Thousand and one lights

     Thousand is a small company which makes beautiful helmets and has expanded into other accessories.  Their new light design fascinated me and I had to try it.  I have dyno-lights on my touring Hunq and my winter beater where I need the best, most reliable lighting.   

For years my backup for around town has been a simple Mini-Mag light with a 6 dollar Twofish light mount.  It's not the best choice but it makes me legal, visible, it's handy and works.   

     The new design by Thousand promises to be handier and work better.   It has 3 settings,  a 30 lumen flash,  a 250 lumen flash and a 100 lumen solid. 

The lens is exactly twice the diameter of the Mag-lite. 

The Mag-lite beam is 97 lumens 

and narrowly focused.

     The Thousand light provides a broader pattern, lighting more of the near and side pavement.   Either will get you through a neighborhood street safely, from streetlight to streetlight, at moderate speeds. Neither compare to a dyno powered light for nighttime and will not have much value at 20 mph on a country road in the dark. 

     The daytime options are where the Thousand light shines.  Leah Peterson is riding her raspberry Rivendell in the daylight with a Schmidt Edelux dyno light.  Schmidt makes some of the best bike lights in the world and they show up effectively in the day light. 

The Thousand Traveler presents a noticeable daytime strobe on the 250 lumen setting and the most unusual strobe pattern I have seen.  There is a 30 lumen strobe setting which saves battery time, but I can't imagine using it.  If you spend all day on the streets you may feel differently.  The Mini-Mag is not worth mentioning in the daylight.  With a 2 cm lens, it's as bright as a spot on a puddle. 

     Other features pop out of the Thousand light.  When you park your bike, the light detaches from the magnetic mount exposing a reminder that your bike will be lonely. 

While your bike waits patiently, and your light is safe from theft, you can recharge the module at any computer or wall outlet.  The light flashes yellow while it charges

and turns green when it's done. 

     The Thousand Traveler is an amazing design.  It looks good, the lens  diffuses light over a broad area and it's powerful enough to provide visibility on city streets.   With the typical strap and hook handlebar attachment, it can be easily switched from bike to bike and is loaded with convenience features.  You'll never know if it saved your life, but it's a bargain at $35.