Bright lights from Magicshine help put the spotlight on the new spine saving Camelbak KUDU in this week’s Arrivals. Our weekly sneak peak at the exciting new products that have arrived at MBR HQ.

For those of you who can’t wait until the reviews come out in the magazine or go up online, here’s another in our new series of pre-emptive peeks into recent test product arrivals.

Here’s last week’s Arrivals for those who missed it.

Bell 4Forty MIPS helmet

Price: £89.99

From: ZyroFisher

Bell’s new helmet packs in the features but keeps the price a lot more ‘affordable’ than your typical MTB helmet. We have MIPS, natch, to keep your brain from being too rattled about in the event of a little ground interfacing event*. Full hard shell and an adjustable visor help to keep the practicality and durability levels up as well. Loads of colours and sizes allow even the most cranially challenged and colour-coded riders to be sated.

*That’s a crash in normal speak.

Camelbak KUDU Protector 20 DRY

Price: £189.99

From: ZyroFisher

This clever new pack from Camelbak goes someway to create a completely multi-purpose bit of kit. Nestled in the back panel of the KUDU is a full, Level 2 certified spine protector. When combined with the ample 20 litres of storage, this makes the KUDU a bang-on bag for big mountain trips. But what makes this bag different to similar spine protecting systems is the ability to remove the bag element of the KUDU. This creates a lightweight spine protector perfect for being worn on its own for those forays to the bike park. Even on its own it still packs in a couple of handy sized pockets if you want to carry a bottle or spares, thus extending its practicality even further.

The KUDU 20

and here it is with the back protector separate.

Magicshine Monteer and MJ-906B lights

Price: Monteer £74.99, MJ-906B £139.98

From: Magicshine

The little Monteer light from Magicshine is the company’s most powerful integrated front light to date. Throwing out a claimed 1400 lumens from its twin 18650 batteries, it’ll run for an hour and a half on full beam. What makes it even more practical for use as a helmet light is the ability to run it with only one battery to make it as light as possible. Another neat little bonus is the ability to remove and replace the batteries to increase burn time exponentially (18650 batteries are pretty universal).

The sharply monikered MJ-906B is the daddy of Magicshine’s range. Busting out a cool 3200 lumens (claimed) from five CreeXM-L2 LEDs it should be enough to turn darkness to light. Use it in conjunction with the Monteer and you should have a formidable night riding set up. Burn time is only about one hour fifteen on full but what makes the MJ-906B clever is the ability to control power outputs anywhere from 1% to 100% via a Bluetooth compatible smartphone app.

Seven tips for a successful night ride

Birzman M-Torque 10 multitool

Price: £34.99

From: I-Ride

Click, click, click. If you have ever run carbon bars, saddles or seatposts, you’ll know it’s important to stick to the correct torque settings. Normally the ability to check these is limited to using a torque wrench at home, if your bars slip on the trail you have to use guess work to make sure you don’t damage your bits. This new Birzman multitool squeezes in a preset 5nm torque setting for all its tools. Simply press the button with your thumb as you tighten and it will click when the tension reached 5nm. Very handy on the trail.

Chromag Palmskin grip

Price: £23.99

From: Hotlines

What’s red, grey and squishy? Chromag’s Palmskin grip of course. A ridged and raised profile lends the Palmskin grip in all weathers, while the uniquely shaped alloy end caps make a feature of the clamping mechanism. If you’re worried about the open design letting in a load of mud, fear not, Chromate provide a couple of little bar end bungs to fit underneath the grip.

SDG Hansolo grip

Price: £26.99

From: Silverfish

There can be no other grip more suited for taking on the Kessel Run*, or for simply outrunning the Republic, than the SDG Hansolo**. Designed by SDG, built by ODI, the grip features multiple little SDG logos in a style suited for clinging on when the weather gets worse. Silverfish has smuggled these grips in to the UK in a massive array of colours and finishes. Being ODI, you can customise the clamps even further if you so want.

*Star Wars reference 1

**Star Wars reference 2

PRO Saddles

Price: TBA

From: Madison

Three new saddles from PRO (Shimano’s component/accessory company). The Griffon and Turnix are names that have been around for a couple of seasons but the Volture is a totally new saddle ‘concept’ for PRO. All feature a carbon reinforced base, INOX stainless steel rails and EVA padding, but the designs for all three are very different. The Griffon has a much flatter shape with a pronounced channel running along it’s whole length. The Turnix is a much more traditional rounded shape including a slightly dropped nose and kicked up tail section. Both saddles are available in three different widths; 132, 142 and 152mm.

The Volture is designed around, wait for it….. e-biking. Now this might sound like bandwagon leaping but e-biking does require a completely different riding style than that needed on a standard MTB. For a start you sit down more throughout the ride in order to apply constant and even pressure on the pedals. PRO has though about this and brought out a saddle with a wider and flatter rear section to cope with the  bigger impacts your rear end go through. There’s also a recess in the centre to reduce any nerve issues and numbness. It’s only available in 142 or 152mm widths.

5 of the hottest e-bikes for 2018

All the PRO saddles come with a 30 day money back guarantee to help you try out and choose the best saddle for you. There’s also the ability to mount a GoPro style camera or other accessories directly to the saddle using the screw holes in the base.

The Griffon Offroad

The Turnix

The e-bike specific Volture

Until next week, when we bring you news of some exotic carbon loveliness coming our way.