Helmet Mounted LED Light? - Having It My Way!

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Few months ago I heard about DealExtreme. The word went that they make free shipment, never mind the order amount, and that they have a money back guarantee. So I took my chances and searched for the flashlight of my dreams: small, lightweight and powerful (did I already mention this?). The Idea was to somehow mount this LED flashlight on my helmet to give me just that extra light power I needed. In the beginning I was considering the HA-III Cree SSC P7-C with a head mount. I had two reasons for that, the first that using a headlamp with straps around my head happen to give me headache and the second thing was the price. I mean sure – the HA-II Cree SSC P7-C has the light power to illuminate a medium size football stadium single handed (with its 900-Lumen maximum brightness) but the price is also a factor here so I went on looking. And what do you know, after a rather short time I got lucky and found the Uniquefire S10 Cree flashlight . It only needs one AA battery, which makes it very light, it is powerful (220-Lumen) and very small (around 10cm/4inch). Last but not least it is also watertight (“…I’m singing in the rain…”).
 

I ordered the flashlight as it made a good impression on me and I found I didn’t even have to register to DealExtreme to order it – a valid credit card was enough!

So after I finally received my CREE it was time to attach it to my helmet. Again I searched the Internet for some helmet mounts for flashlights but couldn’t find anything I liked. Some were too expensive, some looked crude or too big and in some I was not sure the might fit my helmet. So I thought I might as well improvise something on my own. Nothing better than a bit of handwork to sharpen the skills. I use the Uvex Boss Evo mountain bike helmet, which is the older brother of the Uvex xenova. I find it superb as it fits perfectly, has a comfortable lock for the chin strap and a rotating knob to tighten the helmet around your head. I bought a strap of sewing elastic band, 6cm/2.36inch and cut it into a smaller piece 33c/13inch in length then wrapped it around the flashlight and sewed Velcro to it. This will help grab the flashlight as tight as possible so it will not fall off the helmet while I was riding – no matter how wild that ride might be. On the other hand it allows you to quick-release the flashlight in case you are riding during the day time.

As a movie is worth 1000 pictures I thought it will be appreciated if I made a film demonstrating the usage of the LED helmet flashlight mount. Enjoy!

 

So I guess that if you read on and got until here you probably want to know how I did this? Just read further and look as the pictures I added.

First I collected all the stuff I needed for my helmet mounted LED torch. In total it cost me around $7 (not including the helmet!) and I had enough material leftovers to make another one. After that I placed the flashlight wrapped in the elastic band inside the main venting opening of the helmet and marked with a pen the place I wanted to position the Velcro that held the flashlight in place.

Here I marked the position of the flashlight on the elastic band so I know where to sew the Velcro.

Markings on the elastic strap and the Velcro strips I used.

Fixing the Velcro to the edge of the elastic strap with a sewing pin so it will not move while I sew it to the band. Next to it you can also see the the polyester thread I used - it is very strong and made in Germany (by a company called www.gütermann.com).

Checked that the sewed Velcro fits to the length of the elastic strap and fixed the Velcro on top of the place where the flashlight will be held.

The two sewed Velcros. The one at the edge of the elastic strap and the other on top of where the flashlight will be held.

After that I just checked that the length of the elastic band and the positioning of the Velcro were correct. Pay attention that at this point only one arm of the elastic band is holding the helmet.

I fixed with a sewing pin the loop that grabs the flashlight in place. That way it is much easier to sew the loop without anything moving

After sewing the loop out of the elastic band I just pushed the flashlight through it. I had to make sure I sewed the loop tightly enough so it will grab the flashlight. I wouldn't want the flash light to slip away while I am riding roughly.

Now I had to sew two more Velcro pieces to the elastic band. The reason for that was attaching the other arm of the attaching elastic band to the other side of the flashlight. The best was to explain this is by presenting a series of pictures that show how the strap is meant to be attached to the helmet, so take a close look.
Demonstrates how the LED flashlight should be attached to the helmet. There is another piece of Velcro attached to the elastic strip just under the piece of Velcro seen on the lower side of the image.

Now the piece of Velcro attached to the elastic strip on the bottom of the elastic strip can be seen (mentioned in "1.").

Now the other "arm" of the attaching elastic strip is attached to the Velcro above the flashlight. This is the last stage. Take a look at "Step 4" for a better perspective of the image.

Here you can see how both arms of the elastic band are "hugging" the LED flashlight. Those two loops with actually hold the helmet structure so the flashlight stays tightly attached to the helmet.

So how does this looks like attached to my helmet you ask? The final series of pictures will demonstrate that. Put both strap arms through the main venting opening.

Put both strap arms through the main venting opening. Viewed from within the helmet.

Wrap one arm of the elastic strap around one of the helmet's beam and push it through the side venting opening. Viewed from within the helmet.

The strap is now run in the helmet's side ventilation opening.

The strap is now attached to the Velcro mounted on the flashlight strap's loop. Take notice that another piece of Velcro is attached to the strap's arm from its other side. This can be seen in this image.

The other strap's arm is run in the venting opening. Can be seen with its Velcro surface.

The second arm is now attached to the Velcro on the flashlight's loop. I am done here, now only need to wait for darkness to fall!

The helmet with the UniqueFire S10 CREE attached to it.

Just to complete the picture I have here the measurements of the elastic strap.