Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
I had a DS500 and sold it. It's just ridiculous overkill IMO, you can't even use the brightest mode except in direct sunlight or you'll blind people. Also a separate battery is just irritating and more stuff to break and connectors to rattle loose.
I'd get a Dinotte Quad Red or a Red Zone.
Also, my philosophy is that if you need one taillight, you need two. You never know if your taillight is working so in case one fails you should be running two.
The main selling point of DS500 was the fact that it seemed capable of delivering adequate output to make one more conspicuous during sunny days. I find that even at 800 lumens it doesn't necessarily attract the attention of motorists distracted by audio, conversation, phone or sleep deprivation. As you know, with virtually infinite output capability you can reduce DS500 to 100 lumens or less for responsible nightime use. This was another big selling point that DS500's nearest competitor at the time, Dinotte Daytime Red, wholly lacked. It was not possible to reduce Dinotte output level -
Dinotte insisted on Daytime Use Only for this reason, also why it was named Daytime.
I consider an economical, widely available separate battery an advantage. It is not hard to find a Magicshine-capable battery, and since I use the same batteries for Magicshine, Gemini, etc headlamps it is relatively simple and economical (compared to cost of replacing entire devices when built-in battery inevitably fails).
I agree that you always need to equip more than one taillight. In addition to DS500 I keep a PDW Danger Zone on a rear-facing customized helmet strap, which perhaps helps get some light over roofline of shorter motor vehicles. PDW DZ requires 2 AAA cells, which I fill with rechargable Panasonic (Sanyo) Eneloops. I also use the PDW DZ as a taillight for summer night walks around the neighborhood, fitted to a Black Diamond Spot headlamp strap.