December 24th, 2007 by 
Francois
Mtbr Lights Shootout Main Page | Mtbr Lights Reviews | Mtbr Lights Forum
Light and Motion Stella 180L $300.00
Light and Motion Stella 180N $200.00
| Light | Price | Claimed Lumens | Runtime | Battery Type | Light head weight | Battery Weight | Installed Weight | Lumens per gram | Lumens per dollar |
| Light and Motion Vega | $175 | 75 | 2hrs | NiMh | 221g | n/a | 241g | 0.31 | 0.43 |
| Light and Motion Stella 180L | $300 | 180 | 5hrs | Lithium Ion | 92g | 193g | 305g | 0.59 | 0.60 |
Light Meter charts and comparison table available here.
Description:
Light Head Close ups:
Mounting options:
This Stella can be mounted on the handlebar or the helmet. This light can be aimed left to right easily.
Light Meter Measurements:
The Stella measured 12 lux in our ambient light meter test. This compares to 21 lux for the Cateye Tripleshot and 12 lux for the Niterider Trinewt.x2.
Strengths:
- Very Light
- Run time at full power is an impressive 5 hours
- Wide halo on the beam pattern helps peripheral visibility
- Very light head unit makes this ideal for helmet mounting
Weaknesses:
- Beam pattern has a pronounced hotspot
- Installing the helmet mount is pretty difficult compared to all the other lights
Bottom Line:
This is almost the perfect helmet light. It lasts forever and is pretty bright. The only knock on it is the beam pattern has a pronounced hotspot. Also, it’s unfortunate that Light and Motion doesn’t have an LED bar light that would match up with this light. But give it a nice wide bar mount light and the Stella as a helmet light will complement it very well.
Beam Pattern Photos:
Stella, Stella
Beam Pattern rollover and side by side comparison page available here.
Value Rating:
4 out of 5 Stars
Overall Rating:
4.5 out of 5 Stars
Read or write reviews:
(Stella L) http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Lights/product_130037.shtml
(Stella N) http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Lights/product_130038.shtml
Light and Motion Vega $175.00
Description:
Light Head Close ups:
Strengths:
- First of the self-contained light systems
- Light is handy around the house and serves as an awesome flashlight
- Good for commuting with flash mode
Weaknesses:
- Not bright for trail riding
- Beam is too narrow for a bar mount
Bottom Line:
The self-contained pioneer is showing its age. It’s still good as a commuter light and it doubles as a very bright utility flashlight.
Beam Pattern Photos:
Vega, Vega
Beam Pattern rollover and side by side comparison page available here.
Value Rating:
3 out of 5 Stars
Overall Rating:
3 out of 5 Stars
Read or write reviews:
http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Lights/product_124612.shtml
Mtbr Lights Shootout Main Page | Mtbr Lights Reviews | Mtbr Lights Forum
January 11th, 2008 at 7:56 am
GF using Stella with a Solo Logic flood on bar. She has an extra battery for the Solo Logic (from the Solo spot Stella replaced on helmet), so has approx 4 hours runtime total, both systems. I’ve used this system instead of my L&M HID helment only and find it to have no discernable loss in brightness and gave the benefits of a helmet/bar combo. Very affordable way to upgrade existing halogen system.