I live in finland where it could be -15 - - 35 and i use light that cost me only about 28$ and its a lot of snow out here and its fallen to snow many times and its doing good after that. I bought it on eBay the site says it has "6000 lumenes" lol
haha on my commutes I don't care too much. It get's to -15F here but there are plenty of street lights so I guess I would be okay with a cheap light. Not on those back country rides though, no thanks
William Beitzel Hey could you maybe talk sometime about the oil sand industry in Alberta? I will hold a presentation in geography for my school exam in 4 month, and would like to interview someone. :) Of you can't tell me so much, maybe some relatives of you do? and sry for my bad english... It isn't my first language.
Fun review. I don't mind the cheapo lights, they're a good value. What bothers me most is they're advertising them at 4 or more times the lumens than they are.
No, they're not good value. I can almost guarantee that they will stop working soon after the warranty is over. And then they'll end up in the trash. More landfill.
@@HyperHorse a 15 dollar light that lasts even a year is a way better VALUE than a 300 dollar light that lasts 10. Value is a ratio of price to quality, not a measure of general performance and longevity
I know this review is 2.5 year old, but just wanted to thank you for putting it together and shedding some 'light' on the differences between products, claims, and reality. Well done!
Most of the people I know that ride at night are pretty serious about it. Especially as you get deeper into winter. As another user said, reliability is what really matters when the conditions get demanding. 300 is steep but having good gear that you are assured isn't going to fail on you is priceless, especially for commuters who need it as a safety feature.
As a XC rider here in Belgium, all my week-day winter rides are in the dark. My preference goes to smaller lights like my lezyne micro drive 450 xl. At 450 lumens the battery last doesn't last a full hour in the cold. THe size and weight are very good though. I tend to take 2 of them with me. By changing brightness depending on the terrain, street and moon light, I can get about 4h out of €90 worth of battery. Also it gives me the option to go to 900lumen when doing gnarly stuff. No cables needed and after a ride I hook both up to a batterypack. They charge in an hour.
7 years later, this is still the best and most straightforward comparison of cheap vs high end bike lights I can find on TH-cam. There's a reason why Seth is the king of mtb TH-cam.
I do a lot of night riding. I use a $50 Bright Eyes 1600 Lumen light (from Amazon) on my handlebars and a $60 BlackBurn 800 (also from Amazon) mounted on my helmet. I am VERY happy with this combination. They both give me 3+ hours of light (I've never run them all the way down) and I've ridden in fairly heavy rain with both lights without any issue.
I thought I would comment, several months after watching this video and actually replacing my 8000 lumen ebay light with this Sigma. I'm glad I did. The Sigma is so much more powerful than the 8000 lumen rated light. The construction is incomparable. It is fully waterproof. And the battery keeps its charge for weeks, even if the light is plugged in, when the ebay light battery would not hold for more than a couple days. And most of all, I'm not afraid anymore that the battery will catch on fire while charging or burst into flame while in use. Thanks Seth for this review.
So have I. Solarstorm 1200 lumens, Tansoren 2000 lumens all in one light with replaceable batteries, and Brighteyes 1800 lumens. All batteries do go dead after a while so I just bought Panasonic NCR 18650 3400mah 10amp and a 6 cell waterproof battery holder and vapcel S4 quick charger. You get much longer run times, brighter lights and much safer batteries.
If you do opt for an amazon light it is worth it to get a $5 anti-explosion bag to charge your batteries in. The amazon batteries do not have the same quality control as reputable companies and have been known to explode when charging. The risk is relatively low but $5 is a small price to pay if it means your house doesn't burn down. This has been a long time practice in the RC car community so most hobby supply sites will sell them.
Hey Seth! Great video! My ride group spent the last 3 months on night rides in the Canadian Rockies just west of Calgary Alberta. Our experiences included some rain, snow and most recently extreme cold with minus 28C. We successfully used cheap Chinese made Amazon lights for all of this. There is no doubt that the lumens are never as bright as advertised but with careful reading of product reviews we were able to pick out the best of the cheap alternatives. I read several posts in here talking about safety concerns with longer trips into the back country. Easy to address the safety issue with the cheap lights.....redundancy. I'm riding with two cheap lights on handle bars, one on helmet plus an spare battery pack. This set up was about $70 combined. To achieve the same level of back ups with the fancy $300 lights would be $700 to $800. Other comments. My strategy is to use one handlebar light for the climb and the other light for the decent. Lots of juice left in both when back at the trailhead. I do find on the really cold winter rides that battery life is shorter. For the minus 28C ride, I added a layer of insulation around the battery pack, that seemed to help. Thanks all the great videos Seth!
some of my bike club and myself (about 10 of us) have been using cheap chinese lights for over 4 years now. they have never failed. more than bright enough too. and you can get two of them to double the light. plus newer ones have bigger battery packs and multiple bulbs much brighter than the one seth tested here. Still very cheap.
I've had two of a similar brand (nestling) amazon lights on my mountain bike for 2 years now and both still work fine; I ditched the batteries for a single high capacity 8.4v R/C battery and a different connector. Gives about 8hrs use per charge and they have survived literally everything!! all for like £50
I have had one of those Amazon lights now for near ten years. The new ones are a bit more waterproof (one for each of my regular bikes), BUT in daily commuting, through Midwest winter's, it still has never failed. I still get at least five hours on the low setting and have never felt the need for anything more on city streets or rural MUPs. If I were mtn biking hard at night, I might want two.
I live in Scotland, UK and have had all sorts of bike lights. But I got some cheap lights off eBay just like yours and I have been impressed. Basically where I live is wetter than an otters pocket and the cheap Shen-Zhou light is still working. Like you I found that my helmet light is enough to overpower the main light. But as you say, £17 is a cheap price to pay. You just have to be really careful about the battery pack. It's kinda dangerous, so I wouldn't leave it alone whilst on charge!! Thanks for the test, I really enjoyed it. I've subscribed and recommended you to my friends. Nice work!
Fergus Lyons lithium battery is not that easy to blow up, unless you use sharp object to poke it, it will spit fire, I have heard those batteries blow up when overcharging, but it is not that simple to blow up on you while you using it normally.
You don't have to use tape. use one of those rubber "livestrong"bracelets that everyone gives out now. That is how my road biker friend did his light. works like a charm.
Cool video! I used a similar cheap light for two whole winter seasons and it never failed me. We did usually 2 rides a week in the dark, 2-3 hours long, in rain and snow. I usually had the light on my helmet with the battery in my backpack. I used the dimmest setting for the uphills, and the max power for the downhills. No issues ever. Best money for value. The light got stolen after 2 years. I had started commuting 12k by roadbike then, and replaced it with a 400 lumen Lezyne light, which was about as bright, twice as expensive, but much more lightweight. Never failed me either. My friends had a bunch of different cheap lights, but those 2-LED ones like you used seemed to be the best, and had the most useful light distribution.
Great review, particularly the inclusion of salt-water testing. One "long-term consideration" you might mention is replaceable versus soldered-in batteries. It might not matter with an $18 cheapo, but when a light costs $300, those batteries need to have easily available, stock replacements. Easily replaced batteries can also extend the life of the light on long night trips. Just exchange them.
I have a $40 light from Amazon with an external battery pack similar too your $18 light. It's great for casual use and basic commuting. If you put the battery pack in plastic like a zip-lock bag with a rubber band around the cord, then you'r good against most normal rain/wet/sleet/salt conditions. I'd take a headlamp or helmet mounted light over one mounted on the handle-bars if I could only have one light, but external battery backs are a pain on helmet mounted lights so USB rechargeable type do better on the head. So make sure your light comes with a strap or something for mounting on helmets. Usually the Head-mount strap is not big enough to fit over the helmet. Another good vid Seth.. Keep it up.
I run the cord down to a backpack or a bum bag/fanny pack. The one I have is a cheaper one, but the battery is pretty decent, and a bit too bulky to mount on the back of a helmet like some of the smaller battery pack ones.
