KIMURA front light (LH15A) review

[Mackenzy Albright]

Hi Everyone - Long time no post. I've been on a bit of a hiatus as I haven't been riding much and working on many projects. One issue I have is moving into a small apartment with little storage and a fiesty strada that is fairly anti bikes. It makes using my Clementine for daily use a bit difficult. 

My solution to  this? A NEW BIKE! To be precise - Rivendell  + Blue lug inspired bike friday build that I can easily sneak in and out and ride briskly to work. The clementine is under renovations for a weekend cruiser and dog hauler. Probably more to come later on that project. 

In my final order to finish up my BF (melvin, ss kit, ez pedals) I came across the Kimura headlights. Having a deep love randonneurs, pass hunters, and older touring bikes that used mounted flashlights I knew I needed to spend too much money on an artisan made flashlight from Japan. 

Knowing the lot of you has an appreciation for these little details in builds I figured this was worth a mention. 

The constructions is absolutely perfect. It is pretty light and very sturdy. there are 3 led's which are powered by a CR123, which I am going to look into rechargables for it in the future. The light itself is sealed with O-rings so quite water resistant. The switch is a little screw knob in the rear. When you screw it in - it engages contact and turns the light on. When you screw it out - it turns off! Simple as that. Even when you screw it all the way out, the screw tightens at a stop point so there is no risk of losing the screw. It stays in position very well. 

This light wouldn't replace a dynamo for longer tours with lots of low light conditions - but on my bike friday, its a perfect small light for brief rides in dark or low light conditions. The light is one of the best looking lights I have seen in some time - it goes great with the Koma rear tail light with a similar simplicity. 

I have mounted it a bit "over complicated" because I wanted to use a shifter bolt so it was easy to remove as I work on a campus and there are often casual thefts. It's a bit too pricy to leave locked outside on a lunch break. 

If you're looking for a handsome auxilary light to your dynamo or a simple, reliable light. Give this light a quick look!