puzzled

I've been looking around for new headlights and come across these 2400 lumens lights for 24 bucks. Comparing to other lights from more well-known producers, these seem waaay too cheap. Are these too good to be true, or are reputable light producers overcharging us? Have anyone had a good experience with these lights?

Juan Foote

I would say too good to be true.

Any time I buy some cheapo item like that from Amazon, etc. I have a look at the poorest reviews first, tamper with the good reviews, and try to balance it. It appears by a quick read that many of the users like the light and that it initially works well. It's reliability seems to be the question.

I have come out pretty good from time to time on this kind of buy. I got a Bluetooth speaker some time back that lasted well longer than I expected. Probably still would if I put a switch in it.

jefnvk

Eh, for $24, buy it and let us know

I doubt it is too good to be true, I'd suspect it is nowhere near the quality of a much pricier light, I'd bet it's nowhere near 2400, I'd bet you don't get four hours on full power, byt itll probably work adequately well for a while. That is a massive tangle of remote battery pack and cable tho

wphamilton

I don't expect you would get 2400 lumen from it. More likely 700-900 maximum from each light, but that's still a lot of light.

The battery pack, if the description is right and it has only 2 18650 cells, is inadequate.

rgconner

12% of reviews are 1 star, 61% 5 star.

That is pretty bad for a product.

Witterings

^^^^^ +1

If you want a decent budget light have a look at the Convoy S2 or S2+ ... great lights for the price.

Stadjer

I had been looking for headlights recently, and lumen didn't seem to be very expensive/have much influence on the price. I've seen much more lumen per dollar (euro in fact) advertised.

Kapusta

I can't comment on this one in particular, but by experience with buying stupid-cheap, super bright LED bike lights are that they are OK if you know what you are getting in to, and you buy at least two at a time.

The optics (beam patterns) are often not that great, but they are so cheap that I just bought and run several to cover what I need covered. Also, The batteries and chargers can be a crap shoot. I've bought 3 various lights for ~$20-$30 with similar lumen claims, and while the lights themselves last, 2 out of three batteries crapped the bed within a year, and one of the chargers never worked. So bought extra stupid-cheap batteries (with larger capacity).

So for around $100 (three light kits plus two extra batteries) I (currently) have three working lights, three working batteries and two working chargers. The three lights (two on the bars, one on the helmet) work really well for the occasional night ride on the mtb. Sure, it is only a matter of time until another one craps the bed on a ride, but with three to start with, I still get home.

Not a glowing endorsement, but they work if you need a lot of light really cheap.

Ogsarg

Not sure what your use is, but there are lots of sub $50.00 lights that are more than adequate for most use. I ride out into the country at 4:30 in the morning 2-3 times a week. No streetlights and almost no traffic with a $30 headlight that is plenty enough for me even when there is no moon. If I had one that was twice as bright about all it would add is the ability to blind oncoming cars if not aimed properly.

There is a stick thread on budget headlights in the electronics sub-forum that you might want to check out.

zze86

One of the issues with high output LED lights is heat dissipation. Since LEDs are generally very thermally efficient most manufacturers of cheap LED lights tend to skimp on thermal management. Plus, consumers also tend to not like a big ole heatsink sticking out the back of their teeny tiny light. Look at the back of those 2000+ lumen LED shop lights next time you're at Home Depot or whatever, they have a nice big heat sink. Or newer car LED headlamps as eell.

This light probably is a 2400 lumen light. The question is for how long. As the light gets hotter, the circuitry will step down output as a heat management tool.

Hiro11

The cheap Amazon lights are very unreliable. The battery packs in particular crap out extremely quickly. The last thing you want on a dark ride is for your light to go out, it's a major safety issue. IMO, if you ride a fair amount, lights are a place to get something pretty good. In my experience, Cateye, Cygolite and Light and Motion all make terrific lights that are reliable, bright, have good mounts and long-lasting batteries. $100-$120 will get you a very nice light these days. The Cateye Volt 800 is my favorite headlight for road riding right now.

tagaproject6

Yes, TGTBT.

OldTryGuy

Happy with this type purchased some 4 years ago and zip tied to helmet........https://www.amazon.com/Smiling-Shark...umen+headlight but ONLY on low since HIGH OUTPUT is too bright. Always have a back-up also.