Thanks for a great video. I have owned (and still own) some chinese lamps from aliexpress that have served me well for short night rides, but a year ago i shelled out big time for a monster rig. I now ride with a Lumonite Leader on my handlebars and a Lumonite BX1500 on my helmet. If I go running on trails I'll grab the 1500 and off trail I usually take the Leader. There isn't much of a weight difference and the hedband is compatible with both. Apart from them delivering over 7000 lumens (real ones) together (Leader >5500 lumens, BX1500 ~1700 lumens on max), they have a HUGE advantage over cheap chinese lights: Before the battery completely drains and the protection cirquit in the lithium cells cut the power, the lamps go into power-save mode and give me the chance to limp home with (only) 250 lumens for another hour. After being stranded on a dark trail by a "Solarstorm" with no prior warning, the decison wasn't a hard one. For a commuter that rides mostly in populated and partly lit areas, there is no point in dropping a few hundred euros or dollars on a bike light. Just get a spare battery pack. But if you tackle technical trails (on foot or on your bike) in complete darkness it's a no brainer. I used to think that the chinese lights were awesome until i compared them to a light built and designed for the task. The Lumonites are built for enduro and orienteering at night. I know I'm insane for dropping more money on lights than some spend on their bike, but I use them for mountain biking, trail running, cross country skiing and orienteering, so I figure I can justify the expense. All together I think I spent more than 900 euros (about $1000 US) on lights, batteries and harnesses, but when you ride with others all other lights fall short. The only place where the performance is matched is in my orienteering club, where the others have LedX, Lupine or Mila headlights (apart from Lumonite). All those brands have comparable versions, but they also match the price on my Lumonites. If you don't want to spend over a 100 eur/usd on your lights: buy three chinese ones: One for your helmet, one for the bike and keep one extra in your backpack for when they run out of juice or break. And, most importantly: Don't ride with friends that have over 2000 real lumens... There is a middle ground too: Buy two Olight h2 nova or Lumonite compass headlights. They will deliver about 1000 lumens each and run on standard 18650 batteries so you can keep an extra set in your saddle bag or pocket. That will set you back about 200 usd/eur, but will give you a light that is good enough for night orienteering and they are 100% waterproof and indestructable. I'm not endorsed by any of these brands and have spent my own hard earned money on all my lamps. I have not tested Mila, Lupine or LedX myself, but have many friends that are super happy with them and swear by them. Just look for a light built for enduro or orienteering in (or slightly above) your preferred price point. You won't be sorry.
Just bought the Sigma Buster 2000 and I can assure you it's pure awesomeness! One thing I wanna mention though, if you run it at full power and let it stay stationary it will regulate the power output down due to the high temperature and no air flow. It's not very noticeable but it explains the high battery time. All in all I am more than happy with the light and I plan to buy its smaller sibling the Buster 200 for my helmet, since they use the same mount and the 2000 comes with a helmet mount. edit: Just saw that you did exactly that with your helmet. Kudos! edit2: 300$ for the sigma?? I paid 170 CHF, which is around 200$, and stuff is generally more expensive in Switzerland...
This video has just saved me a fortune, I've had two £25 lights from Amazon now, both 5 x Cree 5600L and for the second time it has stopped working. Both times I thought the issue was with the light itself being to sensitive to being knocked because the battery pack charged from red to green as normal over a few hours but the light would not switch on. However after watching your video I took apart the battery pack and found massive corrosion on all points of the batteries and the main cause of the problem corrosion on the board. I was about to spend £200 on a new light, but instead I've opted to buy a fully waterproof version of my old battery from Amazon for another £15 and when it comes I will probably wrap it in a sandwich bag just for the sake of it to add extra protection (always works for my phone when out on the trails!). Thanks for the video, top work!
This is four years old. Seth's expanded his empire of biking buddies to encircle the globe. I came back to this video from the future to mention the next-level sound design/scoring.
lumen ratings are a funny concept. most of the cheap lights lumen rating is based on what the LED is rated for, not actual output. we see this kind of stuff all the time with tactical flashlights. with the correct voltages your cheap light might reach the claimed lumens, but that isn't usually the case with the supplied battery setup. the corrosion you see was more than likely caused by the salt water. I usually seal those packs with wax upon receipt. the only way I buy a light for over $100 is if it has a Lifetime Warranty that covers any and all failures no matter the cause. otherwise keep it cheap and expendable.
SHWELL11 what you said about lumen output, plus the Chinese manufacturers just flat out lie/fabricate their numbers. That said, I have a collection of these Chinese bike lights and I love them. Amazing value, but not true lumen output numbers.
it's also a scale of diminishing returns due to how the human eye works . 4000 lumens will not appear anything like 2x as bright as 2000 lumens . they all use the same bulbs made by cree and lion batteries even expensive ones are not that much better. they use better reflectors and optics though. seth's comparison not quite fair as you can get chinese lights a little more expensive, say $40, that have multiple cree bulbs and bigger battery packs. not far off this german one.
Lumen ratings on Amazon are like stungun voltage ratings on Amazon. By this I mean that Amazon sells 20,000,000 volt stunguns... Effectively the voltage of some lightening strikes - i.e. not remotely realistic. Also another big thing to consider with any light source is lux, not simply lumens. The moon is 1 lumen, however it does a much better job lighting the entire outside at night than a 100 lumen flashlight light will ever do because their beam widths are drastically different. Same goes for a laser, which could have a tremendous lumen rating, but really won't do as much as a flashlight for lighting because the beam is so focused. this is also why trying to compare a bike light that is 1 lux (i.e. a beam width of 1meter x 1 meter at 1 meter away) but more lumens, to a car's headlight that can light an entire road and the shoulder while not being as bright, doesn't really make sense, at least not when trying to evaluate them for how much they will help you see at night.
GPS trackers use a sim card so they can report location which means that there is a monthly fee involved. I would recommend comparing the cost of a tracker to the cost of adding your bike to an insurance policy. Insurance companies might be a pain to work with but it could save you from trying to recover a bike that has had its tracker removed. The best option is to keep your bike locked inside your house when you are not riding it.
Alex Coates Yeah I know but an Insurance isn't cheap in Germany. For my Bike it costs about 200-400€ per year. It's for me too expensive because I don't go to work, only in Summer vacation I go to Switzerland and make a vacation job, maybe I should let a bit away for the Insurance. GPS-Trackers are very controversial and some are bad, I don't know what's the best for the best price. Sorry for my bad english i hope you will understand
There's a few issues with trackers: 1) monthly fees as mentioned by Alex Coates 2) bike thieves are great at finding and removing trackers. It's also very easy to render trackers ineffective. Simply wrapping it in aluminium foil creates a Faraday cage and blocks any signal transmitted or received by the tracker (wrap your cell phone and try to call it, for fun). 3) if your bike gets stolen but you know where it is because the thieves failed to disable/remove the tracker... so what? Depending on where you are, a GPS tracker on stolen items may not be enough to get the police to do anything about your situation. This is sometimes because some police force's policies haven't been updated to include that sort of situation, and also because you could stick a tracker on anyone's bike then call the police and say "he's got my bike, look my tracker is on it". 4)There's also the issue that the bike may get shipped out of town, or even outside your country to a point where it's pointless to try an retrieve it. It boils down mostly to this: trackers are expensive, they only make sense if you have an expensive bike. The first thing people who steal expensive bikes do is check for and disable trackers. Even IF they don;t disable the tracker, so what if you know where it is? it won't change the fact that it got stolen. There's very little chance you'll be able to do anything about it. GPS trackers are, in my opinion, giving consumers an empty feeling of safety.
I say for people who are on a budget to stick with simple, low cost lights that have been tested by someone you know (Like one of those TH-cam guys) or is a trusted name brand. I own a lot of flashlights and while I always appreciate quality, reliability and good performance, I trust some of the common brands and I don't feel that I am denied anything from choosing reasonably or even budget priced brands and models over higher priced ones. I have seen $20 models that have the same brightness, run time and features as $80 or even $100 units. I would buy several of the $18 light which would allow me to afford extras or backup lights and I wouldn't be as worried about losses due to damage, wear and tear or theft. You found a great buy and it'll save people money. You earned me as subscriber.
As a brevet rider, I went with a generic China light rebuilt for use with dynamo hub. It has lit me the way through an number of 300, 400 and 600km rides and several heavy rains without a hint of malfunction or corrosion. I replaced the circuit board, threw away the battery pack, replaced the reflector optics with collimators, barelled the LED mounting points for better cooling and waterproffed the whole thing. I've got some new, better XML2 LEDs lying around wayting to be installed. It's been great fun working on it and I'm really happy with the result. What I'm trying to say is that cheap China lights hold good potential for reengineering and even if you break one you don't lose much.
I just picked up the Bright Eyes Helios 1600 Luman head light and I've been using it for a little over a week. 57 dollars from Amazon, oh, that does include shipping. So yeah, there are alternative too the 300 dollar lights.
Gotta say, I've got the magic shine and a friend has the bright eyes. Those things are still nowhere close to the advertised lumens, but I've got 2 magicshine lights and they are super lightweight. Works alright for me!
I bought a 400 lumen Light in Motion light about 15 years ago and I still use it today. I've replaced the battery pack and the LED lamps a couple of times. It's still just as reliable and bright as the day I bought it. I use it for all of my outdoor activities. Camping, canoeing, mountain biking, fishing, riding my 4-wheeler. I even mounted it to my shotgun for hunting feral hogs. Coon hunters are always asking me where they can get one. It may have been a little pricey but it's never left me in the dark.
Paco Jones Except not for this. The emitter _can_ reach that luminosity, yes, but 1) the cheap components and cheaper battery in this light do not push it that far at all, and 2) what matters is the OTF lumens, not how much is generated at the emitter before a shitload of it is lost to bad optics that dissipate almost 50% of the light into uselessness and heat. For you to get 1500 lumens, you need to custom build a pocket rocket like a customized Convoy C8 or an Emisar of any model. Even "premium" brands like Nitecore and Olight don't go for this much in their XM-L2 models.
