Cygolite Expilion

i was a little skeptical at first... But i would say the light meets my expectations. Are there brighter lights - sure. They will also cost you more. Yep; but i think the 800 USB expellion is a good value proposition. Amazon sells it for around $101 and REI sells it for $140 plus tax.My first really bright light was a Ni-Cad dual lamp Night Sun. It used a water bottle with a battery inside to power the light, the thing was a brick and was several hundred dollars back in 1985. Suffice to say 800Expellion is heads and tails better, but then again LED bulbs didn't exist back in the day.I ride a motorcycle and the Triumph T800 roadie which has two headlamps, and a throttle to crack to move past traffic. A bicycle is a moving target - so it is important to be seen... Safety first. This light is nowhere near as bright as a motorcycle headlight, probably a good thing otherwise you would blind oncoming traffic.I took my fancy shmancy road bike out tonight to test the light. I rode with the light on bright for the first half of the ride. The throw is pretty good and the coverage on the beam is also nice. No vignetting, and has an even pattern across the diameter. The light is a cool white light, nearly perfect daylight kelvin temperature. it is very close to the color temperature of an HMI movie light. I assume that the angle of the led is approximately 63 degrees and the reflector focuses the beam into a sightly tighter pattern. The outside of the light feels like a heavy cast aluminum, so they engineered a heat sink with fins to help pass airflow over the front of the bezel. Also, since it is weighted in the front when dropped it will probably land on the sturdy metal part.The clamp was very good - no issues with tightening the clamp on the top of the bar. No loosened clamps either. I did wish that it articulated a little more to each side. I like to skew the light toward the right, so i can favor the right side over the left for illumination, just in case cars pull out from the shoulder.I did have some issue taking the light on and off, until i realized that the light slips in from the front. So to remove you slide it forward, sort of counter intuitive? But the stiff plastic rear catch holds the light in place well. That took some futzing with until i got the hang of sliding the unit forward to remove the light. Other people had mentioned the rubber seal that goes over the USB port; it is not perfect, but it is good enough. Not a deal breaker to remove a star, but for a product that is nearly perfect, it is the only minor flaw; whatsoever.I typically slow down at the stop signs (California rolling stop), so I needed to temporarily cover the light while going through the intersection with my hand. On the bright setting it is bright enough to get noticed by the authorities. i had two instances of a potential car crossing my path, but the light at the highest setting made me visible and they stopped for me (both at side streets - American Flyers parking lot and the other a side street onto SM Blvd . The streets in West LA are awash with overhead street lights so there is enough light to see the road surface far enough ahead so you are not staring at your front wheel. Again we are talking bicycle riding, not motorcycle riding at 70+mph on surface streets.The last part of my ride back from Abott Kinney via Santa Monica airport was back up Broadway and i set it on the strobe light, it is a slight uphill with many, many stop signs so it was nice to have a steady beam and a quick 1-2 flash. Most other lights i find very distracting when they flash. The flash was tolerable and the light is bright enough to illuminate the upcoming stop sign from a (WLA) city block awayThe last test i did was to go outside and test the light in my backyard. I could easily see everything around the perimeter. I was looking for possums or tree rats. Shined the light up into the neighbors 150 foot palm trees from 100 feet away and it did a honorable job lighting up the very tops of the frowns. The canopy in my opposite neighbor's tree looked like daylight, this 800 expellion was bright enough to be a tactical light. So i went inside and got my plinking nitrogen air ryfle and aimed about 40 feet up from about 25+ yards and one single shot i took out the seed pod from a standing position. i had enough illumination to use my crappy scope and keep my eye on the target.I put it up against my Techlite lumen Master 200 and the Expellion was no match. This is the brightest light i have ever owned and in such a small form factor. Love the fact it is USB and lithium batteries so no need to spend money on batteries down the line.Last final note. When you press down and turn on the light it has five settings which you toggle. The other three require that you hold the on button and keep depressed, then you can access the additional three settings.

