Want HID power without the weight of Nickel Metal Hydride batteries? Then look no further than the NiteRider Flight system. Using Lithium Ion powered cells, the Flight lighting system offers the greatest power to weight ratio of any lighting system available, with burn times ranging from 2:15 up to 3:30. Want to extend burn times? Switch over to the power saving LED’s. Never before has so much power come in so small of a package. Mounting options are virtually limitless with a battery pack no larger than a cell phone and weighing only 227g/8oz.
Submitted by
Trey
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2011
Strengths: Bright
Weaknesses: High rate of failure of all parts
Bottom Line:
I suppose this review is very late for this product, purchased 2006, and I only used them a few times many years ago, probably less than 20 hours total. But, I feel like commenting on a few things. I originally had 2 complete sets of these; and I recently pulled them out of storage for building a commuter bike project I started; they never worked properly but I thought I could cobble one working unit together out of my parts - not so. Currently I have:
Main Lights: 2 failures (1@4month, 1 in storage)
Led Lights: 1 at 4 months, 1 still works
Tail Lights: 1 out of box, 1 still works
Charger: 1 failure in storage
Battery: 2 failure in storage
Niterider charges $150 or so for the battery, but you can buy one from battery space for $50. I opened my battery case and was able to replace one of the bad cells (1 of 3 had gone bad). All that is inside of that battery pack are 3 18650 li-ion cells that retail for $8 a piece or so. Both of my lights still work when connected directly to a battery - but there are 2 tiny circuit boards inside the headlight that must have gone bad; I asked Niterider to mail me the circuit boards (I was willing to pay $$ as this is out of warranty) but they only allow me to mail them the lights - at an estimate of $60 per light to repair. They are unwilling to sell 'original' parts out like their circuit boards. What is that about? I don't see why they can't just sell me the circuit boards at my own risk - they should be less than 10 bucks each anyway. If I wanted to reverse engineer them and start my own bike light company I would start with some that worked. I will probably just by-pass the boards and my light will be on or off when the cord is plugged in or pulled out.
Similar Products Used: cheaper battery powered leds
Bike Setup: Commuter Bike w/ drops
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Riding Flamingo
a Cross Country Rider
from Oxford, MI
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2010
Strengths: The strength of the beam. Battery life.
Weaknesses: None Found Yet.
Bottom Line:
This is my first light ever. After 3 years of riding during the day I decided to try the night riding out. This light does it. While riding it makes me totally forget that it is dark outside. The battery so far has been lasting with no problems, and the helmet mount is great. I like the LED option on it. It is great during stops and rests.
Weaknesses: fails often and has left we walking out in the dark twice in 10 rides
Bottom Line:
Totally unreliable! Sent it back and it failed again on the very next ride. Called their tech who obviously doesn’t ride at night cause he acted like having a failure was just an inconvenience not a disaster. Asked for a manager and left a message. 3 days and still don’t have a call back. I have used an old halogen for years without a problem. Battery life is not great but its better to have a weak light then none at all. If you want to ride a tough trail at night don’t worry about brightest…worry about reliability.
Bike Setup: Giant STP hard tail. 1x9 drive train. Maverick dual crown
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Bristol , CT
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2009
Strengths: Light battery ( LiIon) .
Weaknesses: Bad battery life. Well under the times stated by NiteRider
Bottom Line:
Purchased online at PricePoint, but the light was defective, so I had to send it back.
The second system had a very poor battery life (under 1.5 hours on high beam, supposedly rated for 2:15 hr ).
Sent to NiteRider for RMA and repair(almost 3 weeks for return!!), they sent me a new Flight 1.5 battery and cables . This new battery almost makes it to 2 hours on high beam. Not the result I was looking for. I won't be buying NiteRider any longer. Warranty takes forever, they apparently don't test the battery packs before selling them.
