Reviews! Yeah that’s right, we’re gettin’ all pro on your sorry arses! Mostly.
The reality is, I like getting new shit and talking about it to other people. Most of the time they don’t really care, which is fairly understandable. To counter this, I think I’ll just start writing boring reviews about stuff I get so that when other people are trying to waste time at work they can at least skip over them and decide that work is probably a better choice. See, it’s all about the greater good.
Item #1 for review is a new light I got for mountain biking during the winter months, a NiteFlux Photon Max Extreme. Yeah, go back and read that again because it’s the only way that name could be more hardcore was if it had a few extra Xs and was superimposed over a picture of Vin Diesel. That was half the reason for me buying it, but the other half makes a little more sense. I bought a great little Light and Motion Stella 120N spotlight last year, just as winter was coming to a close. I didn’t get to use it nearly enough, mainly because I’m soft and don’t like going outside when it’s cold and dark. Anyway, it’s a great little unit and the current version is now 200 lumens (rather than 120) and has a Lithium Ion battery, which makes it even better. So yeah, if you want something good value, light weight and fancy looking, get one of those. It works brilliant on a helmet. There, so that’s the Stella reviewed. It is excellent as a helmet mounted spot, but one good light got me craving more and I really wanted a good bar-mounted flood with plenty of grunt. Enter the Photon Max Extreme (from here on in referred to as the PME).
In brief review: Sweet light if you’re on a budget. Light output is good but not as bright as they claim. Battery life is short, but I guess that’s why you pay more for the other lights. The beam is wide, but evenly lit without a small bright spot so it’s great on the bars. It’ll do nicely for this winter.
As winter rolls around, we see a lot of lights come and go through the shop. The PME made the cut as my final choice based mainly on price and advertised light output. They retail at $655 or so and punch out 1,350 lumens on paper. That’s a fair shitload for that price. NiteFlux are pretty damn good value across all their range, and they’re also Australian made and owned which is a big plus in my books. There are better lights out there, no doubt about that, but the price is very attractive compared to all the others. On with the show…
(Images will follow shortly, I left the light and my camera at work…)
The Basic Shit
Right, here’s how it started. Firstly, shipping was nice and speedy from the guys at NiteFlux and the light arrived at the shop overnight (effectively, I ordered late Friday and it showed up Tuesday), along with a jersey that they threw in for free (I love free shit, but I’ll try not to let that influence me). The light comes in the standard ol’ NiteFlux box, inside of which it’s got its own roll-out pouch. The case is nothing fancy but if a cheap price means no uppity hardcase with a combo lock and personal alarm then that’s fine by me. Included in the kit was everything that was meant to be there. Light, battery, helmet mount and charger. Good start.
The light unit itself is exactly the same as NiteFlux’s Photon Max light (the model below) but with ritzy gold venting rather than grey. The other difference is the 20 watt LED rather than a 12 watt, which is watt gives the Extreme its extra punch (and sucks out a shitload more battery power). The unit itself is light weight and wouldn’t be overly heavy for a helmet mount, but I’ll be chucking it on the bars. The build quality on the lower end NiteFlux lights seems a little more agricultural than some of the more expensive lights, with fairly basic alloy shells in matt black. The PME is a solid little unit though, and looks like something out of one of the new (fuckin’ shithouse) Star Wars movies.
We did an in-shop side by side comparison with a Light And Motion Seca 700 Race (their top end light), which claims 700 lumens and costs somewhere around the $1,000 mark. Both lights were pretty damn equal, with the L&M unit getting the points for the extra battery life. However, at over twice the price, you’d want to get some kind of advantage.
The PME battery comes in a wetsuit material case with a velcro strap to attach it to the frame. It’s the exact same battery used by the Photon Max, which means it’s not to heavy, but also that the 20watt LED is going to suck the juice out of it fairly fast. Them’s the breaks.
The charger has a US plug with an Australian adapter. Which is going to be great when my professional career takes off and I suddenly find myself racing across the continental United States for some NiteFlux sponsored outfit. Yeah…
It also comes with instructions. Skimmed through them briefly rather than doing the bin-chuck, as I figured I’d better not break the second most expensive thing I own (yeah, I’m poor).
Setting It Up
Strapped the battery to the top tube which was fairly straight forward. Looped the cable around the stem and up the the bars. It’s got a long cable that’s got a tight coil in it, so you can stretch it around stuff nicely.
The light unit has a bar mount on the bottom, which is supposed to go around any bar size. I’ve got oversized bars (who doesn’t?) and had a bit of trouble. I like to mount my lights right next to the stem, but the rubber spacers make it a big of a tight fit. You can quite easily cut out the extra padding, but I don’t really like taking drastic actions like that too early in the piece. So in the end I mounted it just where the bars start to rise, which looks a bit ugly but meant I wasn’t in danger of breaking the mount.
The PME has four intensities and a flashing mode. You can set up a race mode which gives you full power and a second power setting of your choice, to save you scrolling through all the settings each time. Pretty standard on most good lights these days.
Using It
(Time warp to about 3 months later…slow review writing)
Since starting this review I’ve been using the light on my weekly Wednesday night MTB ride, teamed up with the L&M Stella. It’s also done a few laps in the late night and early morning of the Kellevie 24hr.
Overall, the light output and performance is awesome for the price. On the trail the beam is wide and solid, with an excellent throw and even light distribution through most of the beam (no hot-spot in the middle). It is a serious amount of light for trail riding and really lights up everything in front of you. I’ve done some pretty high speed descents with it on the full power setting and I’ve survived without any ‘oh shit, didn’t see that!’ moments. Combined with a helmet mounted spot, it’s an excellent set up.
Flipping between modes can be a little sketchy as the switch is located on the battery rather than the light itself, so I someitmes find myself groping around the top tube (ho ho) looking for the switch, which can be interesting on more technical trails.
The battery life is the main issue with this light. On longer rides and forays into more distant areas, you have to be very aware of the power setting and try not to leave it on full juice the whole time. I had one instance where the battery ran out about 500m before home, just as I hit the tarmac. Lucky timing, but it could have been worse if I’d been a bit slower. That can be a little distracting when all you want to do is ride, but generally my night rides aren’t big epics, so it isn’t a huge negative for me personally. You must keep in mind that it’s probably this burn time that’s keeping the price down at a reasonable level, so it’s all relative.
Overall usability and function is awesome. The bolt from the handlebar mount did get caught on my shorts once, but that’s probably more to do with me being a muppet than anything else. Charge time is about 4 hours, and the lithium-ion battery means that you can recharge whenever, and for as much or as little time as you wish without destroying the battery life.
In Closing
I guess the main issue with this light is battery life. I’ve mentioned it a few times in the review, so it’s obviously a bit of a factor. If you’re into slightly longer rides, it may be an issue for you. It’s where the light does fall a little short, there’s no denying that. The second-highest setting on the light provides more than ample output, but if you’re a sucker like me then you’ll want full beam all the time. It’s not always practical. If you want longer output and can afford a bigger spend, then get something from L&M or another light company.
If you’re on a budget and are willing to sacrifice something in order to get a good quality light, then I can’t recommend the PME enough. You can’t have it all for $655, but you can have a damn lot of it!
For me, I’ll be using this light constantly through winter and it’ll only be doing good things for me. Next year I may consider saving pennies and investing in something with better burn time, but for now my wallet will stay happy and so will my night rides.
Any questions, let ’em rip!
For a minute there I thought you were reviewing an electric shaver.