different angle and is aimed above the low beam. There is small gap in light intensity between them. I would love to see directed them more close each other. 

I've got some pictures, but I'm not very happy with them. They not reflect the reality very well. Will try to publish them soon anyway.

I've found issue with the intensity of the long beam. It was to weak so I've added resistor over existing R200 sense resistor. Can't recall right now the figures. Would need to take apart it again, but I think I've added R400 or R500. This has make it more powerful and better compaion to the low beam.


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## JohnMcL7 (Jul 26, 2013)

garrybunk said:


> As far as new Chinese lights, here's this funky contraption with adjustable side lights: https://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024417 .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd be interested in any thoughts on this light, the movable side lights would in theory give a pretty good spread of light. I've been using a Trustfire D010 which is a bulky five led unit, it works fine but the extra trigger switch is a bit clumsy and all the leds point straight ahead.

John


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## guggas (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm in the market for a *helmet mounted light.* As a newbie to bike lights and night riding, looks like there is tons of info in this thread. I like the idea of a good bang for the buck chinese light. Can somebody who keeps up with this stuff save me hours of research and point out 2 or 3 of the favorite options? Or point me to a post# that lists the curent favorites? Thanks a ton


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

The NiteFighter BT21, see this thread. Hands down the best bang for the buck right now (IMO). See this thread. Only real issue is the mount, it can break at the screw easily. DX sells aluminum mounts or go gopro adapter (GearBest or vancbiker's).

Cheap as a lamp only right now at $22.19 or the kit comes with good decent batteries.

A lot of people like to swap to LEDDNA 10 degree optics for a tighter beam on the helmet.

-Garry


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## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

guggas said:


> I'm in the market for a *helmet mounted light.* As a newbie to bike lights and night riding, looks like there is tons of info in this thread. I like the idea of a good bang for the buck chinese light. Can somebody who keeps up with this stuff save me hours of research and point out 2 or 3 of the favorite options? Or point me to a post# that lists the curent favorites? Thanks a ton


My favorite for helmet mounting is the Solarstorm XT40. Nice long throw that really penetrates out ahead of you.

Solarstorm XT40 2800Lm 4 Modes CREE XM L2 4 LEDs LED Headlamp ( Neutral White )-35.33 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com

It is probably available from other chinese sites or maybe even amazon.


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## guggas (Jan 31, 2011)

garrybunk said:


> The NiteFighter BT21, see this thread. Hands down the best bang for the buck right now (IMO). See this thread. Only real issue is the mount, it can break at the screw easily. DX sells aluminum mounts or go gopro adapter (GearBest or vancbiker's).
> 
> Cheap as a lamp only right now at $22.19 or the kit comes with good decent batteries.
> 
> ...


OK, I ordered the Nightfighter BT21 kit from Gearbest. Website seems a little like sketch city. I hope it shows up.


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

It will but it's national holiday now in China, all the way to october 7 so, don't expect shipping notification soon.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Found new (at least to me) light at DX. Somewhat interesting for commuting, but I suspect it doesn't use Cree leds.









Marsing Outdoor 3-T6 LED 2500lm 3-Mode Cool White Bike Light/Headlamp - Black (4 x 18650 / US Plug) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

A bit steep price for a commuter light. Knowing what the internals of the 6-up look like


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Since includes (very likely) crappy battery pack and the charger, the price isn't that high. At least connector is good one  
All on all might be usable for entry level usage. And design counts too.


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## guggas (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm waiting on a bt21 to arrive in the mail, but I went on my first night ride last night with a bar mounted lumina 700 borrowed from a friend. I thought it put out a good amount of light but was too focused, is that what you call a hotspot? I liked that it was simple and self contained though.
What are some recommendations for a decent self contained bar mounted light?

Sent from my XT1094 using Tapatalk


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

There isn't anything "cheap" for self contained lights. What you borrowed is about as budget friendly as it gets.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

I'm still working on a mount for a flash light. I got a single cell convoy with an XML2 for just over $20 (no battery) it's both self contained and budget friendly, and the replaceable battery thing is important to me after owning several night rider luminas.


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## superhpc (Nov 1, 2015)

*How many lumens ?*

Hello,

I would like to have your opinion regarding the amount of lumen provided by a light with pictures of beams.
The first picture is a verified 700 lumen beam.
The second picture is the one I would like your opinion about.

Thank you


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

About the same, just different tint and more spill with the second light...
But if you tell us something about the lights, what model, manufacturer, brand... maybe someone has them and measured already!


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## varider (Nov 29, 2012)

It's really hard to say which light has more lumens, as lumens is light intensity integrated over a sphere. The hotspots look about the same to me. The second light is putting out some light outside of the hotspot, and this will increase the lumen count significantly. It's really personal preference that decides which is better.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Im also seeing a tint variation there., but as Varider pointed out, there is other differences to consider too with spill and such that will determine lumen output. Only way to know for sure is a sphere test. But he's very right, based on pics second light appears to have far more output.


