MagicShine MJ808 vs MJ816 vs Hope Vision 1

[DaveyB1981]

Morning all!

Been after a new light for a while now but didnt really have the funds. Now I have some birthday money specifically for a light

Thing is, now I am torn. My original thought was a Magicshine 808, but then I saw the 816 and thought it seemed a decent upgrade for the difference in price. Thing is, the battery pack on these makes me feel it is a little of a "clunky" solution for my needs. I see that Hope's Vision 1 is available at decent prices now and I like the neatness of this, but wonder about differences in performance. Much of my riding sees me end up on unlit, potholed roads, which are not ideal, so i would like to light my way as best i can.

Claimed output is one thing, but I am interested in how they actually perform. Anyone got experiences of the units mentioned?

Dave

 

[Nigel182]

I run with an 808 on a replacement bracket as i wasn't keen on the O ring fastened one that came with it.

Light is powerfull enough...mostly use it on the Low or Medium setting on poorly lit roads near me.... it easily lasted the other weeks Southend FNRttC and I have a Fenix LD20 as a back up but am thinking of geting another battery for the Magicshine instead.

 

[Hacienda71]

I have an MJ808 it is massively bright and has a good spread of light, I feel comfortable riding at 25 to 30 mph on unlit country roads. Before buying it I was a little reticent about having a light with seperate battery pack but tbh it has not been a problem either in mounting the battery or it's charge and discharge time. The P7 led it uses is normally found in much higher priced lights the MJ808 is basically a clone of a Tesler MTB light that costs about three times as much.

Your difficulty is going to be getting a direct comparison between both lights. I have a feeling someone here has both and the view was the MJ808 was a brighter light with a better spread but lacked the convenience of a batteries you could pick up from your local shop in an emergency.

Both are very capable lights.

 

[Hacienda71]

I should probably add I was comparing the MJ808 against a Hope vision 1.

 

[Cubist]

I have both the 808 and the 816. For the use you describe the 808 will be lamp enough. If you can afford the 816 then go for it. It has a downside in that the o ring mount is not robust enough for bumpy riding, but this can be fixed with a 2 quid mount from CRC.

I use them offroad, pitch black on bridleways and MTB style forays into moorland and so on. The 816 is vastly superior because of the flood beam from the mouse ears, and the tighter, brighter main unit. The battery is neater than it looks and can be handlebar or tube mounted. The dimmer function is great.

Cubester now uses two bar mounted 808s which gives him as much spread as he needs. With my older and poorer night vision I also use a 240 lumen helmet lap to fill in the stuff bar mounted lamps miss.

The Hope vision 1 is a good light. It is living on its reputation a bit now, as there are brighter lights available for the same money, and it would be hopelessly inadequate on its own off road. I have an Aldi 3w torch that's every bit as bright for a tenner.

 

[ianrauk]

Put out a shout to Gaz. He rides both on his commute bike. And if I remember rightly he did a comparison test between both lights.

 

[DaveyB1981]

Thanks for the replies guys,

In the end I got sick of having a decision to make and just made it. My MJ816 should be here in a few days

Now...do I order the bracket now or wait to check whether the o-rings are that bad first...

Dave

 

[Cubist]

Thanks for the replies guys,

In the end I got sick of having a decision to make and just made it. My MJ816 should be here in a few days

Now...do I order the bracket now or wait to check whether the o-rings are that bad first...

Dave

If you ride over anything bumpy, the light will, without any question, rotate backwards. I taped mine on at first, as off road it ended up pointing into my face on the first descent

 

[cyberknight]

I would order the bracket , only a couple of quid and well worth it !

Its no use forking out how ever much you paid for your light, mine was £53 from DX and then not bothering to spend a few quid that will make your light more secure.

I have seen the hope vision1 and TBH for the price i was not impressed , sure its neat and bright but the MS can be got cheaper and are at least twice as bright, if not more.
For serious unlit commuting i would recommend the MS every time.

 

[Norry1]

I have the 808 and its a great light. It does rotate backwards slowly though. Can someone post a link to the CRC mount please.

PS - I got an email from the Magicshine people with year end discounts. I'll dig it out if anyone is interested.

Martin

 

[cyberknight]

links.

here

Thats the one i used but there is another one that look like it might do the job for a £1 cheaper ..

cheaper 1

My mount looks like ..

Thread with a discussion about it...
http://www.cyclechat...ic-shine-light/