# Hope Vision 1



## Cube_rider (Jan 20, 2008)

Hey all

Has anybody tried the Hope Vision 1? Im looking at buying a cheap(er) light in case I get caught short. And it also looks good as a torch. Seems ideal.

It claims upto 240 lumens off 4AA batteries.


Cheers
D


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## notenoughtime (Sep 7, 2004)

240 just sounds like the quoted max of the SSC P4 u-bin. Admittedly, it's a bright LED for a single, but 240 is just theoretical. It's a good backup. Make sure you check the exposure joystick too, similar deal. http://www.exposurelightsusa.com/


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## Cube_rider (Jan 20, 2008)

Ive had a look at the Exposure joystick but it is twice the price, and im getting towards hope 2led pricing there.

The hope vision 1 doesnt come with the option to add extra batteries however.


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## cgd (Dec 28, 2006)

ill be getting one as a back up light to keep in the back of my pack too, a mate got his a couple of days ago, havnt had chance to speak to him about it though...

"The hope vision 1 doesnt come with the option to add extra batteries however."

you could carry as many AAs in your back pack as you want!


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## Cube_rider (Jan 20, 2008)

> you could carry as many AAs in your back pack as you want!


Haha, yes. I carry plenty of spare batteries for my damn power sucking camera.


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## Inchigh (Nov 20, 2007)

the exposure joystick light is pricey, but is also excellent. i have mine fitted to my helmet perminantly, with a lanyard attached for added security. Use it daily/nightly to commute to work, and being so light and bright gives excellent visual presence to vehicles at a junction (if you see them, they see you) Off road, this light takes some beating, all my freinds have commented on its width of beam, and depth of ilumination, and with a charge time of 3 hours/2.4 hour burn time, i think you cant go wrong. Hope lights are just as good but i cant find a comment on the single led (i looked high and low)..........my advice, save and get the joystick.........proper piece of kit.


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## notenoughtime (Sep 7, 2004)

Can this be found in the states? Is this new? The Hope Vision that is...I know the Joystick is here.


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## Inchigh (Nov 20, 2007)

notenoughtime said:


> Can this be found in the states? Is this new? The Hope Vision that is...I know the Joystick is here.


This is a link to crc, i know its the uk as a suplier, but hope are in the uk to.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24391

it does look a niffty light for the money:thumbsup:


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## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

Hi, here some pics of a spanish user of this light

































































































This holder are of plastic








Holder for the hemet inclusive, but he coment that it is not very good
















































This rubber are for the helmet holder
























The light go with this band, and the circle rubber, but he don't know how holder to the light   








Holder for the helmet








































Fist light topeak for comparison, see the previous foto








The Hope light have 4 positions of power light
Level 1








Level 2








Level 3








Level 4









Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## Cube_rider (Jan 20, 2008)

Wow, thanks for the pictures. :thumbsup: Couldn't ask for more detail than that!

Have you had chance to use it out on the bike? How does it compare to other lights?


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

I order 1 today, after checking out some mates in the woods last night, quality of the unit looks excellent so should with AA's last pretty much FOREVER as there is no specific batterys to die, power looked more than good enough quite focused into a wide enough beam to ride by with nothing wasted at the sides.

My ownly concern is, too heavy and too high up / prone to hitting trees on the head mount, really don't want to use it on the bars as it'll be a waste though, strengthen my neck up hey 

Sure with abit of drilling and some wire I could make a double set of AA's ( 8 ) for double the run time inside the rucksack though, but not a wire fan.

Using £12 DealExtreme C2's at the moment been good but dodgy switches forcing spending  and new toys


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## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

Cube_rider said:


> Wow, thanks for the pictures. :thumbsup: Couldn't ask for more detail than that!
> 
> Have you had chance to use it out on the bike? How does it compare to other lights?


Hi, sorry, but don't are my light :nonod: it is the light or another spanish forumer, when her do any "external" beamshot I will put the picture, ok? I too will ask to her if this light give good light comparison with another lights...

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Picked 1 up today, not tried it out actually riding yet, but not amazed by it, quite a small pool of focused light but expected whiter and brighter  But I'll never be happy I guess, try it out Sunday night all being well if only quickly.

Weight and size wise, it's at the limit of what I'd like on my helmet, had to put it quite far back to stop it pulling my head down.