I used to get this a lot when I worked in a bike shop. Customers would say ' but I can get 40000000 lumens or something for £20 online' and I'd have to explain the difference between calculated, theoretical brightness that the Chinese Lanterns all use, or actual verified brightness, measured by the manufacturer at the point of emittance i.e. the bulb, which is what all major light companies do.
in terms of the waterproofing, they wont instantly fail cause they run at a voltage too low for shorting out to happen. however as you saw corrosion killed it
+jordan lewis yeah, I had to keep reminding myself there was no risk of being shocked, but having dealt with the old HID lights with ballasts the instincts were still strong! That battery was toast.
You can find some pretty eye opening photos of failed 18650s around, which looks like what those cells were. Hopefully they never open someone's eye! Only buy reputable ones if you have the choice and treat them with a little care.
Regular Guy Mountain Biking are they still around? Because i used them as welk but recently i tore the wire from the battery pack and i need to get a new one.
I was so impressed with my BrightEyes light, I just bought a 2nd light. Updated version. Man they are bright! May not be the same quality as that German light, but much cheaper in price, and 10 times the quality of that Amazon light.
I'm from Germany. This Sigma Light is indeed a great one - but obviously way too powerful to mount it on your handlebar, at least when it comes to traffic regulations. However, you can purchase it and mount it on your helmet. Thank you Seth for the detailed and informative review!
That's the other end of the spectrum mate. Yes, you need a light in the dark but a 2000 lumen light is overkill for normal road use, might even blind other people.
Won't make you a better rider though,and if your eyes are bad enough that even a simple light doesn't light the way then you should stay indoors in the dark ;-)
I bought a light on Amazon called Victen (I think that is how it was spelled) and it looks exactly like your Amazon light. I purchased it in late October for $28. I was happy with it for commuting and it was the brightest light I have ever had. It lasted for less than two months before it just stopped turning on. It is the third cheep light I have purchased on Amazon. Of the other 2 cheep lights one lasted 2 months and the company gave me another and it lasted 9 months before it no longer would turn on. Yea, I am going to spend more money on my next light.
Seth, yeah, I agree with you: Having a great quality, expensive light from a reputable company is ideal, but the cheapo Amazon lights also have their place in one's arsenal, too. You can almost be certain that bike lights sold via Amazon (unless a reputable company) are going to have exaggerated lumens ratings.
This was a pretty cool comparison. I've been trying to decide on which light I should get. And it looks like the saying holds true here. You get what you pay for.
Buy 4 amazon lights. Combine 2 battery packs together to use it on one light. You get 2 lights with double battery that will work for 5 hours. Plus 2 spare lights to use them for replacement later. All for less than 80$.
I have been using a cheap light ocasionally (once a week or once 2 weeks)... Pretty much similar to that amazon light and it has worked FINE. Mine is brighter than that and never had a failure. So im fine! and honestly we almost never go night riding, we put them on our bikes and we go out end of the day and darkness might catch us up, so its mostly to return home safe!
I've been riding with Cygolights for a few years and they have been fantastic. They've lasted through Minnesota's ridiculous winters as well as hurricane like rain storms. I don't think they're as much as Sigma lights, but they aren't cheap.
after replacing the the battery on a cheap china lamp with a diy one, it was really good. (not the one in this video) the original battery had like 1500mah measured (6000mAh advertised). the new one ive built got 14.200mah. i got this one (enter into ebay search) 252469443526 obviously not 14000 lumens.. technically (7x cree xml-t6 led) it could go up to 6000-7000 lumens, but i think to keep it cold its a bit less than that. Its an high efficiency led, but not if its running on full power.
Likewise, I built mine with tested matched cells, without the protection circuitry but instead used an Rc JST balance lead and an external alarm. Self amalgamating tape covers waterproofing
i just used the circuitry from the original battery, it was working so why throw it away. this makes matches cells not necessary. i used Panasonic NCR18650B ones
ABritInNY, no self amalgamating electricians tape, it's a gooey bitumastic type tape that bonds to itself as you wrap it. If you bring the tape around the pack and finish tightly a couple of inch up the power cord, there's no way water is getting in
+Dave Mul oh how interesting, I'll have to look into getting and testing some. I use a self fusing silicon wrap tape. Made by original super glue brand (my personal fave,) called E-Z fuse tape. Waterproof and makes an airtight seal, insulates 8000! volts, good from -60f to +500f, seals wet or dry leaks and has zero sticky residue but seals to itself instantly. Good for plumbing/pipe/hose repairs too and its super flexible like silicon jacketed cable. Since discovering it I no longer use (crappy) electrical tape
there have been reports of cheap batteries for these cheap lights setting on fire or exploding during charge time. Buying cheap may mean coming 'home' to a burning house. I'd definitely do the research, let others be the guinea pigs, and be cautious because cheap can suddenly become awfully expensive!!
I have the cycle torch shark. Not a bad light. It has been through some rain and did fine.Its bright enough for me if I dont make it back before dark. I picked it up at a flea market cheap
Garacha222 Don’t charge any type of battery at home when you aren’t there, or in your car unattended. Things like your house burning down won’t happen that way.
I have had a number of those Chinese lights and use them on a regular commute in rural Vietnam (dark and wet). I keep the battery dry in a saddlebag under my seat and the cable is long enough to string along the top tube to the handlebar. One light was broken in a crash and one battery was destroyed in a flood. The weak component of these lights is the charger. I have had 2 break just trying to unplug them from a wall socket. I now just keep the charger permanently plugged into an adapter and plug that into the wall when I want to charge. Other than that they have been great. Reliable and more than enough light.
Buy an 18650 flashlight and a handle bar mount for flashlights. Throw an extra 18650 battery in your pack and go. Most of them boast 1000 Lemans which I'm sure is plenty
zim54 As long as you get a good light (Convoy or Thorfire, among others), a good set of cells (Panasonic, LG, Samsung) and a reliable, safe charger (Liitokala and Xtar), for damn sure.
I have run with a couple of these Amazon lights, though mine were about $30. While they came from different "companies" the battery packs and wall chargers were identical. The first looked very similar to yours with two lenses. While it worked great for commuting, after a year the battery was down below half life. If left connected to the light it would slowly run the pack ALL the way down after a week or so (quite bad for Li-ion packs). Over the summer it is very easy to forget about your lights for a month or three, let along a week. Worse yet, the wall charger is made from crappy brittle plastic, so one day when unplugging it the shell came with my hand and the exposed 120V guts stays in the socket ready to electrocute me. So after a second season of commuting and a few wraps of electrical tape to keep the charger semi-safe it no longer would run at full brightness for my 1:20 minute total commute time. The second is just at the beginning of the second year with the same results. I took it bikepacking recently, and sure enough after a night forgotten on my bike in the rain it was non-functional. A couple days later it dried out and I got a good 45 minutes of light before it crapped out. Junk.
I've been running Magicshine lights on my bars and we do quite a bit of night riding. I've had zero issues with it, battery life is great. It charges fairly quickly and is definitely very bright.
really? Over here in Europe we also have stuff for 1000$ . Brits have Hope as a manufacture and Germans have dozens of other brands then Sigma who are all above or around 250$
I wouldn't recommend under 1200 lumens. I have a 2200 lumens light and the minimum output i'm willing to ride on is at its half position. And believe me, the 300$ for that light is a good price as i had compared a lot of light to buy mine.
I bought an Astrolux S1, which rates at a genuine 1200-1600 lumens depending on the battery. I bought a cheap flashlight mount and I've never been happier. Feels like a car headlight on my handlebars. I don't even run it at it's highest setting because I don't want to blind or annoy cars on the road. Total costs were about $23 for the Astrolux, a few bucks for the 18650 battery, and a few dollars for the quick release mount. It's a custom made light by flashlight enthusiasts. Absolutely outperforms much more expensive lights, and is almost certainly the brightest light availible for its size class.
I bought a 8 Euro Front and Back light from the supermarket and run them with AA and AAA Akku batteries which i charge at home when they are empty twice a month and they are perfectly fine for me. Runs many hours and is very bright, well made and cheap and never had problems in rain.
Omg I can't believe it I knew you lived in Florida in Miami but never thought you had been to Johnathan Dickinson state park that's where I go all the time if you were to see this tell me how you like it and what trails you like the best
Very easy to "waterproof" the cheap Chinese battery pack, roll in in a plastic food back, the lamp itself seems sturdy enough, for the price paid definitely a good deal, not all things coming from China are poor quality, look for instance at a brand like Thru nite, their lamps are really build at milspec specification, very high power Cree LEDS inside, but then again more expensive than 18bucks....you get wat you pay for
for night riding in my local area we just bought job site string lights and put them above our favorite jump line. No bike lights required and it doesn't cost much more than that light, except theres no shadows and everyone gets to ride! I have a few videos of it on my youtube if you want to see what I mean.
I have the Buster 200 on my handlebars and it's okay for urban rides and commutes. For an longer trips in the dark I would take a China flood light with a different battery setup in addition to the helmet light.
How could you seriously look anybody straight in the eye knowing you just coughed up 300 bucks for bicycle lamp? Answer, you can't!!! However, with the Amazon light (which I have) you can positively look menacing at every one!!
