I bought a Polaris L120W front LED light to replace a Cateye HL-EL320
which stopped working because the air was a little humid. The Cateye
cost about 32 Euro to land here, bought on Ebay. The Polaris cost a
third as much, bought by mailorder from Chainreactioncycles in
Belfast.

The Polaris L120W leaves the Cateye HL-EL320 for dead in every
respect, and in many makes it look tacky and cheap.

The Polaris L120W is much smaller than the Cateye, in part because it
operates on three AAA batteries rather than on four AA batteries.
Operating times for the Polaris, claimed because I've not had it long
enough to check, is 50 hours on steady light and 140 hours blnking, in
practice as long as the Cateye's very long run times. The Polaris
handlebar mount make the Cateye one look cheap and nasty. The Polaris
has 12 degrees of sideways adjustment, just right for adjusting to the
angle of the curve on North Road bars.

The light of the Polaris L120W falls on the road as a narrow oval with
some sidespill. I can see it getting you home if all your other lights
fail, but I cannot see it as a main light anywhere except lit city
streets. I bought it as an auxiliary light for its flash, so I don't
care that it is not a self-standing light (to my standards -- others
find it more than adequate under all circumstances).

The Polaris L120W on flash is appallingly sharp at night; I certainly
hope it doesn't fall into the hands of those anti-social cyclists who
"take the lane". It is essential to set it up with care and
consideration for other road users.

After some experimentation I have it pointing about 15 degrees down
from horizontal so that the oval of defined light starts only 3m/10ft
in front of the light. At this angle, it's flash still lights up a
reflective surface 18in off the ground a hundred paces away, so you
may be certain it will warn of hazards, and warn those hazards that
the cyclist in their orbit.

In an empty, dark mall car park I looked at it from the front, as set
up in the previous paragraph. On a front of 60 paces wide at 100 paces
distance there is obviously a flashing light warning of some hazard
but there is no point where it blinds. i walked further but gave up at
160 paces. That light, even shining down, will attract attention at
half a mile if there is a sightline.

The angling will obviously affect daytime performance, but the fact is
that I had the Cateye turned downwards too (to avoid shining in
motorists' eyes in tunnels of trees where I often ride), and know that
motorists still noticed it in good time. I expect that the Polaris,
turned down, will do as well in bright daylight as the Cateye but
don't have enough experience yet to guarantee it.

The Polaris has better sidewards visibility to motorists than the
Cateye. Unfortunately that also means that you can see it flashing,
but I got used to it very shortly.

The Polaris is a watertight design, rated to 50m like a watch. The
Cateye has holes in the casing (either for air circulation or to emit
light as a warning to the owner that it is switched on or perhaps only
carelessly).

The Polaris comes with a mounting bracket and acceessories that make
it versatile enough to fit any handlebar or frame or even fork in any
position. There is also a lanyard for using it as a running lamp. The
mounting bracket design and the lamp's lanyard attachment can be used
to secure a tiewrap around mounting and light to discourage impulse
thefts. The light is small and unobtrusive but I usually leave my
lights flashing when I go into the shops or the library.

There is a matching rear light L120R, which I don't have.

I cannot yet report on battery usage or the longevity of the Polaris
L120W, but from comparing this sturdy, well-designed light with the
flimsy, carelessly designed Cateye HL-EL320, I would certainly expect
the Polaris to serve a lot longer than the Cateye.

For a better light at a third the price (about half the price if you
pay full recommended prices), I see no reason not to prefer the
Polaris L120W over the Cateye HL-EL320. In fact, if my Cateye TL-
LD1100 tail light breaks again, I shall instantly buy the matching
Polaris tail light, the L120R, and hope it is as good as its front
sibling.

Andre Jute
Visit Andre's books at
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/THE%20WRITER'S%20HOUSE.html
Visit Jute on Bicycles at
http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/...20CYCLING.html