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## superhpc (Nov 1, 2015)

Thanks for your feedback. I didn't give any infos at first on purpose to not influence the answer. The first one is a Lezyne Super Drive XL rated at 700 lumens and the second one is a generic chinese lamp with 9x CREE XML T6 leds advertised at a ridiculous 15,000 lumens... :skep:
To me, it also seems to be better than 700 lumens, I'd say 1000-1500 lumens. On the road it is also better, not brighter but over a bigger area.
These lumen numbers are ridiculous and the problem is that the ratio real/advertised isn't even the same between all the lamps so it's hard to compare the lumen/price ratio. This one has 10% at best of the advertised lumens but other lamps given for 1000-5000 lumens have maybe 20-50% of the advertised ouput.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Easy way to spot flat out liars about lumens. If they are rated for more than 1000lumens per emitter, they are lying by alot. If its a Chinese light and are saying more than about 800 lumens per emitter, their rather dumb and can't do simple math.


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## nathan89 (Feb 7, 2015)

Anyone have any recommendations for a light which would be good choice to swap the emitters to some xp-e2 red's to use a rear light? I have a BT21 I like, but is there anything specific I'd need for this work?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

For rear light use like that id say yinding would be better choice. Bt21 is alot for a tail light and im assuming you basically want something bright but not ridiculous on power draw and has blinky mode. Yinding is also easier to access blinky than bt21.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

tigris99 said:


> For rear light use like that id say yinding would be better choice. Bt21 is alot for a tail light and im assuming you basically want something bright but not ridiculous on power draw and has blinky mode. Yinding is also easier to access blinky than bt21.[/QUOTE
> 
> Ya but think how cool it would run with the cooling fins facing the airflow! HaHa!
> Mole


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

nathan89 said:


> Anyone have any recommendations for a light which would be good choice to swap the emitters to some xp-e2 red's to use a rear light? I have a BT21 I like, but is there anything specific I'd need for this work?


The Vf of a red LED is much lower than a white LED. I don't know how well the driver in the Chinese lights will deal with that. Something to keep in mind


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I know the bt21 driver doesn't like go to xp-l. 

Another thing I didn't think about was current. The current output of these lights versus tolerance of xp-e. Will it tolerate more than 1.5A without getting stupid hot and frying? These cases arent meant to deal with that kind of heat so that could become an issue. I dont know much about xp-e currently (though thinking of building a custom tail light) so no clue what itll handle.


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## nathan89 (Feb 7, 2015)

Yea, that was my concern hence why I asked if I needed something specific. There's the "KD2" with the programmable driver, I could set the modes to levels where they wouldn't push the LEDs close to their max rating..


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

Or use two triple XP-E emitter boards in place of each XM-L. I like the idea of the KD2 programmable driver. 

-Garry


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

20mm triples dont fit these heads (trust me I tried).

You can't set power level on flasher, only regular modes on the kd2 driver. Just fyi. I dont know what it pulls for the flasher mode.


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## andychrist (Aug 25, 2011)

nathan89 said:


> Anyone have any recommendations for a light which would be good choice to swap the emitters to some xp-e2 red's to use a rear light? I have a BT21 I like, but is there anything specific I'd need for this work?


Why ever would you want to bother doing that when you can get a good dedicated tail light like the MagicShine MJ-818 for around $25, complete package including quality charger and BAK pack for around $50? If you wanna be real cheap, you can convert a $13 KD Angel Eye style lamp with a few layers of red reflector repair tape on the inside:

http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/mod-angels-tail-lights-950186.html#post11924398

Need an external bent tip snap ring pliers to get the bezel off though.


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## nathan89 (Feb 7, 2015)

I already own a MagicShine MJ-818 and modded it to have an external switch, because that magnetic thing is a pain. It's quite a poorly designed light and I saw some comments about the internal wiring coming loose, and after taking it apart (also very annoying) I can see why..

With regards to triple emitter, maybe there's a single emitter light that would be usable?


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

nathan89 said:


> I already own a MagicShine MJ-818 and modded it to have an external switch, because that magnetic thing is a pain. It's quite a poorly designed light ..


I can confirm this, had one but not for a long time, I war never sure what mode I am in or if I turned it off if not looking at the light.


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## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

varider said:


> Looks like it. The rubber band is integrated into the mount like you see on some of the commuter lights. It looks like it rotates 90 degrees also. Here it is on the official (?) solarstorm page
> Solarstorm X5 2015 newest LED bicycle light mtb front bicycle led light, View LED bicycle light, Solarstorm Product Details from Shenzhen Blackshadow Technology Co., Ltd. on Alibaba.com
> 
> There's also a small hood over the led to prevent blinding the rider.


Do those come wit REAL XML leds???


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

IIRC yes. SOlarstorm is usually good about putting real cree emitters in. Its all the clones running around that ppl THINK are solarstorm (cause they are labeled on the head as such) but are actually crappy clones.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Yes they are real Cree XM-L2 leds. At least the one I've got from Kaidomain -> http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024280 or http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024279


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I got a light like that from Amazon.

The green power LEDs are always on, forcing you to disconnect the battery when it is not in use. How is that ok?


