One of the brightest lights we've ever tested! Magicshine Monteer 8000S Bike Headlight Review

Advancements in LED designs and battery capacity mean that modern bike lights are capable of high lumen output while still retaining small form factors.The new Magicshine Monteer 8000S bike light is an excellent example of this trend as it incorporates an updated battery and LED setup into the previous generation Monteer 6500 bike light to achieve an impressive 8000 lumen output. Now a 8000 lumen Magicshine sounds familiar, that's because the Magicshine MJ-908 also carried that claim. However, while the MJ-908 had a theoretical 8000 lumen output (each of the 8 LEDs is capable of 1000 lumen output) the Monteer 8000S has a claimed FL-1 measured 8000 lumen output which is achieved with the updated Cree LEDs and a higher capacity battery pack design.
With a retail price of $399.00 the Monteer 8000S may be one of the most expensive lights Magicshine offers, but at 20 lumen per dollar it is still a bargain. To be able to provide enough energy to power the LEDs, the light uses Magicshine's updated MJ-6118 battery pack which consists of four 21700 Lithium ion batteries for an improved 7.2V / 10,000 mAh capacity. Not only is the Monteer 8000S the most powerful variation of the expanded Monteer product line (which has been expanded to include the Monteer 3500 and 5000), it is also one of the brightest lights Magicshine has offered to date. Is it practical to ride with an 8000 lumen bike light? The answer is probably not, but as light enthusiasts we are excited to see what the Monteer 8000S has to offer.
At first glance, the new Monteer 8000s looks a lot like the existing Monteer 6500. The compact aluminium headlamp design has in fact been carried over from the existing Monteer light. That isn't a bad thing, as it's a compact and sleek design with built-in fins for heat dissipation. Thanks to the wired battery pack design, the head lamp is surprisingly small but on the taller side to accommodate the five LED design. To achieve the higher 8000 lumen output, the Cree LEDs have been upgraded to three Cree XHP 50.2 and two XM-L2. Also carried over from the previous model is the single illuminated power button mounted on top of the housing. The wires exit the housing at a sharp right angle which makes it easy to route under your handlebars...
... Read the full review @ thesweetcyclists.com/magicshi...
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00:00 Intro
00:11 Unboxing + Specs
03:15 Fit + Finish
08:01 Light Output
09:58 Comparison (MJ-906, MJ-908, Monteer 6500S)
14:35 The Final Score
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[@edwarded5894]

Great light!

[@Sektor9999]

I can't wait for a light with 10,000 or 12,000 lumens i would buy it for sure, there's never bright enough light for the road.

[@kiuk_kiks]

You should get your eyesight checked. I use the RN 3000 for my work commutes and it’s as bright as a car headlamp. It’d blind everyone on the road, including me, because of the reflection off the parked cars.

[@KS-wr8ub]

Nice review! Looking to buy either the 3500 or 6500. I can’t for the world of me understand why Magicshine keeps putting flash mode in their lights. Who actually use that mode in a light with this much power?!

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Thanks Kim! We agree - there is no real reason to have a 2000 lumen flash mode. Hopefully with the next version they at least make the flash mode more difficult to access like with the Allty lights.

[@robertferretti7990]

Just ordered an 8 led headlamp. Runs 2 18650. I'll be rigging it to helmet or bars. Wonder how the actual light thrown would compare. Clearly this would last longer. Cheers

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Sounds like a cool setup. You can definitely save money and get bright flashlights with similar lumen output. Magicshine has done a great job in terms of packaging with the Monteer though, the headlamp is compact and the USB Type-C battery pack can even be used as a powerbank.

[@PghMtbRides]

Need compare this in hybrid against outbound trail and also the baviaan extreme light

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Great suggestion, we'll try to get those comparions. One light I'd really like to compare the 8000S to is the Lupine Alpha which has over 7000 lumen output and similar setup.

[@PghMtbRides]

@@TheSweetCyclists sounds good I'd take wider viewing path over lumens... but if one has both...

[@faragmostafa633]

Wahoo!

[@KS-wr8ub]

No that you’ve used it for a while, do you get any heat throttling when using it? It’s hard to understand how they could manage to run for longer periods of time without overheating. Almost no fins, but of course better housing material.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

The light definitely heats up in the high output modes (you can feel the heat just putting your hands in front of the beam) but the thermal management does a good job dissipating the heat. Definitely don't expect a sustained 8000 lumens for the 1.5 hours in normal conditions - but for low/medium modes the light has been great for our morning rides.

