If you night ride on trails a bunch, you’ve probably heard a lot of opinions on what makes the best light set up. It would seem that most riders agree that a light on the bars plus a light on your head makes the most sens since the light on your head allows you to see where you’re looking, not where the bike is pointed while the light on the bike keeps the light lower, and illuminates further down the trail.
But what if there was a light that combined the best of both worlds? That light may look like the new Mystic Devices Hydra3.
Instead of a single LED that fixed straight ahead, the Hydra3 features three separate LEDs with “terrain-adaptive technology.” That means that when you turn, the light senses that motion and lights up one of the outer LEDs in the direction that you’re turning. Turn right, and the right LED lights up the inside of the turn. Turn left, and it’s the left LED. When riding straight ahead, only the center LED is lit – unless you’re on Descend & Climb mode (this mode turns on all three for a wider beam). This is all done without any moving parts or buttons and happens almost instantaneously.
Compared to a standard center mounted light, the Hydra3 seems to illuminate much more of the turn.
All three LEDs are packed in the same housing with an IP64 water resistant housing, and internal battery. When run on the internal battery alone, you can expect up to 2hrs of run time on high. However, you can plug in any external battery pack through the USB-C charging port to run indefinitely. On full power the light is said to generate 900 lumens with neutral color LEDs.
The included mount will work on both 31.8 and 35mm bars, and positions the light over the center of the stem for an ideal position that places the light above your cables.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/564144577/hydra3-bike-light-the-ultimate-night-riding-experi/description
Obviously shown above as a prototype, the lights are being launched through Kickstarter and will be delivered if successful around February. Currently, you can pick up a light through the campaign for $149, or about 15% less than retail.
