I used to have a sigma mirage light system, with 5 watt
halogen and 2hr run time. Earlier this winter the battery let me down
on a couple of rides, leaving me half hour riding with little or no
battery power. This was a cheap system with an old style lead acid
battery. Considering the amount of night riding i do, i thought it
would be best to invest in a quality set rather than trying to get more
life out of the old set.
Looking around, in maghazines and on the net, there are plenty of
lights to choose from. Ranging from 60 pound right up to 600 and above
its hard to know where the benchmark is for a quality set. I stumbled
across the X3 on wiggle and was impressed by the features offered and
the price. I was looking for 3hr runtime min, and at least 5watt or
equivelent.
The x3 surpases both these criteia with 5 hr runtime at full power and
upto 14 hrs !!!! on the lowest of three power settings. Its designed to
be left on charge for long periods, so its always ready to go. The
smart charger goes into a sleep mode when the battery is full and wakes
up every few days and tops the battery back up. Blackburn encourage
leaving it plugged in and even suggest that six months is ok. The head
unit uses a luxeon led emitter which gives equivilent to a ten watt
hallogen, with no dimming as battery gets low.
I have to say this system is excellent and i`m sure you will struggle
to find anything that matches its performance or features in the same
price band. Its compact and stylish, and it seems Blackburn have
designed it to the finest detail. For example, all cables are fully
sealed to keep out the worst winter has to offer, the lamp has fins to
aid cooling and an adjustable clamp that lets you rotate the lamp from
side to side. The battery will fit in numerous positions and has a
sturdy velcro strap to secure it to the frame. Dont worry about
obstructing brake or gear cables, the battery has built in channels to
allow all cables to run smoothly.
Out on the road, the light is brighter than my old 5watt (not sure if
its double though) and has a slight blue tint. The spread is good
covering a wide area, and can illuminate the road up to 15meters in
front of you.
So to sum up this is deffinatley a winner, if your looking for new
light i cannot recomend this highly enough. Blackburn also have an X6
verision which has an extra spot lamp.
Check out the specs below, a picture of the sytem opposite or Blacburns
website.
- System X offer more innovation and performance than
the competition
- Powered by the latest Luxeon emitters
- Lifetime Warranty
- System X combines the light output of:
- High-power halogen system
- Long run times of LED lights
- Reliability you expect from Blackburn
- The real genius behind System X is in the design
- Luxeon - The benefits
- Full brightness for 100% of their run time
- Halogen & HID lights gradually dim as the battery
runs down
- Blackburn’s
beam-boosting optics focus and shape the emitter’s beam to provide the
most consistent and even beam patterns and maximize the amount of
usable light
- At 80 lumens, Luxeon III emitters are 20 times
brighter than a standard super-bright LED.
- The brightest, longest lasting LEDs in the world.
- Warning flashes when 5% of battery life is remaining
- Lamp units
- Virtually bombproof
- Copper heat sink
- Double ‘O’ ring design for weather proofing
- Designed to meet the IPX7 Standard
- Quick-release clamp rotates
- Compatible with standard and 31.8 mm Handlebars
- Breakaway clip between mount and body
- Extremely resistant to vibration and impact
- Sleek and stylish
- Safety cut off switch if switch is depressed in a bag
- Patented flashing mode
- Waterproof connectors on power cables
- Advanced thermal management
- Dissipates the high temperatures generated by Luxeon
emitters
- Large fins increase surface area of lamp
- Roughened finish increases surface area and disturbs
air flow to create Static Convection Currents even when lamp is
stationary
- Molecular structure of metal perfectly aligned to aid
heat transfer
- All sensitive electronics away from the emitter
- Increases reliability
- Decreases weight
- Cycles through three power settings without going off
completely
- Superior Battery Technology
- Ni-Mh battery pack
- Lightweight
- Robust design and construction
- Fully waterproof
- Gore-Tex membrane insert
- Built-in rubber groove for cable management
- LED indicator for charge / discharge
- Rubber backed strap on a roller for easy tightening
- Screw fit connectors for power cables
- Tamperproof screws fix two halves together
- Separate circuit board and batteries service friendly
- Automatic shut down on low charge to prevent damage
to lamps and circuitry
- Lithium Ion back up coin-cell to run electronics in
emergency
- Smart charger supplied
- Super Charge Technology
- LED indicator for charge / discharge
- Quick, simple and safe - just plug it in and leave it
- 90% charge achieved in 3.5 hours
- Trickle mode tops up last 10% (plus 1 hour)
- Sleep mode periodically checks status and re-charges
as necessary
- Prolongs battery life and prevents deep discharge
- System X is deigned to be permanently plugged in when
not in use
- Arrives from box in sleep mode to ensure first charge
is done properly
- System X3
- 3 w Luxeon lamp
- Helmet and handlebar mount
- Ni-Mh battery
- Equivalent to 10 w Halogen light
- 5 hour continuous run time
- Lifetime warranty on lamp heads
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