Smart Lunar 35 front & rear light set

The Smart Lunar 35 front and rear lights pack a far greater punch than I was expecting and make a surprisingly useful package for general road duties. They put out more than enough light for round-town riding and they're better than many tyre-driven dynamos too.

The front light puts out enough light for country lane riding up to moderate speeds, 15-16mph or so, thanks to a decent centre spot, but halos round the beam make details harder to see.

Having previously run Smart's blinkies and old school ten watt lead-acid systems with excellent results, I'm pleased to report build, mounting hardware and weather seals are generally to the same high standards.

The lunar has a two-piece, screw fit construction with a crude, though extremely effective rubber band sandwich seal. Diode, reflector, circuitry, switchgear and battery contacts occupy the nose cone, while its tail end hosts their AA fuel source.

They've passed my submersion and seven minutes of high pressure hose tests without flinching, so there's little risk of being plunged into darkness even in heavy rain. Better still, Smart offers a limited lifetime warranty should something go pop under normal use.

The triangular rubberised switch feels slightly squidgy, but could be easily pressed in gloved hands and on the fly.

The low beam is default but ample for built up areas, thanks to the aggressive barracuda style cutaway providing a decent eye-catching arc that'll attract attention to around 125 metres and manages a run time of around 13 hours 45 minutes.

Subsequent presses unleash high or flashing modes which are equally impressive. Leaving the city limits, I found myself adjusting the beam downwards to improve hazard perception but remained surprisingly conspicuous to approaching traffic.

The bracket is a remarkably solid and user friendly model that manages oversized bars comfortably so long as you remember to adjust the top mounted screw first. Failure to do so sees it strain before catapulting the thumbscrew's eyebolt into oblivion.

Although it doesn't have enough power to provoke SUV pilots into dipping their beams, the high mode's centre-spot is sufficient for a steady 18-20mph where's there a bit of light, dipping to 14 mph through unlit lanes.

I opted for the super frugal strobe through murky mornings; it sung a really helpful duet with my Univega's 800 lumen hub dynamo.

The half watt rear light is another old-as-the-hills design but one that has well and truly kept pace. I recall using similar designs either side of my original Yak trailer back in 2000.

It's a real retina tickler, easily on par with more prestige brands and boasting visibility to 750 metres or so. You can get simple AAA cells pretty much anywhere and they're a cinch to swap by the roadside, which makes the Lunar 35 rear light an obvious choice for Audax, touring and club runs.

While very adaptable, its bracket seems comparatively flimsy, so I stuck with its clip, alternating between clothing and luggage. The steady mode is more convincing than most without having a severely adverse effect on battery consumption. It's visible from 500 metres along pitch black lanes, dipping nearer 300 in town. While super charged versions offer a bigger arc, this little beauty is arguably more prominent in the flashing settings.

Verdict

Slightly quaint but nonetheless very capable pairing for commuting and less demanding nocturnal riding.

The light comparator

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