I was in the hunt for a backup headlight for my daily commuter after several instances of losing power mid-commute. I bike commute year-round in the PNW, coming and going in the dark during winter months. My primary was the Light and Motion Urban1000. Sadly, Light and Motion is no longer with us, unable to withstand the supply glut following the COVID bike boom and the onslaught of cheap, but high quality and feature rich competitors drop shipped from China, quite like the product I'm reviewing. We'll save the impact of globalization on American small businesses for later. Onto the review. This bike light is uncompromisingly excellent. While I'd planned for this as a backup, it is now my primary. The light casing and Garmin mounts are high quality. Light casing is sturdy black anodized aluminum, rubber boot on the switch, rubber cover tethered to the USB-C port located in back. The light beam is directional with a downward cast, about waist high at distance, which avoids blinding oncoming cyclists and peds (nice touch for the considerate cyclist). The mounting hardware can be removed and installed either on top or bottom of the light, depending on whether you are mounting above or below the handlebar. This is a very nice feature compared to the Urban1000, which when mounted under the bar, had to be turned upside down, resulting in the power switch and bike battery indicator both inverting under the light. This made changing the light mode more challenging, and often resulted in my failing to notice the low battery indicator causing the light to lose power mid-commute (which is why we are here). The mounting flexibility on this light avoids this problem entirely. The remote switch is an excellent feature. It pairs easily and sits neatly atop my handlebars next to the stem and opposite my bell. My commute varies from well-lit and smoothly-paved surfaces to limited illumination stretches that are littered with potholes. I prefer to ride with a flashing or breathing light mode because it is more noticeable to cars but often switch modes depending on the road conditions. The remote switch is easy to manipulate. The buttons are tactile which allows me to operate by feel alone, allowing me to keep my eyes on the road while safely switching light modes. Again, an excellent feature that considerably improves ride safety. Onto the flashing and breathing light modes. The light offers both, as well as high, medium, low brightness modes (the remote allows you to easily switch between all modes). I prefer the breathing mode which gradually increases and reduces the intensity of the light. The breathing mode in this light is a considerable improvement over the same mode in the Urban1000. It is a faster breathing cadence, and significantly brighter. Whereas the breathing mode on the Urban1000 was more about creating a visible signal for oncoming drivers, the same mode in this light accomplishes that without compromising the light's primary function of illuminating the road ahead. Win win! The only thing I cannot comment on (yet) is the battery life. If I find this insufficient, I will update the review, though given my experience thus far, I'm optimistic. Altogether, very very happy with this purchase. The value for the price is a step function higher than where the bike light market has been in the past decade (I've been doing this bike commute thing for a while now). I still keep the Urban1000 in my messenger bag as a backup, and a memento of the halcyon days of American bike light manufacturing. Highly recommend.
