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Sigma Nugget taillamp (battery)

Specifications:


StVZO approval no: K1215 (non-flashing version only!)
Mass: 26 g (with internal battery and rubber band).
Size: 28.2 mm width, 40.2 mm height, 29.7 mm thickness (with rubber that contacts the seat post).
Light source: 1 red LED.
Mounting method: On the seatpost.
Battery: fixed internal, type?
Construction: Plastic.

Price: ca. € 15,-

Power: ?

Pictures:

It looks nice and inconspicuous on the bike...


Beam shots

See the camera settings page for more on the setup and settings to make pictures of the beams of taillamps.

Out of a corner (showing how much light is cast upwards, forwards and to the sides) [ F3.9 & F1.8 ]:


Wallshot (showing the beam pattern):


Visibility from various angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) [ 0.5m, zoom x3, F3.5, ISO80, 1/250s & 1/60s ]:





Comparing taillamps

Experiences

There is no indication that the battery is low... With the Mono and Stereo the on/off button goes green to indicate low power which warns well in advance. With the Nugget, the indication of charging is a small red light (bad choice) behind the red plastic, and if it is done charging, a white light comes on also from behind the red plastic, another atrocious choice! In the Mono and Stereo Sigma does it reasononably well, why not here? Runtime is somewhere between 6 hours and 8 hours, I'm not sure exactly. For future measurements I will use an LDR on my logging multimeter to get an exact runtime (well, with new battery, the capacity of a battery decreases with use), but for the Nugget I can't be bothered, as it's not good enough to warrant further time spent on it.

The light distribution is good everywhere except in the centre, where it is way too bright. This is a pity, otherwise it could have been a good alternative to the Mono. Well, not really, because of the poor battery status indication. The too high brightness shows as rays of light in your eyes, exactly as you can see on the camera images, around the lamp itself, is what I see with my eyes. This is not good as I described in various places. So, get the Mono instead. If you have one already, modify this by obscuring the centre...

2019-12-18: I had mounted the Nugget on my bike trailer, which I leave outside, and some time ago I tried to swith it on and it failed. When warming it up the red housing got foggy so water must have come in, though it was closed with the rubber seal. It can't be opened up so I cut it open and there was rust/corrosion at and around the switch. I'm not going to try to find the right switch to fix it, it's just not worth it...

Conclusion

Too high intensity in the centre, poor choice of battery status for charging, no status for nearly empty battery. Get the Mono instead of this lamp! It is also not waterproof enough, the Mono is likely no better as it uses a similar rubber closure of the micro USB input, but I will see...

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