Cateye AMPP 200 Front Light

What a cracking little light! The Cateye AMPP 200 is a smart little package that gives you enough light to ride by on main roads, and a flash mode that'll get you noticed for many hours. It's simple to use, well made and can fit almost anywhere.

The 200 is one of the smallest lights in Cateye's AMPP line-up, and it's ideal if you just want a light to see by should you get caught out in the dark, or a compact unit with a bright flash to be seen day or night.

Modes

There are just three modes, high, low and flash, and – check this out – you don't have to scroll through flashing to get back to high! If Cateye can achieve that on a light costing as little as £24.99 (as low as £12.49 online), why can't larger, more expensive lights come with it?

The clear button on the top controls the modes and power, as well as behaving as a battery indicator.

I found two ways to turn it on: a double-click would bring it on in flashing mode, or a long press would bring it on in solid state. It has a memory function, so whether you turn it off in high or low, it will turn back on in that mode.

To switch between the solid modes and flashing, or vice versa, a double click is required, which keeps them separate. If you are in high, a single press will take you to low, another press and you are back to high again.

A long press on the button turns the light off.

As the name suggests, 200 lumens is the highest output, with 1.5 hours of battery life, while low is 40 lumens with a whopping 13 hours' burn-time. Flash is 200 lumens and runs for around 30 hours. A full recharge takes about 2.5 hours.

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The beam is very much a spot, a bright centre with a warm glow around the outside. Not perfect for riding, but you can get the light to punch a decent length up the road ahead, and as long as you aren't going too fast (15mph-ish) it gives enough illumination to see where you are going safely. The 40 lumen, not so much, but there is enough light there to get you home should your main light fail.

For more options, front and rear, check out our guide to the best bike lights.

The lens creates a small amount of side visibility, too.

Mount

The AMPP's mount is attached to the light itself, and a rubber band wraps around handlebars measuring from 22mm to 35mm. Its design allows you to spin it by 360 degrees too, so you can mount the Cateye on your stem if you prefer, or even a helmet.

Build-wise, the main body is made from a thermoplastic, ABS, but I'm not going to quibble at this price. It has survived unscathed being chucked in a rucksack and dropped by the kids.

The charge point is covered by a rubber bung, which helps protect it from the elements. Although overall the AMPP only gets an IPX4 rating, which means it can cope with water sprayed from various directions, in real world conditions it handled prolonged rain fine, and the bathroom shower caused no problems.

Value

For the money, I really don't think there is much to complain about with this little light.

The quirky looking Bookman Curve that Lara reviewed last year puts out slightly more light at 220 lumens but for just an hour (2.5 hours on the 100-lumen mode), and it's a tenner more at £34.99.

Lezyne's KTV Drive 200 has a headline output of 200 lumens, but it only achieves that on Dayflash mode. For static you are looking at 70 lumens with a run-time of two hours. That's quite pitiful for the size of the light, and it's three quid more than the AMPP 200.

Conclusion

If you want a small backup light or a flashing light with the option of being used to see where you are going, the Cateye AMPP 200 is a great option. It's well made, easy to use and offers decent battery life too.

Verdict

Compact, light and simple to use, plus you don't have to scroll through flash mode – bonus!