Disclaimer: The review sample was supplied free of charge by Doeracil.
I was asked by Doeracil if I would review the BL13 bike light. The light was shipped from China, and arrived in a week or so. It was packed in a cardboard box and contained the light head, a battery pack, a charger, a couple of rubbr straps for mounting the head on bike handlebars, 2 adapter plugs, and a manual. The first point to note is that the adaptor plugs do not comply with UK safety regulations and should be thrown away. A replacement can be purchased for a few pounds.
To start off, here are some photos:
The front of the head showing the twin emitters, a Cree XM-L2 and a Cree XP-G2, both well centred:
A side view of the head:
The rear of the head showing the switch;
The battery pack in its pouch:
The battery pack on its own:
The charger:
And to give an idea of how it performs, here is a plot of the lux over a period of 4 hours and 15 minutes with both emitters on:
I have no way to measure the actual lumens output, but judging by eye I would expect it to be more than 500 lumens after one hour of use from a full charge, if not considerably more. As can be seen from the graph, even after more than 4 hours the light is still very bright, and the output is gently declining.
The beam is excellent, fairly floody as expected from the emitters and the small reflectors. One emitter is directed downwards to illuminate the path directly in front of the bike. The light is operated by means of a switch on the back of the head. The head itself is machined from solid aluminium, whereas the switch is a thick plastic. Clearly the switch is a cost cutting measure, but it does work perfectly, and requires only a gentle press. The light cycles (no pun intended) through modes from off as follows: main light, small light, both lights, both lights strobing and finally off.
The battery pack is, I assume, a group of 4 18650 batteries wrapped in a large plastic sleeve. I have no idea about the protection circuitry if any. I was not prepared to dissect the pack. The light comes with a woven fabric case for the battery pack, which can be strapped to the bike frame using the velcro straps. Thorfire claim the battery pack to have 8800 mAh, equating to 2200 mAh per 18650 battery. This is rather modest, and quite believable.
The light is shipped with a dedicated charger. It looks decent, certainly as good as many others I have, although as with the battery pack, I have no way of checking the quality of the insides. The charger has a small LED indicating the charge status.
In quality terms it is not the equal of bike lights from manufacturers such as Fenix, for example the lack of a hard case for the battery pack, but it does cost significantly less. The construction is good, albeit no premium quality, and it appears to work well.
As mentioned at the start, my sample was shipped with two adapter plugs. These have no shutters over the pin openings, and hence pose a safety hazard. They should be thrown away, and a safe UK plug purchased.
At the time of writing the unit ships for about £25, which given that it includes the light, a very powerful battery pack, and a charger, represents extremely good value for money. For this reason I consider it a good purchase.
Finally, please note that decent quality lithium ion batteries are safe when treated with respect, but they can be very dangerous if mistreated.
Footnote: I removed the wrapper on the battery pack which confirms that it consists of 4 unprotected 18650 cells, welded to a connector at each end, and with what I assume is a protection circuit between the cells and the cable. Apparently having cells in parallel prevents reverse charging, and ensures that the cells stay in balance. But I do recommend care when charging. As the charger is not compliant with UK standards, and the cells are not in a sealed case, I suggest that you do not charge them in your home, but do so in a garage for example, away from anything inflammable. It is best to err on the side of caution with lithium ion cells, given the potentially very serious consequences of a failure i.e. venting with flames, and the emission of very toxic gases. For this reason I do not recommend this light for a child.