If you ride your bike at night you probably already have a decent headlight or two. However, if your lights are more than a few years old you might be pleasantly surprised by how headlight technology has improved over the past few years. Eighteen months ago I replaced my old headlights with new ones that were eight times brighter, half the cost and offered a longer battery life than my old lights. Two months ago I bought a new ADVmonster Waterproof Bicycle Headlight and in my opinion it is the best value in a cycling light you are going to find this year.
ADVmonster 1,000 Lumen Waterproof Bicycle Headlight
The ADVmonster Bicycle Headlight provides a blinding 1,000 lumens of light. This light works in four modes: High, Medium, Low and Flashing. While I do not have the equipment necessary to do an official test, I can tell you that the medium beam on the ADVmonster light appears equal to that of the high beam of the JetLites A-51 720 lumen headlight in both brightness and light pattern. I was able to get a full three hours of light (High Beam) out of this unit with the included 8.4v battery pack. The manufacturer claims your should be able to get 50,000 hours of use from the LED light, and that the battery can be recharged between 500 and 800 times.
Rear View Of The ADVmonster Bicycle Headlight
This light can be mounted on either your handlebars or helmet with the included mounting hardware. The handlebar mount is basically an oversized O-ring, but it functions quite well and I’ve not had any trouble with it. The helmet mounting strap works, but it is not as well-designed as some of the other light mounts I own.
The ADVmonster light is not very heavy, especially considering how powerful it is. The headlight itself is under five ounces and the battery (with mounting bag) weighs nine ounces. The unit has a durable black anodized finish and is 100% waterproof (not just water-resistant).
Battery Pack For The ADVmonster Bicycle Headlight
On the back of the light is a sealed illuminated rocker switch. Once you plug the light into the battery the switch turns green to let you know it is getting power—it is very easy to see this switch in the dark! The cord between the light and the battery is 50 inches long, so if you want to mount the light on your helmet and put the battery in your jersey pocket you will have plenty of cord. I mounted my light to the top tube of my bike by using the included battery pouch (it attaches with two Velcro straps).
During the past two months I’ve used this light mainly for daylight rides with the light in flashing mode. We seldom have nice bright sunny days during winter in the Upper Midwest, so most cyclists just kind of blend into the background as they ride down the road. The flashing mode on the light is so incredibly bright that oncoming vehicles have no trouble seeing me from over a mile away! Even if you never ride your bike at night you will still find a lot of use for this light if you ride on cloudy or overcast days.
The ADVmonster Bicycle Headlight retails for $120 and is available from the company Website. The kit includes the 1,000 lumen LED light, battery, charger, handlebar mount, helmet mount and storage box. This product comes with a one-year warranty.
