Outbound Lighting’s wireless helmet light now sports a new beam pattern and updated, American-made materials.
If you’re a fan of night riding, you probably enjoy nerding out over bike lights. So allow us to present Outbound Lighting’s refreshed Hangover bike helmet light. The company updated the 3.5-ounce wireless bike light with Kentucky-sourced, Michigan-molded thermally conductive polymer to shave some grams and help manage heat.
According to Outbound Lighting, the polymer doesn’t require any surface coatings and produces a sleeker finish than the previous material.
The company also tweaked the Hangover’s beam pattern to better fill the user’s entire field of vision. Outbound Lighting uses software called Lucidshape to simulate beam patterns — it’s the same program major automakers use when dialing in headlights.
Hangover Helmet Light Specs & Details
The Hangover provides 90 minutes of strong output, utilizes waterproof USB-C quick-charge hardware, and interfaces with standard action camera mounts. It has one large button to facilitate easy pressing while wearing gloves, and it has four modes: high, medium, low, and “adaptive.”
The adaptive mode is the brand’s compromise between brightness and battery management. When on, the Hangover throttles perceived brightness from high to low over a 30 to 45-minute period as your eyes adjust to the dark. The Hangover also includes a strobe mode that is accessible from the power-off state.
The updated Hangover costs $125 and ships with a mount, a USB-C to USB-A charging cable, and an instruction manual.
Two-Part Design
Outbound Lighting developed the Hangover to work in conjunction with its wireless handlebar light, the Trail Evo, which is available as a package deal.
“The Evo Downhill Package provides the coverage you need to ride the trail at night as fast as you would during the day. We designed the Hangover and the Trail Evo to work together seamlessly to prevent any ‘tunnel vision’ or blindspots,” said Tom Place, co-founder of Outbound Lighting.
Essentially, the Hangover and Trail Evo offer two different beam patterns to provide the max amount of light coverage possible.
What About the Lumens?
At this point, you may be asking, “that’s great, but what about lumens?”
Good question. Outbound Lighting says its focus is on beam pattern, usability, and consistent output. It freely admits it can’t compete on a pure spec comparison basis when it comes to lumens and runtime.
According to Outbound, this is because other players in the lighting industry rely on consumer misunderstanding of the FL1 rating used to measure output and runtimes.
“A light can have a ‘FL1 certified’ lumen value of 2500 lumens, and a runtime of 40 minutes. Which one would assume is 40 minutes of 2500 lumen output, but in reality, the high 2500 lumen output is available for 4-5 minutes to meet the FL1 standard [in some cases],” wrote the brand.
So, if lumens aren’t a huge worry and you appreciate a good, consistent beam, give this light a try. The updated Hangover helmet light is available online now.
