Nite Ize NOT Required (But can be cool!)
1/9/2020
Nooo! Motosquirrel!
NOT a Helmet Light!
(Now they will make them Mandatory)
…..NO…..THEY….WON’T!
We have, on many occasions, expressed our full and unbridled enthusiasm for all things creative, self-made, DIY, customized and altered products or motorcycles in the name of beauty, function, value and just dam fun!
We believe that humans were meant to create, innovate and celebrate. It doesn’t always mean hard work (But often it does!), but it does require a passion and keen eye from the start!
With that said, just because certain innovations or trends are appreciated by some riders does not mean it should be adopted or MANDATED by higher authority in our book. In other words, if one rider enjoys and feels safer riding with a huge, high viz green “Air-Bag” vest, doesn’t mean that it should be pushed on, required or especially suggested by NON-Riders!
Whew! With that said we would like to forward an idea that we have had and incorporate in our everyday riding. This is definitely not perfect by any means, but we hope that it will inspire you to come up with some different ideas etc.
While we were riding within the city, we felt a “Bump” by the car behind us! On their Dumb-Phone? Probably. But does it really matter? If it came down to an accident situation they would just put it down and claim we stalled..etc.
It did put the thought into our head as to whether these same dumb Cagers would be made, somehow, more aware of our presence, consciously or unconsciously if we had a rear red light for them to “Sense” that was higher?. Hmmmm……located at about the helmet area?
After searching about online and off, we settled on a product we had found hanging on a turnstile type kiosk at a retail location. It was amongst many of it’s brother and sister products under the license name of Nite Ize Helmet Marker Plus. Having NOT been impressed with many of this companies products, including a certain key-chain that did anything but keep our keys safe, together AND we also lost our keys. Your Motosquirrel was not too excited to try a certain red light product that seemed to be made of fabric and was/is operated by a wafer watch type battery (Hate em’).
The ultimate intended function of this unit is not exactly known or advertised. It hints at being a flashing or steady light for bikers, hikers, scooterers?- Not sure.
What is evident is that there is a more flexible red nylon type visible side that lights up and a female soft velcro panel on it’s back. It measures just about four inches. After attaching a more hard-core velcro of our own to our beloved and sexy helmet and discarding the included stuff it came with, the unit stayed secure and has held on nicely (YMMV). (This unit is NOT entirely waterproof)
What it does and what it does better! This is a very thin light that has to be given credit for it’s flexibility, ease of putting on a semi-spherical object (Our helmet), and it’s clean look- if you can stand the stupid little logo etc.
What it does better! It shines pretty bright for a light without depth or an incorporated reflector inside. It provides 3 modes: flashing, steady and off.
In order to turn the unit on one must give a gentle push to a (PCB) integral button which flexes in but does not give your gloved hand ANY feed back that it is on, off or flashing! Yep- you have to look!
We would not suggest using this device in any jurisdiction, state or county that prohibits the use of any non-motorcycle vehicle code lighting etc. The usage of this product is entirely your decision.
How and why we use it:
We ride way past dark along a lake road that does not have any street lights for miles. This units light power does not exceed the rear brakes steady or braking light. Having someone “Cage” along behind us confirmed that there wasn’t any confusion between the normal Moto brake lights and the helmet unit. The extra light did what was intended. It lit the rider at a higher up level which was and is helpful especially when approaching and then descending the short off-camber hills in this area in the dark. There isn’t that chance of disappearing out of sight of a car turning onto these hills or for a car following too close. Excellent.
Do we use it always? No- absolutely not!
First off, attaching anything to a helmet risks it’s intended safety and integrity. Secondly, we would NOT recommend this unit in massive stop and go traffic (Cagers may perceive you as stopping when you are not).
We do use this when we know that we are on a mostly deserted road, especially in real darkness. Also we found this helpful in the fog, which we get here in Seattle often!
Again, consult a licensed professional before you try anything! Even before you use the bathroom!
Cheers! MOTO- Out-Oh!
Side Note: We are able to turn the unit on and off while wearing the helmet by reaching back. But, because of the weird non positive feedback of the unit (No clicky feel on or off)- there is always the need to check the reflection in our mirror or somehow confirming that it is on and NOT blinking. If they just would have made it CLICKY! – Oh well next time!
The only available product remaining is…..yep…here!:
NITE IZE HELMET MARKER VIA AMAZON (6.99) at the time of writing
WARNING!! Live LINK above!!