 |
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Home | Product Reviews | Lights | Lupine Betty | ||||
|
|
||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Submitted by
Andrey Gloukhoff
a Downhiller
from KoP, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: 1/31/2008 11:41:10 AM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $1000 |
| Purchased At: | gretnabikes |
| Strengths: | It puts out so much light, you can put your hand in front of it and it will get warm just from the light. |
| Weaknesses: | Mounting could be better. If you take a hard hit, the light can slide down a bit, esp in cold weather when the rubber is less 'grippy'. This can be very very annoying on a long rough downhill. |
| Bottom Line: | Best light I ever had. I don't just use it for biking, I use it when working on the car, walking the dog, etc. The fact that you can set the brightness down makes it great for pretty much any scenario. Another thing, GretnaBikes have been great. My dog managed to pull my helmet off the table with the light still attached to it and chewed up the cables and switch. Just when I thought I was out another $600 for the lampset, they fixed it up and sent it back overnight for $100. I have no regrets about buying this light at all. |
Value Rating: 
Overall Rating: 
|
|
|
Submitted by
Matthias
a Racer
from Austria
Date Reviewed: 12/19/2007 5:37:55 AM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $850 |
| Purchased At: | www.bikestar.at |
| Strengths: | very light weight, Brightness, battery lifetime; |
| Weaknesses: | none except the price |
| Similar Products Tried: | Supernova HID |
| Bike Setup: | Scott Scale LTD |
| Bottom Line: | Well I`m using the Betty 6 which I bought at a bikeshop in my town. (www.bikestar.at) I decided to use the Betty 6 as it`s lighter than the Betty 12. To achieve the same lighting times I bought an second rechargeable battery pack. Betty 6 is exactly the same as Betty 12 except of the battery pack so I don`t loose any lighting power. Well compared to the supernova, I like the Betty best because it simply blows away any product I know. Concerning the quality - it`s simply top notch quality made in Germany. By the way I use the Betty for 24 h races and training. In winter I also use it for back country skiing and skitours. Even used at very low temperatures (-18°C) the battery pack has enough power for hours. The only thing that might hinder you from buying is the price - but it`s really worth every penny. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|
|
Submitted by
Neil
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, Colorado
Date Reviewed: 12/12/2007 8:16:06 AM |
|
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $895 |
| Purchased At: | www.mtnhighcyclery.com |
| Strengths: | Brightness, attention to detail, mounting system |
| Weaknesses: | This is tough. I'll reach and say at this price, the light should include a lens cover. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Owned Light & Motion ARC, Jet Phantom, Lume Strada. Used several Nite Rider HIDs. |
| Bike Setup: | Turner Spot |
| Bottom Line: | I planned on using the Lupine Wilma on the helmet and was really looking to get a superwide and bright bar light that was really bright but not overly focused or reflective. Since the Wilma was so impressive, the Betty was a natural choice for the bar. It isn't too heavy (175 grams or so) and can be used on the helmet as well. The beam width is really good and you can see to the sides with your peripheral vision- a really nice thing to have in the dark Rocky mountains at night. The reach is incredible. It can light up stuff a hundred yards away BUT not in the way a spotlight does. Unlike a really powerful spotlight, the Lupine beam is very even and diffused very effectively so it lights up the trail and trees like a high-end car headlight would. There is no reflective hotspot or rings or anything that distracts the eyes while riding. I have tried some really nice lights but the Betty trumps them all. You expect this blinding white light at first but you will be a bit surprised that it doesn't have that reflective beam you expect but instead has a bright and evenly diffused beam that lights up so much of the trail. It really is a light that makes night riding a lot of fun. It makes me more confident and it makes me feel safer than using a HID or Halogen. The LEDs can be dimmed to get up to 40 hours of burntime. The light can be programmed to all sort of different levels and steps. You have different power levels and different dimming levels within those power levels. There is in infinite dimming option as well. It's more customizable than any other light out there. And of course, we have the typical German construction and design. Every detail is well thought out and the quality of the components and quality of overall construction is like no other light I have seen. Even the rubber mounting band is twice as thick as any other light that uses one and the light can be adjusted easily and stays put on the helmet or bar. I prefer it to the other mounting methods. Lastly, Todd at gretnabikes (www.gretnabikes.com) and Larry (www.mtnhighcyclery.com) were really helpful and answered many dumb questions with patience. Larry also runs/owns a local shop and deals in really high-end bikes (Turner, Ventana, Knolly, Niner, Chumba) so when he decided to carry Lupines, I knew he was impressed by them as well. I feel good supporting these guys and I know that besides Lupine, they also have my back if something happens. However, one of the reasons I chose Lupine was their incredible record of reliability so I will probably never need any warranty help. It was worth the money to me. I was very leery about spending more than $300 on a light at first but I got sucked in after seeing one in operson and have no regrets :) This one get 5 Chilis even though it is expensive. It was worth the money to me and I find no weaknesses. Well, a custom lens cap (even of cheap plastic) would be nice. I leave the Wilma on the helmet since it is my night-riding helmet and hate to have a tool or tire pump smack into it one day when I'm in a rush trying to get stuff out of the car. |
|
Value Rating:
Overall Rating:
|
|