[@zfine1450]

I'm a night mountain biker and a flashaholic. These things are big bucks. Ramen noodles aren't so bad.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Haha - that's the attitude. The Monteer 8000S isn't practical - but it's a ton of fun to ride with. Don't forget to take advantage of the coupon code TheSweetCyclists for 15% off (only on shopmagicshine.com) so you have more Ramen money.

[@troybrownentertainment2324]

Can you please try and get the Gemini Titan 4000? Would like to get your input on that bike light and how it compares to the magic shine 8000s

[@TheSweetCyclists]

We'd love to ride with the Titan 4000 - it's an impressive looking light. I'll try to reach out to them to see if we can get something going.

[@bisdakpinoy3428]

How much lumen creates for the spotlight beam? How much lumen creates for the floodlight beam?

[@michelthemed]

Top

[@rolandholl9601]

Hi can you put this on your helmet? Which adapter do you need then?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

That's the best part about the light, it's a Garmin style mount. So you can buy a helmet Garmin mount from nearly any company. They also have Garmin to GoPro adapters which lets you easily adjust the angle. Magicshine sells a $10 mount as well (www.magicshine.us/product/helmet-mount-allty-300500/).

[@adamast78]

Hi, good review. I have also the monteer 6500, 8000 and other 3 typs of. I love magicshine for the power and price. I wonder why i got more stuff instead of you. There is a helmet mount with straps, a head strap and a gopro mount. I dont think that the 2 leds are xlm2. If you look at cree on google you see that the claim output is only 1052 lumens each. xhp 50.2 + xlm2 is for monteer 6500 only. I have been testing both lights. There is a difference. Not huge but it is. Greetings from Austria 😀

[@TheSweetCyclists]

You've got quite a collection as well then! These lights are definitely a lot of lumens for the price - it's been great to see Magicshine improve their lights over the years (we started with the MJ-816E) . Interesting that you got more items - were they all in the box? We also received the helmet mount (a separate small white box) but didn't show it on camera since we didn't use it. Good point on the LEDs, from the information I saw it looked like both 6500S and 8000S had same LEDs but I couldn't get a clear answer.

[@adamast78]

@@TheSweetCyclists the extra items have been at the bottom of the box. I was calling a few days ago to magicshine in Germany. They didnt tell me what type of leds are in. Fact is, magicshine monteer 8000s is the most powerful mtb-light at the world. Even lupine alpha with 7100 messured lumens is not stronger but more extensive at a price of € 1080. I would like to have a magicshine with 15000 lumens. I will wait. There is a flaslight from imalent "ms18". Messured 100000 lumens but only for 70 secounds. The aim is to reach the result for 2 hours nonstop without loosing power. Maybe in 10 years magicshine reach the goal

[@MagicshineLights]

@@adamast78 Thank you for your support ! Greetings from Magicshine

[@MagicshineLights]

CREE XHP-50

[@MagicshineLights]

@@TheSweetCyclists Yes, with LED : CREE XHP-50

[@angtunaynalunes]

Will the mount fit aero handlebars? Thank you.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

No, the included aluminum out-front mount is only for round handlebars. The light uses a standard Garmin quarter-turn style mount though so you can use nearly any mount on the market.

[@terrychrudinsky5663]

Any chance you will be reviewing the Magicshine MOH 55? It is a new 4000 lumen light on Magicshine.com site.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Perhaps - we'll look into it. The MOH 55 actually shares the same battery pack as the Monteer 6500S/8000S so it would be great to put side-by-side with the Monteers.

[@terrychrudinsky5663]

@@TheSweetCyclists Two of the MOH 55 might make a great MTB option. One on the helmet and one on the bars. It's my opinion that the max light output is far less important than long run life at 1-2k lumen. Almost all my MTB rides involve a pretty good period (3+ hours) of night riding.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

@@terrychrudinsky5663 Agreed. You definitely don't need 6000 or 8000 lumen output - a dual helmet/handlebar light setup is a better option. These current Monteer lights, and the MOH 55 don't appear to have remote buttons though which would be nice to have for helmet mounting.

[@terrychrudinsky5663]

On the Magicshine facebook page MS talks about adding a remote switch. They reported needing to stay away from the 2.4GZ wireless because of battery drain issues. Not sure why they didn't just go with the bluetooth wireless like the mj-906B options. The options it added for tuning light outputs looked to be a great option. With my luck, I'll purchase one of these or a MOH 55 and wireless will be added to the next generation.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

That's interesting. I'm not sure why they don't offer a bluetooth version of the MOH 55, as there is a MOH 35B bluetooth version already. Hopefully next generation of MOH 55 / Monteer lights will also get a remote or bluetooth programming.

