Blaze Burner rear light review
We put the Kickstarter sensation to the test
The Blaze Burner rear light has taken Kickstarter by storm and it's not hard to see why. It's seriously bright and offers adaptive lighting that changes with the conditions. The mount could be better, but it still holds the light firmly in place.
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Seriously bright
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Adaptive lighting for conditions
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Multiple modes
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Secure magnetic mount
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Mount could be better
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Magnetic charger comes loose
You can trust Cycling Weekly.
This is a review of a prototype model of the Blaze Burner. Some details may not be the same as on the production model.
The Blaze Burner rear light has been something of a Kickstarter sensation, raising over £120,000 in crowfunding as almost 2,000 people have got behind the project. And with the light itself in your hands, it's not hard to see why.
>>> Buyer's guide to cycling lights (video)
This is the brightest rear light on the market, with 24 LEDs pumping out a combined 100 lumens. That means that there is absolutely not danger of not being seen however gloomy the conditions. However the Blaze Burner doesn't pump out these mega-lumens all of the time, with a light sensor built into the unit that means that changes the brightness depending on the light conditions.
If you want to take things into your own hands, there are four different modes to choose from: two constant modes of differing brightnesses, one flashing mode, and another where the lights rotate around the inside of the unit.
>>> Buyer's guide to rear lights (video)
The main downside of the Blaze Burner is the mount, which is not tool-free, and I struggled to secure it to the right diameter for my seatpost. The mount also isn't angled, meaning that the light points downwards with the angle of your seatpost, although this isn't a massive problem given the brightness of the LEDs.
Watch: buyer's guide to bike lights
The light unit is then attached to the mount using a magnetic system, which is much better than the mount itself. I was a little concerned attaching such a heavy light (106g) to my bike using just magnets, and was expecting so see the unit go bouncing down the road the very first time I hit a pothole.
>>> Best front lights for under £100
Thankfully this wasn't the case, and the magnets were incredibly strong, with no danger of the light becoming detached mid-ride. There's also the option to rotate the light in the mount, meaning you can have it positioned vertically, horizontally, or even diagonally if that's the way you live your life.
Unfortunatelly, the magnet that attaches the USB charging cable isn't nearly as strong. The cable is meant to attach to the front of the unit, but the magnets used to keep it there aren't quite strong enough, meaning that if you knock it while it is lying on your desk charging up, then the cable can easily become detached.
For more details head over to the Blaze Burner Kickstarter page.
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