Helmet lamp in the test: Cateye AMPP800 – the uncomplicated one

TEST: The Cateye AMPP800 is a compact helmet lamp with an integrated battery. The light is aimed more at leisurely and casual nightriders. It is also ideal as a backup for long tours that can unplanned end in the dark.

Test of the Cateye AMPP800 - all information & data on the helmet lamp at a glance

The AMPP800 is one of the few helmet lamps with internal battery. It is correspondingly compact; the whole system only weighs around 160 g. At 800 lm, the luminosity is significantly lower than that of many helmet lamps with an external battery. However, the field of application of the AMPP800 is not to be found in the professional, daily night ride on the hunt for seconds. It is aimed more at bikers who are occasionally out and about in the dark, or who simply do relaxed after-work laps on easy trails and forest roads. The helmet lamp is also ideal as a backup for longer tours that can unplanned end in the dark. The price of just €64,95 makes the Cateye AMPP800 all the more attractive. For the money, you get a high-quality, cleanly processed aluminum housing with a somewhat filigree-looking plastic helmet mount. The build quality is clean and good.

Data sheet

Delivery

The Cateye AMPP800 comes neatly packaged in a non-environmentally friendly blister plastic and cardboard box with the following:

• AMPP800 helmet lamp
• Helmet holder
• Micro USB charging cable
• Manual

Accessories & Extension

Should the connector of the AMPP800 ever break, Cateye offers a replacement for €1,45. For use on several helmets, additional helmet mounts can be purchased for €9,95 each. If you are already using a GoPro mount, you can get a suitable adapter for €7,45. This makes the system of the helmet lamp quite flexible in use.

Test: The Cateye AMPP800 in trail use

assembly and fastening

The AMPP800 is mounted on the helmet using a plastic bracket. A Velcro strap fixes the bracket, while a rubber pad on the underside protects against slipping. The helmet mount can be installed easily and intuitively, but is not overly bulky so that it can remain on the helmet. The bicycle lamp itself is simply attached. This often works very well with one hand - unless you start at the wrong angle. With a little practice you can attach the light in seconds. Removing the lamp requires some practice and can only be done with both hands, but then smoothly. The situation is similar with gloves: after a little practice, the processes work well.

Service

The operation of the Cateye AMPP800 is very intuitive: If the transparent rubberized push button is pressed for about a second, the helmet lamp switches on at full power. A short press switches through the different brightness levels accordingly. Consequently, the bicycle light is switched off again by pressing it again for about a second. During operation, the push button lights up blue if the battery still has more than 50% capacity. When the power drops to 30-50%, the light turns yellow; below 30% power it turns red accordingly. This system is usually sufficient for a rough overview - but if you want to use the full battery charge, you will want a more detailed display. The push button is easy to feel even when wearing gloves, and operation is hardly restricted.

battery & runtime

The empty battery is charged via an outdated micro USB connection on the underside of the lamp - here we would like a modern USB-C standard. The connector is protected by a small rubber cover - so handling it is a bit fiddly. The AMPP800 comes without a charger - only a charging cable is included. Cateye probably assumes that everyone has the appropriate chargers for smartphones, for example. For ecological reasons, this assumption makes perfect sense. The charging time of the battery depends on the charger used - for common devices it should be between 1,5 and 4,5 hours. If you want to know exactly, you can use one loading time calculator calculate. The burn time is good at 1,5 hours at full power and 4 hours at the lowest power, but not gigantic. However, if you consider how small and compact the helmet lamp is, these values ​​are put into perspective.
Unfortunately, Cateye does not offer a replacement battery for the AMPP800; however, it is powered by a standard 18650 battery. However, this does not have a common plug, so that you probably cannot retrofit a new battery yourself, although this would certainly be quite easy to implement in the design.

Weight & Trail Use

Although the system is noticeable at around 160 g, it never bothered us during our test drives. The uncomplicated handling was particularly positive on these: simply quickly attach the lamp and off you go. The trail descents show that the luminosity of the Cateye AMPP800 is too low for higher speeds. We felt comfortable in the range up to around 20 km/h, but not so much above that. If you want to switch between the different light levels, you always have to click through the two (rather superfluous) flashing modes. Double-clicking always takes you to maximum brightness, but the previous mode is then saved. From our point of view, it would be better if you started from the top again, so to speak.

The light field of the Cateye AMPP800

In principle, the three brightness levels of the Cateye AMPP800 with 100%, 50% and 25% power are sufficient. The lowest level is suitable for cranking up comfortably; If you are going uphill a little faster with the e-bike, or if you are traveling on paths with a rather dark surface, the medium level is good for you. Going downhill is clear: full power! In addition to the three brightness levels, there is also a flashing signal and a daytime HyperConstant mode: This lights up constantly with 200 lm and also flashes. According to Cateye, it should ensure that you are better perceived by other road users. However, the lamp is not allowed in traffic anyway - so in our opinion this mode is superfluous and only disturbs when switching through the individual light levels. On the trail you can see that the wide, homogeneous light field creates less contrast, especially when driving faster. On the other hand, it is very comfortable on forest roads, for example, and reduces tunnel vision.

The light levels in direct comparison

Cateye on the web

www.cateye.com

www.paul-lange.de/de/marken/cateye.html