Review of Cateye HL-EL300 LED Bicycle Headlight (Black)

Cateye HL-EL300 LED Bicycle Headlight (Black)
By: Cateye Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 4
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Cateye

On: 2007-12-29

Ive had this headlight for awhile and really like it. Im not having any problems with rattling, as one user is. I like the quick release design & the side to side adjustability. This light is so superior to my old one its hard to see anything wrong with it. Car drivers appear to see me coming; this thing has those blue-white LEDs that are almost too bright. One evening a driver paused to tell me how visible I was, which was reassuring. However, I also wear either a hi-vis yellow bike jacket or a reflective vest when riding. I ride solely on city streets and mainly at night, but live in an area with few street lights. The Cateye doesnt illuminate the road well -- but I got it mainly so others can see me coming. Its possible if light were adjusted differently it might illuminate the road better. One user writes of an incident in which a driver didnt appear to see him/her even with the Cateye -- but then, some drivers are too busy chatting on their cell phones to look! I dont think you can blame it on the bike light... Ive had the light for 7 months & ride a few nights a week. Batteries are just now starting to dim.

Cateye

On: 2007-12-28

Ive had this headlight for awhile and really like it. Im not having any problems with rattling, as one user is. I like the quick release design & the side to side adjustability. This light is so superior to my old one its hard to see anything wrong with it. Car drivers appear to see me coming; this thing has those blue-white LEDs that are almost too bright. One evening a driver paused to tell me how visible I was, which was reassuring. However, I also wear either a hi-vis yellow bike jacket or a reflective vest when riding. I ride solely on city streets and mainly at night, but live in an area with few street lights. The Cateye doesnt illuminate the road well -- but I got it mainly so others can see me coming. Its possible if light were adjusted differently it might illuminate the road better. One user writes of an incident in which a driver didnt appear to see him/her even with the Cateye -- but then, some drivers are too busy chatting on their cell phones to look! I dont think you can blame it on the bike light... Ive had the light for 7 months & ride a few nights a week. Batteries are just now starting to dim.

Decent, bright self contained light-bad handlebar mount

On: 2007-09-23

I ride on unlit trails and subi-urban streets-this light is not quite as bright as I would like for the narrow, unlit bike trail, but is ok for streets when there is some street lighting or even bright moonlight.

I dont like the mount-it rattles at speed and wavers back and forth--Ive had several other cateyes and the mounts were stable and didnt rattle. On the EL300, it has a right to left adjustment--but this stays loose even when the adjustment is fully tightened--the light wanders from left to right on its own.

Sadly, cateye also switched the slide-on direction, so you cant use this light with other, more stable cateye mounts:-(.

On the bright side, the light is tough, resists water- Ive used it in several pouring N. Cal. rainstorms and it sat outside for a few months when I forgot where I put it--and lit up as well as ever when I found it again:-).

Really sharp; a bit TOO sharp focus,= a great FLASHLIGHT!

On: 2007-03-10

Good points of the EL-300: Powerful sharp beam; LONG run per battery change; easy on-off quick-mount clamp for anti-theft; and, its a superb FLASHLIGHT. I like to use it for undersink and underhood repairs, so I often borrow it from my bike. This light is intense enough to force a person to avert eyes, if the beam hits direct from even, say 40 away. Cateye does caution us not to play the beam on peoples eyes. In my estimate, it is mostly a terrific flashlight, and not a great bike-mounted headlight, at least as a stand-alone.

Trouble is, that sharp-focused narrow beam makes you choose between two conflicting and shifting essentials: lighting your path (you actually CAN with this focused power); or alerting others to your presence. That would mean focusing it more toward oncoming traffic, or a tad right or left, toward peripheral traffic, depending where you are, and how the road tracks, and where cars are coming from. Its a real attention-getter to oncoming drivers, which is great, if conditions are all just right: IF you focus the lamp near level, and if the drivers are considerate enough to all approach from in front of your beam.

However, traffic off to the side is another deal, since the headlights peripheral light suffers by contrast. I nearly took a short trip to a long rest, as a result. Late on a quiet night, one flaky guy entering a major, broad secondary road I was traveling was coming fast up to his stop-sign, on a side street to my right, ahead of where I had just rounded a curve. He had a view accross broad lawns, on up the dark road behind me.

