On the first gif, he’s holding a paintball rifle, probably more indicative about the people targeted by this kickstarter.
Not sure that pointing a light with shoulders and torso moves is something intuitive and convenient.
Anyway…probably perfect for weekend soldiers.
wtf? They got half a million dollars for that??? Reminds me of that failed “free water” device that’s basically a dehumidifier which you drink water from. At least it has a use tho. Wonder how much it costs…
That illuminated circle on your back makes a perfect target. Is that really a good thing?
On the positive side, I do like the idea of a “body” light that lets the user “wear” the cells in a larger (than typical handheld flashlight) case. But I think they lost an opportunity by only using 4 x 18650s.
I’m amused by the idea of doing an arm’s length task like working on a car with 700 lumens.
Also, the form factor just strikes me as having so many drawbacks, from how it would be worn with a backpack to the fact that the light aims with movements of your shoulders, but not with your head, and only clumsily with your hands, I have to wonder if even the designers think it’s a good idea, or just one they can market effectively.
The Biolite looks ok from a skim of that page. The floody beam does look too wide, as someone else pointed out, a 69g headlamp does not need a rear battery pack, but it seems in the same ballpark as what Petzl and Black Diamond sell for a similar price.
I’m not interested, but I get why people who buy all their outdoor gear from REI would buy it. Selling 10,000 of them through a well-funded Kickstarter campaign doesn’t surprise. Biolite was an already established company that probably didn’t need Kickstarter to fund their light development, but I could see them trying it as an alternative marketing means.
I like how they market a flashlight that takes 3 18650s and you have to wear like a messenger bag as a universal light that’s good for everything. Yeah, sure, I’ll EDC that to my office job, no problem.