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nande


Displaying reviews posted by certified DX gadget owners first, followed by all other posted reviews.
3-Mode 5-LED Bicycle Tail Light (2*AAA)
3-Mode 5-LED Bicycle Tail Light (2*AAA)
DX Price: $8.90

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Ownership verified by DX great
Posted by nande on 9/21/2010
Involvement: Expert (understands the inner workings) - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

Price: starstarstar
Ease of Use: starstarstar
Build Quality: starstarstarstar
Usefulness: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstar

Pros:

One thing the description doesnt say is that this light is superbly waterproof! There is a thin silicon lining inside all around the red cover, and all around the inside of the battery cover. Pretty sure this will work well underwater with no problems at all because there is not even one hole where water can enter. Heck, I should say this light is airtight! It doesnt look like it but it is when you open it up to put the battery and explore.
The light is quite bright, brighter than those normal blinkers for sure. This will be great in heavy rain you can be sure that only the outside gets wet and nothing leaks inside.

Cons:

The design is a little too fanciful so it looks slightly like a toy.
Quite bulky.
This should be the most tedious (not hard, just tedious) light you will ever come across when you need to change batteries. First you need to press the light out of the silver outer shell (not hard to do), then when you flip it you will see 3 tiny screws. You need to unscrew all 3 with the supplied tiny screwdriver and change battery and screw back. I suppose you don't have to screw the screws.. then it becomes very easy. The silver shell is very secure in keeping the battery cover in place. The screws are there so that the battery cover can be very tightly pressing against the silicon lining for waterproofing. If you don't use the light underwater I'm quite sure the silicon will still keep water out.
Its for a good reason though.

Other Thoughts:

I would have given the built quality a 5 if not for the fact that below my button there is a little bit of excess rubber where it should be a round circle . It doesnt affect the function tho, and nobody will ever see it and most users will probably even miss it. The silicon linings and everything else is perfect though and that is what matters.
I wish there is a white version that i can mount as a front light or to use for camping because it is so watertight and airtight its amazing.

Bottomline:

Buy it while its still available! Buy it even if for no other reason than just to own the most waterproof light you will ever come across..

 
3-LED Safety Bike Tail Mount Light 2xAAA
3-LED Safety Bike Tail Mount Light 2xAAA
DX Price: $3.37

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Ownership verified by DX Entirely completely waterproof
Posted by nande on 7/11/2009
Involvement: Expert (understands the inner workings) - Ownership: 1 day to 1 week

Price: starstarstarstarstar
Ease of Use: starstarstarstarstar
Build Quality: starstarstarstarstar
Usefulness: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar

Pros:

- The way this light is designed, it it COMPLETELY waterproof. The only opening is the place that you can open to put in batteries, but it has a very good soft silicon washer, the type that seals very well because it is soft and when compressed slightly it has no micro-gaps that let water seep in. I am very confident that you can use this even in very heavy rain without any worries. Heck, this thing can probably work underwater! To me, this superb waterproofing is the biggest plus that puts it above all other taillights. It is not only waterproof, it is air-tight as well!!!
- Other than the 3 main leds, there are also 1 leds at each end (total 5 led), that point DIRECTLY at the sides. This is also something that is rare, because most tail lights point at 45 degrees, and directly from the side it is not visible. This is very useful because if you ride in a city area and stops at a traffic light beside a car. The horizontal shining will remind the driver that you are there and not to turn into you (if you are going straight and he is turning).
- The third pro is that the attachment can be mounted at 90 degrees. I believe this is so that if you want, you can mount this on your handlebars in front, and still be able to have the light in a horizontal profile. I don't think this light should be mounted in a vertical profile, because then the side leds will be shining top and bottom.
- The 4th pro is that this light has a very good throw, you can actually detach this and use it as a torchlight in dark areas.
- The last pro is that when you have to leave the bike and detach this light to put in your pocket, it has no corners and is very comfortable and not as bulky as other AAA lights. Also, the mounting bracket is very solid and made of a hard plastic which makes it easy and smooth for the light to mount or dismount(when you press the release button). Without pressing the button, it is impossible to pull the light out, which is how secure it is when mounted. I really like the mounting.
- The last pro, in my case, is that this light cannot be found locally, so it is very special!

Cons:

Absolutely no cons that I can think of. Really!

Other Thoughts:

- There transparent 3D markings of small arrow on the body of the light and open-lock positions on the "cap" that you can open to put batteries. When you close the "cap", you have to make sure that the lock position is inline with the arrow, because only at that position is the cap properly and fully closed. Only when you close it properly will the leds align perfectly with the optics. The trick to closing this 'cap' properly is to not press down too hard on the silicon washer when you are turning it to the locked position. If you press down very very hard, the friction of the washer will prevent you from closing it fully.

Bottomline:

I really wonder why this light is not sold locally. Maybe because if the shops sell this light then they will not be able to sell their more expensive models that are not so well designed as this?
Get it before it goes out of stock! I would order another one as spare but then this light feels like it will work for a very very very long time...

 
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