Review

First Look: First Test of the New Hope Vision R4+ Helmet Light

22.11.2015
by

The best thing about winter is that it’s night riding season again; with only blackness beyond the orb of your headlight even familiar trails turn into a mysterious world as you plummet into the vortex. During the ass end of the year, a decent light becomes your best friend, and we have always been a big fan of Hope Technology’s reliable headlamps. Because the Hope Vision R4+ came a little too late for our recent group test of three top helmet lights, we decided to test it separately.

The new Hope Vision R4+ builds on the success of the original R4 with some added horse power
The new Hope Vision R4+ builds on the success of the original R4 with some added horse power.

First impressions of the Hope R4+ Light

It was with great excitement that we unboxed the new € 325 Hope Vision R4+. The existing Hope R4 was a popular light, but the new R4+ takes it to the next level using Cree XM-L2 LED’s to boost power from 1,400 (measured 1,000) to 2,000 (measured 1,500) lumens. That makes it the second most powerful in their range, topped only by the football ground floodlight rivalling R8. The R4+ retains the same superb aluminium construction and weather sealing, and weighs in at an impressive 81 g for the light head and 328 g for the standard 4 cell ES Battery (a lighter weight 2 cell battery is available, batteries can also be linked for huge burn times).

The aluminium construction is typical Hope - high quality
The aluminium construction is typical Hope – high quality.

The Vision R4+ comes with both helmet mount and bar mount options and features a quick connect bayonet fixing. Simply press the lamp into the fixing and twist, just like fitting a light bulb, and the lamp is held firmly in place. The bar mount fits both 24.5 mm and 31.8 mm bars, and HOPE sell a 35mm clamp for an additional fee. The lamp also comes with a head strap which would come in useful if you are a runner or are into multisports.

The light features a quick bayonet fitting, so you can easily mount and dismount the light
The light features a quick bayonet fitting, so you can easily mount and dismount the light.
The battery features a useful charge indicator, fully charged it will run for 2.25 hours on full power
The ES Li-Ion battery features a useful charge indicator, fully charged it will run for 2.25 hours on full power.

Power modes of the Hope Vision R4+

The R4+ offers two lighting modes, RACE and TRAIL, which are selected by a long press on the backlit mode button. Each of the two modes has a further three levels of light on offer, 550 > 1,000 > 1,500 lumens in RACE and 600 > 300 > Flash in TRAIL mode. Each of the light levels is displayed with a different colour backlight on the mode button making selection easy. Run time at full power is claimed to be 2.25 hours with the standard battery. The light will automatically switch down to the medium setting when the battery is getting low. Before the battery runs out the light will switch into low power mode and flash every 30 seconds. We like that the battery features a ‘Fuel Gauge’ allowing you to instantly see how much power lies inside, and it takes 6 hours to charge fully.

The back lit power button allows you to choose one of two power sequences, each with three light levels
The back lit mode button allows you to choose one of two power sequences, each with three light levels.
The Hope R4+ features 4x Cree XM-L2 LED's upping output to 2000 lumens
The Hope R4+ features 4x Cree XM-L2 LED’s upping output to 2,000 (measured 1,500) lumens.
The Hope Vision R4+ comes with a bar mount adaptor for 25.4mm and 31.8mm bars, but 35mm users will be out of luck
The Hope Vision R4+ comes with a bar mount adaptor for 25.4 mm and 31.8 mm bars, but 35 mm users will need to order a larger clamp (available seperately).

Our impressions of the Hope Vision R4+

At € 325 the R4+ is not cheap but straight out of the box we were impressed with the compact dimensions and light weight of the light head. The build and ergonomics are exceptionally good and we found that once clipped in the light feels secure with no wobble. We have 35 mm bars so would need to order the additional clamp to use the bar mount, but the helmet mount kit took 30 seconds to fit and feels both secure and movement free. We look forward to putting the Hope Vision R4+ through some tough trail kilometers and will bring you a full review when it has been properly abused.

For more information check out the Hope Website

Words and photos: Trev Worsey

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