Bike accessories and clothing are notoriously exorbitantly priced. At least with this German light you can feel its designed and manufactured to superior standards and will last. I replace my front light about every 4-6 months due to various issues, because most cheap lights are from China. You get what you pay for!
Orion Xavier everything lasts. The thing with the German light is that it’s very well engineered (overly), just like their cars. But is it cost effective?
The Sigma is a really nice light, but for a lot of people that only do a night ride once in a while, the $18 Amazon light will work just fine. We do once per week night rides in the winter time, some people have expensive lights, some have cheap lights, I've seen the expensive lights have as many issues as the cheap ones. If you really want a better value for a bike light, don't go $18 cheap, step up to the MagicShine brand of lights. Much better made with a starting price of $59. For that price you get a sealed battery, and at least a true 1500 lumen light. Seth did a nice job testing both cheap and expensive lights here, but there are many choices in between. I think it comes down to your budget and how often you use you light. Regardless of brand, if you only charge the battery a couple times per year, the battery is only going to last 3-5 years or so. So, for your $300 light, a replacement battery is probably going to be $100, for the cheap bike light, a replacement battery will be less than $10. I personally own several cheap bike lights but the newest MagicShines are probably the best light you can get for not much money.
I bought Bright Eyes 1200 lumen waterproof bike light on Amazon on 7-28-16. The next spring i had to get the light replaced but Don in costumer service was awesome. The light is wonderfully bright and comes with head strap and different sizes of tube bands to mount it with. I wouldn't submerge the battery pack though, it has the same not-so-water-tight cardboard pieces as the one did in the video. Overall, I'm satisfied with it, especially since they stood behind their product when they needed to.
You get what you pay for. The cheaper Chinese lights are poorly built with overrated claims. Some well known manufacturers offer decent lights at lower prices.
Not true. Cheap, unprotected Li ion batteries can be dangerous, especially in a multiple battery configuration. Google the terms "lithium ion vent with flame" and you'll see. A single 18650 battery from a reputable company can cost $18. No way would I trust some cheap light with non-branded Li ion batteries near my crotch. Especially from a company that makes such outrageously fraudulent claims.
Lol 18650's isn't anymore dangerous than any other battery on the market. Hell, every power drill, laptop, and even Tesla cars all run 18650's. Just dumbasses being dumbasses have trouble with them. Hell that German light probably has better branded 18650's inside it's pack.
He's tossing the lights in and fishing them out as not to change the conditions of the test. His hands are covered in salty sweat, and other contaminants. Keeping his hands out keeps the test conditions more consistent. and yes, the 5V those things are likely running is nowhere near enough to electrocute anyone.
@@ckaceritus You can get a nasty star shaped burn like a friend of mine who was fiddling with the lead on a 4 cell 18650 battery light pack trying to clean it off before plugging it back in. His hands were covered in enough salty sweat that conductivity was nicely enhanced. He was very surprised. Having taken electrical engineering I was not.
i've gone from Blackburn x8 to cheap Amazon and it've been doing a good job. After 2 years of use i had to buy another batery pack and the circuits was working perfect.
Started riding off road early 90s homemade 20 watt halogen track lighting bulb in a 2" pvc coupling 12v lead acid gel cell. About 1hr 45 minutes brightest around at the time. Now road riding with $1 Wal Mart lights and recently harbor freight lights 2.99 for two. Brighter smaller aluminum they are my favorite cheap go to lights. Resourceful in retirement.
RCPilot this is also why birds and even you can touch local power lines, but touching the big tall power lines you see on the main highways will kill you, because the cord is at its limit and the electricity will go anywhere it can.
Good review Seth! Does anyone remember , is anyone old enough to have used the old style 1960/70'sDynamo that ran off the edge of the tyre and powered a your torch globe equipped headlight ? holy crap they where bad 😀. Certainly there are some cheapies that will do the job , but some may let you down when you least expect it. I have two headlights for differing conditions , one is a single led cygolite 400 lumen that I think is true to it's name, it's water proof and can also be used as a torch that will last for hours , cost me 120 bucks australian , have had it for two years and it still works like a beauty . I also have a moon sport brand dual led headlight $ 350 bucks , I can't remember the output , but I would estimate it too be easily 3 times better than the single led job , and with much more of a flood light beam , it's also water proof , and will last at least an hour plus(it may last longer) on high beam ranging to several hours on low beam, It also comes with a remote switch for changing beams or switching off , expensive but a very nice light. Good lights ....well worth some extra bucks I'm .
I use €20 Crivit bike lights from Lidl. Back and front (very bright), both rechargeable and never ran out of battery. Lidl's stuff is consistantly high quality and well designed. I'm happy I didn't have to buy questionable stuff on Amazon or pay €70 for similar lights in the bike store.
1:37
Imagine when ur in the woods at night riding your bike and you accidentally switch your lights off then when you switch it back you see this.
Ikr
I would be shit*ng bricks
Eh, it's just a Motaur.
lol
Lmao
haha I kinda want to see you buy 10 of the amazon lights and mount them side by side on your handlebars now. I'll bet it would look pretty cool
yer next video seth?
I was expecting for him to do that as well and kinda disappointed when he did not.
It'd definitely look like the mothership, and I'd want to see it too
Aiden Cougar k
😂😂😂
On a three hour night ride in freezing temperatures in the middle of Grizzly country, reliability and battery life are my number one concern.
I live in finland where it could be -15 - - 35 and i use light that cost me only about 28$ and its a lot of snow out here and its fallen to snow many times and its doing good after that. I bought it on eBay the site says it has "6000 lumenes" lol
Celsius
Dang I don't blame you!
haha on my commutes I don't care too much. It get's to -15F here but there are plenty of street lights so I guess I would be okay with a cheap light. Not on those back country rides though, no thanks
William Beitzel Hey could you maybe talk sometime about the oil sand industry in Alberta? I will hold a presentation in geography for my school exam in 4 month, and would like to interview someone. :)
Of you can't tell me so much, maybe some relatives of you do?
and sry for my bad english... It isn't my first language.
Fun review. I don't mind the cheapo lights, they're a good value. What bothers me most is they're advertising them at 4 or more times the lumens than they are.
That one was advertised as 25 times the actual brightness
but then the pro light will be proclaiming runtimes while in reality it probably runs for an hour on full beam. theyre vastly overpriced.
@@luminousfractal420 did you watch the video? The pro light outperformed it's advertised runtime, and by a very significant margin.
No, they're not good value. I can almost guarantee that they will stop working soon after the warranty is over. And then they'll end up in the trash. More landfill.
@@HyperHorse a 15 dollar light that lasts even a year is a way better VALUE than a 300 dollar light that lasts 10. Value is a ratio of price to quality, not a measure of general performance and longevity
I know this review is 2.5 year old, but just wanted to thank you for putting it together and shedding some 'light' on the differences between products, claims, and reality. Well done!
Most of the people I know that ride at night are pretty serious about it. Especially as you get deeper into winter. As another user said, reliability is what really matters when the conditions get demanding. 300 is steep but having good gear that you are assured isn't going to fail on you is priceless, especially for commuters who need it as a safety feature.
As a XC rider here in Belgium, all my week-day winter rides are in the dark. My preference goes to smaller lights like my lezyne micro drive 450 xl. At 450 lumens the battery last doesn't last a full hour in the cold. THe size and weight are very good though. I tend to take 2 of them with me. By changing brightness depending on the terrain, street and moon light, I can get about 4h out of €90 worth of battery. Also it gives me the option to go to 900lumen when doing gnarly stuff. No cables needed and after a ride I hook both up to a batterypack. They charge in an hour.
Love this....can you do another test in 2019/2020 with newer versions of the budget vs. high end lights?
He sorta did in a 10 product review video
Oh those Germans and their conservative numbers
Hallo mein freund
I am German xD
Ok
Achso okay verstehe
nice broad hint on the volkswagen emission scandal ;-)
7 years later, this is still the best and most straightforward comparison of cheap vs high end bike lights I can find on TH-cam. There's a reason why Seth is the king of mtb TH-cam.
That's the best testertainment I've seen on TH-cam, thanks for posting.
That 300 light is worth as much as my bicycle
The 300 dollar light is worth more than my bike xD
Lol that $300 light is worth twice my bike
For me, it's like 3 times what my bike costs
@@FDemeis Same for me worth half my bike, but I still bought one. Its fucking awesome, light EVERYWHERE!
My bike is cheaper
I do a lot of night riding. I use a $50 Bright Eyes 1600 Lumen light (from Amazon) on my handlebars and a $60 BlackBurn 800 (also from Amazon) mounted on my helmet. I am VERY happy with this combination. They both give me 3+ hours of light (I've never run them all the way down) and I've ridden in fairly heavy rain with both lights without any issue.
I thought I would comment, several months after watching this video and actually replacing my 8000 lumen ebay light with this Sigma.
I'm glad I did. The Sigma is so much more powerful than the 8000 lumen rated light. The construction is incomparable. It is fully waterproof. And the battery keeps its charge for weeks, even if the light is plugged in, when the ebay light battery would not hold for more than a couple days. And most of all, I'm not afraid anymore that the battery will catch on fire while charging or burst into flame while in use.