SylvainG

According to this site, those XML LED can do up to 1040 lumen each so no, not 2400 lumen for two. Plus, to reach that number of lumen, it needs to draw 3A so 6A for both LED. According to the Amazon specs, it can run 4+ hours on High. So 6A*4Hr is 24 AHr. Here is a 24 AHr battery (12V mind you). Are you sure you want to carry that?

angerdan

USB delivers only 1.5A, so 7.5W can be up to 750lm (at 100lm/W).
Maybe this cheap headlight has 50% of 750lm, so 375lm would be even not tha.
A good and cheap headlight costs around $30.
amazon.com/LUMINTOP-Rechargeable-Waterproof-Headlight-Flashlight/dp/B07DK4TD86

noglider 

And so many things can go wrong with things such as the mount, the battery, and so on. And the beam shape may be lousy. My eyes tend to gravitate towards any hot spot in a beam, not where I need to look. I've bought tons of cheap lights and been disgusted with all of them. For me, the expensive lights save money. But if you don't mind tinkering and fixing, this could be satisfying.

Brittney

I have a similar looking light I picked up on Ali Express for £10 or 15. I run it off a 2A USB portable battery.
I think its great for the price, very bright on full power. For the amount of time I actually cycle in pitch darkness it is ideal, couldn't justify a £100 brand light.

Marcus_Ti

It needs mentioned...that 2400 lumen...actual 2400 lumen output is brighter than many car headlights. And, in some jurisdictions, such high-output car light-throwers may actually be illegal.

Witterings

Must admit the lights I use have different settings and will put out 1000 lm but I keep them at about 300 lm max as the last thing I want to do is blink the driver of the car coming in the opposite direction so that he can't see where he's going and runs me over.... kind of defeats the object of having a light in the 1st place.

tyrion

I have a cheap light kind of like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Comunite-Head...f=pd_sbs_468_3

and it puts out the light but has a number of quirks:

- if left connected to the battery, it drains the battery
- in flash mode it flashes ridiculously, annoyingly fast and uses the battery faster than need be
- even on low setting only last 2 hours (wish it had lower setting)
- probably not really 1200 lumens
- beam too narrow

If they would fix all these little quirks (design flaws) it would be a much better light. But for the price, it's a good deal.

Richard Cranium

Yes, and yes and or maybe no........

As most previous posts have mentioned - you are NOT getting a 2400 lumen light. And if a sales transaction starts with an obviously untrue description of a product's main specification - what else can be expected to be satisfying about the product?

So - with a purchase of a "cheap product" we come to an interesting aspect of consumer psychology. How do you - as a consumer - prioritize product price and product value?

My answer is: Buy four of them - the light that out lasts the other three lights is worth a hundred dollars........

IvyGodivy

I found the best solution is flashing lights on the back and front (I got a pair for about $20 on Amazon). Then a headlamp with as much lumens I can get w/out it being one of those huge ones that look like night vision goggles.

79pmooney

REI has last year's NiteRiders on sale for $50-65. I just picked up the 1100 from the sale bin. Only used it once (this smoke has me staying indoors) but I am impressed. No magic, but it strikes me like a solid light. The 450 lumen mid-setting had plenty of light for most riding. (The 225 setting is brighter than what I was riding the past 8 years 90% of the time,) The 900 is too bright for any kind of courtesy to others.

Ben

CliffordK

That is just a typical Chinese CREE headlamp. They are all over E-Bay.

They come with 2/4/6/ or 8 cell external battery packs. Yours apparently only has a 2 cell pack which is a bit surprising.

Keep in mind, if the battery goes dead, the lights go from 100% on to 100% off instantly, and you have no lights. A spare light or battery pack can be handy.

The lights are bright. On similar lights, I have had troubles with battery packs not being waterproof, and the power cord coming loose from the lights. But overall, the lights aren't bad.

There really is very little benefit of 2 or 3 bulb lights. A single LED light is just fine.

The light creates a generally symmetrical forward beam pattern, and will be BRIGHT. Thus, it is courteous to dim your light for oncoming traffic, as well as other pedestrians and cyclists on the bike paths. With the rubber band mount, I just tip the lights downward.

Thieves will snag them, and I find it more convenient to use all-in-one lamps rather than the lamps with the external battery pack, so there is less to put onto and take off of the bike.

wphamilton

I have that, or a similar one.

After the first time it drained the battery, I soldered a robust toggle switch inline.
Bite the bullet and buy a larger battery pack on Amazon. It's worth it
It's nowhere near 1200 lumens, more like 8-900, except that it's likely brighter when you first turn it on. Until it heats up.
For the narrow beam, something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WLCLQY/ wide angle lens helps a bit.