There’s no shortage of cycling headlights that you can use to illuminate your path when riding at night. While it’s not the brightest, the Light & Motion Urban 850 Trail definitely pushes it for a single LED unit, making it ideal if you want as much nighttime illumination as possible, without the larger footprint of dual- and triple-LED headlights.
Pumping out 850 lumens of brightness, it’s “the most powerful single-LED bike light that exists.” At least, that’s according to the outfit, who also guarantees that their output is certified according to FL-1 Standards, so you’re getting every bit of that promised illumination. That should be bright enough to properly light the way, of course, whether you’re riding through unlit streets, dark alleys, or pitch black mountain trails.
The downside of being compact and lightweight? The Light & Motion Urban 850 Trail also has a smaller battery than multi-LED headlights, so a full charge can only get you around two hours of use. While not especially generous, that duration should be fine for most nighttime urban commutes, as well as making your way back to camp on a backwoods trail, with the option of extending battery life by using lower light settings (which might not be feasible for mountain biking, but certainly makes sense when you’re riding around the city). Features include a reflector that spreads light around a 180-degree coverage, a beam pattern that maximizes a rider’s depth perception, darkened crimson side lighting for subtle visibility from the left and right, and a waterproofed housing (IP67).
Available now, the Light & Motion Urban 850 Trail is priced at $180.