More Information
 On: 2008-03-31
The designers of this product should all receive a collective pat on the back. Overall the improvement is dramatic from the stock bulb.
The upgrade process is simple enough. Remove back cap, replace with the new one. Unscrew the light cap, swap bulb for the new one. Unscrew the lens of the cap, replace reflector with the new one. done.
The light still retains its ability to turn off by twisting the head down. This acts as a sort of "master off".
Once youve turned on the light for the first time since it was powered down (by cap turn, or removal of batteries), the LED in the light in the rear cap/switch will begin blinking about once very 4 seconds. This helps you locate the light in darkness. The red LED blink in the cap is accompanied by a very faint blink in the white LED as well. Not a distraction, and not bright enough to keep you awake at night... but bright enough to find in darkness. Nice.
Next, operation:
One push = full brightness
Two pushes = 75%
Three = 50%
Four = Slow blink (signal)
Five = Fast blink (signal, attention while bike riding or walking, etc.)
In any of these modes, once you make your selection, and wait 1-2 seconds, an additional push turns the light off. Again, well thought out. You arent having to push over and over to turn the light off. One push does it. (you can also tighten the cap, which turns off the light and stops the LED blink. Even if you loosen the cap so the light may be turned on again, the LED will not blink until you turn on the light once.)
Differences from Stock:
1) No longer sensitive to dropping. Light will not burn out from impact or wearing out.
2) Light is just slightly longer from the tail cap, but just barely so. (only 1-2mm longer) the cap is made out of heavy duty plastic, and seems to be quite durable.
3) The light can still be focused, but the amount you turn the lens/cap is far shorter. a 1/4 turn pretty much runs through the entire focus range. Much more and the cap comes off.
4) Cap can be removed for a nice area light. Very effective, very bright
5) The light output is far greater than the stock light. Period.
Negatives:
None significant.
If I had to think of some, I would suggest that perhaps the tail cap, being made of plastic however heavy-duty, might be a weakness. (although I doubt this to be a significant issue)
Sound. The light reduces brightness and increases operating life by pulsating the light very rapidly. You dont see this (any more than you see the individual frames of a movie or TV show), but if you move the light very fast, while its brightness is reduced, you can make out the pulses in the air. The pulsing of this light, creates a soft tone that can be heard in the cap and light area. It is not distracting, and will not be noticed more than about 1 inch away from the light. But its interesting if nothing else. Again, you have to have your ear against the light to notice this.
Conclusion:
A good thing to buy. Brighter, more versatile, easy to operate, longer battery life, no bulb failures.
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