After slowing just a bit, he accelerated and ran his stop sign. I was right near his position on his side-street, "committed," pedaling about 15 - 17 MPH, about to cross his bow. He started his right turn, gunning it, merging with unseen ME. He was totally UNAWARE OF ME, and was clearly of this mindset:
"No double-CAR-headlights,
no CAR noise,
so no CAR,
so nuttin coming,
so, good-to-go, so -- GUN IT!" ... all in the space of a couple seconds.

Moving fast, with the right-of-way, I had the EL-300 blazing away bright. Only, it was focused straight ahead of me, and a tad downward toward the road surface yards in front. I was dependent on the EL-300, to send ahead to the likes of him, unavoidable announcing LIGHT. Its what I paid for (about $45.00 delivered). I also wore a white helmet, had reflective stripes on my panniers and rack trunk, and the churning reflectors on wheels and pedals. But I know darn well all the reflectors in the world have no merit, when not bathed by headlights, and if not also bouncing back at a narrow angle to the drivers eyes. Thats why I own a headlight. Its why now-enlightened NJ demands a bike headlight.

Of course, neither does a DRIVER have any merit, when s/he rewrites the stopsign law to read "No need to stop as long as I dont SEE ANYONE COMING." He nearly killed me, coming fast at me, broadside. He had regained nearly 15 or more mph as he started his right turn, still accelerating, when he spotted me and panic-braked. We were at one point about 2 feet apart, thanks to his hard braking, and my veering left on the (luckily deserted) dark main road.

I was, for a fraction of a second, looking DOWN at his headlights and bumper almost below me. Could have reached over and touched his hood ornament. Incredible experience. It was my closest call ever, and scared the hell out of me. It mustve scared the hell out of him, too. He registered his shock-and-awe with a reproaching after-fact horn blast, as he scrambled around and passed me, racing off before I could read his plate.

I guess it mustve ticked him off, my scaring HIM with that close call. One little vehicular manslaughter can change your address awhile. Equally maddening for him, after he passed the intruding cyclist with the red blinkie taillight, and the white helmet, and all the reflectors (THOSE alerted him, once I was his front-and-center target), he would had to then see that blazing headlights pencil-beam in his rear-view mirror. Damn, nuttin he could blame on this creep on the bike. :-[

The EL-300 simply failed me that time, as I see it, by focusing most of its light in a narrow, long-projecting beam. It was focused left of where he was looking, when I was very close to the side street he was traveling, ignoring his stop-sign. There should, from so much light energy, be some part diverted wider, closer to the bike, even if lower intensity.

In my judgement there are two related design flaws with this lamp:
1. The narrow focused beam, making you "live(??) with" the single direction in which you aim the beam. Its relatively dim peripheral light gets lost in any ambient light.
2. That is in turn aggravated by its wandering from the aiming you settle on, both vertically and horizontally. The vertical part is the worse; the mounting clamp sets too far back from the headlights balance-point, so its a seesaw thats forward-heavy. Lift your bike front, tap it down lightly, and youve likely refocused the lamp lower, as you would not if the mounting were at the balance-point. Aim it temporarily right (and tight), and you are seemingly good to go ... but only as far as the first noticeable bump. It then drops a few degrees, and you keep correcting it vertically, to light EITHER your intended path, or the oncoming drivers windshields. Your need is like being at the Oscars: you want to both see, and BE SEEN, only in this case to save your life.

I am chasing after another LED lamp now, which I understand to have a wider (along with brighter) beam. I have respect for Cateye in general. Their current website page of battery-op headlamps does not offer the EL-300.

Really sharp; a bit TOO sharp focus,= a great FLASHLIGHT!

On: 2007-03-09

Good points of the EL-300: Powerful sharp beam; LONG run per battery change; easy on-off quick-mount clamp for anti-theft; and, its a superb FLASHLIGHT. I like to use it for undersink and underhood repairs, so I often borrow it from my bike. This light is intense enough to force a person to avert eyes, if the beam hits direct from even, say 40 away. Cateye does caution us not to play the beam on peoples eyes. In my estimate, it is mostly a terrific flashlight, and not a great bike-mounted headlight, at least as a stand-alone.