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## Sirius9 (Apr 24, 2013)

When you disconnect the light at least you can be 100% there is no parasitic drain otherwise if there is a parasitic drain but the indicator led is off that could kill your battery and you would not even notice...


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

That's normal for almost every bike light out there that uses external battery pack. From the cheap ones to the mid level. You DONT leave them plugged in for long periods. That's just the norm regardless of what you pay for a light unless you want to pay several hundred.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

tigris99 said:


> That's normal for almost every bike light out there that uses external battery pack. From the cheap ones to the mid level. You DONT leave them plugged in for long periods. That's just the norm regardless of what you pay for a light unless you want to pay several hundred.


I see. Thanks.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I plan to buy an NCR18650 pack (not sure 4 or 6 cells yet).

I am not up on the latest LEDs, but is there a Chinese light which has two of the best Cree LEDs of the type that NightRider would use in their 2800 or 3600 Enduro setup?

Would that Solarstorm X5 be one of the brightest 2-LED small heads?

Thank you.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The solarstorm and kd2 both have very poor thermal path, either low powered or constantly run hot and step down. Kd2 is a poorly done clone of a yinding. Its only good thing is the programmable driver. The one you linked is another one that maybe puts out 1200 lumens best case scenario before optics losses. Bt21, bt40s and yinding are the only ones that bring in close to their ratings. Their lumen ratings are accurate, but most companies never compensate for losses at optics which are 10-20%. Most other Chinese lights are far off from their rating. 2 emitter lights usually hit 1000 lumens at best from Chinese companies.

Too put out truely 1800 rated its going to have more than 2 emitters or larger head to compensate for the heat generated. Reason being is to get 1800, means pushing xm-l2 close to 3A to offset optics loss. Then most these drivers arent that efficient so more heat created there. Basically means your gonna pay for it.

ANSI rating doesn't happen for 95% of lights, the costs to do it are tremendous. Hence the cost of lights with that rating.

Also lights like that big night rider dual head are just ridiculous both in price and size for their output.

Also there are quality packs at budget pricing (look through battery threads). The solarstorm case isn't going to perform well with a light pushing more than about 1200 lumens.

Basically its pay for what you want or deal with what you can get. Only in rare cases (bt21 and yinding) do we see lights that are truly good performers and competition to their brand name counterparts.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok.

So Bt21, bt40s, or Yinding. Is one the best, or are there reasons to pick one vs the other?

Are there choices in Yinding, or just one? Do they all have the same emitters?

Is this or this an example of a good battery?

http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S024442

8.4V 6800mAh 4 x NCR18650B Rechargeable 18650 Li-ion Battery Pack-22.37 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com

Thank you. I did read a few hundred posts before asking but I need someone who has cut these open to just tell me which are good.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I really prefer the side-by-side format unless round is just way better.

Is this a BT40 clone, or the same thing? Or does it matter? Huge plus for Amazon prime.

I am confused why the listing does not say NightFighter, but the photos show a NightFighter bag, and the reviews call it a NightFighter.

Also it is disturbing that most of the reviewers got their light for free.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Bright-...C894/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448681140&sr=8-1


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

How come the Bright Eyes has so many positive reviews on Amazon? What makes it so special over all of the other identical looking lights?


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## garrybunk (Feb 12, 2014)

rsilvers said:


> I really prefer the side-by-side format unless round is just way better.
> 
> Is this a BT40 clone, or the same thing? Or does it matter? Huge plus for Amazon prime.
> 
> I am confused why the listing does not say NightFighter, but the photos show a NightFighter bag, and the reviews call it a NightFighter.


That's because Amazon uses the same listing for different versions. For instance my review & pics are up there as well as Andy's, but ours were based on actual "Nitefighter" sold lights and posted when the listing was for "Nitefighter". That Revtronic appears to be the Nitefighter resold by another 3rd party, but no guarantee. Amazon is actually one of the worst places to buy something that you want to be sure of getting the exact version/model of what you're after.

-Garry


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

What about three Yidings on a helmet with 3 Fenix cases?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Bt40s on amazon is real. Rebrand due to trademark conflict. But I know for sure (my nitefighter contact) Those packs you linked are confirmed. At least the 4cell via ledoman, I have a 6cell on the way from gearbest to check out.

Your 3 yinding thing I couldn't imagine the weight, insanely heavy. Fenix cases are no longer available.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Ok. I can put the pack in my backpack.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Are there any gearbest coupon codes now?

I think I need that heat-sink GoPro mount.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Nope we only get coupon codes for group buys.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Will the 7.4V charger that comes with the BT21 package work for the 8.4 volt here:

8.4V 6800mAh 4 x NCR18650B Rechargeable 18650 Li-ion Battery Pack-22.37 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Their all the same, no such thing as 7.4 actually. Its 8.4v. 7.4v is just a "nominal voltage" thing. The pack with the bt21 is 8.4v as well.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I can't find a way to select a shipping method with Gearbest. It only offers standard/free.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The options are during check out not in cart unless something changed


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Couldn't find it. I placed the order and will contact them.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Did you use PayPal check out??? If so that's why


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I tried it with PayPal and couldn't find it. Then I tried a direct credit card one, and also could not see an option.

