Review of CatEye Bike Head Light HL-EL500

CatEye Bike Head Light HL-EL500
By: CATEYE Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 10
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Good light, but not terribly bright

On: 2007-09-24

It is good to use in dark areas but in semi dark places it is not great but OK (for instance a street with some lamps here and there). Pretty easy to mount.

Very good overall

On: 2006-11-25

I think for a battery powered headlight, this one is one of the best. But I believe the useful run time to be exaggerated. It may indeed last 30 hours and continue putting out light, but in my experience once the batteries have reached about 8 hours, the light output drops enough that it becomes pretty hard to see by. So Id say that if youre just using it to be seen by cars when riding at night, then you probably can get 30 hours out of it. But if you actually need it to illuminate the road, then 8 hours is probably about the maximum use youll get out of the EL500 before needing to replace the AA batteries.

With fresh batteries, Ive found it to have enough light to ride on country roads with potholes, roads with absolutely no street light. Its probably pushing it to ride over about 15mph in those conditions, however. To ride faster, safely, I believe youd need to add another EL500 or one of the much more powerful (and expensive) rechargable halogen lights.

As of this writing, Cateye has released the EL530 which claims to be 50% brighter. That may be the way to go unless you can get a super deal on the EL500.

This light is also probably useful for people who have a rechargable halogen but need a backup light, since most of the rechargables have run times not much over 3 or 4 hours. The EL500 would be very good for that purpose.

Overall, a good product.

Good Quality Light

On: 2006-11-10

Nice light. Very easy on/off. Very bright but am considering getting one more for the other side of the handlebars for extra light when I need it.

GREAT LIGHT

On: 2006-10-04

It is a great light. I only wish the side views were brighter. Its more like a spot light - very bright, but dims quickly toward the perifs.

Great Light!

On: 2006-02-23

This is an excellent light, whether for bike riding or as use as a regular flashlite. I am recommending it to everyone.

so-so light to be seen, but not to see with

On: 2005-11-25

I made the mistake of hoping this light would be enough to light my way, rather than just get the attention of motorists and pedestrians. The beam is too narrow and not bright enough for anything but really slow riding in the dark. I think its okay for being seen, but only okay. It doesnt blink, if youre into that, and the narrow beam spread means only folks directly in front of you will see the light from afar. Check out CatEyes excellent, compact, 3xAAA- and 3 LED-based HL-EL400 for something that blinks and has a wider angle of beam visibility. For a battery-based light to see with, I found Planet Bikes 5000X to be a much better value.

Very bright; Compact; Not sure how they do it !

On: 2005-10-04

This is extremely bright - its amazing for only running on four aa batteries. I do a lot of "night biking" around 5-6 AM for exercise, and safety on city streets is a big thing for me. This seems as bright as a motorcycle headlight and is supposed to run 30 hours on four AAs (I havent had it that long yet). It doesnt flash. It has a very focused beam, and I was concerned whether drivers at the side would see it. Somehow, it doesnt really cast light on the ground to the side, but I was happy to notice that if you stand at almost a 90 degree angle, you see the white point of light pretty brightly for drivers to notice you. Easy to take on/off, easy replace batteries. This is gonna be a lot brighter than any older "flashlight" type headlamp, but doesnt take you into the investment of a $150 system with a separate brick-sized battery pack. Its rated 1000 candlepower and the mid-range lights in this brand are around 300.

Extremely bright; not a toy

On: 2005-10-03

This is extremely bright - its amazing for only running on four aa batteries. I do a lot of "night biking" around 5-6 AM for exercise, and safety on city streets is a big thing for me. This seems as bright as a motorcycle headlight and is supposed to run 30 hours on four AAs (I havent had it that long yet). It doesnt flash. It has a very focused beam, and I was concerned whether drivers at the side would see it. Somehow, it doesnt really cast light on the ground to the side, but I was happy to notice that if you stand at almost a 90 degree angle, you see the white point of light pretty brightly for drivers to notice you. Easy to take on/off, easy replace batteries. This is gonna be a lot brighter than any older "flashlight" type headlamp, but doesnt take you into the investment of a $150 system with a separate brick-sized battery pack.

Great buy

On: 2005-07-06

Compact and lite weight, yet very bright. Makes this little light a great buy !

Best damn light in Iraq

On: 2005-01-05

I bought this light for my military duty here in Iraq. This light out performs any comparable light at 1/3 the cost. Not only does it illuminate objects at great distances it uses AA batteries, not those expensive camera batteries all the other lights use. I am recommending this light be issued to everyone in my unit. Great job design people!