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Best under-$50 light at the moment?

22K views 95 replies 38 participants last post by  plasticmann 
#1 ·
#7 ·
You can get them cheaper than that now if you're willing to wait for shipping from China. That said, I'm a big fan of instant gratification so fast shipping from the US has some value too. :)

Edit: Also, the $10 discount appears to be for Bill Me Later, not from the seller.
 
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#8 ·
I just posted about these the other day. I had mentioned that this particular light had several advantages over other similar XML T6 lights on ebay.

Copied & pasted from my other post:

There are a lot of XML T6 bike lights on ebay, but I thought I'd share a link to what I think is one of the better deals going at the moment.

There are several things about this particular light that make it better as far as I'm concerned.
LED Bicycle Bike Headlight Lamp Flashlight Light Headlamp 1000 Lumen CREE XML T6 | eBay

1. US shipper, fast shipping.

2. Rubber encased battery (as opposed to the plastic shrink wrapped ones on most of these Chinese bike lights).

3. Two strap battery bag. The straps are also longer then the single strap bags, so they actually fit around modern, fatter frames.

4. Orange Peel reflector.

5. Cable connectors are threaded and have a little o-ring in them making them more waterproof.

Now I can't confirm my #6, but I believe the lighthead will be lighter then some others on the market. I have another XML T6 light that has what appears to be the same lighthead, and it weighs less then my Magicshine 808 (P7). By about 15 grams if I remember correctly.

So there you have it, at least 5 (and maybe 6) things that are better then many similar XML T6 lights on ebay.
Even though I don't need another light, I may just have to get one of these.
 
#22 ·
There are several things about this particular light that make it better as far as I'm concerned.
LED Bicycle Bike Headlight Lamp Flashlight Light Headlamp 1000 Lumen CREE XML T6 | eBay

1. US shipper, fast shipping.
Received the light four days after purchase

2. Rubber encased battery (as opposed to the plastic shrink wrapped ones on most of these Chinese bike lights).
Nicely sealed up battery

3. Two strap battery bag. The straps are also longer then the single strap bags, so they actually fit around modern, fatter frames.
Can confirm that the straps are long enough to fit around my fat-tubed 29er, very long cables from the battery to the connector and lighthead to it's connector. Long enough to mount the battery on the frame and have plenty of loose cable for handlebar rotation.

4. Orange Peel reflector.
Guessing you mean that the reflector is dimpled rather than smooth, I can confirm this

5. Cable connectors are threaded and have a little o-ring in them making them more waterproof.
Confirmed as well. The connectors have an O-ring and then a threaded plastic nut that locks the connection together

Now I can't confirm my #6, but I believe the lighthead will be lighter then some others on the market. I have another XML T6 light that has what appears to be the same lighthead, and it weighs less then my Magicshine 808 (P7). By about 15 grams if I remember correctly.
I forgot to weigh it last night when I unpacked it but I can do so tonight and post back up

So there you have it, at least 5 (and maybe 6) things that are better then many similar XML T6 lights on ebay.
Even though I don't need another light, I may just have to get one of these.
I'm very impressed with it, just playing around at the house. Has five modes that I can tell, high, medium, low, blinking 2x a second, and slow blinking ~1x per second.

Only gripe and not sure if any competitors are any better, but I'd like to see some confirmation on the charger or the battery that it is fully charged rather than just waiting 5-6 hours and knowing that's how long it takes.
 
#13 ·
About $40 difference. And I can't tell if Action LED's cables connecters are threaded, but it doesn't appear so.

With that said, Action LED has been around for a while, and is known to have great customer service. That's something that the first time light buyer should take into account.
 
#16 ·
I'm looking to buy a pair of lights for my girlfriend and I to go night riding together. I've done tons of research and found several options... the one linked below seems to be the most popular. Any other opinions on the best light under $50 for the time being?

[LED Bicycle Bike Headlight Lamp Flashlight Light Headlamp 1000 Lumen CREE XML T6 | eBay[/url]
Decent light, cheaper components than the magic shine, spoke grenade, lumintrek (all around 90-100$) and my friend's battery would not hold a charge longer than 10 minutes after only 4-5 rides so he returned it and got a magic shine. i have the lumintrek tb-1000 and have no complaints
 
#20 ·
Not identical. The battery appears to be different (not rubber encased like the one in the link from the original post).

Hell, the photos in that Amazon ad show different lightheads, and different battery bags. Which one are they actually sending out??

And therein lies the problem, there are so many lights that look similar, and most don't have a name brand, or a particular sku#, or model# , etc.

So some people think they're all the same, some are even calling them "Magicshines" when they aren't.

It creates a lot of confusion when people don't notice the small differences, or they don't think the small differences are worth noting.

A rubber encased battery is a step up from a shrink wrapped battery in my opinion (and most people would agree).
A light that has connectors that are threaded so it won't come apart is a step up from one where the cables can too easily be pulled apart.
A battery bag that has one short strap on it is almost useless when you need to secure it to your oversized frame. So a bag with two longer straps is a step up.
And so on and so on.

So when people say "well, they're basically identical", and they get a light they aren't happy with, it's on them. Unfortunately they will come on here and bash all "similar" lights then.
 