[@pizzagorgonzola]

you don't need 8000 lumens because you are on a Road Bike, with an E-MTB, going at 50kmh in the woods, its useful

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Good point. E-bikes definitely present a different challenge when it comes to lights and other cycling products.

[@PattyDung]

The description says ". . . but at $20 per lumen it is still a bargain". I think you mean the much better '20 lumens per $', or 5¢ per lumen. (Disregard this comment if it's corrected)

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Thanks - yes I meant lumen per dollar (8000 lumen / $400). I'll fix the description. We actually just dropped a review for the Monteer 8000S + 3000S which has a ridiculous 11,500 lumen combined output and same 20 lumen per dollar value.

[@demonkey123]

Charge times?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

We haven't timed it ourselves - but according to Magicshine page the full charge time would be 9.5hours on 5V 2A connection (see www.magicshine.us/product/magicshine-mj-6118-7-2v-5-2ah-usb-battery-pack-round-plug/). The battery has a lot of capacity though - riding with it for ~6 hours a week I only charge it every few weeks.

[@Jon1a]

To my understanding , there is 4 x 21700 battery inside the box. Is it LG , Samsung ...or ?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Good question. I'm not sure what brand batteries they are using - maybe Magicshine customer support can help? Let us know if you find out.

[@twosix_00]

@Magicshine USA One question, do you plan to put the same batteries in a more compact headlamp like the Allty line? Obviously regarding its size, or will it only be available in headlights with external batteries?

[@twosix_00]

@Magicshine USA Why not offer Type C charging on all your devices? It is what is becoming more common, is it true that type C charging devices have more use in the future? I have several Magicshine lights, including the Allty1000 and Rn1500, does that mean that the 1500 lumens model will last me longer in the future? Is it worth going from the Allty1000 to the 1500 model? Thanks for your reply:)

[@twosix_00]

@Magicshine USA I Have a doubt. What Kind of battery has the RN3000? IT's the same or different with the 10,000 mAh?

[@pembypov5327]

Do you think this light performs just as well on a a helmet? Also do you find you need a helmet light when this light is on your bars?

[@TheSweetCyclists]

At 8000 lumens this light is more than enough on its own even in the lower modes. If you prefer a dual setup I would recommend considering the more affordable Monteer options (3500/6500) and adding the MOH 55 to your helmet. You could end up with about same price and a more flexible setup.

[@pembypov5327]

Ok thanks!, Would you recommend the 8000 on the helmet with know bar lights or do you think it performs better on the bars?

[@jawg2392]

Compare it with hope/ exposure magicshine/ all the big boys

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Noted! We're trying to put something together. When the Monteer came out - a lot of people compared it to the Lupine Alpha which is 7200 lumens. It would be very cool to see Monteer 8500S and Alpha side-by-side.

[@enjoylife756]

You know it would be nive 2 know waht are real lumen numbers..my guess is under 2000, nout nearly 8000 fake lumens. Just for example Lupine SL AX7 is about 2000 lumens and brighter and much more better in anyways that any Magicshine

[@TheSweetCyclists]

The new Magicshine lights are FL-1 tested so it is a measured 8000 lumen output. You're right though, the previous MJ-908 was a "theoretical" 8000 lumen light but was actually around 3000 lumen real output. Unlike cheap 8000+ lumen Amazon lights, the newer MJ and Monteer Magicshine lights have the battery packs and LEDs to back up the measured lumen outputs.

[@pizzagorgonzola]

no, this magicshine is a LOT brighter than a lupine (i own both)

[@rterry2752]

rides are 2 to 4 hours long , a full bright run time of less than that is a joke.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

Nearly all bike lights have a 1-2 hour maximum at the max output setting. The advantage of the 8000S is that you have longer runtimes at the lower settings which are still quite bright.

[@Cupat1]

Why won't they just say $400 honest to christ

[@TheSweetCyclists]

It's the same reason gas is $4.98 9/10 a gallon... a penny or even a fraction of a penny lower sounds better.

[@Cupat1]

@@TheSweetCyclists Not with me it doesn't just pisses folk off

[@bisdakpinoy3428]

Too expensive

[@TheSweetCyclists]

While it certainty isn't cheap, it's a great deal for 8000 verified lumen output. Magicshine offers more affordable Monteer 3500 and MJ-90X versions as well.

[@augustpropertymanagement3389]

I'm not going to pay $300 for no bike light, no matter what.

[@TheSweetCyclists]

It's actually $399.99 with the update 8000S V2 coming in at $419.99 (it include a remote). It's a lot of money, but if you spend a lot of time riding at night the extra illumination and battery capacity is well worth it.

[@ryansimmons186]

Olight rn3500