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Moon Gem 1.0 LED front light

8
£19.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Surprisingly powerful additional or emergency backup light
Weight: 
17g
Contact: 
www.raleigh.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Little bigger than a memory stick Moon’s Gem 1.0 might be the baby of the of the Moon Gem family but has a mightier output than its size would ever suggest.

Six to seven lumens and pronounced lens are perfect companions to dynamo and high power rechargeable units, invaluable for locating errant keys, mending punctures/other mechanicals in the dead of night too. Moreover, high beam is just powerful enough to tackle unlit country lanes in an emergency. It's also an ideal emergency light to have with you all year round especially when the nights are drawing in and an unexpected delay could leave you facing a ride home from work in the gloom.

Available in black or white, it slips effortlessly aboard most handlebar diameters, adding a measly 20g. Gadget freaks will rejoice in the plug and play, cable fee USB connection. The rest of us will be secure in the knowledge, should the charge light blink red there’s a good forty-five minutes before we’re plunged into darkness. £19.99 for an emergency/back up light might seem a lot, but it is brighter than most and rechargeable and is priced on a bar with the USB rechargeable Backupz.

Much to my surprise, the switch is easily operable on the fly-even in full finger gloves. Sustained pressure sees it course between high, low, flashing, strobe modes and shut down mimicking that of high power li-on mtb systems. A rubber sheath protects the connector from dirt, ingress and more importantly the four seasons-drop it in a puddle and the relatively solid construction means you’ll live to ride another day, full immersion and it’s goodnight Vienna.

Performance from a full two and a half hour charge seems faithful to those quoted, we’ve managed three hours twenty four on the highest setting and six hours forty nine (compared with 3.5 and 7hrs respectively). Seven lumens in the high, static setting projects a bright, piercing (albeit small) spot and gives visibility at speeds between 10 and 12mph along secluded lanes, 15mph through the suburbs and town centres. It’s a very pure beam, capable of pricking driver consciousness but strobe and flashing are most effective-especially tackling junctions and roundabouts. In emergency peripheral visibility is better than expected but major roundabouts and turnings had the butterflies flapping in my belly

Verdict

Surprisingly powerful additional or emergency backup light.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Moon Gem 1.0 LED front light

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

"With night riding & racing more popular than ever, it’s important to have a set of small, compact and lightweight lights that offer high performance output for year round use."

Certainly meets the design brief

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

1 Ultra bright LED

6-7 Lumen output

85-90 LUX at 1m

4 modes:

High Beam

Low Beam

Strobe

Flashing

Charge & battery indicator

Horizontal bracket adjustability

Auto charge cut off

Optical lens

Side visibility

USB direct recharge

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

Very impressive given the dimensions.

Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

20g

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Despite tiny dimensions Moon's Gem impressed with the purity and strength of beam-especially in the highest setting where it's just sufficient to see by around town. Charge/run times seem very faithful to those quoted and direct USB charging is equally convenient for desk bound commuters. It's also handy for roadside repair/inspection, although the small surface area left me feeling very vulnerable negotiating roundabouts and junctions wehen my main system failed.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Output, build quality, surprisingly user-friendly design.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing given the design brief.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 36  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

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