Just Received Hope Vision 2 LED - 480 Lumens!

Soni

Hi, i've been considering what headlight to get over the past few weeks, my LBS recommended the NiteRider range initially, but the Road Rat had a battery as heavy as a 12V car battery so that was out of the question.

I then started researching the net, and it seemed the Dinotte lights were great, as they received rave reviews. I was having trouble sourcing them in the UK, however i phoned a bike shop in Croydon (won't mention any names for obvious reasons) and they told me they don't sell them anymore but 'may' have some left 'out the back' :?

He came back to the phone and told me that he had two boxes. I travelled from Kent - Croydon, 3hrs roundtrip. He brought the boxes out to the reception area, and the boxes had 'reprogram' written in black marker pen accross the top. I asked him what it meant, and he gave me some spill about it meaning they have been reset to factory default or something and its nothing to be concerned about. The first light switched on but wouldn't switch off, the second light seemed to work fine (in the shop) so i paid my money and left, and then on the way home tested it, and the slightest of vibrations from the car was sending the light into a state of panic, with it flashing on and off (not the on and off you would expect in flashing mode), it then wouldn’t switch on at all, then it switched on and wouldn’t switch off, i then looked at the bottom of it and there was scratch marks all accross the bottom so badly that the silver finish has scraped off, it was obvious that these were not new units, so i turned the car swiftly round, and headed back to the shop for a refund. I politely explained my assumptions to the shop owner, and he said 'oh, i don't know how they ended up back in the box then'........

Anyway, i went back to the drawing board and decided on the new Hope Vision 2 LED - 480 Lumens.

I originally placed my order with Trendz on Sunday, but when i contacted them on Monday they told me that they were out of stock and not expecting a delivery for at least 3 weeks. I was going to wait, until i read on another forum about a chap named Edd who is starting up his new web based cycle parts business and he had two of these in stock!

So I cancelled the order with Trendz, and ordered through Edd.

What a great guy he is, I phoned him up Tuesday evening, he is very professional, i explained that I’m after it as quickly as possible, ordered on Tuesday evening, he posted it yesterday (Wednesday), and it was delivered to my house this morning (Thursday), communication all the way, he phoned me, he emailed me, fantastic customer service.

I can't believe how small and well designed the light unit is, its ever so small but throws out a fantastic beam of light and this was in daytime and with the battery running on empty.

The battery is really reallly small and light, it fits in the palm of your hand, something that i really didn't expect after feeling the weight of the NiteRider RoadRat battery.

If you need any bits i would recommend you give Edd a call first, i picked up the Hope Vision 2 LED - the new 480 Lumen version for £137.00! I saw it advertised for over £200.00 in some places.

Edd/Wheel Adventures – 07796 543 834/email: [email protected]

johnsav

fantastic price that!
Ive got the 300 lumen one and thats pretty bright, id love to see your version in the dark.

Soni

johnsav wrote:

fantastic price that!
Ive got the 300 lumen one and thats pretty bright, id love to see your version in the dark.

Hi John, its absolutely piddling down where i live tonight, and its the first night i'm able to try it out, as the battery has been charging this afternoon and is now fully charged.

I haven't braved it out yet due to the weather (hoping it stops raining soon) but i've just turned all the lights off in the house and showed it to my Mrs and it lit the whole room up!

And yeah the price was great also!

richlong28

i tell you what, you've just solved my light problem haha

thanks

canada16

WHAT

Just bought a TK11 fenix, would have rathered that, at that price.

Oh well

supersonic

I just bought a 900 lumen torch for 25 quid!

johnsav

where!!

Soni

I think that must be the best price per lumen on the market.

I was previously contemplating buying 2 x Dinotte's (before the bad experience as detailed above) but that would have cost me £200.00 for 400 lumens, whereas i now have (imo) a better designed, more robust, brighter, and more cost effective option pushing out more than twice the claimed output of 2 x Dinotte's!

