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[RC] [RC] night riding/headlamps - Lucy Chaplin TrumbullSusan:Due to the darkness now so early and wanting to continue at least once in the middle of a week riding, does anyone have experience with using a headlamp on a helmet for seeing where you're going. We tried road riding the other night and ended up walking most of it cause it was so dark. Made reflector bands for the horses legs and tails/bridles but we can't see. Saw a bunch of brands and didn't know which way to go with the light issue. Any recommendations would be helpful. Susan I ride a lot at night because I'm too disorganised to get out early and always seem to start out as the sun is beginning to set. Under those circumstances, most of the time I just ride in the dark with no light - because the dark comes on gradually my night vision works well and the horse doesn't usually have a problem since he/she knows the trail. When the full moon comes around on clear nights it can be gorgeous out there. However, if I don't know the trail so well, and sometimes when I ride along our lane (traffic is very light and slow, but I'd still like them to be aware of us) I've used a "Black Diamond" 4xLED light that I got from REI several years ago. This seems to be their new version of the same thing: Black Diamond Moonlight LED Headlamp $29.95 http://www.rei.com/product/47671182.htm? We liked it so much, we went and got a second one within a few weeks. :) The thing I like best about this light (that others don't always have) is the light part is hinged, so you can point it up and down. This helps for barn chores (you can point it at the ground without getting a crick in your neck), you can point it straight down when you're talking to someone to save blinding them, etc. Three AAA batteries lasted all winter for me (when I had no lights in the barn). (It says in the specs that it'll last ~16 hrs) I used it just recently when I was vet sec-ing at Virginia City 100 (works great to point at the horse's mouth so the vet could evaluate MM/CP), for tacking up, for finding and skipping up manure piles at rides if you scoop-as-the-horse- produces next to the trailer, and of course, for riding. Because it's a white light, it doesn't seem to produce the same nauseating shadows some people report riding with a yellow light. None of my horses have cared about when I've ridden with it and sometimes seem to welcome the light: one time we were riding at night and there were some deer on the trail and my horse got nervous. I turned the light on and she settled down again and we rode on. One word of warning, though - I turned the light off later when I was leading her and she stopped dead - all her night vision was gone, so you need to watch that. :) Other times I've had it on, then before I turned it off, I tilted it down into the visor of my helmet so that it gave out less light, then turned it off after a few mins. so her night vision had a chance to come back. Mounted on your helmet, above the visor means it never shines in the horse's eyes while you're going along. The only thing that wasn't so good about this light is the battery pack is on the back and on one of our two lights, the cord from light-to-battery was shorter and not quite long enough to stretch easily over the helmet so required some fiddling to get it to stay on (if I was doing a long ride, I'd use duct tape to secure it in place). For this reason, you might look at this light also: Gerber Triode LED Headlamp $24.95 http://www.rei.com/product/47990241.htm? It also seems tiltable, but it isn't as bright so I don't know if it would send out enough light. But the battery pack is built in to the light so would be easier to quickly strap on a helmet. * * * As far as visibility, I agree with the person who said they have a red flasher. For a while I used a cheap red flasher like you get around Halloween for Trick-o-treating kids. It didn't last long, but neighbours driving past said they slowed down because they couldn't figure out what it was (I was off the road, to one side). I should get another. I also made leg and noseband wraps, which really help. And my dog goes with us wearing a flashing collar, a BRIGHT red bicycle flasher duct-taped to the collar and a reflective coat. With her wearing her flasher, I can keep track of her when she lags behind to sniff something interesting and encourage her to keep up. Lucy Chaplin Trumbull elsietee AT foothill DOT net Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, California * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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