How many Lumen for a good off road light ?

[BADGER.BRAD]

Hello all,
How many Lumen do I need as a minimum for a good off road night time light ? I have a number of off/on Road routes around my village in order to keep my fitness up but these will have to be done in darkness when the winter comes !

Many thanks for your replies

 

[cyberknight]

currently running 2 magicshine 1200 for commuting on unlit country lanes , i can run them at 600 lumens each so i get longer run times but gives me enough light to see where im going .
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magicshine...Waterproof-Headlight/dp/B09PHDT7DM?th=1&psc=1

 

[fossyant]

Definitely have a look at some of the newer lights with a cut off. I've a couple of Newboller lights that have been reliable (commuting) and their max is 1000 lumen, enough for unlit roads without blinding drivers, and have a distinct cut off, so ideal for road and shared paths. Magicshine do them also, and I have two of the Hori 1300. Has a cut off lens and a spot, and is remote controlled. So road, it's the cut off beam, then down unlit paths I can quickly pop on the full beam. You don't need more than 1200-1300 lumen maximum on a track/bridleway you know and road 600 is more than enough.

You need the big lumens doing proper off road on a MTB.

 

[Drago]

There are lumens, lumens, and damn lumens. More reputable manufacturers will quote a more technically accurate figure taking into account the reflector and the lens. Others will just bullpois an impressive figure based upon the LED alone.

Thus the numbers cant universally be trusted, and are not even all that useful as a yardstick against one another.

Read the reviews and seek the experiences of users rather than rely on lumens figures.

 

[fossyant]

Some of the so called 'cheap' stuff is good these days. Definitely look for cut-off lights. TBH Magicshine are really good these days, real quality lights - they are a Chinese company that started with the retina burning lights, but have developed some good stuff. I have their front and rear lights for commuting and day riding, some really good features. Their tech sheets tell you the output in various modes, and most of them are well within other road user 'comfort'.

Eg the rear Seemee 200 and 300 I have, only 'blink' the full lumen in day mode when it's bright (they have daylight sensors). In the evening, they default back to a 30-50 lumen mode, and only use full brightness in 'braking'. Some clever stuff going on. The Hori 1300 only outputs 1300 with the main beam on full for off road - the dipped is half that on maximum.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

Thank you all for the replies ,the Magicshine range look a reasonable price and seem well liked so I will probably go for a set of them !