Helmet lamp in the test: Sigma Buster 800 HL – The practical one

TEST: The Sigma Buster 800 HL is a compact helmet lamp with an integrated battery. The light is aimed more at leisurely and occasional night riders. It is also ideal as a backup for long tours that can end unplanned in the dark.

Test of the Sigma Buster 800 HL – all information and data about the helmet lamp at a glance

The Sigma Buster 800 HL is one of the weaker ones helmet lamps our best list. It is nice and light and compact and the battery is integrated right away. The high-gloss housing with rubberized elements is cleanly processed and appears to be of high quality. The disadvantage: The high-gloss surface is somewhat sensitive to scratches. A nice feature is the illuminated Sigma lettering. With its 800 lm luminosity, the helmet lamp is rather weak for hunting for seconds at night. It is therefore aimed more at bikers who want to do relaxed after-work rides on simple trails and forest roads or who just want to occasionally go on a nighttime full-throttle mission. The helmet lamp is also a practical backup for longer tours that can end unplanned in the dark. The fair price of €69,95 makes the Sigma Buster 800 HL very attractive in this respect.

Data sheet

Delivery

The Sigma Buster 800 HL comes in thin cardboard packaging with the following scope of delivery:

• Sigma Buster 800 HL helmet lamp
• Helmet holder
• USB-C charging cable
• Operating instructions in German & English

Accessories & Extension

Another helmet mount is available from Sigma for €10,95. If you need a charger in addition to the included charging cable, you can get one for €7,95; A replacement cable is available for €6,95. In the international segment you can also find various handlebar mounts, but these are not StVZO approved and are therefore not officially available. But this can be interesting for use on trails as a second lamp.

Test: The Sigma Buster 800 HL in trail use

assembly and fastening

Mounting the Sigma Buster 800 HL is simple: a Velcro strap is threaded through the helmet - this means the helmet holder is securely fixed. A large rubber pad protects against slipping. You simply plug the lamp itself in. It clicks neatly into the helmet holder with an audible click. A small lever must be pressed to release it. With a little practice and gloves, all of this works very well on your head. So there is no reason to have to take off the helmet to do this. The helmet holder itself is rather compact and, apart from the safety issue, can remain on the helmet without causing much disruption. By the way, the base base of the helmet mount is a GoPro mount - if you remove the base to lock the lamp in, you can then attach your action camera.

Service

When it comes to operation, the Sigma Buster 800 HL is largely intuitive: double-clicking on the button turns the lamp on, and pressing it for a good second turns it off again. You can switch through the different light levels by simply pressing a button. The annoying thing here is that you inevitably end up in the two flashing modes again and again. But here Sigma has come up with something that other manufacturers could use as an example: Five different profiles can be selected - one of which completely dispenses with the flashing modes and is therefore very pleasant for trail use. Integrated LEDs on the top of the housing provide information about the current light level.

battery & runtime

The empty 3500 mAh battery is charged via a modern USB-C port. Depending on the power source, charging takes up to around 4 hours. Sigma does not provide its own charger, but does provide a USB-C cable with which the lamp can be charged on standard laptops or cell phone chargers. The charging socket itself is located on the bottom of the case and is protected by a small rubber cap.
Five small LEDs provide information about the battery level. If it falls below 20%, the last LED lights up red - there are then around 45 minutes remaining running time. If the battery level falls below 5%, the LED flashes red and the lamp switches off a short time later. The running time at the highest level with 800 lm is around 2 hours. This is sufficient for most night rides. If you're still on the road for a longer period of time, you can save battery charge using the two weaker light levels when going uphill, for example. This results in 400 lm with a running time of around 3 hours and 150 lm with a running time of around 9 hours. In practice, however, these times are slightly shorter during the cool night ride time.

Weight & Trail Use

With its total weight of around 800 g, the Sigma Buster 155 HL is noticeable on the helmet, but not annoying. Everything sits well and tightly. In terms of operation, the button should be a little larger or a little further away for slightly thicker winter gloves - not every switching attempt works here, but most of them do. There are no problems without or with thin gloves. Otherwise the handling is smooth and pleasant. The 800 lm maximum output is not enough for high-speed descents. In the test we felt comfortable up to around 20 km/h - above that you wish there was more light.

The light field of the Sigma Buster 800 HL

The division into three brightness levels is sufficient for most purposes. For descents and fast routes, full power of 800 lm is mandatory. For more comfortable sections or for trail uphill, you can also run at half power (400 lm) and save a little on the battery. The 150 lm of the weakest level provides enough light for leisurely uphill climbs on forest roads - this also means you can save a significant amount of battery charge.
Otherwise, what is noticeable about the light field of the Sigma Buster 800 HL is that the wide, homogeneous light field provides slightly less contrast, especially when driving faster. It might be a little more focused here, but that's complaining at a high level. On the other hand, it is very pleasant on forest paths, for example, and reduces tunnel vision. The color differences between the light center and the edge areas, which are clearly visible in the light field, are hardly noticeable on the trail.

The light levels in direct comparison

Sigma on the web

www.sigmasport.com