Nitefighter BT21 1800LM Cree XM L2 2 LEDs Water - resistant Mountain Bike Lights	128308201	1	$58.89
Adapter for Nitefighter BT21 / BT70 / BT40S Headlamp	146781001	2	$3.24
Yinding 900 Lumens CREE XM L2 2 LEDs 4 Modes Headlight Cycling Lamp ( Neutral White ) Size:NEUTRAL WHITE
Color:BLACK	111534302	1	$24.72
8.4V 10200mAh 6 x NCR18650B Rechargeable 18650 Li-ion Battery Pack	155289001	1	$34.23
Bike Aluminum Standard Handlebar Bar Mount for Gopro / HD Hero 2, Hero 3 Camera (Black)	DP0044701	2	$4.84
Subtotal	$125.92
Grand Total	$125.92


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I just checked, works fine. But you have to go through onsite checkout where you enter your info for shipping. There was a list of options at that point.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

WHAT, is this shopping guide thread or what? *rsivers*, you should open new thread and not derail the thread devoted to new lights we find. Open new thread if you want to continue!

Tig, shipping options depends on the destination country. For me there is also no other option than free or expedited and no option to choose postal service. You in the US might have different options.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Could not ship DHL due to having a battery. That is why I could not select it at checkout.

I just read your first post, and I see that you wanted to just list new lights with specs. It is ok to prune out the off-topic stuff. I would if I had the ability.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Today I stumbled upon this one - a copy of tigris99 light?  Claimed thousands of lumes and XM-L T6, might be worth trying.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Except their lying about the emitters, their not cree, their lattice bright emitters (crappy cree copies). Would be promising otherwise.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Yep, that we know. A new era of led copies


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I was under the impression that the output of the Yinding was limited by the ability of the housing to shed heat, not by the number of emitters. Or else you could just run more current into it.

So how does using six emitters make for a better design?

I think one needs at least 4 cells per every 1200 lumens. So I would want 16 cells to get the runtime I would want from a true 4800 lumens.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

There is an efficiency curve of LEDs depending on the current. It has a sweet spot that results often in the conclusion that more leds driven by less current give more lumens than one emitter driven very hard. That gives you the answer about the heat dissipation. More LEDs under low current produce far less heat than single emitter under very high current.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

rsilvers said:


> I got a light like that from Amazon.
> 
> The green power LEDs are always on, forcing you to disconnect the battery when it is not in use. How is that ok?


as stated, most of them do that. its so you can see the button while the light is off and its dark out.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I see.

Very small optics concern me. It would seem that a lot of light would go into cyberspace. There is some joy in a single small emitter with a large optic.

Even my Fenix PD32UE (740lm) has never really made me happy because the emitter is so large for the optic that it has no ability to throw light.

I find the projector-like beam from the lens of this much more satisfying:

M7RX Flashlight - LED LENSER


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

dirtdawg21892 said:


> as stated, most of them do that. its so you can see the button while the light is off and its dark out.


Makes me wonder how I can find my brake levers in the dark.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

small optic or reflectors in this light here are usually better flood lights than throw lights.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I welcome flood lights for bars, etc.

But I think there is still something to be said about the type of flood optic, going back to my PD32UE being a wide beam, and the LEDLensor also being a wide beam (but a projector type).

Very wide is one thing, but sending light to the moon is a total waste - and I think very small and/or frosted optics do that.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

rsilvers said:


> Makes me wonder how I can find my brake levers in the dark.


haha! yeah, i know its not necessary, but ive found it to be useful more than once. brakes are total muscle memory and right in front of your fingers. a little button on the back of a light somewhere on your bars? not so much.
the nightfighter lights don't have the lit button, and sometimes i wish they did.


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

rsilvers said:


> I welcome flood lights for bars, etc.
> 
> But I think there is still something to be said about the type of flood optic, going back to my PD32UE being a wide beam, and the LEDLensor also being a wide beam (but a projector type).
> 
> Very wide is one thing, but sending light to the moon is a total waste - and I think very small and/or frosted optics do that.











This is the BT21 optic set-up I currently use as a bar light. The elliptical style (Gloworm XS wide-angle) optic has a narrow vertical spread while allowing a wide beam and retaining more of the intensity usually lost to a wide angle optic on excessive top spill. I don't have the angle numbers but would estimate them to be 15° vertical and 30° horizontal. Might be a set-up that would work for you.
Mole


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

I just got one of those lenses today for my current helmet light. I am not sure what to make of it yet.

It prevents having illumination from close to the bike to farther down the road, so it may only be good as a bar light to light up close to the bike, and then have a second bar-mounted spot pointing farther down-range. And then have a 3rd 10-degree spot setup for the helmet.

I plan to run three lights.

Also today it was foggy and I walked outside with my PD32UE and noticed that when I held the light on my head, the fog lit up all white, but when I moved the light lower, the fog went away. So that is the down-side of helmet lights - reflection off the atmosphere.

I hope any of these lenses have AR coatings or else we are losing 7% right there.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Sorry dude but alot of your information about lights is WAY OFF. First off tir optics dont have ar coatings, nor is it needed. And its not losses at all. 