It'll be no use what so ever on the bars.

* note to self, cancel the 1 I've got on order although 2 coming out of either side not on the top to balance it out, would be just perfect  *


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Just had another mess, batterys didn't last 15mins estimated before going off, ie fiddling time, so there is a chance when the NiMh batterys arrive it'll actually be able to increase the output some more.

The entire, I'm flat I'm off no warning what so ever, isn't great though!!


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

hmmm, new batterys went off to just the same, but then it's been running for 10mins, suspect I've got a faulty one, always me


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## Cube_rider (Jan 20, 2008)

ahh

Bad luck man. Hope you get it sorted out. Im sorry to hear that the light isn't that great going off your first impressions.

I was going to choose 2 hope vision 1 on the bars and a joystick on the helmet, but I may have to rethink now!


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Realised, shouldn't use standard Alkaline batterys, likely can't handle the draw on 5watt full power, so I'm hoping when the rechargeables arrive full power will have abit more kick to it, be a week+ though before there in.

Looks like i can run it in 2.5watt okay though @120lumens, the step upto full power isn't huge, but diminishing returns so hard to say.

Think it starts off brighter after the batterys have had a rest then drops back abit to, which is a good sign, but could be my eyes adjusting.

This one won't be great on the bars, you want the vision 2 on the bars ( not much more for the 4's though ) as they both have flood lenses.

Joystick would be better, same bulb and output but a smaller lighter unit just £50 more allowing for a charger + batterys.

I like being able to run things on standard batterys, my HID's and L&M Vega both died cause of dead batterys.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Borrowed some NiMh batterys, Light on full power is constant and less flickery read not at all, all setting seem brighter but hard to be sure, full is definately more as it doesn't drop off abit in the first 2mins but the step from 3 to full power seems the same so ??

New rear tyre should arrive tommorow, if so all being well I'll try them out tommorow night!!


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Borrowed some NiMh batterys, Light on full power is constant and less flickery read not at all, all setting seem brighter but hard to be sure, full is definately more as it doesn't drop off abit in the first 2mins but the step from 3 to full power seems the same so ??

New rear tyre should arrive tommorow, if so all being well I'll try them out tommorow night!!

Power 2 ( 15hours ) should be fine on climbs, power 3 ( 5 hours )should be fine for most stuff, saving Full ( 2.5hours ) for DH bits!!

3 sets of AA's in the sack so run time, HUGE if I want to bother to change the power all the time.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Confused it's doing the cutting off thing again, put different rechargeables in there and been on and fine again.

Trust factor on this light is LOW currently 

Actually might be charger / batterys, thought it was showing as charged to quickly, keeps going to I'm charged, switch off wait, switch on and charging more, mates hey!!


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Got to take the light out finally and sadly not impressed, head mounted and whats that dull glow I can see, patchy glow at that.

Hoping it's a old NiMh batterys which are dead issue, run time on them was 1/2 whats expected, one set just switch straight off, could be low voltage below the min maybe, will buy new batterys tommorow as my dealextreme batterys will likely be another week to get here


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

New batterys sourced the light output is a nice white / blue colour like i expected so looks much better, normally it starts like that and lasts 2seconds but was 2-3mins in and still fine!!

Fingers crossed, get some more batterys tommorow and give it another try out tommorow night.

Can compare to my mates HID and L1 aswell!!


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Okay time to get serious, fed up of these they start off okay ish but definately get dimmer as the batterys wear down and badly so a plan.........

Drilled 2 holes in the base to run some wires through.
Ran 2 wires, secured with 2 batterys sadly ( better than 4 though ) to the battery container.
From that I'm running 5 AA, rather than 4 AA's to increase the voltage a tad.
I'm also got 2 batterys packs wired together so the draw is only 500ma per pack which should lessen the voltage drop as 1/2 the load.

Possibly brighter to start off with, 15mins of testing and no brightness drop.

Around 5hour run time on full power to, 9 area I guess on mode 3 plenty for a good ride, still just recharagables if more power is required so take them out, put new ones in sorted.

Try them abit later hopefully.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Okay tried them out, for about 1hour it was better then it started losing the brightness again, losing it's temperature and going more yellow so it's power seems to drop alot.