Similar Products Used: 2003-04 Niterider Storm HID ( great light, heavy battery pack)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
slicer
a Cross Country Rider
from Minneapolis, MN
Date Reviewed: November 28, 2008
Strengths: Bright and Light Weight
Weaknesses: Reliability
Bottom Line:
This is a great light but it has not been trouble free. First one of the cables failed. Niterider sent me a new one immediately. Next The battery life of both my batteries (I have a spare) dropped dramatically. This was after approximately 2 years of ownership. I sent the light into Niterider and, despite the fact that it was out of warranty, they updated the light/cables/batteries to the 2.0 version. I essentially have a new system. Niterider's customer service is second to none which is why 5 Chili's are in order.
Strengths: Customer Service, Bright, Light battery, fast charge
Weaknesses: connectors
Bottom Line:
I never bothered writing a review until I had to send the light back. Ballast went bad this past summer after 2 years. niterider sent me a new flight 2 battery in a few days - no charge- awesome. The HID light is very good but great customer service makes it a five.
Similar Products Used: niterider flame thrower and a niterider extreme(1996 - still works)
Bike Setup: specialized epic marathon
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
amysue135
a Cross Country Rider
from Plains, PA
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2008
Strengths: Brightness. This thing lights up the entire trail! Strong connectors, super fast 1.5hr recharge time, 100hr back-up LED lights beneath HID bulb, Lit-Ion battery and a nice "fuel" guage for battery power. Love the helmet mount too! Honesly, I love everything about this light. (maybe not the price so much, but you get what you pay for)
Weaknesses: None really, but it does have a short burn time in comparison with some of the competing lights.. not that I have ever even come close to killing the battery in one use. (but as I stated above, there are backup LED's if your battery starts running low)
Bottom Line:
I love this light. After being the last of the group to invest in a HID system, I will never go back. Of the 16 of us, we have never had an issue with the Niterider Product. A couple of us have the Flight 2.0, some have the enduro, and I know some have the Moab. We all swear by them. There have been a lot of nice improvements to the newer models, and I am sure a lot of the issues listed with the other reviews have been resolved with this new 2.0 model. I say, if you are debating the purchase, go for it. Just take good care of it, because it is a pricy investment, but worth it if you ride at night.
If you are an avid biker, go for it. If you are a once in a while rider, you may want to consider a cheaper alternative.. unless you have lots of $$ laying around.
Similar Products Used: Petzl 85 lumen LED headlamp.
Bike Setup: Hardtail Trek
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
NoHardway
a Cross Country Rider
from MI
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2008
Strengths: Light weight.
Weaknesses: Light is not as bright as my Dinotte LED. Run time is terrible. Connectors.
Bottom Line:
I run it on medium to try and get additional time but still barely get 2 hours. You really need to take care when charging the batteries, you have to play with it sometimes to make sure it turns RED and actually charges. Just finished a 24 Hour race so it performance is fresh in my head. I'm thinking about buying another LED Dinotte and writing the NR off.
Weaknesses: Short battery burn times, connector on the light housing fell off, the wire boot has a short in it so the light constantly is shutting off.
Bottom Line:
A friend of mine refers to my Niterider Flight system as the "Uber Light".
I use another term;......... much less flattering...
I'm fustrated with Niterider, I take good/excellent care of my stuff and don't mind spending money on a quality product.... But this Flight System.... has me... angry
The Flight system, just got sent back (again) to Niterider for the 2nd time in three months. Overall its the 3rd or 4th time this thing has gone back to them. Short run times, connectors falling off, bad wires.....
The Flight System is / has been a $500 disapointment in my book.
Bike Setup: Use this light setup for commuting and MTB'ing
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Country Dawg
a Cross Country Rider
from DFW, TX, US
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2007
Strengths: Beautifully white light over long running time and weighs next to nothing. Very secure cable connections. Fast charge times.
Weaknesses: Always price with lights. It's a light for gosh sakes.
Bottom Line:
I've used this light for over a year now. It has done several 24 hour races, and the short charge time is really a plus in these races. It is used 2 or 3 times a week on 1+ long road rides during the winter months. It it bright with a long running time.
I've even wadded up on the trail while wearing it and have experienced no issues. I never worry about the cables disconnecting.
