# New Lupine headlamp, Piko!



## Mathiashogevold (Aug 13, 2010)

I was searching this forum for the new Lupine Piko, and i was surprised when i didn't find anything about it. Here it is: http://www.lupine.de/web/en/products/lightheads/piko/

two XP-G leds and 550 lumens for a headlamp on 55 gram! Thats madness  it's just so small and cute! Guess i'm gonna buy it and use it for night time skiing etc.

What do you think about it?


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## jellydonut (Aug 13, 2010)

If this thing will be priced similarly to other Lupine headlamps I think I'll just stick to my Zebralights.

It seems like there's no $200 happy medium when it comes to headlamps, it's either $50 Chinese-made or $600 la-la-land.


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## Mathiashogevold (Aug 13, 2010)

Talked with one of the Lupine dealers in Norway, and he said it would cost about 2500 Norwegian kroner, 400 USD, problaly cheaper in America.


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## psychbeat (Aug 13, 2010)

hmmm - why cant someone make a simple 
18650 standard dual xpg minimal 
3 mode HL for 200$ 

I mean i just strap a 45$linger nailbender module in a 20$ L2P 
to my helmet but still.... Id love something like a dual xpg
zebra 18650 or right angle p60 host...

the Lupine IS cool tho- maybe Magicshine will make a cheap 
copy!?


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## Mathiashogevold (Aug 13, 2010)

Yes, why is it SO HARD for the manufactors?!


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## eightballrj (Aug 13, 2010)

http://store.dinottelighting.com/sh...reType=BtoC&Count1=988399684&Count2=905540108

I have a 600L as a bar light and a 140R as my tailight... and a buddy has "borrowed" the 200L and hasn't given it back as a bar light for his bike. Dinotte is awesome and the AI is pretty darn good.


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## spyros (Aug 29, 2010)

The Piko is lightweight but too much spot and no flood.


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## Mathiashogevold (Aug 29, 2010)

Yes, i saw the beamshot comparison. 

I think that the Piko will be fine for me, i don't need flood when i'm skiing. For general purposes i would like a pure flood headlamp, but i would never carry a headlamp with external battery pack in my pocket. I don't need much flood when i'm skiing, it would just be scary! i wouldn't see anything above 20 meters, so i want throw and some flood just a few meters in front of me! 

BTW, 
lovecpf


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## Offroad'Bent (Aug 30, 2010)

jellydonut said:


> If this thing will be priced similarly to other Lupine headlamps I think I'll just stick to my Zebralights.
> 
> It seems like there's no $200 happy medium when it comes to headlamps, it's either $50 Chinese-made or $600 la-la-land.



Check out the Amoeba light: http://amoebalight.blogspot.com/
$220 for 600 lumens- one level but he says he can make a slighty bigger housing with a bFlex for multi-levels. No headband- you'd have to DIY.
I haven't tried one, but it looks good. This is from the website:

*2x Cree XP-G R5 LED's (spot beam pattern) - ~600 lumens total output 
regulated at 800ma. Single mode – on/off 
anodized aluminum housing (matte silver, bright silver, or dark bronze) 
Optical grade Lexan front cover, rubber switch cover, Trail Tech connectors, waterproof cable gland 
7.4V 2400mAh rechargeable Li-Ion Battery w/ 1.2 amp smart fast charger 
Trail Tech jumper cable 
~3 1/2 hours runtime - ~3 hour charge time with a total weight of 159 grams 


$220 dollars (plus $10 Priority shipping in the USA) for 1 light head, battery, smart charger, charger adaptor cable. 

 
Handle bar mounts for $10.* 

*$40 for extra 3hr batteries. * 

*I can also do 6, 9, 12 hr Li- Ion batteries, and AA battery holders too.*


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## uk_caver (Sep 6, 2010)

Personally, I find blendable spot/flood headlights to be far more useful than single beamshape lights, and I'm always puzzled that even when people make twin-LED headlights, they typically just use the twin LEDs to increase output at one beamshape, rather than giving beamshape flexibility.


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## Offroad'Bent (Sep 7, 2010)

uk_caver said:


> Personally, I find blendable spot/flood headlights to be far more useful than single beamshape lights, and I'm always puzzled that even when people make twin-LED headlights, they typically just use the twin LEDs to increase output at one beamshape, rather than giving beamshape flexibility.



I bet the fellow who makes the Amoeba could give you 2 separate beams.
Heck, he could give you 2 different LEDs too.


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## uk_caver (Sep 7, 2010)

Offroad'Bent said:


> I bet the fellow who makes the Amoeba could give you 2 separate beams.
> Heck, he could give you 2 different LEDs too.


I'm sure he could, though for something that seems intended as a bike light, I can see that a single beamshape is probably sufficient, as it may well also be for someone wanting a light for skiing at night.

It's really the more general headlamp side of things that puzzles me.
Personally, even above ground, I have found the ability to blend spot and flood beams in homemade units to be hugely useful - sometimes I want a strong spot for distance, sometimes I want a pure flood for close-up work round a camp, whereas for general walking I normally find a flood with some lower-power spot to be best, allowing for good local lighting without the spot making everything else look dark but still having enough spot for checking out paths a little way ahead.

Being able to mix the best beamshape also means that much of the time, adequate lighting can be obtained with lower power consumption - for instance, a mid-power flood+low power spot can be more useful for walking with than a much brighter flood would be.

I suppose for mass-produced lights, there is the issue that a twin-beam light is going to be more complicated to use, as well as a little more expensive, and maybe there's also an element of even the people who would end up loving a twin-beam light currently not knowing what they're missing.


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