I'll get more into details to clear up everything I read later


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

tigris99 said:


> First off tir optics dont have ar coatings, nor is it needed. And its not losses at all.


I was thinking of traditional lenses (I just got one today for my helmet light). But why is TIR exempt from the lens/air interface loss?

There is still an input and an output surface and they are not exempt from the lens/air interface loss. It may cost more. It may not be worth it. But they would have less loss with AR.

Better prisms have AR on the in/out:

Right Angle Prism (AR Coated: Entry And Exit Faces) Uncoated Hypotenuse Face

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmidt-Pechan_prism


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Because that interface is what acts as the reflective edge. Where reflector with ar lens is up to about 85-90% at best, optics see 95% efficiency otf.



This is why they are called TIR optics. Total internal reflection. Completely different than anything else for this purpose. Any ar coating will render the optics totally useless.

Its also why your no supposed to handle them without nitrile/latex gloves. The oil from your fingers can damage them. And can only clean the front of them with water or rubbing alcohol.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

MK96 said:


> Today I stumbled upon this one - a copy of tigris99 light?  Claimed thousands of lumes and XM-L T6, might be worth trying.





tigris99 said:


> Except their lying about the emitters, their not cree, their lattice bright emitters (crappy cree copies). Would be promising otherwise.


I don't see any Cree word in description. Lately some sellers are aware of Cree counterfeights and they are avoiding using CREE in tittles/descriptions. Of course DX doesn't do it for all their product. Very likely only for new ones.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

rsilvers, again you are loosing the track and meaning of this thread. Keep on topic otherwise this would have endless lengt no one wants to read.

I'll soon make new thread for 2016, though.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

MK96 made me to look new lights at DX. There is bunch of new "Funny" Fire lights there.

Some light head only:



















Rest can be seen here:
Best Bike Light for sale at Dealextreme - DX

BTW: none description says it has CREE leds :nono:


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Yep, seen 'em but nothing special - a single led with optic or reflector. I thought that dual emitter body with 6-up might be interesting. And that was the reason I posted it here.


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## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

Yeah, this one is kind of interesting.
FandyFire XM-L T6 6-LED 4800lm Cool White 3-Mode Highlight Bicycle Bike Light - Red (4 x 18650) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

Not just the 2 * 3 setup but also the quick release mount. It is like the "hope" one but in aluminium.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

They both should be the same model in different color.


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## Zomby Woof (MCM700) (May 23, 2004)

I came across these two on Amazon that look pretty good:
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Headlig...=1449678326&sr=8-20&keywords=bicycle+headlamp
and
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015FFO5DM?refRID=Z5EDHPHTPKEBYRNDH20T&ref_=pd_ybh_a_5


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Whenever I see all 5-star reviews for an oddball Chinese product, I immediately look at the reviews. If I see all caps in the description, I am suspicious, and then look more and and see if the reviews are fake. These are all sponsored reviews (they got sent free product to write a good review). Generally I then don't consider the product or at least am extremely prejudiced against it.

That second light I bought (at full price) in spite of my rule to avoid products with paid-for reviews. It is nicely made. The battery connector is good. The battery is good (lasted 2 hours on full power and I didn't test it longer). However******
It is about a 400-500 lumen light. If and only if you are ok with ~450 lumens, then buy it. If you expect it to be over 1000 lumens, you will be disappointed. Note that it is 3.7 volts.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Omg dont touch those lights, especially the first one. Its total crap. The second is useable (well the actual solarstorm original should be) but how much so I have no idea.

There is very elite few lights ive bought off amazon because 99.9% of them are the bottom of the pile of Chinese sh*t.


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## patski (Dec 12, 2005)

Zomby Woof (MCM700) said:


> I came across these two on Amazon that look pretty good:
> Amazon.com : Bike Light Set Front and Back Super Bright LED Headlight 3000 LM 6500 mAh Rechargeable FREE Taillight Best Extreme Bright Multi-Purpose Safety Bicycle Light & Headlamp - WATERPROOF & Easy to Mount : Sports & Outdoors
> and
> Amazon.com : Evolva Future Technology 1800lm High Performance Bicycle Light with High-dimmed-beam Functions with Integrated Rotable Mount (Black Bike Light Set) : Sports & Outdoors


As for the great reviews, most of them are not MTBR denizens and are easily stated....

I did peruse some of the reviews, SHEESH who has time/inclination to generate all that verbiage on a effin bike light, couple of peeps were "top 500" reviewers...

An' my spirit did a midnite creep&#8230;


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

How come the BrightEyes lights have so many good reviews? My theory is that they actually work to use good cells in the battery, and even though the product looks like all the other generic stuff, they take more time on the details. They can't have that many good reviews if they send out crap cells.


