Front light doubling as powerpack

[james01]

Looking for a new rechargeable front light as backup to my dynamo, and thinking of one which doubles as a powerpack for phones etc.
Does anyone have any experience of these lights? There seem to be plenty available on the internet.

[mjr]

No experience (I've had powerpacks that can double as emergency be-seen front lights, but never the other way round) and I would expect that to shorten the lifespan of the light's internal battery by some days. I'd make sure the internal battery can be replaced/recycled easily when that happens.

[mattsccm]

They can work well. I have a Halfords 1600l one and have used it as a power pack on multi day mountain type rides to recharge the Garmin over night and act as a general light as well.

[Valbrona]

Backup to your dynamo!? What, like if it stops working? And how you going to backup your backup to your dynamo light?

[gazza_d]

If you have a dynamo,then why not get a dynamo front light which has usb charging built in?
During the day you can then use that to charge a powerbank, and then phones, computers etc as well as your "backup" light.

I've never had a dynamo or light fail on me since the eighties. Modern hub dynos and LED lights are pretty much bombproof.

[rfryer]

I have the Ravemen PR1600. I've used the charging facility a few times, to keep my Hammerhead Karoo 2 head unit topped up on long rides, or when I've forgotten to charge it. Very happy with the light - good beam, good information about battery life, and happily provides power via USB at the same time as being a light.

[gregoryoftours]

Looking for a new rechargeable front light as backup to my dynamo, and thinking of one which doubles as a powerpack for phones etc.
Does anyone have any experience of these lights? There seem to be plenty available on the internet.

Any light that has enough battery capacity to usefully double up as a powebank will be bigger and heavier than you want for a light.

[rfryer]

Looking for a new rechargeable front light as backup to my dynamo, and thinking of one which doubles as a powerpack for phones etc.
Does anyone have any experience of these lights? There seem to be plenty available on the internet.

Any light that has enough battery capacity to usefully double up as a powebank will be bigger and heavier than you want for a light.

Any light that has enough battery capacity to usefully light my way for a couple of hours will be bigger and heavier than I'd want for a light. In my view, including power-pack functionality on a light which already has enough battery power to be useful is a valuable addition, with few downsides. Admittedly, you might end up having to make a choice about whether to use some of the power for charging, vs using that same power to use the light longer/brighter - but that's a choice that I'd like to have.

[mattsccm]

My Halfords job is significantly more useful than the B&M dynamo light I have fitted. It is my see where I am going in the dark woods on the way to work whereas the B&M is the stay on all the time job which will get me home through the woods but slower. Please don't go on about beam pattern etc. Irrelevant to my comment here
Thus it has a different job. It also is a good power pack, serving to charge a Garmin three times and still showing half charge on the second brightest light setting. Most useful when camping in the hills miles from a power point. No more hefty than any other light and smaller than many an Exposure.