Thanks Seth for this review.
I've been using $30 ebay lights for over 4 years and they're still going strong
So have I. Solarstorm 1200 lumens, Tansoren 2000 lumens all in one light with replaceable batteries, and Brighteyes 1800 lumens. All batteries do go dead after a while so I just bought Panasonic NCR 18650 3400mah 10amp and a 6 cell waterproof battery holder and vapcel S4 quick charger. You get much longer run times, brighter lights and much safer batteries.
If you do opt for an amazon light it is worth it to get a $5 anti-explosion bag to charge your batteries in. The amazon batteries do not have the same quality control as reputable companies and have been known to explode when charging. The risk is relatively low but $5 is a small price to pay if it means your house doesn't burn down.
This has been a long time practice in the RC car community so most hobby supply sites will sell them.
Hey Seth! Great video! My ride group spent the last 3 months on night rides in the Canadian Rockies just west of Calgary Alberta. Our experiences included some rain, snow and most recently extreme cold with minus 28C. We successfully used cheap Chinese made Amazon lights for all of this. There is no doubt that the lumens are never as bright as advertised but with careful reading of product reviews we were able to pick out the best of the cheap alternatives.
I read several posts in here talking about safety concerns with longer trips into the back country. Easy to address the safety issue with the cheap lights.....redundancy. I'm riding with two cheap lights on handle bars, one on helmet plus an spare battery pack. This set up was about $70 combined. To achieve the same level of back ups with the fancy $300 lights would be $700 to $800.
Other comments. My strategy is to use one handlebar light for the climb and the other light for the decent. Lots of juice left in both when back at the trailhead. I do find on the really cold winter rides that battery life is shorter. For the minus 28C ride, I added a layer of insulation around the battery pack, that seemed to help.
Thanks all the great videos Seth!
some of my bike club and myself (about 10 of us) have been using cheap chinese lights for over 4 years now. they have never failed. more than bright enough too. and you can get two of them to double the light. plus newer ones have bigger battery packs and multiple bulbs much brighter than the one seth tested here. Still very cheap.
I've had two of a similar brand (nestling) amazon lights on my mountain bike for 2 years now and both still work fine; I ditched the batteries for a single high capacity 8.4v R/C battery and a different connector. Gives about 8hrs use per charge and they have survived literally everything!! all for like £50
@Jakob 100 lumens for $50??
@Jakob ah no worries
I have had one of those Amazon lights now for near ten years. The new ones are a bit more waterproof (one for each of my regular bikes), BUT in daily commuting, through Midwest winter's, it still has never failed. I still get at least five hours on the low setting and have never felt the need for anything more on city streets or rural MUPs. If I were mtn biking hard at night, I might want two.
i use 2 amazon lights lmao, just wrap them in waterproofing tape
Ziplock bag
That's what I did lasted four years of heavy use
@@emmetfoster7430 used a cheaper ebay light for fishing and dropped it a couple times in a lake been working for 3 years now
I live in Scotland, UK and have had all sorts of bike lights. But I got some cheap lights off eBay just like yours and I have been impressed. Basically where I live is wetter than an otters pocket and the cheap Shen-Zhou light is still working. Like you I found that my helmet light is enough to overpower the main light. But as you say, £17 is a cheap price to pay. You just have to be really careful about the battery pack. It's kinda dangerous, so I wouldn't leave it alone whilst on charge!! Thanks for the test, I really enjoyed it. I've subscribed and recommended you to my friends. Nice work!
Yass scotland
This battery might even explode close to my crotch but that's a risk in willing to take for 18$.
No
yes
I mean you can just use your own battery pack if you don't trust this one, plenty of very cheap and reliable ones out there.
Fergus Lyons 😂 fr
An $18 vasectomy ..... nope
Fergus Lyons lithium battery is not that easy to blow up, unless you use sharp object to poke it, it will spit fire, I have heard those batteries blow up when overcharging, but it is not that simple to blow up on you while you using it normally.
i just got a torch and taped it to my bike
Cheaper and better
You don't have to use tape. use one of those rubber "livestrong"bracelets that everyone gives out now. That is how my road biker friend did his light. works like a charm.
kookaburashasvisited lol
whatfreedom7 torch is english for flashlight
john g. Thats what torch means in england
Cool video! I used a similar cheap light for two whole winter seasons and it never failed me. We did usually 2 rides a week in the dark, 2-3 hours long, in rain and snow. I usually had the light on my helmet with the battery in my backpack. I used the dimmest setting for the uphills, and the max power for the downhills. No issues ever. Best money for value. The light got stolen after 2 years. I had started commuting 12k by roadbike then, and replaced it with a 400 lumen Lezyne light, which was about as bright, twice as expensive, but much more lightweight. Never failed me either.
My friends had a bunch of different cheap lights, but those 2-LED ones like you used seemed to be the best, and had the most useful light distribution.
Great review, particularly the inclusion of salt-water testing.
One "long-term consideration" you might mention is replaceable versus soldered-in batteries. It might not matter with an $18 cheapo, but when a light costs $300, those batteries need to have easily available, stock replacements. Easily replaced batteries can also extend the life of the light on long night trips. Just exchange them.
I have a $40 light from Amazon with an external battery pack similar too your $18 light. It's great for casual use and basic commuting. If you put the battery pack in plastic like a zip-lock bag with a rubber band around the cord, then you'r good against most normal rain/wet/sleet/salt conditions.
I'd take a headlamp or helmet mounted light over one mounted on the handle-bars if I could only have one light, but external battery backs are a pain on helmet mounted lights so USB rechargeable type do better on the head. So make sure your light comes with a strap or something for mounting on helmets. Usually the Head-mount strap is not big enough to fit over the helmet.
Another good vid Seth.. Keep it up.
Bruce Gudmundsson I know your comment is old, but flex seal it's pretty good at keeping out water
I run the cord down to a backpack or a bum bag/fanny pack. The one I have is a cheaper one, but the battery is pretty decent, and a bit too bulky to mount on the back of a helmet like some of the smaller battery pack ones.
Thanks for a great video.
I have owned (and still own) some chinese lamps from aliexpress that have served me well for short night rides, but a year ago i shelled out big time for a monster rig. I now ride with a Lumonite Leader on my handlebars and a Lumonite BX1500 on my helmet. If I go running on trails I'll grab the 1500 and off trail I usually take the Leader. There isn't much of a weight difference and the hedband is compatible with both. Apart from them delivering over 7000 lumens (real ones) together (Leader >5500 lumens, BX1500 ~1700 lumens on max), they have a HUGE advantage over cheap chinese lights: Before the battery completely drains and the protection cirquit in the lithium cells cut the power, the lamps go into power-save mode and give me the chance to limp home with (only) 250 lumens for another hour. After being stranded on a dark trail by a "Solarstorm" with no prior warning, the decison wasn't a hard one.
For a commuter that rides mostly in populated and partly lit areas, there is no point in dropping a few hundred euros or dollars on a bike light. Just get a spare battery pack. But if you tackle technical trails (on foot or on your bike) in complete darkness it's a no brainer. I used to think that the chinese lights were awesome until i compared them to a light built and designed for the task. The Lumonites are built for enduro and orienteering at night.
I know I'm insane for dropping more money on lights than some spend on their bike, but I use them for mountain biking, trail running, cross country skiing and orienteering, so I figure I can justify the expense. All together I think I spent more than 900 euros (about $1000 US) on lights, batteries and harnesses, but when you ride with others all other lights fall short. The only place where the performance is matched is in my orienteering club, where the others have LedX, Lupine or Mila headlights (apart from Lumonite). All those brands have comparable versions, but they also match the price on my Lumonites.
If you don't want to spend over a 100 eur/usd on your lights: buy three chinese ones: One for your helmet, one for the bike and keep one extra in your backpack for when they run out of juice or break. And, most importantly: Don't ride with friends that have over 2000 real lumens... There is a middle ground too: Buy two Olight h2 nova or Lumonite compass headlights. They will deliver about 1000 lumens each and run on standard 18650 batteries so you can keep an extra set in your saddle bag or pocket. That will set you back about 200 usd/eur, but will give you a light that is good enough for night orienteering and they are 100% waterproof and indestructable.
I'm not endorsed by any of these brands and have spent my own hard earned money on all my lamps. I have not tested Mila, Lupine or LedX myself, but have many friends that are super happy with them and swear by them. Just look for a light built for enduro or orienteering in (or slightly above) your preferred price point. You won't be sorry.
Just bought the Sigma Buster 2000 and I can assure you it's pure awesomeness! One thing I wanna mention though, if you run it at full power and let it stay stationary it will regulate the power output down due to the high temperature and no air flow. It's not very noticeable but it explains the high battery time.
All in all I am more than happy with the light and I plan to buy its smaller sibling the Buster 200 for my helmet, since they use the same mount and the 2000 comes with a helmet mount.
edit: Just saw that you did exactly that with your helmet. Kudos!
edit2: 300$ for the sigma?? I paid 170 CHF, which is around 200$, and stuff is generally more expensive in Switzerland...
