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Lupine Betty II 7-LED Lamphead on a Dark and Wet Night
See yesterday’s entry on the Lupine Betty II for details on the lights.
Tonight, I rode up a local fire road after dark (for locals: upper paved Alpine and dirt Alpine). It had rained, and the pavement was thus close to black (and the summer’s 1/2" of dust had become an unpleasant layer of sticky mud). The dirt road was also very dark.
I was delighted to have the 2600 lumen output of the 26° Betty II lamphead— two of them! For 5200 lumens total. Still, I wish I had taken a helmet-mounted light, as this allows light to be aimed where one looks, not just where the handlebars are pointed.
On wet nights, light disappears into dark surfaces made darker by rain, so that even 5200 lumens has its limitations, though the autumn leaf litter helped articulate the surface, as did bumps and uneven areas. Using two lampheads really helps smooth out any shadows (for less visual confusion), and thus allows more certainty at higher speeds, which makes for a much improved riding experience, and lower risk of soil sampling.
Descending the near-black asphalt on Alpine Road, I followed an old Mazda Miata. I was forced to brake frequently, because the car’s lights were so pathetically dim that the driver could not see far ahead (apparently). Even fifty feet behind the car, the Betty beams provided this hapless driver much better illumination than his own headlights. This guy was going 15mp at best, and refused to move over, so it was a boring 2 mile descent for me.
It is pathetic (and should be illegal) for a car to have such lights, yet most of the cars on the road are little better.
The Lupine Betty II the Real Deal when it comes to superb brightness and color rendition at night. They’re so good that at night one must be aware that cars approaching from behind might not be obvious, due to the car headlights being barely noticeable within the Betty beams.
