Blackburn Dayblazer 550 Front Light

The Blackburn Dayblazer 550 is a compact, wallet-friendly front light boasting, as the name suggests, a maximum of 550 lumens. The output quality is surprisingly good, but run-times are relatively short in the higher modes, limiting its horizons beyond the suburbs.

Despite weighing 61g, the Dayblazer 550 feels reassuringly solid. The black anodised aluminium alloy body serves as a heat sink and protects the internals from accidental knocks. It's also well sealed from the elements, conforming to IP67, meaning it can survive in a metre of water for 30 minutes. The anodising is also of a decent standard, so should keep its looks.

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Optics-wise, it sports a similarly tough lens with collimators to make the very most of the single diode (Osram 3737, for those who need to know).

Output

There are five modes in total: Blitz is the full 550 lumens, High (275lm), Low (75lm), Pulse (100lm) and Strobe (65lm).

In common with a lot of lights these days, the output is brighter than the numbers might have traditionally implied.

The full 550 is good enough for picking out hazards, signs and generic detail in semi-rural contexts at around 17 or 18mph. On clearer mornings, before dawn, I've been able to tackle unlit lanes to around 15mph, and in terms of being seen, I seemed to register on drivers' radars at around 100 metres on the open road.

This setting isn't offensive through built-up areas either, so, economy aside, there's no urgency for stepping down. Other traffic seemed to take notice at 50-60 metres, and its output was welcome when negotiating roundabouts and junctions into the flow of traffic.

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High is arguably the sweet spot for suburban riding. The lens projects a reasonable amount of peripheral bleed, although when mounted conventionally on drop bars, it can be obscured. If you tend to cruise on the hoods, I'd be inclined to mount it beneath, since the beam pattern seems unaffected.

Low sounds rather paltry at 75 lumens, and unless I was running low on juice, around town I'd stick with High, and where being seen is the primary aim I'd opt for Pulse or Strobe.

The latter's 65 lumens also sounds a little impotent, but thanks to the extrovert tempo it's visible from around 120 metres in the dark, 80 metres during the day. Pulse is a little easier on the eye yet still distinctive enough to announce its presence at similar distances.

Switch

The raised switch is easy to operate, even in winter-weight gloves. It requires a single, definite prod to engage, whereupon you'll have the last mode selected thanks to the memory function. Subsequent prods cycle through the other modes and a sustained, half-second hold powers down. No issues with unwanted engagement.

It also works as the battery indicator and is intuitive to read: green is fully juiced, orange 50-25%, below which it will turn red.

Mount

There are two options, a bar mount and helmet mount, though the latter is an aftermarket option. The light is designed to swivel around, giving unhindered access to the strap and clasp, for speedy fitment and removal.

Blackburn says it's compatible with diameters between 22 and 34mm and I've had no problems with a variety of bars within this range. The only minor consideration is that it secures to the light body via a 3mm hex screw, and this can work loose, so keep an eye on it.

As I said earlier, I have hung it both beneath and atop bars, with no obvious impact upon beam pattern or quality.

Battery life and build quality

Run-times have been within a few minutes of those cited when used in temperatures between 3 and 10°C, though they're not the longest (they're listed in the Test Report, below), ranging from just an hour in Blitz mode to 12 hours in Strobe. If you think you'll be spending much of your time in the 550lm or even the 275lm mode (1.5hr), you might be better off with a more powerful light that lasts longer.

It's taken the quoted three hours to charge the lithium-ion cell from the mains, slightly longer via a laptop or tablet USB port.

The USB port cover fits snugly, with no hint of ingress after subjecting it to heavy rain and the garden hose.

As the whole light is rated IP67 for weather resistance, I took it one stage further and left it in a bucket of water for 20 minutes, and that had no negative consequence either. The limited lifetime warranty adds further peace of mind.

Value

Its £39.99 rrp is pretty competitive (and it's available for as little as £25 online).

BBB's Strike 500 has a slightly lower max output and is also £15 more than the Blackburn; its mount merits improvement, too.

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The Ravemen LR500S is the same price as the Blackburn but, like the BBB, also 50 lumens down on max output. That said, it's an impressive option and offers better run-times than the Dayblazer – nearly double in the highest mode.

Conclusion

Overall, the Blackburn Day Blazer is a competent compact light and worth a look if you are wanting a proper light but aren't looking to stray far beyond the suburbs. The flashing and pulsing modes are suitably extrovert, which is a plus for winter mornings, pre-dusk saunters home on the best bike, or just a dynamo backup/companion. Run-times in the higher modes aren't great, though, if that's where you plan to spend your time.

Verdict

Competitively priced compact light with nice touches, but short run-times in higher modes limit its appeal