Okay some of my 10batterys are really old and crap so not a ideal test until my 2500ma batterys arrive, but still not overly impressed, even when it's working well range is abit limited but it does lightup a huge area.

So tommorow on the basis the other Hope rechargeable systems run off 7.2volts and I'm past caring not happy, going to up the power to 2 * 6 AA's 7.2volts  it should regulate down to the same but just stay brighter for longer. Never know might draw another 100ma's and get closer to this alledged 240lumens. 

Comparing to other lights I reckon 150-180 is more realistic when the batterys are fresh.

Better off with 2 x DealExtreme C2's 150lumen rated each, put it that way, infact i think 1 of them is better, but the 45min run time is annoying.


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Okay 2 new battery packs made and connected using those 9V connectors much nicer 6 x AA = 7.2Volt, comparing to my other 100lumen torch the spot is brighter, it wasn't before so might have 20% more output. Might actually be 240lumens 

Not running hot, been on for 15mins not burnt out yet. LOL

I'll have enough cells to make 3packs soon, 7.5hour on full run time, 9+ on mode before.

Slight blue tinge to the light aswell nice 

Not running it any higher voltage wise though!!! No way it should drop sub 3.7volts required to drive the LED at this voltage really, with 2 packs at once sharing the load!!


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Yeah this thing is running off 7.2volt standard electronics, runs okay on 7.2volts, nice white light not focused enough for the limited output it's got though, so range is just well none existant, didn't fade at all after 3hours, with 6 x 2000ma + 6 x 1700ma ( very worn out and old ).

In standard form utter crap!!! Save your money


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## jazid (Jun 3, 2007)

Thanks for the detailled information.

I was looking to pick one of these up to suppliment my brilliant Dinotte 200L, but now have read all this, I dont think I will give it the time of day.


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## bigmeister (Nov 26, 2008)

*No problems here - very pleased*

Old thread, I know, but I felt compelled to register on mtbr and post since it comes up near the top of Google search results for reviews of the Hope Vision 1 LED. I wanted to provide a bit of balance to Turveyd's struggles.

I also own a Hope Vision 1 - and I have no trouble with it whatsoever. In fact, I'm absolutely blown away by it. The brightness and illumination is _much_ better than I expected. I get the burn times that Hope advertise, sometimes longer, at all brightness levels - this is with two year old 2800mAh NiMh rechargeables charged in a 3 hour fast charger.

I'm predominantly a road rider, and when mounted on the bars the Vision 1 provides all the illumination I require, at any speed. The beam is at least road-width, bright and evenly distributed to over 150 feet ahead. Fantastic. I live on the border of Surrey and Sussex in the UK, about 5 miles from any street lamps - really in the wilds - so I'm totally dependent on it for much of my riding.

Drawbacks? I can see that I would want greater spread for fast off-road riding - but I guess that's what the Vision 2 and 4 are for. I can also see that it'd be a touch heavy to be worn on a helmet for very long. The fact that the light just goes off when the batteries are drained also has to be taken into account - for that reason I do carry spare AAs and run a small backup LED headtorch on my helmet.

For £80, though, I think this is a phenomenal light. Yes, for many the Exposure Joystick will make a better helmet light, and the charging may be more convenient, but it's also twice the price. For me the Vision 1 represents a superb bargain.


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

I decided to pick one of these up to help with commutes, as well as supplement my old Nightrider.

CRC has them for fairly cheap and I'm hoping in time mods in the form of different bulbs of more power from external batteries becomes a possibility. Any thoughts? I checked the search and didn't find stuff specific to this model.


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

Ok, pulled the trigger on one. Hope I made the right choice and it can hopefully provide good light output and modification opportunities.


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## cgd (Dec 28, 2006)

have hope ever let you down?  
will be getting one shortly as a "caught out in the dark" back up light.


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

Well, not so hot about their QR Skewers. Not going to early adopt their tech levers, although they feel amazing. The dials are my concern.


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## cgd (Dec 28, 2006)

post up some feedback on the vision one jc when you can. using the correct batterys seems to be the key to getting the most out of them.


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

Yeah, it seems like a good ticket because I have tons of 2500-2700 AA's. It will likely be primarily a commuter battery, since that's how I get most of my riding and we have less than 8 hours of light here per day. At 8am I need lights and likewise as early as 345pm.


