Bicycling Jan/Feb 1998

Apex 730D 

Nickel-Cadmium (NiCad) batteries have long been the choice for most rechargeable lights, thanks to their durability, ease of charging and the fact that they can rebound after being fully discharged. Now a new battery type enters the scene: "nickel-metal hydride." NiMH batteries have all the benefits of NiCads, but weigh 30% less. Apex houses it's NiMH cells in a unique, narrow aluminum housing that snaps to a "dock" under your top tube or on a water-bottle mount. The dual-beam model 730D we tested weighed just 870 grams for the whole system (batter weight was 686 grams). The dual-beam light is the only one in this test that allows independent horizontal and vertical adjustment of each light. Good idea. A somewhat awkward button between the two lamps turns on the 10-watt broad beam, while the 15-watt spot can be run by itself via a thumb switch. We got more than 2.5 hours of run time with the 10-watt beam (3 is claimed). The clamp hardware and wiring were good quality and a plug-and-forget charger is included - as it should be on a $299 system. A single-beam unit costs $249. -- John Pratt