I got the same light yesterday I am glad I waited even though its a couple of years since it came out if not three, I paid 137,00 euro.
@@sipapito Yep bike-components 150€ with spare handlebar mount
This video has just saved me a fortune, I've had two £25 lights from Amazon now, both 5 x Cree 5600L and for the second time it has stopped working. Both times I thought the issue was with the light itself being to sensitive to being knocked because the battery pack charged from red to green as normal over a few hours but the light would not switch on. However after watching your video I took apart the battery pack and found massive corrosion on all points of the batteries and the main cause of the problem corrosion on the board. I was about to spend £200 on a new light, but instead I've opted to buy a fully waterproof version of my old battery from Amazon for another £15 and when it comes I will probably wrap it in a sandwich bag just for the sake of it to add extra protection (always works for my phone when out on the trails!). Thanks for the video, top work!
This is four years old. Seth's expanded his empire of biking buddies to encircle the globe. I came back to this video from the future to mention the next-level sound design/scoring.
I ride home from school when it's dark outside and my light cost like 3€... I have to say sigma looked very impressive but my 3€ light does the job
lumen ratings are a funny concept. most of the cheap lights lumen rating is based on what the LED is rated for, not actual output. we see this kind of stuff all the time with tactical flashlights. with the correct voltages your cheap light might reach the claimed lumens, but that isn't usually the case with the supplied battery setup.
the corrosion you see was more than likely caused by the salt water. I usually seal those packs with wax upon receipt.
the only way I buy a light for over $100 is if it has a Lifetime Warranty that covers any and all failures no matter the cause. otherwise keep it cheap and expendable.
SHWELL11 what you said about lumen output, plus the Chinese manufacturers just flat out lie/fabricate their numbers. That said, I have a collection of these Chinese bike lights and I love them. Amazing value, but not true lumen output numbers.
Joseph Hale ..the Chinese "lie" ??...never !! ;p
it's also a scale of diminishing returns due to how the human eye works . 4000 lumens will not appear anything like 2x as bright as 2000 lumens . they all use the same bulbs made by cree and lion batteries even expensive ones are not that much better. they use better reflectors and optics though. seth's comparison not quite fair as you can get chinese lights a little more expensive, say $40, that have multiple cree bulbs and bigger battery packs. not far off this german one.
Andrew Norris
Absolutely. You just gotta search for a bit more info.
Lumen ratings on Amazon are like stungun voltage ratings on Amazon. By this I mean that Amazon sells 20,000,000 volt stunguns... Effectively the voltage of some lightening strikes - i.e. not remotely realistic. Also another big thing to consider with any light source is lux, not simply lumens. The moon is 1 lumen, however it does a much better job lighting the entire outside at night than a 100 lumen flashlight light will ever do because their beam widths are drastically different. Same goes for a laser, which could have a tremendous lumen rating, but really won't do as much as a flashlight for lighting because the beam is so focused. this is also why trying to compare a bike light that is 1 lux (i.e. a beam width of 1meter x 1 meter at 1 meter away) but more lumens, to a car's headlight that can light an entire road and the shoulder while not being as bright, doesn't really make sense, at least not when trying to evaluate them for how much they will help you see at night.
Make a Video about GPS-Tracker or something other that my/your bike won't get stolen
Sorry for my bad English, greeting from Germany
ImBlueX ja noch ein deutscher😂
Luca Kaiser XD
GPS trackers use a sim card so they can report location which means that there is a monthly fee involved. I would recommend comparing the cost of a tracker to the cost of adding your bike to an insurance policy. Insurance companies might be a pain to work with but it could save you from trying to recover a bike that has had its tracker removed. The best option is to keep your bike locked inside your house when you are not riding it.
Alex Coates Yeah I know but an Insurance isn't cheap in Germany. For my Bike it costs about 200-400€ per year. It's for me too expensive because I don't go to work, only in Summer vacation I go to Switzerland and make a vacation job, maybe I should let a bit away for the Insurance.
GPS-Trackers are very controversial and some are bad, I don't know what's the best for the best price.
Sorry for my bad english i hope you will understand
There's a few issues with trackers:
1) monthly fees as mentioned by Alex Coates
2) bike thieves are great at finding and removing trackers. It's also very easy to render trackers ineffective. Simply wrapping it in aluminium foil creates a Faraday cage and blocks any signal transmitted or received by the tracker (wrap your cell phone and try to call it, for fun).
3) if your bike gets stolen but you know where it is because the thieves failed to disable/remove the tracker... so what? Depending on where you are, a GPS tracker on stolen items may not be enough to get the police to do anything about your situation. This is sometimes because some police force's policies haven't been updated to include that sort of situation, and also because you could stick a tracker on anyone's bike then call the police and say "he's got my bike, look my tracker is on it".
4)There's also the issue that the bike may get shipped out of town, or even outside your country to a point where it's pointless to try an retrieve it.
It boils down mostly to this: trackers are expensive, they only make sense if you have an expensive bike. The first thing people who steal expensive bikes do is check for and disable trackers. Even IF they don;t disable the tracker, so what if you know where it is? it won't change the fact that it got stolen. There's very little chance you'll be able to do anything about it. GPS trackers are, in my opinion, giving consumers an empty feeling of safety.
I say for people who are on a budget to stick with simple, low cost lights that have been tested by someone you know (Like one of those TH-cam guys) or is a trusted name brand. I own a lot of flashlights and while I always appreciate quality, reliability and good performance, I trust some of the common brands and I don't feel that I am denied anything from choosing reasonably or even budget priced brands and models over higher priced ones. I have seen $20 models that have the same brightness, run time and features as $80 or even $100 units. I would buy several of the $18 light which would allow me to afford extras or backup lights and I wouldn't be as worried about losses due to damage, wear and tear or theft. You found a great buy and it'll save people money. You earned me as subscriber.
As a brevet rider, I went with a generic China light rebuilt for use with dynamo hub. It has lit me the way through an number of 300, 400 and 600km rides and several heavy rains without a hint of malfunction or corrosion. I replaced the circuit board, threw away the battery pack, replaced the reflector optics with collimators, barelled the LED mounting points for better cooling and waterproffed the whole thing. I've got some new, better XML2 LEDs lying around wayting to be installed. It's been great fun working on it and I'm really happy with the result.
What I'm trying to say is that cheap China lights hold good potential for reengineering and even if you break one you don't lose much.
Buy the 'Solar Storm' version of the Amazon light instead, it's the same price and comes with a rubberised battery, which is 100% waterproof!
Vax Buster stop advertising
How is that advertising? The Amazon light is a COPY of the Genuine Solar Storm
Is that no?
Good information.
Seth your face when you tasted that salt water haha I cant stop laughing!!!!!!
seth's cooking channel
hydra66 Na, more like Seth's Cooking Hacks
Ahaha
is he a jew?
don trump can't you tell he is
I just picked up the Bright Eyes Helios 1600 Luman head light and I've been using it for a little over a week. 57 dollars from Amazon, oh, that does include shipping. So yeah, there are alternative too the 300 dollar lights.
Gotta say, I've got the magic shine and a friend has the bright eyes. Those things are still nowhere close to the advertised lumens, but I've got 2 magicshine lights and they are super lightweight. Works alright for me!
I've been using those amazon lights for 6 months now and it's still working good. I got 6 of those and I really enjoyed doing night trail in my area.
I bought a 400 lumen Light in Motion light about 15 years ago and I still use it today. I've replaced the battery pack and the LED lamps a couple of times. It's still just as reliable and bright as the day I bought it. I use it for all of my outdoor activities. Camping, canoeing, mountain biking, fishing, riding my 4-wheeler. I even mounted it to my shotgun for hunting feral hogs. Coon hunters are always asking me where they can get one. It may have been a little pricey but it's never left me in the dark.
Maybe 5000 was a typo and it is actually 500
Guoenyi 2 led - ~2x300-400lm.
Paco Jones
Except not for this. The emitter _can_ reach that luminosity, yes, but 1) the cheap components and cheaper battery in this light do not push it that far at all, and 2) what matters is the OTF lumens, not how much is generated at the emitter before a shitload of it is lost to bad optics that dissipate almost 50% of the light into uselessness and heat.
For you to get 1500 lumens, you need to custom build a pocket rocket like a customized Convoy C8 or an Emisar of any model. Even "premium" brands like Nitecore and Olight don't go for this much in their XM-L2 models.
I used to get this a lot when I worked in a bike shop. Customers would say ' but I can get 40000000 lumens or something for £20 online' and I'd have to explain the difference between calculated, theoretical brightness that the Chinese Lanterns all use, or actual verified brightness, measured by the manufacturer at the point of emittance i.e. the bulb, which is what all major light companies do.
...ten million absurd performance claims by Chinese marketers is not a typo. It is systematic deceit.
5,000 ¥umens
i dont care what your videos are about i watch them anyway
Elijah French j
Yeah like why even bother with titles, Seth?
in terms of the waterproofing, they wont instantly fail cause they run at a voltage too low for shorting out to happen. however as you saw corrosion killed it
+jordan lewis yeah, I had to keep reminding myself there was no risk of being shocked, but having dealt with the old HID lights with ballasts the instincts were still strong! That battery was toast.