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## Zomby Woof (MCM700) (May 23, 2004)

I wasn't planning on getting any of those. I already have the lights I need. I do have one Chinese light that is very good. Its a Xecon Spiker 1207, reviewed right here at MTBR:
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/review-xeccon-spiker-1207-dual-xm-l-811501.html

I got it for $99 from Amazon. I already used it too. Works great! A nice bright white flood.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Xeccon we don't consider "cheap Chinese lights" . Their more on par with glowworm and such for performance and quality


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Why do companies bother with making red, blue, and other color lights? It would be so much better for their inventory management to just make black.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

because people like me like colors. I have a blue yinding which matched my bikes and my helmet more or less. Some of us have a "color coordination' issue  All black lights isnt bad, but I wont even buy ones (except in ONE case, cause i had to have the light head and only option was gold) that arent blue, black, or raw/silver. Any other colors on it, I wont use it. Love to get lights I like in orange though, only exception id make.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Do cheap Chinese lights put strobe and off in the normal mode cycle because the market asks for it, because they don't know that serious lights don't do that, or because a driver that hides them and requires a long-press it would cost more?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Cause they are being as cheap as possible. Some dont like yinding and bt21, others do, UI varies alot, like kd2 lights have best UI/drivers but their crappy beyond that, poor thermal path and such. Hard to do any changes to.


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## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

This is such a pity. If KD could improve the KD2 light a little it would be a killer.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

I've just swapped Yinding driver with KD2 one. Well because the Yinding's one has gone highwire. Anyway I'm doing it for friend. Got 3 red Yindings, 2 to repair one to inspect. All had very little thermal paste under PCB and the PCB has rough edge where it was punched so it doesn't stick to the housing as it should. There was about 0.1mm gap. I've filed edges and used better thermal paste. I suspect one of the leds has failed because of the poor thermal transfer which is good by design, but badly done.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

My blue yinding has KD driver now too so I could figure out where I liked my output for xp-l hi mod. Kd2 driver is nice, too bad the design isn't used more.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

ledoman said:


> SS X5 has significantly underpowered long beam. Resistor mod was easy and that probem solved, but I would also like the vertical angle between both beams would be smaller.


What makes you say the long beam was under-powered? How far did the long beam throw and please more detail on why you think the vertical angle between the two beam patterns was not good. Was the flood pattern too wide?


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

SS X5 High beam pulled only 0.09, 0.22, 0.40A (Lo, Mid Hi) from fully charged battery while low beam 0.13, 0.35, 0.63A and both on full only 1.09A. To get decent beam far away you need more power than for beam near. It might be the assemly was wrong. Still both are pretty weak.
As for angles, gap can be seen between low and high beam. I would love to see smoth transition from one beam to another. Maybe this is just because long beam is underpowered and can't cover the distance while you have plenty of light in near front.
It's not good enough for MTB but it could be pretty good commuting light since you can operate each led with one switch and you can instantly switch off long beam when car is aproaching. User interface is somewhat wierd. With short press you operate one led and with long press the other. You need to get used on.


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## Alfred IV (Dec 12, 2015)

Hi, 
I just received complaints about cars this night after 3 months with a chinese CREE T6 Magishine clone, as half of my ride is on a bike lane near cars. I don't want to dazzle approaching traffic, and my light was properly fitted but it's made without cutout or reflector in the optics. Have you something to help me? Like, another light that I could fine on EBay, Amazon... ? Or just a mirror with cutout? 
I'm running with a 10 000 mAh ANker USB powerbank.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Point it down more helps alot, just something you have to do when riding near traffic, and dont run it on high either. There isnt much that will run on a USB power bank and even less that have the cut off. Yet to see one with a cut off and USB power bank capable. Cheap chinese lights they dont take into account things like that for commuting, actually none do, you have to buy dedicated commuting style light with the cut off.

Simple solution is like I said, point it down more, use lower levels. Also can use a piece of plastic and a large zip tie to create a quick and cheap cut off.


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## Alfred IV (Dec 12, 2015)

Thank you!
I'm going to try this. Yep, in fact, that's pretty annoying because i'm riding only on road... Some of 'em are closed to cars but sometimes it's a big problem


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

There was a cheap Chinese light discussed here a while back:

Richfire sf-619

It looks like it has cutoff style optics, but I don't think anyone here has tried one yet. Otherwise if you want cutoff optics for commuting you should look at the German lights like the B&M Ixon.


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## dirtdawg21892 (Jul 20, 2009)

dr.welby said:


> Richfire sf-619


I totally read "RiceFire"


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

What is the deal on this light?

SecurityIng 3 Modes Waterproof 2300LM 2X XM L U2 LED Bicycle Light& 8.4V 4400mAh Rechargeable Li ion Battery Pack& Charger-in Bicycle Light from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

We have been trying to tell everyone to avoid securitying. That's a kd2 case with total crap internals(I owned that one, its in the trash now after fighting to mod it into something decent). Its available in amazon. Up side is that it was the light that got me started into learning and modding lights again lol.


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## 007 (Jun 16, 2005)

I'll just leave this here: A Cheap Chinese Bike Light Nearly Burned Down this Rider?s House | Singletracks Mountain Bike News


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

This is why we keep telling people to STOP relying on the cheap packs. But to many ppl dont want to spend money and think that they are fine.

And recent proof of what I keep telling ppl (and some keep telling me im over reacting) that cheap, un branded Chinese cells are DANGEROUS.


