There's been a current theme hitting me hard the past few weeks - vision. Last year at OP I basically went blind for 8 hours. There is a certain entertainment value in riding off course and not even knowing it, you find yourself in some interesting places. All the same I'd prefer to keep the sight this year.
Last week I had the first eye exam ever. They told me at DMV some years ago I had 20/13 vision so heck, I'd never need an exam, right? Well...things do change. 20/25 and a slight astigmatism. Damn. He even talked about glasses. Some sweet prescription Oakley M-Frame lenses are 300+, ouch. 20/25 isn't that bad I'm thinking. Besides, I am now a light whore:
I've been researching, designing, and testing new and better lights every chance I get. Nothing beats LED technology now, the Crees have raised the bar. At least as efficient as HID, better light color, more focusing options, infinite dimmability, instant on/off, 50,000 hour lifetime, the list goes on and on. Above is a collection of my designs over the past year. There's an 800 lumen Cree Quad, two Cree triples, a Cree double, and a K2 triple that I used at Moab.
Of the different lights, the Cree triple is likely the most versatile. Lightweight enough for your noggin all night, bright enough to see planets, dimmable enough to burn for days on lower power. Combine all the above with the lightest, highest capacity batteries available today and this is state of the art.
It's gonna be an interesting night at OP. Now, if I could just have that 20/13 back?