It's Pretty Hard to See in the Dark.

Welcome to our "From Problem to Product" blog, where we tell the stories behind the inspiration for some of our most popular product designs. We share how a problem we faced out there riding inspired the Mountain Lab product that provides a solution.

Bright Flashlight for Riding at Night

The Problem: It's Pretty Hard To See in the Dark

You know you've had an epic ride when it's dark by the time you get back to the trailhead.

Some of our most memorable snowmobile rides have been legendary stuckfests in the bottomless snowpack of early season when the days are short but the stoke is high. If you're lucky, finishing in the dark is a sign of an incredible day you didn't want to end early.

No matter the season, if you're a powersports enthusiast, chances are good you'll be riding in the dark at some point.

Operating a sled or dirt bike at night adds another level of complexity to riding. Maybe to a lesser degree for trail riding, but certainly for off-road stuff—where you're already battling the terrain, it gets even more challenging when you can't see what's ahead!

For snowmobiling this is especially the case when the snow is deep and it is covering up the sled headlight on every turn, dip and bounce.

The good news: Mountain Lab already found the solution to this problem with the super bright, helmet/handlebar mounted X2000 flashlight kit. This flashlight kit has been wildly popular with mountain and trail riders alike for years, and for good reasons.

• Super bright, with long reach!
• Shines light where you want to go, not where the vehicle is pointed (like your headlight)
• Fully dirt/snow/mud/dust/waterproof IPX6
• Does not require an external battery pack
• Wired handlebar remote control
• Power bank capability
• Lockout mode

However! As always at Mountain Lab we are searching for ways to improve our products, and we knew there was room for improvement of the features of the X2000.

Problem #1: Wired handlebar remote

A key feature of the X2000 flashlight kit is its wired handlebar remote, which allows the user to operate the flashlight from a remote button positioned near the handlebar grip. In this way, the user can adjust/power on/off the flashlight without removing their hands from the handlebars when riding. Great!

However, there is a limitation to this functionality because the X2000 flashlight handlebar remote button is wired by way of a USB-C cable. The drawbacks to this are:

1. The cable insertion port on the flashlight (although weather protected by a gasket) is an exposure risk
2. The cable needs to be routed and secured to the handlebar, which is not super clean and can be cumbersome to install and remove
3. But this is the biggest problem: Because the handlebar remote is wired, it makes it impractical to use the handlebar remote when the headlamp is mounted on the user's helmet (which is really the best place for it and the way most riders prefer to use it). That makes the handlebar remote really only usable when the flashlight is mounted on the handlebars

Helmet mounting is the preferred position for most riders—and now the wireless remote works perfectly from there too

Problem #2: Switching between high and low settings

When riding a powersports vehicle we're usually not in very busy locations. It's not like driving a car in and around other traffic.

However, there CAN be other users around, especially those in your riding group. And nothing will piss them off quicker than being blinded by your high-powered flashlight on the Turbo setting.

So we need a quick and easy way to reduce the brightness around other riders or people.

To do this on the X2000, the solution was to cycle through the brightness settings from high to low. It works, but this way is not ideal. To get from a high to a low setting around people you have to press the button multiple times to cycle through each of the five different intensity settings. If you miss the setting you want (it can sometimes be hard to tell which one you are in) you'll have to run through all the settings again to find the one you want.

The Product: W2000

Introducing the W2000 flashlight kit, which is in many ways a very similar product to X2000. The "W" stands for "Wireless." See where we're going here?

The W2000 kit—cleaner, wireless, and ready to go wherever you go

Solution #1: Wireless Handlebar Remote

By implementing a wireless handlebar remote that pairs with the flashlight, we eliminate the need for routing any cable.

This eliminates the three problems of the wired handlebar remote. The biggest success here is that the user can now control the flashlight from the handlebar remote while it is mounted on the helmet—the best mounting position for superior visibility when riding.

Solution #2: High and Low Beams

Ideally, adjusting the light settings should operate more like the high and low beam switch in an automobile. This is how the W2000 works.

Simply start in Low or Medium setting, whichever allows good enough visibility around people without disturbing their vision. These settings use the low beam lens, which is angled down to reduce 'blinding.'

When the way is clear, double press the handlebar remote button (or the flashlight button) to enter Turbo setting, which is maximum brightness and which uses both the low beam and high beam lenses for mega vision.

To revert to the previously used low beam setting when there are people around, press the button once.

So it works like this: See someone coming up? Press the button once for low beam. Way is clear? Double press the button for high beam. Easy!

The dual-beam lens system delivers superior light pattern and coverage in both low and turbo settings

Otherwise, the W2000 offers the same great features as the X2000. It is close to 20% smaller and around the same weight.

The maximum output of the W2000 is 1800 lumens. Specs-wise, yes, this is a slight reduction from the 2000 lumens output of the X2000. However, because of the superior light pattern of the dual beam lenses and the neutral cast of the light, the difference is negligible in real world use. That's why we decided to stick with the naming convention of W2000—because we didn't want the customer to get hung up on the number in the name and not understand that this is in several ways realistically an improved version of the X2000. An X2000 2.0 so to speak.

The W2000 flashlight kit is truly a case in which we reimagined an already excellent and popular product to make it even better with some significant improvements.

Hopefully the W2000 will light up a memorable adventure for you this year!

– Pat Winslow, Mountain Lab Product Manager