Lezyne Strip Drive Pro 300 rear light

The Lezyne Strip Drive Pro 300 Rear offers a huge range of modes to cover any and every possible situation, day or night. Although some might consider some of the 11 modes to be redundant, there is no doubt that they are striking and the massive 300-lumen 'Day Flash 1' will ensure you are clearly visible to all road users in dense traffic, foggy or rainy weather, or simply from a distance on a long 'fast' road.

• Pros: Super-bright daylight mode; low output modes to eke out battery; quick recharge for decent output
• Cons: Mode overkill; mounting bracket not perfectly compatible with large, rounded seatposts

Eleven modes is pretty overwhelming, but they are at least ordered into three functional sections within the mode cycle: constant, flashing and day flashing. The light is basically a more powerful version of the Strip Drive 150 Rear that Stu reviewed recently. There is a mode for every single eventuality.

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Blast (50lm/3hrs), Enduro (25lm/5hrs 30mins), and Economy (5lm/22hrs) make up the constant modes. The Blast mode is outstanding in country lanes, getting you seen from a long way off. It's equally as impressive for town riding, holding its own against car lights. Enduro and Economy are great for preserving battery life but I steered away from the latter in all circumstances; it's simply not powerful enough to get you noticed.

Lezyne has kept things as simple as possible with regards to the naming of the eye-dazzling 'Flash' modes. Flash 1 and Flash 4 both give out 35 lumens for a claimed 8 and 6 hours respectively. The former has an on-off pattern, whereas Flash 4 always has at least two of the five LEDS glowing at any one time. I prefer this. Flash 2 and Flash 3 throw out 25 lumens for 6.5 and 7 hours respectively. Both modes are great for urban riding, so two options here seems overkill. Flash 5 stretches out its 10 lumens for 22 hours; I basically used this when the battery was running low, but I didn't trust it on its own for most riding. The last Flash mode (6) really is rather weak; it cycles through one LED at a time. This is the one that will run for 53 hours, but you're really going to have to be pretty desperate to need it.

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When I first started testing this light, I was commuting both ways in daylight and I can honestly say that I will never daylight commute without a day-specific flash light again. The Day Flash modes on the Lezyne really make cars notice you and I've genuinely found that I experience wider passes than I do without it.

While Day Flash 2 delivers the same 150 lumens as the Strip Drive 150 (for 7 hours – 30 minutes more than the Drive 150), Day Flash 1, unsurprisingly, doubles this: 300 lumens for 5 hours. The patterns are exceptionally striking and, like the Strip Drive 150, regularly incorporate super-bright pulses. Don't be tempted to use either of them at night – not only will you piss off drivers but you'll also send your own eyes a little crazy!

All of these modes come with a 270-degree range of visibility. This really makes a difference on dark, meandering lanes, as well as in busy towns where you want to be seen from the sides as well as the rear. Any drivers overtaking you will still have a sense of the flash as they come up next to you.

Practicalities

The light is as simple as could be to operate: press and hold to switch on, click the same button to cycle through the modes, keep clicking, keep clicking, keep clicking... press and hold to switch off.

The micro USB charging port is tucked under a tight-fitting cap. The protruding ridges along the end of the cap make it really easy to pull out to access the port for charging. I've had the light on several bikes including one without mudguards, with the cap facing downwards, and I've had no problem with water getting in. The light has also gone in the shower with me and survived.

At home it charged in just over 2 hours directly in a wall socket. At work, plugged into the PC, it was closer to 3 hours, perfect for a commuter or keen roadie looking to crack out a few evening miles.

Battery capacity is indicated by a tiny light on the side. States from 100-75%, 75-25% and 25-0% are indicated by flashing or solid red or green lights. Basically, if it's flashing red, get it charged or switch to that Flash 6.

Mount

The mounting bracket certainly favours aero seatposts over round ones. It does sit on a round one but can occasionally slip to one side. This is not excessive but can be annoying. I would reach down and nudge it back in the beginning, but latterly I have wedged it against the seatpost clamp on one of my bikes and between my saddle bag and the clamp on another.

It also fits on a seatstay: on one of my bikes, it was such a snug fit under the saddle bag that I couldn't access the switch without twisting the light round, so I moved it down to the right seatstay. The rear of the light is gently angled for a seatpost, so you still get an almost vertical position if you turn the light upside down and your road bike has accommodating geometry.

Value

If you value your own visibility and are willing to pay for extra power then Lezyne has priced this well for you. You could step down on the power front and save yourself £15 with Lezyne's Strip Drive 150, which has some longer run-times, but the Strip Drive Pro 300 certainly isn't overpriced. The Niterider Omega 300 is similarly specced with an RRP of £45 – okay, £5 cheaper, but Stu had issues with water ingress. If you look at it from a point of view of pence per (max) lumen then the Strip Drive Pro 300 fares well at 16.7p/lm – Niterider's Omega 300 is 15p/lm.

Knog's Blinder Mob V Four Eyes is £10 cheaper but with a max output of only 44 lumens (a whopping 90.9p on the pence per max lumen scale) and has limited side visibility.

The Exposure TraceR MK2 with ReAKT is £65, with a 75-lumen max output and six modes (86.7p/lm).

Before you all jump to comment, I'm not suggesting pence-per-lumen should be a direct guide to value – there are so many more things you want to look at – it's simply a starting point if lumens are a high priority for you.

Conclusion

The Lezyne Strip Drive Pro 300 is a serious be-seen light. In my opinion it could do with fewer modes, and the mounting system isn't as versatile as it could be. If you don't deem either of these as negatives, I'd suggest you get your wallet out.

Verdict

A great choice if you value your visibility day and night