My new rear light

[Iceniner]

I received my BLT fantom XR9 today (brought as it was on sale at chain reaction cycles for £25 where as wiggle have it for £35! Was tempted a while back but since it was on sale thought why not get it to see what its like.

This comparison will be against my 1/2 watt smart light that so many of us have to provide a decent reference point. The BLT only has a 1 watt LED unlike the smart which has the main LED and then the two auxially ones. So this will be interesting to see how the light is spread.

Anyhow here are some comparison beam shots of the two.
Distance from light to wall is ~2.5 meters. I lowered the iso to 50 to make it as realistic as i could in regards to intensity of the beam and how much of the room it actually lit up, so this is as realistic as i could make it.

Picture 1 - The 1/2 watt smart
Picture 2 - The BLT 1 watt
Picture 3 - Comparison shot, the 1/2 watt smart on the LHS and BLT on the RHS.

As you can see the 1 watt of the BLT is waaaay brighter than the 1/2 watt smart. I know it about twice the price but i am not dissapointed with the output. The spread of light is well rounded although from 90 degrees to the main beam there is not as much light compared to the 1/2 watt.

For those who thought the smart light was bright, check the BLT out! Its one step closer to the 3 watt dinotte but still at a fraction of the cost! A very good light from BLT!

The mounting system also looks pretty rugged and sturdy and can even be mounted to helmets.

 

[MERV]

I saw some kid with a rear light the same sort of thing with it on in the morning at Tower Gateway a few years ago I think it was by Sun.I ordered a few but the company I ordered from didn't deliver it.I was impressed with it but could never fin it on ebay.

 

[Plax]

Wow, that looks really bright!
Might keep my eye out for one for next winter.

 

[MERV]

One I found on ebay.

Though Iceniner's one looks good when I viewed the images.It looks like a night light.

 

[Iceniner]

Thats one thing i am a little picky on, the flashing setting, like the one in the video i think its a bit too fast, its certainly faster than the 1/2 watt, but ill probably use it on a steady beam anyhow. Oh well the light goes on the bike tonight!

 

[fossyant]

Lights------it's nearly summer... FFS !!!!!!!!!

 

[marinyork]

Chuffing heck that looks good.

 

[HJ]

Lights------it's nearly summer... FFS !!!!!!!!!

When they are this bright they can be used in daylight...

 

[Maz]

Maybe ice9r does his cycling after dark...

 

[Iceniner]

Maz is right, i do a lot of my cycling at night for travelling here and there as well as just for fun riding....anyhow ...

I have just wasted the last hour or more trying to fit this to my bike, what a big BIG let down the mounting system is, i cant find anywhere on the stem or under the saddle that is secure and that my legs/feet dont hit the light.

The unit is just too wide when put around the stem that part of my leg brushes against it everytime, no doubt this will end up breaking the mount whilst im riding.

The magnetic switch is also playing up big time as im finding it more and more difficult to switch the light off!!!

This is a great light, but for my purposes the mounting system is crippling as i just dont want to risk catching it with my legs or feet whilst cycling. The faulty switch is just annoying so back it shall go and ill stick with my 1/2 watts for now.

Very annoyed now! grrr.

 

[Maz]

Why won't it attach to the seatpost? Surely that's not too wide, and it's well away from your legs.

 

[Iceniner]

Ill try again tomorrow but its also the length of the torch itself, its pretty long so sticks out.

It might work if its right at the very bottom of the stem but my mudguard also clamped to the post (it maybe summer but it still rains all the time in cardiff!) basically hides all the light.

It needs the mounting system similar to its predecesor which looks like it sat lovely under the seat as it was all linear like this..... but this sticks out to the side and makes it difficult.

 

[marinyork]

Mounting is a big issue so your comments on it are important. If I had those mounting problems I think I'd be hacked off.

 

[Joe]

Looks good! I've been really dissapointed with my 1/2 watt superflash's weather resistance. It gets soaked through if it rains and won't switch off until it's completely dried out.

 

[summerdays]

Looks good! I've been really dissapointed with my 1/2 watt superflash's weather resistance. It gets soaked through if it rains and won't switch off until it's completely dried out.

Better that way than the reverse (although I wouldn't mind if they improved the water resistance on what is a brilliant light for the money).