Knog Blinder Mini Niner light set review

The Blinder range keeps expanding, with Knog also making a larger format light set with a similar shape and profile to the Knog Blinder Mini light set we have here, which gives you a good level of “to be seen” lighting in a compact format.

The Knog Blinder Mini Niner variant has nine LEDs within the casing, but there’s also the Chippy which uses Chip On Board tech and the Dot which has a single more powerful LED. All are priced at £45.99 a pair, with the front emitting 20 lumens and the rear 11 lumens in each case.

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You get five lighting modes from the Knog Blinder Mini: constant, fast flash, slow flash, long flash with a short flash afterwards and a rather weird decaying flash. The non-constant flash modes are designed to draw the eye more – it’s been found that motorists have got used to consistently repeating flashes and don’t notice them as much.

The lighting mode is controlled by a small switch on top of the unit. It’s easy to operate and toggles between the five lighting modes. There’s a mode memory, so you switch on in the same mode as you last switched off.

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Although 20 lumens doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s quite an eyeful and there’s no excuse for drivers not to see you. There’s reasonable side-on visibility too, although the lenses are quite flat.

Attachment to the bike is via a chunky rubber band – Knog supplies different length ones with the lights to suit different size bars and seatposts. There’s a clip at one end, which helps secure the light and makes it easier to get on and off, although lifting this tightens the band rather than loosening it. The lights are fully waterproof.

The Knog Blinder Mini lights are rechargeable. There’s a built-in USB plug built into one side of the casing which fits flush against the bars or seatpost when the lights are in use. It’s weatherproof, so it doesn’t need a cap.

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The USB plug is neat, but can be difficult to fit into some computers – you may need to decide whether you want to recharge your front or your rear light if you can’t fit the two lights side by side into your USB ports. There’s a small LED behind the charger that changes from red to green once fully charged.

Battery life is pretty good for such a small unit: between around 2 hours and 10 hours dependent on mode. There’s a low battery light built into the lens – in practice, this is difficult to see when riding. It takes a couple of hours to fully recharge.