Every year Exposure updates its lights with more power or more features, and the latest Six Pack SYNC Mk 13 now comes with a slightly wider beam and more Lumens at the top end. The price has gone up too, but the superb quality hasn’t changed, making this distinctive UK-made unit one of the best mtb lights on the market, period.

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Design and Specifications

This light is updated from the Six Pack Reflex we tested previously, in that it has a bit more top end Lumens and a wider beam pattern. The SYNC feature allows you to control this light via a bar-mounted remote, but you can also custom-tune the output modes using SYNC App, which is available for iOS and Android.

All Exposure lights have pre-select modes, which are etched onto the back of each light, and the new Six Pack is no different. To access these, you press and hold the on/off switch, causing the light to cycle through the options until you get to the one you want and then you stop. It’s a simple system, but it’s a bit convoluted if you want to make regular changes, and I found it quite easy to miscount and select the wrong setting.

However, with the SYNC App, you don’t have to bother counting and have total freedom to custom-tune the different modes, meaning you have a really powerful, short run-time high beam light for blasting out a quick lap, or much lower powered but longer lasting light for epic adventures and 24 hour racing. You can also bind in a second Exposure light to illuminate at the same time, and configure the remote switch included in the box.

Bike Lights, Mounts, Lens, Lights, Handlebars, Power Packs, Monteer, Kong, Blinder, Exposure, Magicshine

In practice, the app is not quite as intuitive as you imagine. This is because, to alter the amount of Lumens in, say, the high beam, you need to change the run-time (in 30min jumps) using a scroll wheel, and I find that’s a bit of a roundabout way of doing things. Less run time certainly equals a brighter light, but when using the App it’s unclear if you need to confirm each option every time you make a change. You can also access the Relex++ mode, which is Exposure’s auto-adjusting, terrain-specific option, but again do I need to do that each time? You also use the app to configure the remote. This is a lower profile square design compared to Exposure’s previous switch, and in my opinion it’s way neater. Using the App and this remote also lets you bind two lights together on one switch, and you can also check the burn for both.

The Six Pack SYNC Mk5 still has a 6063-series aluminium body with an array of cooling fins, integrated display, a sealed charging port and a precise on/off switch. At 400g you can feel the weight when swinging the bike through tight turns, and it also sits pretty high on the handlebar – I occasionally knocked it with my knee.

Maximum Lumens is a claimed 3,900, but this will top out at 5,450 in Reflex mode. Exposure has altered the LED profile this year – there are still six White XPL2 (W3) dichroic LEDS, but they’re positioned in a slightly wider arc, resulting in a broader beam pattern.

The Six Pack is powered by a Li-Ion battery, and during our on-trail run test, it proved pretty accurate at just under two hours on constant high beam. Exposure uses a charger with a custom DC jack rather than the USB systems elsewhere.

Charging time has always been pretty long with Exposure lights, and I also had a slight issue initially with the readings. I got three different figures – one from the charger, one in the app and one on the back of the light itself. To be honest it doesn’t really matter because this light has so much juice anyway.

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Performance

I like the idea of an App to tune the settings, because you totally need different light requirements when riding in the woods to out in the open, or even in a group compared to solo. If you want just a high and low beam, or have complex settings for different types of riding conditions, both are totally achievable with the SYNC system, it just takes a bit of familiarity. Once past that hurdle, the Six Pack is a fantastic light – it has a wide even beam pattern. There are no hot spots or dark areas, just a bright, crisp, white light that offers excellent clarity even when it’s misty. Running Reflex++ mode also means the light powers down (preserving battery life) when you’re going slow, but hots up when you increase the pace, so you can see further ahead.

Exposure Sixpack

I also really like the Exposure quick-release clamp. It doesn’t quite position the light centrally over the stem but it’s so narrow you can get it pretty close. There’s a bolt on the hinged part for security and it’s now offset so you can get a hex wrench in there more easily.

What’s really great about the Exposure all-in-one system is that there are no cable connectors or Velcro straps to worry about – it’s self-contained, convenient and manageable.