Gamjams Reviews: Headlight - Viewpoint Flare 5 LED

This is a pretty short post for the Gamjams gear reviews. I rarely ride at night or commute early in the morning, so I don't really need a headlight to see where I'm going. If I'm riding in the dark, I generally have street lamps around me as I cool down by the city - usually looping the national mall after evening sprint intervals at Hains Point.

Just because I don't need light to brighten up the evening doesn't mean I don't want folks to see me. I wear one or two LED "blinkies" on my back, and carry along a Viewpoint Flare 5 LED headlight.


The thing's got 5 LEDs and two settings - just plain "on" or flashing like a strobe. As I expected, for a few bucks over $10, it doesn't break out the sun, but hey, it's hard to avoid a frikken' strobe if you're a car. It works in all-weather, and I really can't complain for the pennies I paid for it. The one weird part is that the clamp is tough to get over oversized handlebars or bar tape. That I can live with.

Now to something fun. My professional cycling equipment consultant from Bicycle Pro Shop in Georgetown, Colin H., experimented with a lady friend of his in the dark and they threw a two-person dance party using only bike blinky lights as strobes. I don't know how the party ends, but here's a sneak peak:



As a final thought, I used to do a good amount of backpacking. Nowadays, I don't get out in the woods very often but I do need a portable source of light when I'm trying to read in bed. In that case, I highly recommend Black Diamond headlamps. Petzl's are cool too, but I've always preferred BD lamps. I can't verify how well they fit over helmets, though.