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## cgd (Dec 28, 2006)

gf's just ordered mine for christmas, should be here tuesday


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## Turveyd (Sep 30, 2007)

Not good xmas presents to yourself, I found my that poor and wasteful on lumens I gave it to a mate who's keeps trying to give it me back.

SORRY!!


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## cgd (Dec 28, 2006)

ive noticed that you dont rate them dylan 

ive fondled them at the lbs and a mate of mine has had one for a while.

i think you have to take them for what they are. they will be a little bulky and heavy because they take four AA's. because of this i wouldnt use them helmet mount, id buy the vision one adventure if i was that way inclined.

did you use the correct batterys before you butcherd it?


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## cgd (Dec 28, 2006)

well, santa delievered mine as promised. spent most of christmas morning playing about with it 

as one would expect from hope it has a neatly machined body, the switch has a nice feel to it too. the clamp looks nothing special but it works very well, quick and secure, clamping to the bars tightly with little effort also providing a few degrees of movement left and right.

using some two year old 2200mah batterys i got bang on 2.5 hours on max power.(hope recommend at least 2700mah) so the burn time will increase when i eventually get better ones. 

on the trail the throw of light was good with a spot in the centre and the rest bathed in a gentle white glow. the unit didnt vibrate or come lose on some pretty rocky lake districts descents.

the only two complaints i have are the fact the light just cuts out and really being niggly, the battery cage. the light would be pretty perfect if it would knock itself down to the lowest setting when the voltage drops. just be aware of it and dont start a long fast tecnical descent when its approaching its max burn time. when it does shut off i got a further half an hour on the lowest setting. the cage may not turn out to be a problem, but on screwing the cap back on i noticed that this twists the cage and is twisting it out of shape slightly, i will rub a little graphite on the back of the cap and see if this helps.

overall im impressed with this little light. a very good product at a good price. if i was a hardcore night rider i would obviously go for the vision 4 etc, but im not, so for a commuter light, a stash in the back back emergency light, or a bit of not too intense trail riding its spot on.


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

Thanks. That's great to hear. I"m in the same boat, in that this is going to be my mostly commuter light and I have tons of 2500 and above AA's to stash. Good to know that there is additional burn time after the light shuts.

For trail riding, which would only be on occasion and either start or end rides in the dark (we have roughly less than 8 hours of usable daylight here at this time of year), I would likely supplement it with my old ca 1999-2000 Digital Night Owl 15w, but as it gets on in years, though little use, I don't want to trust that as my only light. It's become an idea to either replace the bulb with an LED and try to run it off the stock electronics (due to staging, flashing, and a battery guage), or use the case altogether as a LED project.

With the Hope, there are also possibilities of drilling through the cap and putting a throughwire for an outboard battery pack and perhaps different bulb as technology and fit permits.


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## cgd (Dec 28, 2006)

connecting a wire through the cap wouldnt take much doing. the fact that its self contained is one of the main points for me.

dont know if you have seen this;










comes with a bar mount too.


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

Saw it, but have not seen it available at the time of my purchase.


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## Jerk_Chicken (Oct 13, 2005)

Received it, and as my luck goes, we've had a couple days of icing conditions and now a heavy snowstorm. We have lots of areas of brick on the trails and these woods are fairly deep and remote, so until my gf comes back from her vacation, I'm not going solo.

I was surprised to see the size. I was expecting larger. So far, I can fully darken my place (we have shutter type blinds outside the windows in Germany that completely block out all light) and it's doing a good job of lighting, at least here. I could try our underground garage later when no light leaks inside.

If this works, I'll be really delighted. No proprietary batteries to worry about. Seeing that it mostly will be used for city commuting and some night trail riding, I can't see needing more.


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## nicachu (Feb 16, 2008)

Hello. I know this is an old thread but I wanted to air my views as I picked up a Hope 1 last month.

I've been out for a few rides at night and I'm very impressed with it. It's currently mounted on the bars. The beam is plenty bright enough with a good spread for me to ride off road without issue. I've been using GP 2100mAh rechargeables and they haven't died on a run out just yet. Normally out for 2 hours. I've not see any problems with the light dimming or flickering but it's new and hopefully won't.

Great light and highly recommended.


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