When you were throwing the Amazon light into the water, I wasn't in suspense for you to shock yourself, I was more worried about the lithium.
You can find some pretty eye opening photos of failed 18650s around, which looks like what those cells were. Hopefully they never open someone's eye! Only buy reputable ones if you have the choice and treat them with a little care.
I enjoy you, Seth. No one goes into detail, or is as listenable as you are.
I love the commentary in this video. Classic Seth!
Just waiting for someone to post a video with 10 Amazon lights mounted to their handlebars...
Just buy two 18$ ones . If u want Extra bright use both at once .. if you want longer duration use 1 at a time 😁
Cold temperatures cut the time in half.
Yes and have shit lights that have batteries that look like they will explode
And might explode
Just think of your balls bro!!!!
My go to light is made by BrightEyes and sold via amazon. Though that Sigma setup was rather impressive.
They've a good rep for replacing parts
Regular Guy Mountain Biking are they still around? Because i used them as welk but recently i tore the wire from the battery pack and i need to get a new one.
I was so impressed with my BrightEyes light, I just bought a 2nd light. Updated version. Man they are bright! May not be the same quality as that German light, but much cheaper in price, and 10 times the quality of that Amazon light.
I'm from Germany. This Sigma Light is indeed a great one - but obviously way too powerful to mount it on your handlebar, at least when it comes to traffic regulations. However, you can purchase it and mount it on your helmet. Thank you Seth for the detailed and informative review!
That guys biking infront of you 1:42 freaked me out with his hands down man!
STOP BLINDING US SETH !!!!!!! LOL
Buy the cheap lights, build your own battery pack. Solved 😎
tell me more please :D
FBI OPEN UP
@@muscangb they already have this but is much better.
300 for a light even if powerful, its way too expensive
That's the other end of the spectrum mate. Yes, you need a light in the dark but a 2000 lumen light is overkill for normal road use, might even blind other people.
Won't make you a better rider though,and if your eyes are bad enough that even a simple light doesn't light the way then you should stay indoors in the dark ;-)
Rod Long fair enough but 300 dollars??.. is it made in the usa or something?
in germany it's about 180 $, including a 21% salestax (about 150$ without it). probably made in germany then.
it's made in germany, so it's actually made at a high standard.
I bought a light on Amazon called Victen (I think that is how it was spelled) and it looks exactly like your Amazon light. I purchased it in late October for $28. I was happy with it for commuting and it was the brightest light I have ever had. It lasted for less than two months before it just stopped turning on. It is the third cheep light I have purchased on Amazon. Of the other 2 cheep lights one lasted 2 months and the company gave me another and it lasted 9 months before it no longer would turn on. Yea, I am going to spend more money on my next light.
Funny title... "MTB lights"
And what if i get one of those, on my 1986 Road bike?
You made my day sir!
Am I the only one who thinks 300 and 18 are both expensive?
Your Neighbor Amos i can get those china lights for 2 3 dollars lol
me too. Couple of years ago I bought a bike for 20 dollars :-)
Why?
@@АлександрКарачёв-я3э Yeah....and what's the status of it now? Still working?
Seth, yeah, I agree with you: Having a great quality, expensive light from a reputable company is ideal, but the cheapo Amazon lights also have their place in one's arsenal, too. You can almost be certain that bike lights sold via Amazon (unless a reputable company) are going to have exaggerated lumens ratings.
At REI I got a small bike light on sale for 7 bucks. Works great
Love the music on all of your videos. Lots of love from México!
This was a pretty cool comparison. I've been trying to decide on which light I should get. And it looks like the saying holds true here. You get what you pay for.
Need a updated lighting video
Buy 4 amazon lights. Combine 2 battery packs together to use it on one light. You get 2 lights with double battery that will work for 5 hours. Plus 2 spare lights to use them for replacement later. All for less than 80$.
"as for the SIGMA - it's particularly german" :D
I have been using a cheap light ocasionally (once a week or once 2 weeks)... Pretty much similar to that amazon light and it has worked FINE. Mine is brighter than that and never had a failure. So im fine! and honestly we almost never go night riding, we put them on our bikes and we go out end of the day and darkness might catch us up, so its mostly to return home safe!
I've been riding with Cygolights for a few years and they have been fantastic. They've lasted through Minnesota's ridiculous winters as well as hurricane like rain storms. I don't think they're as much as Sigma lights, but they aren't cheap.
"This battery might even explode close to my crotch, but that's a chance I'm willing to take for $18." Haha!
after replacing the the battery on a cheap china lamp with a diy one, it was really good. (not the one in this video)
the original battery had like 1500mah measured (6000mAh advertised). the new one ive built got 14.200mah.
i got this one (enter into ebay search) 252469443526
obviously not 14000 lumens.. technically (7x cree xml-t6 led) it could go up to 6000-7000 lumens, but i think to keep it cold its a bit less than that. Its an high efficiency led, but not if its running on full power.
Likewise, I built mine with tested matched cells, without the protection circuitry but instead used an Rc JST balance lead and an external alarm. Self amalgamating tape covers waterproofing
i just used the circuitry from the original battery, it was working so why throw it away.
this makes matches cells not necessary. i used Panasonic NCR18650B ones
+Dave Mul do you mean silicon tape by any chance?
ABritInNY, no self amalgamating electricians tape, it's a gooey bitumastic type tape that bonds to itself as you wrap it. If you bring the tape around the pack and finish tightly a couple of inch up the power cord, there's no way water is getting in
+Dave Mul oh how interesting, I'll have to look into getting and testing some. I use a self fusing silicon wrap tape. Made by original super glue brand (my personal fave,) called E-Z fuse tape. Waterproof and makes an airtight seal, insulates 8000! volts, good from -60f to +500f, seals wet or dry leaks and has zero sticky residue but seals to itself instantly. Good for plumbing/pipe/hose repairs too and its super flexible like silicon jacketed cable. Since discovering it I no longer use (crappy) electrical tape
i would go with Chinese lights but do research beforehand.
there have been reports of cheap batteries for these cheap lights setting on fire or exploding during charge time.
Buying cheap may mean coming 'home' to a burning house.
I'd definitely do the research, let others be the guinea pigs, and be cautious because cheap can suddenly become awfully expensive!!
I have the cycle torch shark. Not a bad light. It has been through some rain and did fine.Its bright enough for me if I dont make it back before dark. I picked it up at a flea market cheap
BeatJumper 👽 made in Germany always :)
BeatJumper 👽 I would be careful there was a news report on a offbrand Chinese light that a mountain biker had bought and caught fire
Garacha222 Don’t charge any type of battery at home when you aren’t there, or in your car unattended. Things like your house burning down won’t happen that way.
I'm using the buster 200 for a year now. Best light for biking on the road in traffic.
I have had a number of those Chinese lights and use them on a regular commute in rural Vietnam (dark and wet). I keep the battery dry in a saddlebag under my seat and the cable is long enough to string along the top tube to the handlebar. One light was broken in a crash and one battery was destroyed in a flood. The weak component of these lights is the charger. I have had 2 break just trying to unplug them from a wall socket. I now just keep the charger permanently plugged into an adapter and plug that into the wall when I want to charge. Other than that they have been great. Reliable and more than enough light.
Buy an 18650 flashlight and a handle bar mount for flashlights. Throw an extra 18650 battery in your pack and go. Most of them boast 1000 Lemans which I'm sure is plenty
zim54 I use a olight baton s2 . 950 lumens from a single 19850 battery. After a finish cycling I carry the flashlight with me as a every day carry
karoly mihai
Good frickin choice there. The Olight S2 is a baller torch, moreso now that its price point is dropping because of the R series' arrival.
zim54
As long as you get a good light (Convoy or Thorfire, among others), a good set of cells (Panasonic, LG, Samsung) and a reliable, safe charger (Liitokala and Xtar), for damn sure.
lemons will last 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator
@@SeaCowsBeatLobsters "put the lime in the coconut ".......
$300 is the price of a decent bike here in our country.
BTW I use a $3 light on my bike lol
I actually bought 5 of those Amazon lights and it's amazing.
The Russian Ball Explosion Roulette! I love it.
I have run with a couple of these Amazon lights, though mine were about $30. While they came from different "companies" the battery packs and wall chargers were identical. The first looked very similar to yours with two lenses. While it worked great for commuting, after a year the battery was down below half life. If left connected to the light it would slowly run the pack ALL the way down after a week or so (quite bad for Li-ion packs). Over the summer it is very easy to forget about your lights for a month or three, let along a week. Worse yet, the wall charger is made from crappy brittle plastic, so one day when unplugging it the shell came with my hand and the exposed 120V guts stays in the socket ready to electrocute me. So after a second season of commuting and a few wraps of electrical tape to keep the charger semi-safe it no longer would run at full brightness for my 1:20 minute total commute time. The second is just at the beginning of the second year with the same results. I took it bikepacking recently, and sure enough after a night forgotten on my bike in the rain it was non-functional. A couple days later it dried out and I got a good 45 minutes of light before it crapped out. Junk.
