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Nitefighter BT21 2x XM-L2 NW light

193K views 2K replies 137 participants last post by  MRMOLE 
#1 · (Edited)
As you guys are starting to see, the Bt21 is appearing finally. I was able to help gearbest get set up to carry the light.

Nitefighter BT21 1800LM Cree XM L2 2 LEDs Water-resistant Mountain Bike Lights-15.46 and Free Shipping| GearBest.com

NITEFIGHTER?BICYCLE LIGHT

Update: For ease of finding the main information, I am changing this post to cover initial testing and impressions of the light (plenty of pics!!!)

And time to start the review. DHL was kind and came on a holiday to bring me my light!

First up the case. OMG THE CASE!!!! Quality is GREAT. Very solid, well built, TOP NOTCH. And for me, it feeds my need, MY NEED FOR ORANGE!!!:cool:





All kinds of storage space, enough for second light and pack once you remove gigantic charger. ALso a mesh pouch for storing the small stuff (bands, velcro, whatever else you want to put in it, is got a ton of space too)

Next up parts list:

-Light head: Weight 93g (35ish above yinding for reference), Lumens Id say around 1200 on turbo is my "guess" maybe a bit more but optics make it difficult to judge.

-Charger: 2000mA (yeap 2 amp charger) big solid charger with indicator, very nice.

-Battery pack with pouch: Rubber housing around pack, not cheap thin stuff either. Pouch is dual strap long center velcro tabs to hold pack inside with proper eyelet hole for cable. Uses the nice thick magicshine (available at DX too) 20awg cable. IS true to Capacity (giving margin of error)

-Extension cable, also 20awg MS/DX cable!

-ACTUAL USABLE HELMET MOUNT. Has the rubber type foam on the back, uses 2 long velcro straps for easy use on vented helmets (very excited because sons helmet cant fit an adhesive gopro mount not can my commuting helmet)

-rolled up velcro cable strap (yeap they thought of holding the cables to the frame too, got you covered)

-And Finally, UNDERSTANDABLE and very clear instructions with charts .

Nitefighter thought this one out heavily and I swear spent time reading these forums and learning what we all need. Too bad BT40S kits dont come with all these goodies too.



And WHAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. My "Lab tests" https://ficdn.mtbr.com/images/icons/icon14.png

First up tear down:

Single plate for emitters, can tell by looking at phosphor that these arent 3c, but honestly im kind of liking 4C, think my "winter lights" will be this tint.



This part bummed me out, and DO NOT FOR THE LOVE OF ANYTHING, REMOVE THE SILICONE BUTTON.....Dont ask why I know that, but that shiny center ring around the silicone button is pressed in, holds the button, you arent getting that ring out or getting that button back in... but the driver mounting. 2 screws that sit being the emitters, have a layer of silicone to insulate driver from emitter board contact (if you get brave and try to remove driver which I advise against, make sure to put a new layer of silicone on). Remove the screws, driver doesnt move.....its siliconed in! but no reason to mess with it anyway. Youll see why below.



Also, CAN FIT LEDDNA/GLOWWORM OPTICS, but requires different much thinner oring. Carclo seem to fit right in. OR unless you like to ride in heavy downpours, just take the orings out and put the LEDDNA optics in. they fit TIGHT into face plate so small light rain wont bother it.

Why you can just not even open the light unless you want to change tint or optics:





Ya thats only high not even turbo.

Heres my video review:



You can find more in depth details of these tests starting on page 8 of this thread.

Summary: LOVE THIS LIGHT, turbo gets HOT!!! but except for guys that really get some speed going, turbo is overkill anyway (heat causes it to not push maximum output for long). Everything it comes with OH YA, WORTH THE MONEY!!!

No im not excited at all. :aureola:
 
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#522 ·
Anyone know if there is a compatible handlebar or helmet mount on amazon for this light? I crashed yesterday and totally lost the clip. my bell was rung so hard I didn't even bother to look for the clip on the ground.

I would hate to have to wait 2 weeks for another clip to arrive from Gearbest.
 
#526 ·
I have a quick couple of questions before I purchase this light. I plan on getting the BT21 kit first as a helmet light. I then plan on getting just a yinding head unit for the bars at a later date. My questions are:

Can I swap the batteries between the yinding and BT21?

Does the kit include a decent helmet mount or should I look into something aftermarket?

I plan on getting 2 more batteries for night races(total of 3) and was wondering which ones I should get(trying to keep it under $30 a battery).

Is there a better setup than bt21 helmet/ Yinding bars?

Does Gearbest have a rear blinky that's any good or should I just grab a cygolight hotshot?

Thanks for any responses.
 
#527 ·
The helmet mount works fine

All these lights use the same battery connector so no issues there.

Dont buy cheap battery packs for racing, not going to cut it. Go to mtbrevolution.com for battery packs if your racing. Or action -led-lights.com. Packs wont cost much more but wasting money on cheap Chinese battery packs is a waste. Bt21 comes with a good battery, yinding is a cheap Chinese pack so that's a hit or miss.

Bt21 is far brighter but yinding has a tighter beam stock for helmet (which us why we all change optics to suit what we want).

