The Knog Boomer is a powerful rear light that can either be affixed to seat post or worn on clothing.
The people at Knog sent me this rear light along for testing. I was glad to receive as I had been thinking of a couple of recent tragic accidents when cyclists had been hit from behind. I’m sure there is a variety of statistics to discuss the benefits of wearing a rear light during the day / twilight hours. However, from a practical point of view, a strong rear light really does stand out when I notice cyclists on the road. You often see motorcyclists leaving their lights on whatever time of the day it is, and there is a proposed law to make it compulsory for all vehicles to always leave their lights on, whatever time of the day. The first ride I used this, the clouds came in other some Yorkshire moors, it was good to have a rear light in this kind of situation. Generally, I would strongly recommend using a rear light. It really helps visibility – even on a clear day, it can mist over quickly.
Knog Boomer
Anyway apart from rear lights in general what about the Knog Boomer?
Well the first impression is that it is really bright. Some clip on rear lights can be quite feeble, which rather defeats the purpose of them. But, this is really bright. It is a super bright LED and it’s light output is upto 30 lumens.
The light looks smart and comes in a choice of 6 colours. It is a nice addition for a bike.
Ease of Use
As you expect from Knog Products, it is very easy to use. I just clipped to the rear of my saddle bag. Out of the box, you have it doing what you want in a few second. Because I always have saddle bags on my bike, I didn’t get round to trying to fix to seat post with magnetic attachment.
There is one simple button to turn off and cycle through the different modes of constant, flashing, random and off.
Value for Money
At £20, it is more expensive than quite a few alternatives. Battery life is estimated at 12hrs (constant use) 72hrs (strobe flashing) which could be better.
Limitations
Might be difficult to use on time trial bike because of non-standard seat post – not round but very thin. The burn time is little disappointing for an LED.
Overall
It’s a good product and it does what you want from a rear light. Like the Knog speedometer, definitely would makes a good gift to a cyclist. Easy to use, gives bring rear light. Arguably, you can find a little better value on other brands. But, if you’re wanting something a little different, the Knog rear light will fit the bill.
- Knog Boomer £19 at Wiggle
Alternatives
If you want an even bright rear LED try the Cateye TL-LD1100 which has 10 LED lights. It is more expensive at £27. Cateye Tl Ld 610 is similar price and has longer battery life.
Related
Leave a Reply