Thursday 18 April 2013

Hope Vision 2013 LED Light

Regular readers will already know that I have quite a lot of night rides coming up in the next weeks months. In fact the first big one is next Friday but more of that later.

To supplement the lights I already own, I acquired a Hope Vision 1 LED front light with Hope rechargeable battery pack about two weeks ago but haven't had time to post a review about it until now.

Taking the light out of its box almost immediately I could tell it was of immense quality. I would go as far as saying that my other lights are mere toys in comparison.






Hope is an English company producing some quite amazing cycling products in Barnoldswick. This particular light is the 2013 model which has a few improvements over the still excellent older model - Lumen output increased by 33% and there is now a low battery warning.






The Hope charger unit comes with four 2500mAh NiMH batteries that the recommended power for this light. You can buy the light on its own but buying it with the battery charger and batteries seems like a very good idea to me. The charger is the fast type and is therefore much, much faster than the trickle chargers.








The Hope Vision 1 is made out of solid aluminium and exudes quality and attention to detail. It has a high price tag for a battery light but believe me you are buying a premium product that will last. Fully waterproof it is very tough.






If using the light attached to handlebars as I will, the light is permanently attached to the handlebar mount via an allen bolt. Included in the box are a number of rubber spacers of different size to suit various bar diameters. It works very well and there seems little danger of the light slipping. (I wrapped a small strip of old inner tube around the handlebar and this seemed to provide a better fit).






Also included is a helmet mount and wrist lanyard. I am not sure that I will use these at the moment but it is nice to know that i have the option of doing so.






The Hope Vision 1 fits pretty well on the Brompton handlebars and looks pretty good. The all important light output is nothing short of astounding! Even when not on full power the light output is impressive. On full power the road ahead was illuminated like no other light I have used previously.





The Hope Vision 1 is a very impressive light and I like the fact that it is a home grown product. This is a brilliant light for general commuting use as it is so bight. You will definitely alert oncoming road users to your presence and in low lighting areas you will undoubtedly see 99% of off the potholes ahead.

I can't wait to give it a full test in the coming weeks when going on the many night rides I have planned and I suspect it will become a faithful companion for many years to come.

You can buy the Hope Vision 1 light on its own for around £85 upwards and the battery pack version for around £90 upwards.


Burn Times

Low - 24 hours
Med - 7 hours
High - 3 hours
Flash - 35 hours


Specs



Light Source: 1 x Cree LED
Light Output: 215 measured lumens, 300 generated lumens
Beam: 1 x spot (+/- 12 deg)
Mounting: handlebar, helmet mount or wrist lanyard
Battery: 4 x AA
Power levels: 3 and 1x flashing mode

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