Ravemen PR600 Rechargeable Front Light

The Ravemen PR600 is a very rare beast, a road light with a proper German style cut-off beam. Add in a remote control and the ability to use it as a power bank and you've got a very versatile light indeed.

Dave reviewed the PR600's big brother recently. He liked it a lot. You can read his review here. The PR600 is less powerful than the 1200 and doesn't have a power gauge, but it's still a jolly good light.

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The only other light I've seen with a proper cut-off beam was the Trelock 950 I reviewed six years ago. Six years is a long time in lighting and you get an awful lot of power for your money these days, which can make commuting along popular routes an unpleasant dazzlefest. It isn't hard to produce a light that won't blind oncoming traffic, including other riders, so I don't know why more manufacturers don't make them. Where Ravemen really scores is that its lights also have an additional LED that adds more punch for darker sections.

With 'only' 600 lumens on the highest setting, the PR600 is aimed at the commuter end of the market. The 1200 that Dave reviewed might have enough power for hooning around off-road, but the 600 is altogether more modest. The flat beam puts out 400 lumens on full power, which I found was plenty for unlit roads and paths. My use of the lower settings (200/100/50 lumens) depended on how bright the moon was or whether there were streetlights nearby, but mostly I stuck to full power. The beam is nice and wide, so you get a decent eyeful of verges and side roads.

The full 600 lumens only come into play when you switch on the second LED. That adds a more vertical central spot to the beam, which makes a noticeable difference to the distance you can see down the road. It's a setting I mostly saved for twisty lanes where there was more chance of running into a random badger/walker/huge hole. It's also handy for giving oncoming traffic (including badgers, walkers etc) more chance to see you coming.

> Buyer's Guide: The best front lights for cycling

On the highest settings, the 3400mAH battery gives you three hours of flat beam or two of full beam. If you want to eke out the battery a bit longer there are four more flat beam modes including a 50-lumen Eco setting, which will give you 16 hours.

Full beam comes with three modes and the lowest of those will give you 150 lumens for 7.5 hours. Sadly, the PR600 doesn't have the digital gauge of its bigger siblings (there's a PR900 too), so you have to make do with the usual coded messages from the power button to tell you how much juice there is left.

The USP of Ravemen's PR range is their ability to double as a power bank for your electronic toys. The battery has a capacity of 3400mAH, enough to charge my phone just over 1.5 times. Of course you'll have to balance your need for actual light (and not lose the cable), but it's a very handy extra feature. The supplied micro USB cable is flat and rubbery and feels a lot nicer than the bog standard items that usually come bundled with gadgets. It attaches to a separate USB port, so you can charge accessories and still use your remote (see below) at the same time.

If you don't like taking your hands off the bar to fiddle with light settings then the supplied remote switch is very nice to have. It plugs into the charging port and attaches with a simple O ring. The cable isn't very long, so unless you run it straight it'll only stretch to the tops. The remote only controls the settings, you still have to switch between flat or full beam using the switch on the light. That said, a long press activates Turbo mode, which is basically both barrels on full power. Handy if you need lots of light in a hurry.

Dave wasn't very fond of the bracket, which is the old school screw-on-to-the-handlebar QR variety. I didn't have any problems with it rattling or shifting around, but an O ring bracket would be more versatile and more in keeping with a light this good. The weird thing is that Ravemen actually makes a bracket for the PR600 with a silicone strap, it's listed on the website, but it doesn't supply it as standard and the distributor (www.bob-elliot.co.uk) doesn't list it as an accessory you can buy.

For £70 rrp you're getting a cracking light. It's very well made and packed with features. However, the next light in the series, the PR900, has a bigger battery, more power and a proper digital gauge, for just £15 extra. Although I liked the PR600 very much, if it was my money I'd be looking at its bigger sibling.

Verdict

Excellent and versatile commuter light