Soni

supersonic wrote:

I just bought a 900 lumen torch for 25 quid!

Bet you need to wear Asbestos gloves before picking it up!

xgeek

supersonic wrote:

I just bought a 900 lumen torch for 25 quid!

Do you think it is really that bright or is it like a peak value for a few seconds burst. If it is 900 over a good period of time I may get one.

supersonic

Lol. Here it is:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623

Recommended tp me buy Dazzza who has one. Actual output more like 700 lumens or so, and will eat the battery quick on max, but batteries are very light, and very cheap so can take spares.

I bought two torches, two spare 18650 batteries, and a charger for 63 quid. Need to mount them (jubilee clips), but on a lumen per pound basis, nothing comes close, and a good pattern for ridng too.

Soni

supersonic wrote:

Lol. Here it is:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623

Recommended tp me buy Dazzza who has one. Actual output more like 700 lumens or so, and will eat the battery quick on max, but batteries are very light, and very cheap so can take spares.

I bought two torches, two spare 18650 batteries, and a charger for 63 quid. Need to mount them (jubilee clips), but on a lumen per pound basis, nothing comes close, and a good pattern for ridng too.

Is it me or does that torch look quite long........maybe just the picture......

supersonic

6 inches.

These options always have their limitations, but if prepared to do a bit of handywork, and get a couple of spare batteries (would love to see a version with a higher capacity battery fitted as standard) then you can get a bright workable set for peanuts.

Soni

canada16 wrote:

WHAT

Just bought a TK11 fenix, would have rathered that, at that price.

Oh well

I was contemplating getting the TK11's only last week when reviewing my options, i was looking here:-

http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix-tk11.html

I think they look really nice, and two of those on the bars would have looked really nice, a nice short torch with over 200 lumens per torch.

The universal handlebar mounts were about a fiver each i believe, so that would have cost about £110.00.....

ratty2k

Recently bought the Hope Vision 4. 8) Very very good light! Got the enduro version with 2 batteries so thats supposedly 4:30hrs on full 900 lumen output. [email protected] glad of 'em the other night going down Suicide brake and the rest of the Dark peak routes we ride! Appaling night, gales, horizontal rain, brake siezed on the back. Absolutely loved it! Cant wait to get out again!

Soni

ratty2k wrote:

Recently bought the Hope Vision 4. 8) Very very good light! Got the enduro version with 2 batteries so thats supposedly 4:30hrs on full 900 lumen output. [email protected] glad of 'em the other night going down Suicide brake and the rest of the Dark peak routes we ride! Appaling night, gales, horizontal rain, brake siezed on the back. Absolutely loved it! Cant wait to get out again!

I found a you tube vid of a guy showing off with his Vision 4, and boy did it light the trail up.

I've just been enjoying browsing through your photos on Flicker, i take it they are cycling holidays you've been on? Surely you're not that lucky to be living amongst that lovely scenary?

ratty2k

Peak district and Wales not too far away, about an hours drive dependant on whereabouts...
Live In Cheshire myself, too flat for my liking! Oh, some of the pics ore in the Lake district, where I'll be spending 4 days riding next week! Also, some of the pics are up in N. Yorks or the Yorks Dales... Lovely places!

And thanks for the kind words about the pics.

dirtbiker100

I was planning on getting the Hope Vision LED 2 but the lbs sells them at standard £195 and i've seen the ay-up mtb kit at £250 (320 lumen for bars and 320 for helmet + 12 hours of battery life) and am falling for those now. least i wouldn't feel as guilty if i met the lbs staff on a ride with ay-ups rather than a hope from another shop ha ha.
had last years hope 2 led and it was fantastic. they get my recommendation.

Cunobelin

If you are looking at Fenix - try Tesco!

