Cat Eye AMPP 400

 

Got this Cat Eye AMPP 400 from Bike Zone (or whatever the name is of the Salt Lake store) just before New Year when we went to Dibhai's house in Salt Lake. It's an excellent piece of Japanese workmanship. Quite bright at its highest and a little lower mode is also available to run it for longer hours. There are two blinker modes. But I realised it's a distraction to the rider. I tried riding with the full blast on. The button turned red after an hour and a half. I shall see when it goes completely dark. And then I shall use the less powerful mode.

They have given a very small USB cable to charge it with. The full charging time will need to be observed too. Right now I am down with Covid. Once I am up and running shall do all these tests. But now that I have two lights I am a lot more confident. Won't run out of light in a hurry.

I have nothing new to say about Cat Eye. They make excellent cycling products that are all made in Japan. This is my fourth Cat Eye product. I have had two Velo's (8 and 9) and one back light. All perform as expected. No drama. This light feels robust too despite being very handy and light. I think it is metallic. Not plastic.

In comparison to my 350 lumen Night Rider this 400 is a lot more bright. Possibly the reflector is of better quality. Looks slick and smart too. 

The unit attaches to the strap that one can install first on the handlebar and then clip the unit on to it. For charging or for taking it away in your pocket from a parked place it is possible to just slide it out of the strap. There is a small clip that you push and slide back. 

The NR comes with a rubber band kind of strap, which is also fine. 

Endura GV 500

It's been a long time ambition for me to go cycling in the Himalayas after retirement and I am well aware that I will need warm garments to do that. So when my favourite nephew asked me what to bring from England I told him to get for myself an Endura GV 500 insulated jacket. It's a bit pricey at 150 pounds but I never expected that he would refuse to take money for it. Incidentally, in case you are worried about the impact of this on his bank balance, his second car is a Porsche Taycan Turbo (yet to be delivered though). The first is of course a BMW.

Keeping the price part and who paid for it aside, this is easily the finest and the most comfortable piece of garment I have ever worn. It's soft, warm and very nicely packable in its own pocket into a small size. The fill is not down, which is one of the reasons I bought it. There is a new synthetic material called Primaloft which is a very premium replacement material for down that is increasingly being used in the adventure and active wear market. 

I have a down jacket for hiking in the high altitudes. It's a Marmot. Very warm and tested at -30 degree celsius in Chadar in winter. 

The disadvantage of down, apart from the whole ethical question, is it is much larger when packed and becomes a mess if it gets wet and in the mountains it always rains. Primaloft continues to work even if it is wet. Or so they claim.

I tried the jacket out one evening here in Calcutta in what was possibly 20 degree. I started sweating in less than 10 km. The only issue is that once I packed it in its own pocket and kept it in the side bag, crease marks came up on the fabric. I have kept it hanging in a hanger at home. Waiting for my next trip to the mountains. 

It has subtle but hopefully effective reflectors on the shoulder and two zippered side pockets. The chains are superbly smooth. They are not YKK but some other brand. A unique feature of the chain is you can unzip it from both upper and lower end keeping only the middle (or any other part) fixed. It is somewhat like a buttoned shirt where you open the top two and bottom two buttons open. This will be nice when you are feeling hot due to cycling but may need to pull it up soon.

I think it will make for a great jacket for around town too except that it has a cycle jacket's cut where the back side is longer than the front.

Endura is a Scottish company that makes top quality clothings and other accessories for cyclists. It has made quite a name for itself in this niche area. I hope this one lives up to the expectations. It is meant for gravel riding, which is what most Indian roads are in any case. I do not really know how a jacket is supposed to behave differently on gravel or on road. This is taking segmentation to its ultimate level. 

In any case, I hope the fabric is tough enough, being meant especially for gravel. It feels very soft and is extremely comfortable to the touch. Unfortunately it is an overkill for Calcutta. One sweats after riding with it for 10 km in the most biting winter evenings of Calcutta :-) So, I cannot really ride in it every evening during the short winter spell of our city.

However, in terms of keeping one warm in really sub zero temperature, it is not a match if compared to the Marmot that I have. One will have to layer adequately for using this in the high mountains. And I have to keep the Marmot handy too because even if the Endura is adequate while cycling, in really cold weather (Khardungla or Sela for example) one will need something warmer than this once the riding stops.