I read all these reviews along with some others over the web. I wanted a light that was solid from a company with a good reputation. I didn't mind paying more for that. So I decided on this one.I have used this light once. Unfortunately I can't comment on its longevity. But here are some observations from someone who has never used a "real" light such as this. Only sub 20 blinkies.When I first got the light and turned it on in the living room which was lit by just the daylight coming from the windows I was somewhat unimpressed. Of course this was in daylight. Not a fair assessment.Took it on the road with street lights, no lights, and at stop lights with traffic. I first tried it on the handlebars, then the helmet. While I like the idea of having it on the handlebars better for some reason, the helmet is just so much better. More control, easier to see what you want to see.First impression was good. I can see where I'm going! Got up to 30mph or so and wasn't nervous, although some more careful folks might have been at this speed. Pointing the center if the light 30 or so feet in front of the bike lights the road very well in that general area but pointing it up almost parallel with the horizon quickly washes out the light. Obviously it's meant to be pointed down somewhat.I used it mainly on the steady pulse mode. Seems to be the same brightness as the medium setting but with a partial flash thrown in.I was certainly more confident with this light.One car actually waited a good 20 seconds for me to pass before it pulled onto the road I was on. They were probably just wondering what the heck I was.The most impressive thing about this light to me is how well it allows you to be seen. I did a little test out in the yard and stood back and looked at it from 70 ft away. On every setting, even low, and from off axis angles of 45 degrees or more, (well outside of the light's "hot spot") it was extremely visible. Much more so than my blinkie. Really made me think twice about shining it anywhere close to the cabin of oncoming vehicles. I mean seriously. It's $&@#*ing bright. I also shined it out the window on the road ahead in my car with car headlights on. The light overpowered the headlights on its boost mode. I don't remember how the other settings compared, but wouldn't be surprised if medium outdid the car headlights as well. The only difference was the cars headlights gave a wider field of view, but again, they were more dim. A caveat...my car headlight covers are somewhat oxidized from age and the elements so they aren't quite as bright as they would be otherwise. But still...I could mount this on my car and be alright for the most part driving around.As far as the USB cover...I have zero issues with it. The plug is bigger than the hole. That's what makes you have to push it in with some pressure. Not much at all tho. I presume this is what keeps water from leaking in. I was surprised that the USB cover was this easy to use after reading what others said about it. Must be finicky people.Also the light was not hard mounting and unmounting. It seems solid.Only negative I have is nervousness about the helmet strap mount. The tilting mechanism on it seems like it could malfunction easily and become flimsy and not hold its tilted position anymore. But maybe it's just me being nervous.Overall am satisfied***UPDATE (12/30/14)***It's now been a year since I purchased the light. I have put many hours on it. I like it even more now than the day I wrote this review.First of all it still works like the day I bought it. For bike rides it's great.But I've found so many other uses for it. It's saved me several times working on cars. Even during the day it can compete with the sun enough to be useful and helpful to see inside of tight spaces and lift shadows from spaces you want to see in.I know it says not to use it for any other purpose than cycling (perhaps due to its tendency to heat)? Indeed on the very highest setting it does get very hot, almost too hot to hold. I'm careful not to keep it on this setting too long for fear of damaging something. But I have accidentally left it on this setting for extended periods of time in the past, off the bike, with no ill effects.Based on the fact that it's a great bike light (I keep it on the strobe/steady function on bike rides 90% of the time...which puts out the same light intensity as the medium setting btw) as well as an awesome all around light (usually keep it on medium or low setting for every day flash light needs) It's still got 5 stars from me. The only issue is the usb cover does indeed have a tendency to come back out of the hole on its own somehow. It takes a little while and some handling for it to happen but it does happen. I just shove it back in and I'm on my merry way.Fantastic light!!!!!! Love it.

Compact and bright. Love it!! Stays charged a long time. Easy to mount either on your helmet or your bicycle handlebar. I use it also as a flashlight at home. Well rated!! A must for serious bicycle commuters.

Great product .. like that the battery can be replaced .. also lights up the night