adding battery pack to a flashlight???

i did a night ride with a friend a few weeks ago and he loaned me an older HID which died about halfway through the ride. he thought we could make it back to the car with just his Niterider ProRace 1500. it was kinda sorta doable when there were turns involved, but when i was directly in front of him, i was pretty much riding into the abyss. frustrated, i pulled out my Trustfire F20 and rigged it to my helmet with some velcro and discovered that it was plenty of light (on high w/14500) and just as bright as his old HID. it was too throwy to be a great light, but i might have been able to ride the whole time with this light.

it got me to thinking. i have a Balder SE-1 that i run off of a 14500 and it's basically a giant swath of light. i think it'd make a great riding light except that it won't last that long on high. it's small and probably easy to mount to a helmet. so is there any way to add juice to this torch? is there such a thing as add-on battery packs that you can rig to a tailcap and just attach to the flashlight? i know some lights can take longer tubes, but i'm thinking i'd need many batteries to get through a 1-2hr ride. i know at some point cost-wise i'd be better off with the $70 bike-specific light at which point i should just pony up for a Niterider since i can prodeal them, but i'm 'budget', eh.

It'd be a little tricky but it ought to be possible to do something with a dummy AA and wires to a pack of whatever - I'd think about a 3D battery holder and three NiMH cells - you can get LSD ones for not too much with 8000+mAh capacity. 3 NiMH cells can almost always replace one lithium one. Maplin's own brand (if you happen to be in the UK) are not bad at all and are often on offer for £5-6 for a pair in my local shop.

I've been riding with a Baja Design Strykr on the bars for last 2 seasons. I use the flood optic and supplement it with a thrower flashlight either on the bar or strapped to my helmet. the Strykr has a P7 emitter and puts out an honest 700 lumens (validated by MTBR Light Shootout) and runs for 3.5 hours. That has been more than I need with my style of night riding, which rarely exceeds two hours and is non-technical. If you are doing MTB riding on technical courses, that might not be enough for you, but everyone's different when it comes to night vision.

With the improvements in LEDs and flashlights in general, I have found that I can actually see better using flashlights instead of the Strykr. So much so that I'm going to donate the the bar light to my son (he's moving to Colorado and is an avid MTBer) and strictly use my collection of torches for night riding. As a matter of fact, after two years of searching, I think I've finally found the perfect bike light for the bars: The Shadow JM07, available from CN Quality Goods and International Outdoor Store (Only Silver is in stock). Big Flood, nice hotspot in the middle, fairly compact form, 2 hours runtime with a 26650 battery. Great review by Foy on the light here. The light fits fine on the bars using a TwoFish Lockblock or Cycloblock. Combine this with a small form factor thrower on the bars or on your helmet and you'll be happy. Cost for all is about the same as buying one MagicShine, plus you can use the flashlights anywhere and carry spare batteries with you to extend ride time.

(L-R) Solarforce L2P, Shadow JM07, Shiningbeam S-mini

Some of my biking lights. I have a few more, but these are the best.

JM07 on the bike along with my P-Rocket.

i like the ideas here, but not sure if i'd want them on my head. i was kinda thinking a 14500 light with remote battery pack stashed in the CamelBak would be ideal. small and lightweight. and yeah, i do like to ride technical terrain (and that's what i was stranded on my last night ride in the dark). i was thinking a nice floodier light might be good. i have a Yezl XM-L that runs on an 18650 that i've also considered strapping to my head but haven't found/ordered a helmet mount. even on medium, that might be a good trail light. more things to consider. thanks for the input.

well, i impulsively ordered an UltraFire UF-2100 for it's small form factor and 18650 use. also ordered some mounts for my bike and helmet. i guess the good thing about impulse budget light purchases is that they don't cost much if you end up with buyer's remorse. i think the next purchase will be the NiteRider if this doesn't suit my needs. waaaay down the road, though.

I like your phlashlight philosophy. If your Yezl is a Z-1, however, it is essentially the same light as the UF-2100.