Moon X Power 500 Front Light

The Moon X-Power 500 looks neat and compact and feels pleasingly chunky yet light.

Mounting the light was easy, the mount is easy to adjust and fitted very solidly to the bars, and stayed firmly in position without having to be cranked up stupidly tight. It has some horizontal adjustment too, so you can point the beam towards the verge and make sure you're not going to dazzle any oncoming traffic. The release switch is easy to locate and operate, even in gloves.

The beam pattern has a bright centre spot, and throws light a good way up the road.It gives enough sideways spill to easily see what's on verges or lurking at the sides of the road. It switches on straight into overdrive mode, so if you're heading out into urban terrain, you need to remember to switch it down. The power cycle is not especially clever as off is included in the sequence, so you have to be quick on the draw if you want to go from flashing back up to overdrive. The power switch is flush with the casing and needs a firm press - even though it's illuminated in pimp-my-ride blue, but sometimes you need to keep looking ahead, not down, and in winter gloves I found it difficult to locate and operate.

The light has 5 power modes, overdrive, high, standard, low and flashing which you toggle through from overdrive down to flashing.

The 500 lumen overdrive setting was bright enough for twisty descents on rural lanes, though our run time test came in at 1h 30 mins, so slightly under the advertised 1h 40. However, the high setting gave plenty of light at 380 lumens for trundling along unlit back lanes at 14-16mph for 2h 30 mins (a bit more than the Light and Motion Urban 300). The flashing mode runs at the high setting and is pretty attention seeking during daylight or around town.

Run times are ideally suited to commuting, and good enough when you feel like taking the long way home - spare batteries are available for as little as £15, so if you wanted to head out on some longer rides you could easily slip a spare into your jersey pocket.

The flashing indicator to let you know when the battery is running down is very useful, if slightly pessimistic. On overdrive it started flashing after 45 minutes, giving you 45 minutes to get home. This could make you a bit blas about the amount of time you have, but on the plus side, the light switches to low power and then a low flash when the battery is spent, it doesn't just go out.

Build quality is great, the aluminium cap survived unscathed after being dropped, and the USB port cover closes very neatly and is easy to open. First time out was a 30 min ride into a biblical downpour, but the XP flashed away without skipping a beat. The USB feature is a plus for anyone who works in an office, on our PC it charged up within 5 hours - a plug in mains charger is also available for those lucky enough not to spend their working day welded to a computer.

Verdict

A sturdy little light with a powerful beam. Ideal for commuters and taking the long way home - just don't stay out all night.