Blackburn Mars 4.0 rear light

Blackburn's Mars 4.0 rear light is a clever little light that comes with 3 different mounting options.

We really liked it when we reviewed its previous incarnation 4 years ago; though it's changed a bit since then, it's only got better.

It still has the amber side leds, but the 5 red LEDs on the Mars 3.0 have been upgraded and turned into one superbright 1 Watt LED, creating even more rear illumination. Whereas the model we reviewed then needed a screwdriver to undo the 3 screws that held the batteries in, the 4.0 unclips with a coin to change the 2 AAA batteries.

Not that you'll have to do that often, at 50 hrs runtime on full and a whopping 150 hrs on flashing.

As always with Blackburn stuff, the rear light is really well made, and the casing has stood up to the usual abuse and the wet weather we've been having over the winter. As with all their lights, this one too is covered with a lifetime warranty.

Apart from the overall goodness of this light, I was particularly impressed that it comes with a dedicated rack mounting bracket; something I usually have to DIY with other lights. It also comes with a tool-less seat post mount, and the light case itself has a belt clip which is what you clip into the bracket(s).

At 76 grams, it's not going to affect performance too much, and it will definitely get you seen in all but the brightest sunny weather.

Verdict

Deserves consideration, especially as it can be had half price online at the moment.