If you’re looking for the nearest thing to a lightsabre for your bars or helmet then CatEye’s Opticube lens creates an impressive shaft of long-reaching illumination from its 1200 lumen output.
Built-in regulating circuitry also means the output stays consistent even as the battery drains rather than gradually fading with the remaining amps as some cheaper lights can.
CatEye’s easy-to-fit thumbwheel-and-strap bar mount handles retro inch or the latest 35mm bars and stays impressively stable and secure in use. There’s a helmet mount available for small extra outlay, which is useful given the super focused beam.
It's a shame that peripheral coverage is poor, limiting the Volt's applications
Previous self-contained Volt lights have shrugged off all kinds of weather, swamp dunks, crashes and accidental drops without flinching. Battery life is better than claimed and relatively good for a light of this size and power. You can even replace the built-in battery if you wear it out.
Unfortunately, while its ability to pick out potential trouble a long way down the trail is impressive, the sharply focused beam gives you an extremely blinkered view with no clue of general terrain context or what’s happening next. The flashing and mixed flash modes in the five-step menu are irritating too, but useful if you regularly mix trail and tarmac.
- Weight: 236g
- Run time: 2:30hr
