Fenix LD20

how we test…
It’s all very well looking at lumen counts on paper, beam patterns in theory and battery life on quoted tables, but it is out on the trail that everything is brought together. We took two to three hour night riding sessions, using three or more sets of lights on each bike, always riding with comparable lights within the group — there is no point riding a 200 lumen with a rider using a 900 lumen set bringing up the rear, as they will just cast a strong shadow. Every experienced night-riding tester fitted their own lights to check the mountings, checked them over afterwards and rated them on all points.

the light

Being made of hard anodised aircraft-grade aluminium gives this neat little torch a really nice ‘heft’ in the hand. It feels solid, as do all the controls — the push-button at the rear and the silky smooth bezel turn for ‘turbo’ power setting of 180 lumens.

It comes with no mounting system, but a bar mount is available as an extra. We would argue that, unless you want it for general commuting purposes, it isn’t a whole lot of use. The beam is just too focused to be worth placing on the bars. And why do that when it is so effective as a helmet mount? It took us only five minutes, a block of light foam rubber and a length of Velcro (can you tell what it is yet?) to secure it effectively on a helmet, and it stayed put throughout the test.

Once the direction is set on your helmet, the power and beam pattern are superb for the price, and better than others on offer at more than three times the price. A great multi-purpose helmet or back-up light on a budget.

Mbr rating: 8

Light: Fenix LD20
Price: £47.95
Weight: 120g (with AA batteries)
Burn time on max: 1 hour 55min w/Energizer 2500mah rechargeables
180 lumens
Battery type: 2 x AA in torch body
Brightness settings:
4 + Flash
Bar mount extra
Contact: www.moorelarge.co.uk

Subscribe to mbr today and get a Giro Rift Helmet worth £44.99 FREE!