Knog’s new Blinder Lights use Cree LED bulbs for better brightness and will come in a wide variety of patterns and colors, with one- and four-bulb options for front and rear.
The guys from Knog said they’re moving on from the really cool silicone lights that first drew our attention to the brand because Asian manufacturers have knocked them off and are offering them way cheap. Of course the quality isn’t the same, but when they’re half the price, it’s hard to justify when you’re standing in the store.
Fortunately, it’s not just aesthetics that’s are changing, the full feature set is getting massively upgraded. The new Blinders have one or four Cree bulbs, and all use a built in USB plug. The latter not only makes them easier to charge (no cables, yay!) but it allows them to make the case completely weatherproof. It also gets them into high quality rechargeable batteries rather than expensive button batteries or AAA’s. When you combine 30-50 hour runtimes on blink modes and an 800 charge cycle battery, they’re essentially lights that’ll last you a lifetime. Not bad for sub $50 lights that are gorgeous, easy to use and very bright.
The one-LED models are sold front and rear separately for $30 each or in a twin pack with one of each for $55. The four-bulb models will be around $49 and weigh just 39g.
The Blinders are meant as “be seen” lights with 20 to 80 lumens depending on model. The beam angle is a wide 120°, and theyre small and light enough that you could stick one on each side of your helmet for 360° visibility. The rear lights are also available in a vertical design with or without a reflector base. Blink patterns are as creative as you might expect from Knog, and all of them have a solid on mode, too, which has about a three hour runtime.
The real treat is the USB plug integration. The single-LED front lights have the cleanest iteration (above), the larger models have a flip out plug on the back of the unit.
For actually seeing where you’re going, they’re working some brighter models with up to 900 lumens eventually. First, though, Knog’s forthcoming Road lights should be 250 lumens and come out next spring.
LOCKS
Three new locks ranging from light to medium-heavy security.
The lightest duty is the Milkman, a 90cm braided steel cable that’s simply meant as a deterrent while running in and out of the store. $25. The Bouncer is a $45 medium security lock that has a plastic and rubber casing around a high carbon twin hardened steel shackle with dual locking mechanism. The Strongman gets a heavier duty shackle and metal base with security features that make it harder to cut or drill through.
And colors. They all come in lots of colors.
