The HL-1500 uses Hyper Halogen Technology to send thousands of pulses of energy to the bulb every second. In the 1,000-candlepower energy-conserving low setting, the battery life is extended to six hours. With a flick of the switch, the Hyper-Halogen is in the brilliant 3,000-candlepower high setting for increased visibility. Side light markers provide additional visibility from the right and left. With the high and low settings the hyper halogen can maximize both your light output and battery life.
Submitted by
Eric Ostendorff
a Weekend Warrior
from Torrance, CA USA Date Reviewed: August 5, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Road Only, Pacific Coast Bike Route
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Circle Cycle, Torrance
Strengths:
Very bright, useable pattern for road riding. Brightest, most efficient 4-AA cell light I've ever used. Very even illumination pattern. Low setting useful for extending battery life under some circumstances.
Weaknesses:
Beam pattern not good for off-road. Low setting is only useful as a "see-me" light, or for pacelining. This light is larger and 40 grams heavier than my next favorite Cateye light, the MC-200. Both are discontinued and hard to find now, Cateye has gone all LED. Bulb availability TBD.
Similar Products Used:
Cateye MC-200, Cateye HL-550, Performance Viewpoint 2.4 W, Sigma Sport Ellipsoid, Performance 12W Single Pro
Bike Setup:
Trek 5200 Ultegra Triple set up for touring: Ultegra/Open Pro wheels, Look pedals, ultralight custom rack and tiny panniers for PBP 2003.
Bottom Line:
Awesome light for road randoneuring. I'm off to France for PBP 2003 and with hours of potential night riding, I've been testing several different lights. No other 2.4 watt units come close to the Cateye Hyper Halogen in terms a bright, useable beam pattern. There is a low setting that doubles battery life. This low setting is useful when in a paceline just to light up the rider in front of you. Rechargeable batteries (2000 mAh Ni-MH cells) last over 3 hours on high and this unit puts out a nice tight, bright pattern for road riding with minimum wasted spillover light. My next favorite Cateye, the MC-200, is a marvelous, tiny package, but its light pattern is splotchy (uneven) and not as well focused.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bill
a
from Sunnyvale, California Date Reviewed: February 15, 2003
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Strengths:
Light weight, ease of use, good battery life, adjustability. Can be removed easily to be used as flashlight. Inexpensive. High and low output.
Weaknesses:
Not very bright, but you should not purchase this light with the intention of rugged off-road use.
Similar Products Used:
Niterider dual beam headlight.
Bike Setup:
Cannondale R4000 & Bontrager mountain bike.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice light when used appropriately. It's good for street use, especially when you flat and can remove it easily to put light where you need it. Not intended as a true off-road light, as it's output is only 2 1/2 watts. I've had no problems with mine and it accompanied me on a bike trip to LA(410 miles)a few years ago. The fact that it's not a rechargeable is nice on long rides, just replace the batteries.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dave Baldry
a Cross Country Rider
from UK Date Reviewed: September 5, 2002
Favorite Trail:
any thing faster than 40+mph
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Purchased At:
Broadribbs
Strengths:
Good when used in pairs on road or open trails
Weaknesses:
lenses are fragile, broken regularly . one is not enough
Similar Products Used:
ummm cant remember
Bike Setup:
rockhopper, judy DH, scott xc bars, mixture
Bottom Line:
good for the enthusiast not for single track or high speed use can be fragile
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Paul Zimmerman
a Cross Country Rider
from American Fork, UT Date Reviewed: November 28, 2001
Favorite Trail:
Green Valley Loop/Ridge-Tibble Fork
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
Performance
Strengths:
Easy to Pack, Easy to install & remove from bike. Bright for flashlight battery system
Weaknesses:
Not bright enough for serious single-track riding.
Similar Products Used:
Specialized Preview and other glorified flashlights
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Jekyll 900sx with Time alium pedals
Bottom Line:
This is a great light to get you home when the sun goes down before you get out of the woods. It stows easily in a backpack hydration system, and installation is a snap. I had this light fall off at 15mph on the street coming home from a ride. It got scratched up, but still works fine.
Also a good light for riding on the road.
This light does not work well on a planned night ride. The beam is not wide or bright enough. This was obvious when I rode with a group that had 30 watt nightsun systems.
If I had a good light system I would still carry this light for times when the battery dies on the nightsuns before the ride is finished.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Waid
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA Date Reviewed: October 1, 2001
Favorite Trail:
Tapeworm
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint.com
Strengths:
Bright. Clean design. Easy to install/remove from the handlebars.
Weaknesses:
Narrow beam. Changing batteries would be a pain in the dark.
