BBB Swat BLS-105K front light review

The BBB Swat is a compact unit with a quality feel, but unfortunately it's lacking in power and features

Cycling Weekly Verdict

Compact size but underpowered, inflexible and loose in its mount

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Solid feel

  • +

    Compact size

  • +

    Road-specific beam pattern

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Only a single mode

  • -

    Rattles in its mount

  • -

    Mount requires allen key to fix to bike

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The BBB Swat is very much a road/commuting focussed light. With its single constant mode, no flashing mode and 120 lumens output, it’s only really suitable for riding on lighted roads. To add to its specialisation, it also has a square, downward facing beam pattern designed not to dazzle oncoming traffic.

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In its favour, the BBB doesn’t weigh much, it’s small so it doesn’t get in the way and it is very portable. Charging is via a USB plug at the rear, which is covered by a large flexible rubber cover which is easy to get off and on and should be pretty weather-resistant.

BBB light is compact and well-made

BBB light is compact and well-made

The light fixes to the bars with a mount which is closed with an allen bolt. This means that it isn’t easy to get on and off, so that it will become a feature of your bars whether you are using the light or not, although this also means that it can’t be lost that easily either.

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The light clips into the mount with a solid click, although there’s some play between them, so that it wobbles around a bit over uneven surfaces. You can buy an optional helmet mount too.

Road-specific beam pattern to avoid glare for on-coming vehicles

Road-specific beam pattern avoids glare for on-coming vehicles

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Overall, this is a light unit which has a quality feel, but lacks in power and flexibility making it only really useful for commutes where you need to remove the light from the bike once you arrive. The poor interface with the mount is disappointing too and the rattle which results is likely to be an irritant over the usual British road surfaces.

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