How I Built a Headlight for my Longboards

Last night I was skating home in the dark and hit a small pothole. It was just enough to buck me off my board. I cursed myself for not having my homemade skate light on me, but it just wouldn’t fit in my purse, and I was skating in daylight earlier. It’s dark when I get off work now, and some of the streets I skate on have little to no lighting. Furthermore, drivers have their faces in their cellphones regardless of weather conditions or visibility, so if you’re not brightly flashing, they might not see you. Reflective helmet stickers might not be enough anymore with distracted drivers today.

So I built a light for my longboard. I didn’t want one of the premade ones that require me to take the trucks off my longboard. I ride a different board every day! I needed to be able to put it on any board I have. So here’s what I cooked up.

Part One: The Mount

I used a third party GoPro mount for this, and it worked very well for me. I actually got it to record my run of the Broadway Bomb this year. It got the whole thing without my camera moving one bit. 8+ miles of rough roads, weaving, collisions, running, and a little sliding. It stayed in one place over the nearly hour-long ride. That’s in part thanks to the fact that it comes with a small wrench that helps you tighten the screw and keep everything so tight it can’t move at all. That’s how I knew I had the right mount.

The best part about this is that you can use the mount for a longboard light or a GoPro camera. There are even adapters you can get allowing you to mount two GoPro mount-capable items on the same mount. That means you can have a light and a camera. Plus, this is a GoPro mount! It’s incredibly versatile. If you can’t get your light on the front of your deck, it’ll likely still work on the side.

The mount I got was this one (affiliate link).

Part Two: The Light

And we’re on to the second part of my complicated setup: a thing that makes dark spaces not look dark. They’re called: lights. There are a variety of GoPro lights, but most are for photography purposes. I wanted something that was waterproof or water resistant, rechargeable, and rugged. Plus, if it had its own GoPro mount so I could put my camera on top of the light, it’s a win-win.

I got one that had all of that.

You could go for other lights, but I do really like this one (affiliate link). It’s super bright, I can angle it down so it doesn’t blind pedestrians or motorists but still helps me see the road ahead, it’s rechargeable, waterproof, and has a GoPro mount. The only flaw I’ll point out is that you have to open the battery compartment to recharge it. It’s a small issue though.

Both settings are super bright, so you’ll be able to use it at night with either setup. There’s also a flashing mode, if you just want to use it for safety.

Putting it Together

I mean, you won’t need instructions for assembly. What I want to say is that you should stay safe out there if you’re going to continue skating as winter rolls in, the days get shorter, and seasonal affective disorder kicks in. If you’re going to keep skating, especially if you do long distance pushing, commuting, or even e-skating, a light can really help. I don’t know why anyone would want to break out their skate tool every time they go out, or use a lamp that doesn’t work on cruisers and street decks well, so I thought I’d share my simple little solution that works on every deck. Enjoy!

A note on affiliate links, since this post has two and I couldn’t find non-Amazon or eBay links for these items. I make a small portion of the purchase price back if you buy through Amazon. I really don’t write these articles to make money, I write them to help get more people into my favorite hobby. Sure, I pay to keep the lights on and do website maintenance, and I have ads and affiliate links to help with that, but I see this as a hobby, a money and time sink I enjoy. If you don’t like the idea of any of the money going to me, feel free to search Amazon for a different (or even the exact) product and pick something else. Really, I won’t be offended. Just get out there and skate, okay?