Knog Blinder Mob V Four Eyes Rear Light

The rubbery Knog Blinder MOB V Four Eyes rear light is bright and easy to use, but the side visibility is questionable in a light designed for commuting.

• Pros: Bright; long battery life; quick to charge; easy to use
• Cons: No sideways-mounting option; limited side visibility

Simple, strong and well protected, there's plenty to recommend the latest Knog Blinder MOB. However, in a light recommended by its makers for commuting, the V Four Eyes suffers from a couple of shortcomings.

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It comes with four LEDs, at least two of which are on at any one time. They're set vertically into a red reflective surround, which should satisfy the most pernickety of 'where's yer reflectors?' know-alls behind you. A max brightness of 44 lumens seems plenty to me, even in bright daylight, and from behind you will be seen by anyone troubling themselves to look. However, the flat display is mounted in a black casing that offers pretty well zero illumination viewed from the sides. Knog describes the 35 degrees beam angle as 'focused' but traffic-sharing commuters may want more all-round visibility.

The lamp unit is well and truly secured into the silicone back which also forms the mounting system. Knog promises it's 100% waterproof and it's proven so throughout testing. It looks like a light designed and built for the long-haul.

It's a good sign when you don't mind having to swap a test light between various bikes, suggesting that the mounting system is a good one. With the simple addition of a plastic cam clip, Knog has made it easy to stretch the silicone band around the seatpost. Three bands are supplied, the largest suitable for aero posts and the smallest meant for skinny seatposts. This is helped by the grip mountings being flexible too. road.cc readers have complained that these bands don't last long, but Knog has a reputation for good customer serviced so maybe just ask for some more if you have issues.

It's a pity that there's no way of mounting the light sideways, which seems an obvious thing you'd to want to do with such a long (7.5cm) light. Once in place it takes up most of your seatpost, so bear this in mind if you tend to have a lot of attachments.

Like most modern lights, how to attach it to a pannier rack is a puzzle.

> Buyer's Guide: 16 of the best rear lights for cycling

Charging is quick – just over 4 hours from flat. The light plugs directly into a USB socket but the little red 'on-charge' light is difficult to see in bright light. On full-blast, I got 30 minutes more than Knog's '2.6 hours' minimum run-time. I never got to the end of the battery on eco-flash mode. You can also put the light into 'storage mode' if it's not being used for a while – see the Knog website for details.

The five settings provided (two steady, three flashing) are all a rider really needs, in my opinion (feel free to differ), and are easy to scroll through, even from the saddle. The positioning of the on-off button on the back of the unit seemed odd at first, but I soon realised it made it easy to locate and press with a thumb, with the stretch of the rubber band helping supply the pressure needed.

The exposed USB plug is moulded into the rubber mount and really worried me at first, since it seems to be in the worst possible place for trapping moisture and corrosive road salt. But Knog says it's 'designed to be exposed to the elements, is waterproof and will not be damaged by exposure' and it has proved reliable so far.

As for value, its build quality and usability go some way to justifying the price, but there are cheaper options. The Blackburn DayBlazer 65, for example, is £27.99 (and a fiver more than the Knog gets you 125 lumens). Moon's Nebula is the same price, but you can mount it horizontally.

Bonus points to Knog for cutting back on the amount of packaging. The cardboard carton is actually made from sugarcane and is compostable rather than recyclable, whereas the minimal plastic wrapper is PET and can be recycled. I'd like to see a company go the extra mile and do away with plastic packaging altogether.

Verdict

Well made, bright and easy to use, but with limited sideways visibility and no sideways mounting option