Knog Booomer LED Lights

A bit of a mixed bag, the Boomer. On the one hand it's a super bright little light that's simple to fit and gives good all round visibility. On the other it's hampered by a fiddly switch which is also prone to turning the lights on in your bag, and you have to be careful with the mount to keep them properly weather sealed.

The front and rear Boomers are different shapes but the same basic construction, a plastic insert (holding the electronics and two AAA batteries) with a silicon rubber outer that also doubles as the mount. Stick one in the other correctly and it's pretty watertight (especially if you add a touch of silicone grease); get it even slightly wrong – quite easy to do – and it leaves channels for the weather to get in. I've had no water ingress in mine, despite some filthy conditions, but you do need to be careful; there's plenty of reports of Boomers letting in the rain if you dig about online.

The mount is a silicon strap that goes round the bars and seatpost respectively, and it's simple and secure. Both lights have a number of flashing modes and a constant one, and the stated outputs of 50 lumens (front) and 30 lumens (rear) are high for lights of this kind. The rear is on a par with units like the Niterider Cherry Bomb and Smart Superflash, the front is great around town and just (just!) enough for an excursion onto unlit lanes, although the light leaking from the top of the unit can be a bit distracting. Side visibility is also very good on both lights, especially the rear. Battery life isn't great on constant – just a few hours – but these lights are better as flashers, and set to flashing you'll get plenty of run time.

What isn't good is the switch. It's pretty vague underneath that rubber casing and hard to use with gloves. My front light was prone to switching modes when given an accidental knock, but this is a known issue with some of the lights (http://www.knog.com.au/cms-support/warranty.phps) and would be a simple warranty replacement. Both lights, however, were susceptible to being turned on accidentally when languishing in the bottom of my rucksack because of the positioning and light action of the switch. If you hold the switch down in any mode it'll turn the light off, which is a nice touch, but I'd like the click to be much more positive.

Everything about the Boomer's design suggests that you'd take them off and sling them in your bag. If you do, you'll need to check you haven't accidentally switched them on, and when you fit them you also need to make sure the silicone case is properly in position. Provided you can commit to that, they're bright and funky.

The Boomers are available as individual lights or as part a set as tested here, as you'd expect they are also available in a range of colours too.

Verdict

Good all-purpose town lights with a high output and smart design, but need to be handled with a bit of care.