It's convenient to have a headlight that's always on your bike, but the things can just get in the way when they're not needed. The Owlight was designed with that problem in mind, as it hides inside the handlebar during daylight hours.
Created by a Romanian startup of the same name, the Owlight is a long cylindrical device that replaces the traffic-side handlebar plug on any flat bar. It's inserted into the handlebar tube, just leaving one end exposed – one of three differently sized rubber O-rings is used to ensure a snug fit.
When no lighting is needed, the end of the Owlight looks like an ordinary bar plug. Pressing on it with a finger, however, causes the spring-mounted titanium LED headlight module to slide out and illuminate in Steady mode. Quickly pushing it a second time switches it to Flashing mode. It can subsequently be rotated 360 degrees, if its angle needs to be adjusted.
Power is provided by two user-supplied AAA batteries, which should reportedly be good for about eight hours of runtime in Steady or 20 in Flashing. We're told that the whole thing weighs 33.6 grams (batteries included), and puts out just over 50 lumens – so it's a be-seen headlight, not a see-the-road headlight.
It would have been nice if it also included a tail light on the back of the headlight module, although there may not have been room for that many LEDs inside, plus its battery life would have been lower as a result.
Should you be interested, the Owlight is presently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. Assuming it reaches production, a pledge of US$49 will get you one. The planned retail price is €89 (about $104).
It's demonstrated in the following video.
The STiKK headlight, which also mounted in the bar end but was not retractable, didn't meet its crowdfunding goal.
Sources: Kickstarter, Owlight
