There’s a lot of rechargeable tail lights on the market and the Knog Blinder MOB comes in as one of the top ones. The Knog Blinder is a small, seatposted mounted, no fuss, well designed good looking LED light.
At $29 it’s sat in the middle of the price range, it can be bought as a front and rear set or as a single and comes with a whole host of features. Knog Blinders come in different looks so you can choose the look you want. The one featured in this review is called “The Face”
This particular model of Knog Blinder has a 35 degree light spread and a 44 Lumens max output, which is pretty bright. With 5 flash and output modes, theres something appropriate there for most riding occasions.
Knog Blinder is secure from bumping off the bike, getting lost in the woods or gravel by its well designed elastic attachment bands. I tested it on local trails and had no issues. It attaches to round and aero seat posts, different sizes are accommodated by small, med and large bands that come with the unit. Snap a band? Knog has you covered, the first gen versions of this light, the bands were not replaceable, fixed this in this version.
The power switch on the side is flanked by a battery low indicator above and a recharging indicator below. Many other models choose to omit these causing you to guess and potentially get stranded without a light. The power button is well designed so it doesn’t accidentally get set off in your bag or pocket.
Blinder is fast to remove from the bike thanks to the elastic bands and a little metal clip you can pop the light in your bag when going to the bar.
The small body size about 1.5″ square makes for a slick look. The Face is silver and the band white, but they come in many colour variations.
A variety of flash patterns (5 types) it can last a long time between charges. Up to 68hrs on eco flash, which is pretty dang good. When on full burn constant mode it will last about 3 hours. I typically got 30+hrs of use out of it as I use a mixed flashing model. It’s directly USB rechargeable and has a cleverly integrated connector in the backside of the mount, so no additional wires needed.
Summary
This chap has been on my bike a while now, and I can attest that it’s fully waterproof getting a lot of road stray. I find this to be one of the better rear indicators on the market. Cool design and good looks. Backed up by useful and well thought out features.
- Price: About $28
- Power: 44 Lumens
- Run Time : Up to 66hrs
- Weight: 35 Grams
- Flash Modes : 5
- Waterproof and USB rechargeable.
- 3 size elastomer straps – 22-27mm, 27-32mm, 32+mm
Looks like the design has been refined a bit since I got mine. Works well enough, but I’m just waiting for that band to snap. I also find the buckle can flip over on itself from time to time on 31.8 handlebars, but it’s fine on smaller stuff. Maybe I should pick up a v2 and keep my v1 as backup.
You are right Dolan, the v2 has been refined, I used to have a v1 set, I snapped the front band so their move to replaceable / resizable bands is a nice one. They changed the materials on the back of the body to be more durable instead of fully squishy. The v2’s accommodate different tube shapes also and have a modified usb connector (no longer flips out of the back). I like Knogs stuff, they seem like they are thinking about stuff other than solely reducing cost.