They have a 3 watt Cree LED torch for a tenner - adequate, and a matched pair is brilliant

Don't compare with the USE Enduro with 720 lumens though!

i-drive

i also opted for the hope vision 4 nearly a 1000 lumens which was wiggles ex demo bought for £203.00 delivered ,it didn,t even look like it had ever been used.

i also run a joystick maxx camo on the lid for a bit of side to side vision.

if your a serious night rider like myself i would suggest visiting a couple of lbs to get a feel for the lights ie quality of brackets & headlamps & some shops even have demo models thay can lend out.

i can also recomend the use exposure range but the light is restricted to more of a spot than a flood which isn,t ideal for my style of riding but would be great for most.

the new maxx-d is also close to a 1000 lumens but is priced at £300.00 & still looks like it lacks the flood even with 4 led,s.

jojo90

I bought the Maxx-D, flood is v.good and you don't need to mess around strapping the battery pack to your bike.


Thing that really attracted me is the smart port technology and the fact its an all in one unit. With the smart port I can run a 240 lumen rear taillight for £35... makes it useful for my roadbike too.

I'm still going to go out with 2 tesco torches strapped to my head mind you

i-drive

do not get me wrong from my use experience the daddy will be ok but scroll down in my link below & check out the poor flood from the maxx d compared to the hope vision 4.

the charge spt! port is great for the joystick but as for connecting the rear lights available to any of the bar only options defeats the cable free design as you have to have a cable running from the bar mounted unit to the rear light which will be mounted on the seat post.pointless but a good money spinner from use.

maxx d is bright but is still best suited to the roadies out there.link below.

http://translate.google.com/translate?u ... l=no&tl=en

Soni

Hi Guys, had my first opporunity to test my new Hope Vision 2 LED 480 lumen light out tonight in total darkness around a trail around a group of lakes, and i'm really really happy with the lights and i'm glad i waited for the Hope.

I didn't have much of a Budget to play with so over the last few weeks i originally looked at the Cateye SingleShot Plus but realised this was more of a commuting light, then it was the NiteRider RoadRat at £75.00, but this was way too heavy, then the Dinotte's but had a bad experience as reported above, and then the 300 lumen Hope Vision 2 LED (last years model) at £150.00 for an ex-demo, but then managed to get the new Hope Vision 480 lumen 2 LED at £137.00!!

For those of you that are in the market for a lighting system and don't want to break the bank (like me) i can honestly tell you that you will be able to ride trails that you don't know in complete confidence. I don't go falling off the edge of cliffs on my bike, but i do ride fast and this light is great. I'll create a video of a night out with this light over the next week and will post it up for those intereste.

richlong28

supersonic wrote:

Lol. Here it is:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623

Recommended tp me buy Dazzza who has one. Actual output more like 700 lumens or so, and will eat the battery quick on max, but batteries are very light, and very cheap so can take spares.

I bought two torches, two spare 18650 batteries, and a charger for 63 quid. Need to mount them (jubilee clips), but on a lumen per pound basis, nothing comes close, and a good pattern for ridng too.

Do you think i'd be able to mount this on my helmet!? just with a few cable ties, i've worked out that i can buy one and get 2 extra batteries and a charger for roughly £33, and thats dependant on the exchange rate.
i've just bought some cateye vision 3 LED's but i thought it can't hurt to have more light

Steve_b77

I too have bought some '09 Hope Vision 2's (infact the battery is sat along side me at my desk charging as I type) and i am very impressed with them, the light output is superb, nice wide beam and more than enough penetration to ride twisty, rooty single track at a decent speed.

Highly recommended

Soni

Steve_b77 wrote:

I too have bought some '09 Hope Vision 2's (infact the battery is sat along side me at my desk charging as I type) and i am very impressed with them, the light output is superb, nice wide beam and more than enough penetration to ride twisty, rooty single track at a decent speed.

Highly recommended

Excellent, glad you like it, i was impressed with the battery size also, its no bigger than my Nokia phone, in fact i think its a little smaller!

And yes the light output if fantastic!

How much did you get yours for? I picked mine up for £137.00