Moon X-Power 500 front light

A good light is vital for commuting to work and evening training rides and the compact and keenly priced Moon X-Power 500 makes a very good argument for itself. It's plenty bright enough for all but the most demanding riders, and the beam pattern is a well rounded shape.

The Moon X-Power, as its name kind of gives away, produces 500 lumens from a single CREE XM-L (T6) LED. On overdrive mode (the highest) the beam throws out a good shape with a nice bright centre and a smooth reduction in brightness to the edge of the beam. There's good depth and at decent speeds there's a reasonable amount of light for showing you the way ahead.

For riding through suburbia and across town the light is going to get you spotted, and when you reach the city limits there's just enough light to illuminate your way through dark country lanes. It doesn't quite have enough punch for the darkest roads and can make spotting potholes and other hazards on training rides a little tense at times. For the occasional training ride it's sufficient.

Keep it on overdrive mode and you'll burn through the battery in about 1hr 40mins. The power button on top of the unit serves as a battery monitor and handily flashes when the battery is running low. It does give you plenty of warning; I noticed the warning light flashing before the hour was out, and duly switched to a lower mode to preserve the burn time.

There's a choice of five modes, including a flashing mode that's good for commuting. There's sufficient difference in the brightness between the modes, and the high mode in particular offers a good balance of burn time (claimed 2hr 30mins) and 380 lumen output.

Its sequence of modes sees the light initially power up into overdrive, and then cycles through high, medium, low, flashing and off. In reality you're going to be switching between the overdrive and high modes to extend the burn time on training rides, and having to turn it off before going back to overdrive isn't that helpful. Or safe.

Fitting the light to your handlebars couldn't be easier. An easy to use quick release clamp fits regular and oversize handlebars. There's also a helmet mount in the box. I had to trim the rubber band supplied that wraps between the handlebar and clamp a little, but after that it's a straightforward process.

The lamp unit is water resistant – I can vouch for that. It still worked after one very heavy downpour.

The quick release lever tightens from the front and, depending on the configuration of your outer cables, can be a little bit tricky to access, but isn't a problem really.

Once clamped into place the light stubbornly refuses to wobble or budge. Over rougher roads it remains firmly in place and even clouting one unseen pothole last night didn't see the clamp slipping.

Recharging the light couldn't really be simpler. Remove the light from the clamp and turning it upside down reveals a mini USB port protected under a well-fitting rubber flap. A cable and plug adaptor are supplied so you have the choice of charging from the mains or your laptop. Charge takes about 3 hours from empty.

Verdict

Well-designed light that is great for commuting and okay for some occasional training rides out into the darkness.