I love this NiteRider light so much, I'm going to stick with them and try out their TriNewt next.
Submitted by
Slush
a Cross Country Rider
from Truckee, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2007
Strengths: Very bright, very white, long runtime, backup LEDs, super fast charge, very lightweight, durable cables and connections, durable light and battery construction. Awesome customer service.
Weaknesses: Expensive? Takes a few cycles to ramp up the battery life, but that's minor.
Bottom Line:
I've had good experience with Niterider products and service. That's why I bought this light for 24 hour racing.
However, I used the light twice in the fall and stored it last winter. I overlooked the part in the owner's manual where it says you're supposed to charge it every 1-2 months while storing. Duh, I wrecked the Li-ion battery. Totally dead, wouldn't charge at all. I'm stupid, etc etc. But...
Niterider support fixed me up and got me rolling again for no charge, with a FOUR-DAY turnaround! Amazing customer service!! I'd buy it again in an instant.
If you want long runtime and bright light without adding pounds to your ride, this light is great.
Similar Products Used: Niterider Digital Evolution, Topeak Moonshine 3H, Maglights with pipe clamps and duct tape, Multiple small lights together, any other ghetto contraption I could think of to avoid shelling out $200.
Bike Setup: has a handlebar on the front.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
NiteRider
a Racer
from White Plains, NY
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2007
Strengths: Insanely bright. I am comfortable going downhill at 35 mph in complete darkness with this light. Surprisingly small and lightweight for the amount of illumination it produces. Battery lasts the advertised 2 hours on high, and then some. My typical rides are only about 2 hours so I almost always just use it on high, but I've tried the two lower settings and they are not much dimmer and battery life is supposed to be much longer. Backup LEDs will get you home if you foolishly forget to recharge the battery.
Weaknesses: Will blind your riding buddies if you look at them. Cars will flash their brights at you, but I don't mind because then I know they see me. The price too I suppose, but its cheaper than an emergency room visit if you get hit by a car that didn't see you. Trust me, they WILL see you with this light.
Bottom Line:
If you ride at night you need to see and be seen. Most of my riding is on the roads in the early morning darkness so this light is the difference between me riding safely or not riding at all. I have it mounted on my helmet with the battery (a little bigger than a deck of cards) tucked into my center jersey pocket. When I see a car about to pull out or turn in front of me, I flash them with a quick shake of my head and believe me it gets their attention.
Forget those feeble little flashers. Make an investment in your safety and you won't regret it.
Similar Products Used: trail rat, mi-newt, rage, flamethrower , enduro
Bike Setup: do you really care
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ben Ferguson
a Cross Country Rider
from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2006
Strengths: Could this light be any brighter?! Hello. You've got 3 LEDs to get to the trailhead and 3 levels of brightness for the HID. It's like having a small sun attached to your helmet. Stunningly bright in the trail, killer for commuting on the road. You KNOW the cars can see you when they flash their headlights at you and when they adjust their rearview mirrors when you're behind them. The light is a cool, blue and lets you see everything you look at. The battery is about as heavy as my iPod nano, I barely notice it in my jersey pocket. Another great feature is that when your battery runs down, the LEDs kick in automatically so that you can finish your run, maybe not as fast but you can still see the trail. The LEDs can be set to steady or blink. If you get lost, you can have the LEDs blink S.O.S. I've been drooling over this light for a while now. Fortunately for me, my Evolution finally died and I could rationalize the purchase. Woohoo!
Weaknesses: The light is a tad heavier than the Evolution or TrailRat light on the helmet, but really...not really a big deal. You may have to angle it away from friends when you talk to them on the ride (not that hard to do, sheesh) When riding with the girlfriend, I tend to use lowest output setting, otherwise my light outshines her NR Evolution.
Bottom Line:
This light is da bomb! Someone I know who demo'd it said it gave off too much light. HUH?!?! Possibly the last light I'll ever buy. Love this light now that I've gotten used to looking through the trees on the trail. Definitely don't have to worry about being hit by low flying aircraft. If you have a chance, I strongly urge you to check this light out.
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