900 lumen flashlight under $60

In my never ending search for an affordable bike like, I came upon a website that sells LED flashlights advertised up to 1000 lumens for under $100. The company's name is DealExtreme. It's a Hong Kong based company.

I bought the Aurora AK-P7-3 SSC P7-C 900-Lumen 2-Mode LED Flashlight advertised at $50.02. The reviews say that it's not a total 900 lumens but close to around 800 lumens. 800 lumens is still allot. Plus, compared to some high end LED lights such as the SureFire E2D LED Defender (120 lumens/over $100) it's a steal.

So what do I get with this little toy:

• Seoul Semiconductors SSC P7LED emitter
• Powered by 4 x 3.6V CR123A or 2 x 18650 batteries (sold separately)
• Input voltage range: 7.2V~17V
• Maximum brightness: 900 lumens on high, 230 lumens on low (manufacturer rated)
• Maximum circuit outpet: 2800mA
• 2-mode tail cap clicky switch: Hi > Lo
• 1~1.5 hours total estimated runtime (manufacturer rated)
• Regulated driver circuitry
• Glass lens with alumium textured/OP reflector

Pros:

• Very bright (I can aim the light at a room ceiling and the reflection fills up the whole room to about the amount of a low watt bulb)
• Gives off a white light
• Aluminum body (well crafted)
• Low price for the amount of lumens
• No shipping cost
• Can use PayPal services to buy

Cons:

• From reports that I have read it gets warm after a while, but I'll be using it on my bike so it's a non issue with me.
• Shipping takes about two weeks (it's coming from China)
• Packaging is so-so (mine came in a brown envelope, flashlight in a plastic wrapping inside a paper box. The box looked like it had be crushed, but since the light is made out of aluminum it didn't suffer any damage)
• It uses very expensive/uncommon batteries (18650 or CR123A)

The length of the light is a little bit over 9 inches and the width of the lens is about 2.1 inches

The main issue I have with the flashlight is the uncommon battery size (18650 or CR123A) and price. The CR123 size is common in cameras, but at a cost of around $6-$12 for a pack of 2. I searched online to get better prices and was able to find it at cr123batteries.com for $0.92 each. I waited another week for these to arrive.

Keep in mind that on HIGH the length of run time is about 60-90 minutes. I guess that's one of the drawbacks of a hand held flashlight. Light and Motion HID ARC's battery life is hours compared to the Aurora. It's too bad that Light and Motion has discontinued the HID ARC line.

I wasn't disappointed when I first tried out my new toy. If I was in a search and rescue team, this would be the light I would have with me (plus extra batteries). The spot area was definitely above 800 lumens and the fill or flood area was bright as well. Aiming the beam at a wall 16 feet away the overall coverage was about 20-25 feet.

Two 150 LED flash lights mounted on bike above.

One 900 lumen LED flashlight mounted on bike above.

Twofish flashlight holder.

Click on the images above to get a bigger view.

360 degrees view of 900 lumen flashlight on bike from glenn m on Vimeo.

Information on how I mounted the lights to my bike is posted on my "Thursday, October 16, 2008 - Poor Man's 300 Lumens Lights". If you're looking for a very cheap way of riding in the dark, but don't have $300 lying around, don't mind the uncommon battery sizes and run time, then tryout the system that I created.

• $50 for Aurora 900 lumens LED flashlight
  
• $13 for Cycloblock (plus shipping)
• $40 for (Optional if you have a recumbent bike) TerraCycle Mount (plus shipping)

The downside is, cycling season is pretty much over, unless you're a hardcore rider that doesn't mind the wind chill hitting your face at 18 mph. Until spring, it's the bike trainer for me, because I'm not that crazy anymore to be riding in freezing temperatures.

I'm so impressed by this light that I'm thinking about getting another one for use around the house. Just last night I helped my neighbor with raking up his leaves late into the night by using my flashlight. And yes, he said "wow" when I first turned it on.

Indian Summer Weekend

It was 72 degrees and sunny on a Sunday afternoon when we started our group bike ride from Newtown Ohio to Loveland Ohio. Indian summer is a name given to a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn. This was definitely an Indian summer weekend.

Click on the photos to view a larger image.

This is a photo (above) looking north up the trail towards Camp Dennison. It was taken on the return ride back to our cars.

We finally got Jeff (white shorts) to come with us. This is his first time this year that he has ridden his bike on the trail.

We prepared for our ride up to Loveland in the very southern most part of the Little Miami Trail, which was the parking lot of Newtown golf course. Just $5 gives you a pass to park at any Hamilton county park for the whole year.

Jon broke his valve stem and took a little bit longer to get ready. He also decided to remove his areo bars off his bike which took more time.

I saw Ray, a fellow recumbent rider that I have met via the recumbent forum websites. He showed off his new composite bike that only weighted around 19 pounds. Learning from us that this parking lot was (for now) the southern most tip of the trail. He and his friend rode back up north to their cars.

Ray showed me his thumb shifters that he preferred over the other shifting options.

Ray's bike also sported ZIPP wheels, which are not cheap.

It was a great day to be riding. The trail was clean of any debris, there was hardly any wind and lots of other cyclists on the trail.

Jeff was definitely not in shape for the ride. He had been busy all summer working on his house that he and his wife bought. On the way back he commented that he was all out of "juice", halfway down. He made it back to our cars though without a scratch.

We ate at our usual restaurant in Loveland and the kids had a great time at the park playground. It gives them something to look forward to when we go on a ride.

This time I dedicated the ride to our friend Dave, who is out of town this week. Dave spends all of his time on riding his motorcycle than riding on his bicycle.

This weekend may have been the last friends and family group ride this season. It is forecasted that the weather will soon turn chilly as the week progresses. But, what a great day to end the season, with friends and family.

Dave C Bike Ride Event from glenn m on Vimeo.