I've been running Magicshine lights on my bars and we do quite a bit of night riding. I've had zero issues with it, battery life is great. It charges fairly quickly and is definitely very bright.
I bet if you swapped those junk batteries for some hobby grade rc lithium batteries it would be pretty bright. kinda interested in finding out haha
John Glass do it and make a video
300$ for a light? It's a bit expensive though. I'd prefer less lumens with a bigger field of brightness
really? Over here in Europe we also have stuff for 1000$ .
Brits have Hope as a manufacture and Germans have dozens of other brands then Sigma who are all above or around 250$
I wouldn't recommend under 1200 lumens. I have a 2200 lumens light and the minimum output i'm willing to ride on is at its half position. And believe me, the 300$ for that light is a good price as i had compared a lot of light to buy mine.
"it chould explode at my balls - but its 18$..." love it.
I bought an Astrolux S1, which rates at a genuine 1200-1600 lumens depending on the battery. I bought a cheap flashlight mount and I've never been happier. Feels like a car headlight on my handlebars. I don't even run it at it's highest setting because I don't want to blind or annoy cars on the road. Total costs were about $23 for the Astrolux, a few bucks for the 18650 battery, and a few dollars for the quick release mount. It's a custom made light by flashlight enthusiasts. Absolutely outperforms much more expensive lights, and is almost certainly the brightest light availible for its size class.
I bought a 8 Euro Front and Back light from the supermarket and run them with AA and AAA Akku batteries which i charge at home when they are empty twice a month and they are perfectly fine for me. Runs many hours and is very bright, well made and cheap and never had problems in rain.
Omg I can't believe it I knew you lived in Florida in Miami but never thought you had been to Johnathan Dickinson state park that's where I go all the time if you were to see this tell me how you like it and what trails you like the best
Rob Dog I
8/10 is the best... bunker hill opening the end of October!
I only came to the comments because I was wondering if that was JD. Bunker hill is amazing now. Real riding in Florida.
Very easy to "waterproof" the cheap Chinese battery pack, roll in in a plastic food back, the lamp itself seems sturdy enough, for the price paid definitely a good deal, not all things coming from China are poor quality, look for instance at a brand like Thru nite, their lamps are really build at milspec specification, very high power Cree LEDS inside, but then again more expensive than 18bucks....you get wat you pay for
Hey Seth what shoe do you wear when you mtb and can you do a video about it
Freerider Tai I guess it's a pair of locked shoes or something，but I'm not sure，waiting for Seth's answer
for night riding in my local area we just bought job site string lights and put them above our favorite jump line. No bike lights required and it doesn't cost much more than that light, except theres no shadows and everyone gets to ride! I have a few videos of it on my youtube if you want to see what I mean.
I have the Buster 200 on my handlebars and it's okay for urban rides and commutes.
For an longer trips in the dark I would take a China flood light with a different battery setup in addition to the helmet light.
That music pretty iconic when testing the amazon light. ..means it's Chinese lol
How could you seriously look anybody straight in the eye knowing you just coughed up 300 bucks for bicycle lamp? Answer, you can't!!!
However, with the Amazon light (which I have) you can positively look menacing at every one!!
Bike accessories and clothing are notoriously exorbitantly priced. At least with this German light you can feel its designed and manufactured to superior standards and will last.
I replace my front light about every 4-6 months due to various issues, because most cheap lights are from China. You get what you pay for!
Orion Xavier everything lasts. The thing with the German light is that it’s very well engineered (overly), just like their cars. But is it cost effective?
1:40 scared the living shit out of me 😂
The Sigma is a really nice light, but for a lot of people that only do a night ride once in a while, the $18 Amazon light will work just fine. We do once per week night rides in the winter time, some people have expensive lights, some have cheap lights, I've seen the expensive lights have as many issues as the cheap ones. If you really want a better value for a bike light, don't go $18 cheap, step up to the MagicShine brand of lights. Much better made with a starting price of $59. For that price you get a sealed battery, and at least a true 1500 lumen light. Seth did a nice job testing both cheap and expensive lights here, but there are many choices in between. I think it comes down to your budget and how often you use you light. Regardless of brand, if you only charge the battery a couple times per year, the battery is only going to last 3-5 years or so. So, for your $300 light, a replacement battery is probably going to be $100, for the cheap bike light, a replacement battery will be less than $10. I personally own several cheap bike lights but the newest MagicShines are probably the best light you can get for not much money.
I bought Bright Eyes 1200 lumen waterproof bike light on Amazon on 7-28-16. The next spring i had to get the light replaced but Don in costumer service was awesome. The light is wonderfully bright and comes with head strap and different sizes of tube bands to mount it with. I wouldn't submerge the battery pack though, it has the same not-so-water-tight cardboard pieces as the one did in the video. Overall, I'm satisfied with it, especially since they stood behind their product when they needed to.
You get what you pay for. The cheaper Chinese lights are poorly built with overrated claims. Some well known manufacturers offer decent lights at lower prices.
18 dollars and the light has 4x 18650 batteries; definitely a potentially dangerous situation.
n antip the lithium batteries that blow up are lithium polymer. 18650s are lithium ion which have proved very safe even for the cheap Chinese ones.
Not true. Cheap, unprotected Li ion batteries can be dangerous, especially in a multiple battery configuration. Google the terms "lithium ion vent with flame" and you'll see. A single 18650 battery from a reputable company can cost $18. No way would I trust some cheap light with non-branded Li ion batteries near my crotch. Especially from a company that makes such outrageously fraudulent claims.
Lol 18650's isn't anymore dangerous than any other battery on the market. Hell, every power drill, laptop, and even Tesla cars all run 18650's. Just dumbasses being dumbasses have trouble with them. Hell that German light probably has better branded 18650's inside it's pack.
jcwindsound, Actually you can get authentic 18650's for $4 or $5 bucks from a reputable company like Illumn.com.
TheAmericanUhate
Fuck yeah, someone else who knows illumn!
At first I was like why don't you just place the lights in the water instead of chucking it in then I realised you don't want to get electrocuted
He wouldn't get electrocuted. Fishing them it with a tool isn't necessary. The voltage isn't high enough to case any harm under those conditions.
Don't they have battery packs? Why would he also throw the battery pack in there?
Because the battery would also get wet if you drive on the street.
He's tossing the lights in and fishing them out as not to change the conditions of the test. His hands are covered in salty sweat, and other contaminants. Keeping his hands out keeps the test conditions more consistent.
and yes, the 5V those things are likely running is nowhere near enough to electrocute anyone.
@@ckaceritus You can get a nasty star shaped burn like a friend of mine who was fiddling with the lead on a 4 cell 18650 battery light pack trying to clean it off before plugging it back in. His hands were covered in enough salty sweat that conductivity was nicely enhanced. He was very surprised. Having taken electrical engineering I was not.
i've gone from Blackburn x8 to cheap Amazon and it've been doing a good job. After 2 years of use i had to buy another batery pack and the circuits was working perfect.
Started riding off road early 90s homemade 20 watt halogen track lighting bulb in a 2" pvc coupling 12v lead acid gel cell. About 1hr 45 minutes brightest around at the time. Now road riding with $1 Wal Mart lights and recently harbor freight lights 2.99 for two. Brighter smaller aluminum they are my favorite cheap go to lights. Resourceful in retirement.
Your closed captions have words you didn't speak! ...and then you speak words that aren't captioned! haha
+Anthony Corcella Thanks for letting me know! I've gotta check that out
It's his thoughts that weren't spoken...
I don't believe that the shrink wrapped Battery pack didn't short. WTF?
RCPilot this is also why birds and even you can touch local power lines, but touching the big tall power lines you see on the main highways will kill you, because the cord is at its limit and the electricity will go anywhere it can.
This battery might even explode 4” from my crotch......... lol
pretty much any battery could do that to one's balls
Good review Seth!
Does anyone remember , is anyone old enough to have used the old style 1960/70'sDynamo that ran off the edge of the tyre and powered a your torch globe equipped headlight ? holy crap they where bad 😀.
Certainly there are some cheapies that will do the job , but some may let you down when you least expect it.
I have two headlights for differing conditions , one is a single led cygolite 400 lumen that I think is true to it's name, it's water proof and can also be used as a torch that will last for hours , cost me 120 bucks australian , have had it for two years and it still works like a beauty .
I also have a moon sport brand dual led headlight $ 350 bucks ,
I can't remember the output , but I would estimate it too be easily 3 times better than the single led job , and with much more of a flood light beam , it's also water proof , and will last at least an hour plus(it may last longer) on high beam ranging to several hours on low beam,
It also comes with a remote switch for changing beams or switching off , expensive but a very nice light.
Good lights ....well worth some extra bucks I'm .
I use €20 Crivit bike lights from Lidl. Back and front (very bright), both rechargeable and never ran out of battery. Lidl's stuff is consistantly high quality and well designed. I'm happy I didn't have to buy questionable stuff on Amazon or pay €70 for similar lights in the bike store.