Trouble is, that sharp-focused narrow beam makes you choose between two conflicting and shifting essentials: lighting your path (you actually CAN with this focused power); or alerting others to your presence. That would mean focusing it more toward oncoming traffic, or a tad right or left, toward peripheral traffic, depending where you are, and how the road tracks, and where cars are coming from. Its a real attention-getter to oncoming drivers, which is great, if conditions are all just right: IF you focus the lamp near level, and if the drivers are considerate enough to all approach from in front of your beam.

However, traffic off to the side is another deal, since the headlights peripheral light suffers by contrast. I nearly took a short trip to a long rest, as a result. Late on a quiet night, one flaky guy entering a major, broad secondary road I was traveling was coming fast up to his stop-sign, on a side street to my right, ahead of where I had just rounded a curve. He had a view accross broad lawns, on up the dark road behind me.

After slowing just a bit, he accelerated and ran his stop sign. I was right near his position on his side-street, "committed," pedaling about 15 - 17 MPH, about to cross his bow. He started his right turn, gunning it, merging with unseen ME. He was totally UNAWARE OF ME, and was clearly of this mindset:
"No double-CAR-headlights,
no CAR noise,
so no CAR,
so nuttin coming,
so, good-to-go, so -- GUN IT!" ... all in the space of a couple seconds.

Moving fast, with the right-of-way, I had the EL-300 blazing away bright. Only, it was focused straight ahead of me, and a tad downward toward the road surface yards in front. I was dependent on the EL-300, to send ahead to the likes of him, unavoidable announcing LIGHT. Its what I paid for (about $45.00 delivered). I also wore a white helmet, had reflective stripes on my panniers and rack trunk, and the churning reflectors on wheels and pedals. But I know darn well all the reflectors in the world have no merit, when not bathed by headlights, and if not also bouncing back at a narrow angle to the drivers eyes. Thats why I own a headlight. Its why now-enlightened NJ demands a bike headlight.

Of course, neither does a DRIVER have any merit, when s/he rewrites the stopsign law to read "No need to stop as long as I dont SEE ANYONE COMING." He nearly killed me, coming fast at me, broadside. He had regained nearly 15 or more mph as he started his right turn, still accelerating, when he spotted me and panic-braked. We were at one point about 2 feet apart, thanks to his hard braking, and my veering left on the (luckily deserted) dark main road.

I was, for a fraction of a second, looking DOWN at his headlights and bumper almost below me. Could have reached over and touched his hood ornament. Incredible experience. It was my closest call ever, and scared the hell out of me. It mustve scared the hell out of him, too. He registered his shock-and-awe with a reproaching after-fact horn blast, as he scrambled around and passed me, racing off before I could read his plate.

I guess it mustve ticked him off, my scaring HIM with that close call. One little vehicular manslaughter can change your address awhile. Equally maddening for him, after he passed the intruding cyclist with the red blinkie taillight, and the white helmet, and all the reflectors (THOSE alerted him, once I was his front-and-center target), he would had to then see that blazing headlights pencil-beam in his rear-view mirror. Damn, nuttin he could blame on this creep on the bike. :-[

The EL-300 simply failed me that time, as I see it, by focusing most of its light in a narrow, long-projecting beam. It was focused left of where he was looking, when I was very close to the side street he was traveling, ignoring his stop-sign. There should, from so much light energy, be some part diverted wider, closer to the bike, even if lower intensity.

In my judgement there are two related design flaws with this lamp:
1. The narrow focused beam, making you "live(??) with" the single direction in which you aim the beam. Its relatively dim peripheral light gets lost in any ambient light.
2. That is in turn aggravated by its wandering from the aiming you settle on, both vertically and horizontally. The vertical part is the worse; the mounting clamp sets too far back from the headlights balance-point, so its a seesaw thats forward-heavy. Lift your bike front, tap it down lightly, and youve likely refocused the lamp lower, as you would not if the mounting were at the balance-point. Aim it temporarily right (and tight), and you are seemingly good to go ... but only as far as the first noticeable bump. It then drops a few degrees, and you keep correcting it vertically, to light EITHER your intended path, or the oncoming drivers windshields. Your need is like being at the Oscars: you want to both see, and BE SEEN, only in this case to save your life.

I am chasing after another LED lamp now, which I understand to have a wider (along with brighter) beam. I have respect for Cateye in general. Their current website page of battery-op headlamps does not offer the EL-300.

Nice Light

On: 2007-01-09

Very nice. Good coverage of light. Lights can always be brighter in my opinion. Easy installation and good battery life.