Discussion: Water resistant gear

After a rather wet Untamed New England Expedition race, my bike computer is dead and I’m also needing to purchase a new bike light. Any recommendations on water resistant computers and lights? Particularly a light that uses 18650s.

The Adventure Dogs! used single-cell 18650 lights for Untamed. We all used Skilhunt HO3 (floody, neutral white) on the bars. I used an Imalent HR20 on the helmet, and others used Skilhunt HO3R (both are spots, neutral white). The Skilhunts have been flawless. the Imalent has a very useful infinite brightness knob, which got flaky for me in the wet but recovered after being in the sun for a bit. I also had a Wowtac A2S (spot, neutral white) which I would have used on the helmet if the Imalent failed completely. If I was buying again for the team, I'd standardize on Skilhunt H03 for the handlebars and H03R lights for helmet/headlamp use.


I went with a no-frills, wired Planet Bike Protégé 5.0 computer ($20 ebay) for reliability and having speed, distance, and clock all on one screen. One downside: the mount that it comes with was designed for thicker bars, and I had to shim it a lot to mount out by the grips so I could see it around the map board.

We used Lupines (Lupine Betty) at the ARWC in Tasmania where it seemed like most of our rides were at night and in the rain. Those lights took a good soaking and had no issues then, and are still working perfectly today. They are nicely built, bright, but expensive.

Exposure Lights get my vote.

Our lupine bike lights crapped out at Untamed. Tried new batteries, new configurations, nothing worked -- a few folks said that they had the same issues, due to moisture. I ended up using my headlamp on the bike.

They're working now, but I was pretty disappointed in how they performed.

I think the design of my new fenix was part of way it busted off in a fall, which for me in those sorts of conditions will happen. I decided to get the magic shone monteer which has a more compact design and uses 18650s. I also got the fish hook and what Dan Foster suggested with another mount for a back up light. Will test these out in the next bit. Will never go without a backup option available. That was awful and my teammate so stepped up to the plate on that.

@abiperk: wow, good to know re: the Lupines.

My Ay-Ups were flawless. Yes, they’re an investment to start out but I’ve now had them for 7 yrs and all they do is work. Super lightweight and long burn times. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself...

i have a set of Ay-Ups that I would sell to someone if they want! I made the investment but actually like the Light-n-Motion beam pattern/button location better. the ay-ups are still a great light, though, and one of the lightest set-ups you'll find. i'll make a separate post w the sell info.