Blackburn’s new Central lights are designed for high functionality and adaptability. The light’s interface makes them interchangeable with your existing GoPro-style mounts, you can easily attach your Central to the helmet mount you already use for gnarly night trail rides if you’re into it. Also, catch the new multi-tools designed for your journey into the wilderness and the challenges therein after the jump…
The waterproof, dual beam pattern Central comes in two levels, 700 lumens (Central 700) and 300 lumens. The body of the light features side windows for higher visibility from all directions. The bottom face of the light face is actually cut back to better extend illumination, closer to the rider. Also, there are five beam settings (High, Medium, Low, Pulse, and Strobe) so you can tailor the light and battery expenditure to your purpose.
The light requires no tools to install and can be charged in-situ (or not) by mini-USB cable. The lithium-ion battery boasts a 6 hour recharge time, so it can be good to go for you commute home from the office and the 700 lumen model can run for 1.25 hours at High. The battery is also replaceable, so if your battery is cooked, your light isn’t as well. There is also an LED “fuel gauge” indicator so you aren’t suddenly left out in the dark by low batteries.
The Central 300 is available for MSRP $59.99 and the Central 700 for MSRP $99.99. Both are shipping right now.
For the new year, Blackburn has re-examined their multi-tool line to better fit the unique needs of their rider. The Wayside multi-tool, for example, features the typical array of Allen wrenches and a 7-11 speed chain tool, but also Torx wrenches, disc pad spreader, a chain holder. Then there is the serrated knife, making it more Swiss Army Knife than typical bike tool.
Rather than try to pack all of these tools in the same format, Blackburn chose to situate the 2mm to 5mm Allen wrench set on the back of the tool with a special tool holder as free, ball-end wrenches. This is amazing news for anyone who has been on the road with a problem in a tight spot and nothing but a bulky multi-tool to work with. The Wayside Multi-Tool will be available soon at MSRP $34.99 and would be a fantastic stocking stuffer come December.
If you’re looking for something a little more simple and compact, the new Grid-13 probably fits the bill. Though it’s missing the chain tool (and knife!) of the Wayside, the Grid-13 features a nice set of basics including the standard array of Allen and Torx wrenches and bottle opener/disc pad spreader/valve core wrench. This guy comes in at a claimed 148g and will only set you back $19.99.