Bike Setup:
Giant Warp DS1
Bottom Line:
Forget using this light for single tracking. Although bright, the beam is much too narrow to be useful. Maybe 3 or 4 or these lights mounted on the bars would do the trick.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Fabrizio Sitzia
a Racer
from Rumelange, Luxembourg Date Reviewed: December 21, 2000
Favorite Trail:
long rides in the Sarrabus region - Sardinia
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Lombardi Sports Rumelange
Strengths:
- robust & reliable mounting clip - low/high power setting - good road illumination with both settings - the look (...when fixed on the front of my aerobar, it uncannily reminds the head of Giger's Alien ;-)
Weaknesses:
- changing the batteries (in the dark) is a hassle
Similar Products Used:
...various other Krypton and Halogen lights
Bike Setup:
Giacomelli Mega Oval / Shimano 105 group / Mavic Ksyrium wheels
Bottom Line:
I've been using this light for over one year on my old road bike without problems and have therefore purchased a second one along with my new bike.
I use several sets of rechargeable batteries. With 1200mAh NI-MH cells (Panasonic) the light stays on 3 to 4 hours if I run it 70% of the time at low and 30% at high setting. I find that adequate for my late-evening sorties.
Changing the batteries in the dark is a hassle - but then, with every other light it is too! And that's yet another reason why I got myself a second one as a spare: Instead of taking along a second set of batteries it's a lot more convenient to take along a spare light, just clip one light off and the other on - you can do that without even having to stop...
And that's what I like most on this light: Its mounting clip! It is bomb-proof. You might lose anything else but you won't lose this lamp when hitting hard bumps (With other models I've already lost one tail and two front lights!)
All in all I find this a well-designed piece of equipment. It is definitely worth its five flamin' Chilis for both value and overall rating.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Reece Guihot
a Weekend Warrior
from Canberra, ACT, Australia Date Reviewed: June 7, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Any of the many great trails around Canberra
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Very bright with new set of batteries Solid mounting bracket - allows for easy movement when wanting to redirect beam.
Weaknesses:
Chews up the batteries very quickly when used on high beam (the low beam setting is barely adequate for riding on luminated streets/bike paths). Bulb casing breaks easily
Similar Products Used:
Any of the displosable battery operated low-end lights.
Bike Setup:
Old faithful Diamondback
Bottom Line:
Although being the best of the low-end bike light setups (and I have tried many in my time - mostly all crap), it is still barely adequate for any off-road night riding. It offers very limited visibility of the path/road directly in front of you, unless you have a set of fresh batteries, and are using the high beam option. (The low beam is not even an option, because of the poor light output)
My partner also has one, and the front bulb casing cracked shortly after we purchased it when we were simply changing the batteries.
I would only recommend buying this light if you just wanted something to stop the police harassing you (in those states where lights are a legal requirement when riding at night). It is no good for making objects visible to the rider, and is only just bright enough for the rider and bike to be visible by cars/pedestrians etc. I also wouldn't take it too far off a luminated path, making it useful only to those who stick to lit streets and bike paths.
I would recommend to anyone doing alot of riding (off road or commuting) to invest in a high end set (with rechargable batteries). Costs more, but is cheaper in the long run (especially with the increase in disposable batteries).
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pat Higgins
a Weekend Warrior
from Wellington New Zealand Date Reviewed: May 15, 2000
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
None
Weaknesses:
You have to dismantle the thing to recharge the Batteries. If you drop it the Bulb casing breaks and it's not very waterproof. The low power setting stopped working and now its gone dead completely. Possibly some corrosion on the circuitry? I checked the bulb. Anyway it was not bright enough against background traffic Now I'am looking at upgrading to something like a CyGo NiteRover? DISSAPOINTING !!!!!!!!!!
Bike Setup:
Scott ALuminium TZ Frame ( Road Bike )
Bottom Line:
Its proved unrealiable !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kevin
a Weekend Warrior
from Florida Date Reviewed: March 4, 2000
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Bottom Line:
This was a nice commuting light that I had stolen with my bike last year. Had the light less than a month when it was thieved.
The light is kind of cumbersome compared to the micro-halogen model, but the broad spread of the lens makes up for it. The ingenious mounting lamps makes the able to sweep the light left to right or up and down.
The best feature ilike was that I was able to get longer life out of the batteries using the low power setting. Like I said I used the bike for a month and NEVER changed the batteries. Only I didn't use the bike that much after dark (only 3-4 times a week.)
I mistakenly bought the micro halogen light after my bike was stolen and was very disappointed. First the plastic light looks very vulnerable should it ever be dropped, or worse yet handle in the rain. The worst thing is that there is only one power setting running at full 2.4 watts.
I took back the micro halogen, and recieved the Hyper Halogen instead! I am a happy man!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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