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

007 said:


> I'll just leave this here: A Cheap Chinese Bike Light Nearly Burned Down this Rider?s House | Singletracks Mountain Bike News


That story is just "weird". Guy comes home, smells smoke, hears fire alarm going off and can't figure out that something is wrong? :skep:

Anyway, guy says it was the second time he charged the battery :skep:. So...was it damaged before he got it or did he do something to it? We don't know. What we do know is if a Li-ion battery is damaged externally ( or if poorly constructed by the factory ) it can catch fire. Usually there is going to be a burning smell before the batteries gets to the stage where it catches fire and explodes. This is why you ALWAYS charge Li-ion cells in a safe place and never leave them unattended for an extended time when charging.

Summing up, we don't know if the issue was that the battery was a cheap ( faulty ) Chinese battery or the battery got damaged after shipping or if damaged by the owner somehow. Crap happens. People burn their houses down everyday with other relatively "safe products" that can become dangerous when either the product fails or someone uses the product in an unsafe manner. People leave food cooking on stove tops unattended. Space heaters sitting too close to flammable materials. Candles burning unattended. The common causes for house fires could fill a couple pages in a book.

Of course there is always the uncommon; Meth-head has his homemade lab catch fire ( or blow up ) while mixing chemicals. Interestingly, I believe Li-ion batteries are sometimes cut open and used for their chemistry when cooking up meth...or was it crack...I forget now, saw it on an episode of "Drugs Inc." a couple weeks ago. ( no innuendo intended, just relating some facts )

( Side note: I'm still wondering why the guy never tried to use one of the fire extinguishers that are required for all residential apartment or condo type dwellings? Where I live they are required to be at least one on every level. I don't live in Fla. though so I don't know their public safety laws. Didn't make a lot of sense to throw water on an electrical fire.  I just hope nobody got hurt. )


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## Zomby Woof (MCM700) (May 23, 2004)

rsilvers said:


> Whenever I see all 5-star reviews for an oddball Chinese product, I immediately look at the reviews. If I see all caps in the description, I am suspicious, and then look more and and see if the reviews are fake. These are all sponsored reviews (they got sent free product to write a good review). Generally I then don't consider the product or at least am extremely prejudiced against it.
> 
> That second light I bought (at full price) in spite of my rule to avoid products with paid-for reviews. It is nicely made. The battery connector is good. The battery is good (lasted 2 hours on full power and I didn't test it longer). However******
> It is about a 400-500 lumen light. If and only if you are ok with ~450 lumens, then buy it. If you expect it to be over 1000 lumens, you will be disappointed. Note that it is 3.7 volts.


I noticed recently I was looking at chain breaker tools at Amazon. There's this one tool there that has 25 reviews and it has a five star rating. But I noticed that all the dates are recent and only in Nov. & Dec. 2015. And they're all short one line reviews. Now that looks suspiciously phony. Although it does look like a pretty good tool. Here's the link.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Also notice how half of the reviews are from women. Women don't buy chain tools and then feel motivated to write a review like this "I bought because it is very easy to take. Everything seems kind of excellent."


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## Appel (Dec 10, 2014)

dr.welby said:


> There was a cheap Chinese light discussed here a while back:
> 
> Richfire sf-619
> 
> It looks like it has cutoff style optics, but I don't think anyone here has tried one yet. Otherwise if you want cutoff optics for commuting you should look at the German lights like the B&M Ixon.


I think I need to buy this light. I really want to see more lights like this.


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

Guy on my ride today was excited that he ordered a 4000 lumen bike light so he could do night rides. He really seemed to believe it was 4000 lumens. I didn't say anything, as I didn't want to hurt his feelings about his new purchase. We do 2-5 hour rides, and I don't see his battery lasting long enough.

Marsing 5 x Cree XM-L T6 4000lm 3-Mode Cool White LED Bike Light / Headlamp - Black and Grey (6*18650) 2015 ? $34.99


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

That's why lights like these r around, ppl are dumb and fall into the Chinese lumen trap


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

He also thinks he will get it "in a few days." Somehow I don't think so.


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## MK96 (Nov 5, 2012)

Here is the new 2016 thread.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

rsilvers said:


> Guy on my ride today was excited that he ordered a 4000 lumen bike light so he could do night rides. He really seemed to believe it was 4000 lumens. I didn't say anything, as I didn't want to hurt his feelings about his new purchase. We do 2-5 hour rides, and I don't see his battery lasting long enough.
> 
> Marsing 5 x Cree XM-L T6 4000lm 3-Mode Cool White LED Bike Light / Headlamp - Black and Grey (6*18650) 2015 ? $34.99


Did he ever receive the lamp?

I have a pair of the Marsing 4 x XM-L lamps, rebranded by StupidBright.com (it was more expensive, but it shipped with a sealed battery pack and from the US).

StupidBright advertises the 4 x XM-L lamp at 2600 lumens. I don't know what the actual rating is, but it throws a much nicer and way brighter beam than the TrailTech HID lamp I replaced. But same emitters + 1, he will certainly have enough light with that 5 x lamp. I agree that his battery will be pushing it to get more than 2 hours on it's brightest setting.

