HD-016 XM-L2 x2 Cree Bike light

Diddly

Hi,

just wondering if anyone's bought one of these yet and could provide some sort of review with beamshots?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Generation-XM-L2-X2-Cree-LED-Bike-Bicycle-MTB-Light-Headlamp-Cycling-5000LM-/161362759435?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&var=&hash=item2591f84f0b

Looks pretty good with 1200lumens output with one flood and one spot beam for £26.

The Rookie

Wont make 1200lm on that battery pack, about 900 maybe, SS is the man.

kajjal

The price suggests you may want to run a couple in case one stops working. Cheap Chinese lights vary wildly in quality but when they do work are very useable.

jimothy78

Not quite the same, but similar spec:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5000Lumen-SolarStorm ... 1368777738
Me and a few of my mates run these, and they're really excellent for the price. Will try to get a beam shot tonight, if I remember.

Diddly

Cheers! The solarstorm has two spot beams from what I can see, so the beamshots should be narrower than this one. I think I'll might take a punt and see how it goes. The current draw should be about 2.8A which a decent single 18650 can cope with. I'm hoping for a >2hr runtime with 4x18650.

supersonic

Have a read of this:

viewtopic.php?f=10002&t=12967618&hilit=light+review

jimothy78

Quick comparative beam shot at short range:

Beam on right is the 2-LED Solarstorm unit with 4-cell battery;
Beam on left is a single-LED handtorch-type light using the same type of LED chip and one cell.
Both on full charge and maximum brightness setting.

As you can see, the single-LED torch has a very "flat" beam, with quite pronounced edges (it also has an obvious secondary halo, separated from the main beam by a darker ring, though you can't see these features in the photo) this gives very little "punch" down the trail, and the eye is instead drawn to the edges, where features closer to the rider, but to either side of the trail, are more brightly illuminated.

In contrast, the double unit has a much more progressive intensity spread, giving a really good "punch" in the centre, down the trail, and a more diffuse periphery. The overall effect is far superior for trail riding.

Diddly

Having used it a couple of times now I'm pretty happy with it. The dual beam (flood+ spot) is really good - very wide with some throw too. Overall brightness is great, it's probably around 800-1000lumens at a guess. will try to get some beamshots with my L&M HID and some really bright torches for comparison. My son is so impressed he wants two of them.