#23 ·
Rode 7.5 miles last night with 2 of these lights (one helmet, one handlebar with wide angle lens). More than enough light. Only used Medium setting. No need for high. Everything stayed mounted going over rocky technical stuff. Very impressed. Once I get the legit charger from Action Led I will be all set.
 
#26 ·
Can you replace the stock orange peel with the Xera spot reflector from Action LED
Can you replace the lens with the Action LED wide angle lens? for the MJ880?

The reason I ask is to be able to fully customize this for dedicated spot or flood as I'd purchase two of them and customize one with smooth reflector and one with orange peel and wide lens.

thanks
 
#29 ·
A final advantage to add to fightnut's points, this one has a 1 year warranty. Most of the other ones shipped from China have 1 month warranties. This is a different one I purchased in September:
New CREE XML XM L T6 1800Lm LED Bicycle Bike Head Light Lamp | eBay
it worked great for about 3-4 rides then crapped out in the middle of the woods about a week ago. I emailed the vendor hoping to get it replaced but I already left positive feedback so they couldn't care less. If this U.S. based vendor actually makes good on the 1 year warranty, it's a huge advantage IMO.
 
#30 ·
The same eBay light in the OP appears to be available from Amazon here, for the same price ($40).

At least it claims the same specs (4-mode H-M-L-strobe), uses the exact same pictures (rubberized battery case, OP reflector), and the pictures are all apparently of the same version of the light.
 
#32 ·
Comes with a different charger than pictured and I'm kinda bummed out that there isnt any warning that the light is about to go out according to one of the reviews on Amazon.

I havent run mine completely dry yet but have topped it off after a few nights of riding just to make sure.

No notification on the charger that the battery is full and no notification on the lighthead that the battery charge is dropping. Big reasons why this light is so much cheaper than a Magicshine 808. If I had to do it again I might spend a little more for the security of knowing.
 
#33 ·
I have one of the ebay xm-l clones. It is labeled as sanguan on the light but not on the box or in the ad.
I believe i paid 43 dollars. Comes with lighthead, o rings, battery, charger, and helmet mount. It had the OP reflector. Light has a greenish tint to it that none of my other t6 lights have but its tolerable. Beam was ok but is very good now with actions wide angle lens. Runtime on hi is about 3 hours, battery connection isnt a firm, positive one but it works. Also it never seems to register low battery and just kick out at random so be careful and carry backup

That being said i have a few magicshines and geminis so i rarely use it but as a backup its quite good. sometimes if im riding on a busy holiday weekend i will throw it on as a strobe to be safe

Considering that you can get 2 of these for under a hundred dollars and a wide angle lens its not bad. Probably a good alternative to the magicshines if that is you maximum budget, as this way you dont get stranded in the woods with a single light that doesnt work, you always have a backup
 
#36 ·
Update for the ATC version of the light, sold on ebay and on Amazon:

Mine arrived in three business days, since ATC is a US seller. The light and accessories came in a plain white box with a short instruction sheet/warranty card.

On the bad side, the light no longer has mode memory: it always comes on in High, and you have to cycle through Hi->Med->Lo->Flash->SOS to turn it off. The O-rings don't have the little pull tab. And the charger still has no LED to indicate charging status.

On the good side, the battery indicator is now functional! The button turns red when the battery is almost gone, and it's relative to the mode: if it goes red on high beam, turn it to medium or low and it'll be green for a while longer.

Also on the good side, the battery case is still the good kind, with two straps; the battery itself is encased in rubber, not just shrinkwrapped; the connectors have the screw-on shield and O-ring so they won't pull out when riding; the reflector is still OP; and the combination of the light cord and the battery cord is long enough to reach all the way to your jersey's back pocket or a lumbar pack.

I got about 3:30 out of a fully-charged battery pack on high, with an ambient temperature of 65 degrees, which exceeds the claim of 3 hours. There is a perceptible difference between Hi->Med->Lo. The light head gets very hot in high mode, like "too hot to hold".

The LED tint is pretty good: it's cool white, but not outrageously so, with no blatant bluish cast or massive green rings. I put a very slight amber filter on it to make it more neutral, but it's much better than most cheap LED flashlights.

Verdict: This seems to be one of the better versions of this light. It worked fine out of the box, the battery exceeded claimed run time (though it'll decrease in cold conditions), and a US seller with a (claimed) one-year warranty is a bonus.
 
#38 ·
Update for the ATC version of the light, sold

On the bad side, the light no longer has mode memory: it always comes on in High, and you have to cycle through Hi->Med->Lo->Flash->SOS to turn it off. The O-rings don't have the little pull tab. And the charger still has no LED to indicate charging status.
I was thinking of getting this light from this exact seller, but I can't stand having to cycle through 2 flash modes. It would be a second light for me, the first being a Magishine 808e with a remote button, but that UI is terrible.

A charger with no LED on a lithium based battery scares me. Do you know if it has the same connectors as the magicshine, I could always use that charger.
 
#37 ·
Mine was 28$ with shipping costs. Here: 1200 Lumen CREE XML T6 LED Bike Bicycle Outdoor Sports Light Headlight Headlamp | eBay

It has an OP reflector, but the battery case is not so great: it is not rubberized like many others, so not so much waterproof and it has only one velcro strap. The charger does have one led indicating charging (red) and green (charged.
Will put it out on test tonight to see how much i can pull out of this battery on high...
 
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