Interesting new light company: Outbound Lighting

rlb

Well-Known Member
These are designed by an automotive lighting engineer with the intent of creating a nicely focused beam to minimize wasted lumens. They are offering a trail beam or a road beam (with proper beam cutoff as not to blind the cars coming at you).

The project is on kickstarter but it seems like they are fully tooled up for production and plan to deliver by March. They are only $1500 away from their goal, so it seems like this will happen. I'm in for a road light.

More info on MTBR:
http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/outbound-lighting-focal-series-discussion-1055278.html

Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...performance-lightweight-long-lasting-bike-lig

 

rick81721

Lothar
I thought they ended making good on whatever the issue was?

No it worked better after a software update but battery/light time is still pretty lame, I think last time I used it it died after 1.5 hrs. Never heard a word back from them after multiple complaints. I even tried getting through to them on Twitter and they blocked me!
 

02camaro

Well-Known Member
looks promising, output looks sufficient. the main reason i dont get a bike light is because it seems to have a decent one you need to spend as much as the bike on illumination. we shall see
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
No it worked better after a software update but battery/light time is still pretty lame, I think last time I used it it died after 1.5 hrs. Never heard a word back from them after multiple complaints. I even tried getting through to them on Twitter and they blocked me!
As stupid as that helmet is and I like poking fun at your knack for picking the ugliest helmets on the market, I don’t want to see you get taken.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Ok topic for these lights, just disappointing to see the external battery. I know it has a place for longer rides but target 3 hours, all inclusive battery and would be more exciting.
 

rlb

Well-Known Member
Ok topic for these lights, just disappointing to see the external battery. I know it has a place for longer rides but target 3 hours, all inclusive battery and would be more exciting.

I agree to some extent, but also most of the all in one lights that have a decent output are huge and ugly
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
I agree to some extent, but also most of the all in one lights that have a decent output are huge and ugly
Yeah, this is pretty terrible:

trail1.jpg

  • lumens.png

    LUMENS:
    SPOT°
    • High – 1000
    • Med – 500
    • Low – 250
    • Pulse – 250
  • run-time.png

    RUN TIME:
    • High – 1.5 hrs
    • Med – 3 hrs
    • Low – 6 hrs
    • Pulse – 12 hrs
We have moved past the "I need more light" phase. Run this at Med, 500 lumens if you need 3 hours. For off-road, this on the bars, something on the helmet, done and done.
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
I read through much of the MTBR thread, and it left me with a profound feeling of 'okay'.

Supernova, Busch und Mueller, and Specialized, of all companies, have already pushed out lights like this. The concept is sound as hell--my generator-powered IQ-X is more than powerful enough to act as a primary light off-road with a lux value around 100 (which is pretty dim, compared to your crop of 1000+ lumen lights)--with a helmet light, I'm comfortable enough to ride 12-15 mph downhill.

The thing that would make me nervous as hell about this product: not that they're crowd sourcing information from a public forum, but they're doing it while running a Kickstarter. They also kind of glossed over how important the reflector is in that type of light--so much so, that Schmidt doesn't even manufacture theirs, instead buying it from B&M.

Second thing: while I'm not versed in German copyright law, I can't believe that they haven't received a letter from Supernova:

m99pro_side-nf2wwfw2j8ln4ku2purknzm193s1v0wdctbgwx47i8.jpeg


(Which is a fantastic light, even if they only sell it with connectors for e-bike systems)

Other thoughts that don't really fit in there:
-3 hours on high with a 4 cell battery, driving something at 1500 lumens? Seems...not realistic.
-Lux, candela, lumens, etc...pick one, stick with it, and don't apologize for it. Though lumens are a terrible measure of anything but the [literal] power of the light.
-It is disingenuous that they're claiming to finally bring bicycle lights into the 21st century. B&M has been doing just that since their halogen Lumotech. The answer from the world outside Germany/the Netherlands has been a resounding, "so what".

Anyway, I thought about it, but ultimately, there are too many questions that are only answered by the people making it. I'll wait for a real-world review, and pay the extra money if it is worth it.
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
No it worked better after a software update but battery/light time is still pretty lame, I think last time I used it it died after 1.5 hrs. Never heard a word back from them after multiple complaints. I even tried getting through to them on Twitter and they blocked me!

I would leave a review on Amazon.
 

rick81721

Lothar
I would leave a review on Amazon.

I wonder if they sell them thru Amazon now? I bought directly from the company, that was the only option initially.

I forgot to mention I filed a complaint with the international version of the better business bureau - these clowns are located in Hong Kong so maybe there is no jurisdiction but I never heard boo afterwards.
 

1TrackMind

Well-Known Member
Anyone try the OL hangover? I’ve broken my 2nd LM Urban in less than a year, they keep breaking where the little circle connects to the holder device. I have tried fixing with JB Weld
I am torn between OL Hangover, LM Taz, or cygolite Ranger. OL Seems like an established company now, but am seeing mixed reviews on runtimes.
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
I actually did wind up buying not only a Focal light, but also a Hangover when the pre-order came available.

I've been through 3 (4?) self-contained lights in the last few years, and not one of them lasted more than an hour on high, let alone die on that actual level of brightness, if they had just one cell; my opinion here: people who were surprised or angry [read: internet outraged] about the light had some wild ideas about what kind of sorcery can happen with a battery. Most of the manufacturers seem locked into a battle of "let's make the light brighter, and use a larger battery to compensate for the lost run time". It isn't necessarily bad, but even an 800 lumen setting on a "flashlight" style beam is more than adequate, so focusing elsewhere would be a nice change from Niterider/Light & Motion (other than gimmicks like color displays...).

For my uses, even the first generation of the Hangover was a successful light. It had [has] adequate throw in all modes, didn't waste a ton of light making sure the bats could see, was light/low-profile, and supported quick charging/pass through. You could throw a $5 battery bank into your pocket, and hook it up using the included charging cable, easily extending the run time 1-2 hours more.

The current (second) generation of the light fixes the largest, and in my mind, only real issues with the light: the wailing noise that the step-down circuitry made during use, and the user interface. The second bears some further explanation; in the original light, even if you locked it into a mode (high, medium, low, etc), it would hold steady for a bit, and begin to drop until it reached the next lower mode [so, just like every other torch on the market]. At that point, regardless of how much charge the battery actually had left, you couldn't put the light back into high, for instance, unless you turned it off completely first. For my purposes, this wasn't a huge issue, but it was a bit irritating. The newer generation now lets you select whatever mode, regardless of how much charge the battery has (ie, with only 10% remaining, you could flip the light into high, even though it would deplete the battery in minutes).

The light really shines (no pun intended) when paired up with the larger Focal light--their wider/nearer field is complimented quite nicely by the punchier nature of the Hangover, and the tints match, naturally.
 
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