Bt40s works good and as a kit is just as good as bt21 (including battery pack) and is a great bar light
 
#528 ·
Thanks a million for the replies Tigris. I appreciate all the work you do testing these lights and answering all the hard questions. I originally decided to get the BT21 because I heard that was the kit with the best batteries so I guess I just need to shell out more. Is it possible to buy the batteries that come in the kit separately? Would a BT21 be better as a bar with the Yinding up top or should I just go with the BT40s bar/ bt21 top and call it a day? I really don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole that is modding lights. Thanks
 
#529 ·
Why buy the Yinding at all? A BT21 light-head costs less, produces a lot more lux/lumens, throws farther and has a wider/brighter beam and runs cooler too. I own a Yinding and a BT21 and have nothing bad to say about the Yinding but for what you are going to use the lights for (racing) I'd suggest buying an extra BT21 kit (or bt40 if you want a wider beam on the bars) and picking up an extra battery from Mtbrevolution (Xeccoin).
Mole
 
#530 ·
There isn't any modding needed with any of the lights. Battery packs from xeccon work just as stock batteries do. All nitefighter lights come with brand name cells in the packs but sadly as of right now packs can't be had separately. But price would be pretty close to that of xeccon packs, came connectors, xeccon packs with fit the night fighter battery pouches etc.

Only "mod" would be buying some 10deg optics from leddna or fasttech (just confirmed that fasttech sells the same optics as leddna) to use for the bt21 on the helmet only if you feel you want a narrower spot type beam pattern.

My one bt21 is stock except I added the remote switch and changed optics. No other mods to do, no point unless you want a gopro mount which isn't a mod, just 1 screw to take stock off and put gopro adapter on. But bone stock there is no need to change a single thing. Button is big and on top, nitefighter has done their lights and kits right.
 
#533 ·
Tigris, I'm a first time light buyer. Want something that will work dependably for rec riding in Ontario (3 seasons). From what I've read in this thread is this a complete order:
Helmet - BT-21 kit w/ 2 x 10 degree Leddna optics
Bar - BT-21 kit and aluminum bar mount.

What is the warranty and who handles it for CAD owner?


Van G
 
#538 ·
Is the consensus that running the BT21 off a 2 cell pack won't work that well? I don't need long run times on high. For the helmet, I can live with an hour or even less on high. ( typically ride at dusk, then with just one light for climbing and finally head lamp on high for descent only )

Saw a few posts in this vein, wanted to gather more opinion. ( For what it's worth, I have protected 2900mah orbtronic cells - I believe they are Panasonic NCRs )
 
#541 ·
Just pulled the trigger on a bt21. Are the shipping times accurate to the US for the free 5-7 day option? I tried googling for a real world example of run times but the only thing I could find was the nitefighter website which was 2 hours on turbo and 4 hours on high. Is that accurate?
 
#543 ·
Just pulled the trigger on a bt21. Are the shipping times accurate to the US for the free 5-7 day option?
GearBest generally takes a few days to get your order out. I plan on 3 weeks until I expect to see it. I think this is my first GB order I got in under 2.5 weeks.

-Garry
 
#544 ·
Garry, that's for free shipping or "not in stock" (which hopefully they are staying on top of posting that). If you pay for the express shipping and items are in stock iv never had it take more than 6 days. Usually an order on the weekend I have by the end of the following week
 
#546 ·
Quick check of the light and it seems very nice! Low isn't nearly as low as I expected (that's a good thing). Beam is very nice in stock form. Change in brightness from high to turbo isn't much. Medium looks like it'll get the most use.

-Garry
That's not a good sign. Change from high to turbo should be dramatic. The 2nd BT21 I got exhibited the same characteristic and produces considerably less power than my original. I ordered a replacement light-head the same day as you so I should receive my new one soon and will test it with my light meter as soon as I receive it. My first one produces slightly more lux than my latest version Gloworm X2, the 2nd one slightly less than my Yinding. That's a BIG difference and your post has me worried that maybe Nitefighter has reduced the quality on this light. I certainly hope this not the case!
Mole
 
#547 ·
Garry, measure the current from the battery pack. And which battery pack do you use? Is it possible this battery doesn't have enough juice to support turbo mode?
Don't have BT21 so can't say how it should look, but based on Tigris review it should pull 2.8A on turbo.

Tig, can you repeat or tell where you have published the currents for each mode? Can't find it except for turbo.
 
#550 ·
Ok, I will have to do a current test on mine. I was only using (2) 2,450mAh Green Sony cells (@ 4.16v ea) in the old Pannova case and so you're right, it may not have been enough to push out 2.8A (yes, I should have known better). I will say that Turbo looked bright as hell! Looks like way more light than I would ever really need!

Oh, and I'm seeing "mode memory" when I turn the light off and back on (I only let it rest about 30 seconds after turning off, so perhaps memory goes away after being off longer. By "memory mode" I mean that if it's on "high" when I turn it off, it turns back on in "high" and not "low". Memory mode might disappear when the battery is unplugged - I didn't check.

-Garry
 
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