Review: NiteRider Lumina 400 Front Light
The photo to the right was taken as I raced into London at the end of the Trafalgar Way ride. After 300 miles non-stop, eight counties and a hell of a lot of wind, rain and hills, the last thing I wanted to worry about was lights. Luckily the NiteRider Lumina 400 works faultlessly.
NiteRider is a brand which I have to admit wasn't overly familiar to me before I read up on it a bit; in short though, it's a brand that triumphs quality, practicality and compact designs, for everything from commuting lights to high performance off-road lights.
The Lumina 400 falls pretty much in the middle of NiteRider's range; it's not super powerful, but it's compact and not too hard on the wallet. It makes a perfect commuting light, which has the power to be used on unlit roads as well.
Straight out of the smart packaging, the Lumina looks and feels like a quality light. The ribbed outer casing promises to help dispel heat build up, whilst the ports, button and lens look fully capable of handling torrential downpours.
Fitting the unit is very straightforward too. The clamp design means there are no annoying spacers needed, and it has remained super secure on all the road and mountain bike bars I've tested the unit on. Once the clamp is secure, the light attaches to the mount using a simple slide and click system; very handy for frequent removal, such as during commuting duties.
Switch the Lumina on, and you get four levels of brightness: high, medium, low and walk. The last of these is pretty minimal, but the first three are easily enough to light up the road, and the 400 lumens on high power will illuminate country lanes without any problems. Hold down the button and you also get a daytime flashing mode.
Battery life is good, with the unit lasting for 3 hours on medium power and 1.5 hours on high. When you get to a 10-15% percent battery life, the blue LED on the top of the unit turns red and you are restricted to low, flash and walk modes; good for getting you home.
The unit also has a neat "lock mode", where you can hold down the button for a good few seconds and it locks the light in off-mode for transport. Great if you often throw your light in a bag, and risk accidentally switching it on and running down the batteries.
Overall, I've been very impressed by the Lumina 400. Whether it's been blasting down trails or lighting up country lanes on the commute home; it's proved a safe, reliable and durable partner. I particularly like the clamp and mount system, as well as the beam size and spread. This is a high quality unit, with some great thought put into the design.
NiteRider is distributed in the UK by 2Pure (Link)
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