Exposure Blaze MK1 DayBright

The Exposure Blaze MK1 Daybright is a top quality rear light with enough punch for daylight running and plenty of battery life for long night rides.

• Pros: Excellent build quality, sensible flash mode, battery life
• Cons: Bracket (and proprietary charger cable) are easy to lose, expensive

Exposure has been making highly regarded lights for many years now and its distinctive black CNC machined units are a familiar sight on any overnight ride. They've never been cheap, but you really do get what you pay for. In addition to a two-year warranty Exposure also offers servicing and repair, which is reassuring.

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At nearly £90 RRP (£63ish if you shop around) the Blaze MK1 Daybright couldn't exactly be described as cheap, but it's a very good light and Exposure's reputation for quality and service is reassuring.

The MK1 Daybright is an 80-lumen rear light which is designed for punching through low winter sun and grabbing some attention in busy traffic. It's not an anti-social blinder though, the flash pattern (always on, two quick, one long) is distinctive rather than brutal. Even so, you might not make many friends on group rides, but that's what the lower steady setting is for.

There are three programmable power levels, each with the same steady/flashing modes. Once you've chosen a level, by holding down the button for the required number of flashes, the light always starts there. I was quite happy to set it at the lowest level and leave it there.

Battery life is excellent – even on the highest steady setting you'll get 6 hours, and on the lowest setting you'll get 48. Charging is via Exposure's proprietary cable rather than the ubiquitous USB. That's standard across all its lights, so presumably it isn't a huge problem but I always worry about losing bits and you'll have to be more organised if you need to charge away from home. The port is on top of the (fully sealed) unit, covered by a robust rubber cap to keep spray at bay. The button, also covered by the cap, acts as a fuel gauge, showing green/amber/red as the battery runs down.

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The bracket isn't my favourite. The light clips, very securely, into a plastic mount which is held onto your seatpost with a silicone strap. I wasn't worried about the light on my bike, but the non-captive strap is pretty much designed to vanish into the depths of a pannier or rucksack. You can get spares (and an aero-post-specific mount) from Exposure, but I'd prefer to have a captive strap that couldn't go AWOL.

Needless to say, you're limited in your mounting options – this is strictly a seatpost-only light and you'll have to get creative with shims if you need to alter the angle.

The Blaze MK1 isn't perfect and it certainly isn't as versatile as other (much cheaper) alternatives but as posh rear lights go, it's very good.

Verdict

Excellent, but expensive, rear light with a few minor design flaws