Tell him to buy a spare lamp (the heat-sinking is poor) and upgrade to a Hope mount, or some other solid-mount. I use mine for commuting, but a failed light = vehicular accident for me, and they're too cheap to not have redundancy...if you're going to risk your safety on a cheap LED.


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## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Looks ultra cheap. Trying to get one to review. ^_^
Cree XML - T6 LED Mountain Bicycle Lamp Bike Light Headlight-15.93 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

That's not anything new, its been around a long time.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Jup, modes are mosty made of one, two, three leds on, but this one has different description, so who knows.


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## Mountainking7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Does it has adequate lighting though?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well being the fact it has lattice bright and not cree leds, be lucky to get 600 lumens max out of it. That's what people refer to as a "tri-clone" and they used to be decent, what you find now is very low powered and use fake cree leds. The price says it all.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

Since they are underpowered the battery pack seems adequate and runs long time . BUT there is RED FLAG on the charger if you get the one from the pictures. It has already red tittle on it. You can be happy if it really outputs 8.4V. In the past I've already seen that kind with 12V output regardless what it says on the label. Still have one laying around.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

My charger with red title runs at 10.3v lol. Those are the chargers that cause fires. Think the red title needs to say "danger, will cause batteries to explode when you least expect it"


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## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

tigris99 said:


> Well being the fact it has lattice bright and not cree leds, be lucky to get 600 lumens max out of it. That's what people refer to as a "tri-clone" and they used to be decent, *what you find now is very low powered and use fake cree leds.* The price says it all.


For the heck of it I looked up the info on the so called "fake Cree" LED's made by Latticebright ( Chinese company ). The data available on their XM-L2 clone ( known as the XM ) is limited. There is no dedicated data sheet like Cree but there is some information. Anyway I compared what info there is to the Cree XM-L2 data sheets and here's what I came up with...

_Comparing at 700ma, 85°C...Minimum expectations ( cool white? ) U2_;

Cree XM-L2 U2....300 lumen

Chinese Latticebright XM ( bin unknown )....240 lumen ( typical is listed as 300 lumen )

Cree did not list a typical output at this level although likely it is somewhere around 350-360 lumen.

I'm not saying I would want a lamp made with the Chinese LED's but the tech behind the Chinese LED's is not too far behind the Cree LED's. Actually it wouldn't surprise me if Cree tried to buy the Chinese company just so there is no confusion in the market place between the two. Heck, they now have Chinese Kentucky Fried Chicken, why not a Chinese Cree.

(**Note, I moved this discussion over to new thread so as not to go off thread topic )


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## rsilvers (Aug 23, 2015)

For anyone who orders from China, I have been tracking delivery times:


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

Do you not have the option of shipping via DHL? Never had an issue getting shipments from China within a week's time through DHL...


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

VegasSingleSpeed said:


> Do you not have the option of shipping via DHL? Never had an issue getting shipments from China within a week's time through DHL...


Most dont want to pay the $20 in shipping for a $10 item. The whole purpose is they want the stuff for as absolutely cheap as possible.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

And, I imagine, being able to incessantly complain about it is a bonus?


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Oh I use DHL myself too. Rarely do I wait for the "free shipping" option. Not unless its from somewhere I know isnt going to take 2 weeks to ship something.

And ya that's a bonus


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## zekia (Mar 11, 2014)

Swissam said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Im looking for something to replace my three emitter MJ808(?) clone for the bars.
> I want more flood and more light so I am looking at these
> ...


The first light is the TrustFire TR-D014.
Here is the review by MK96:
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...t6-4-mode-3000lm-bicycle-light-lc-907810.html

The review by EFMax:
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/first-impressions-trustfire-tr-d014-926087.html

TrustFire TR-D014 beam pattern (on low - medium - high modes):
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...m-bicycle-light-lc-907810-2.html#post11411346

The second light is unbranded, but that was reviewed too.
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...0lm-3-mode-front-bicycle-light-lm-884687.html

The unbranded purple light's (MK96 called it as "Power 7-UP" in the comment) beam pattern on low - medium - high modes (the beam photos are in the same comment as the TR-D014 beam photos, because MK96 compared them):
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...m-bicycle-light-lc-907810-2.html#post11411346


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## zekia (Mar 11, 2014)

Swissam said:


> Thanks. Just ordered two plus a Y adapter. You raise a good point with the weight. Don't know if they would bounce around with a Hope universal bar mount as that thing holds tight. Maybe the BT40 is all I need with my MJ clone and Duo clone on the helmet.
> I see a rabbit hole approaching on the horizon. It seems some of you have long since fallen into this hole. Lol.


I don't understand why everyone recommends the BT40. The TR-D014 and that other unbranded purple light, they have the best quality among chinese lights. And they are about 3000 real lumen lights. They have excellent beam pattern. A lot of flood with throw. So I recommend those purple lights.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

^^^^spam

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## zekia (Mar 11, 2014)

tigris99 said:


> ^^^^spam
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


Yes, your comment is a spam.


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