NITERIDER LUMINA 1200 BOOST
£100 At home on road and trail
A small light with a solid feel, the NiteRider Lumina 1200 Boost kicks out a powerful beam for its compact proportions. The light has a bright white hue and a good reach. There is reasonable peripheral visibility but the brightness does fall away at the sides quite rapidly – or at least it appears to. The central beam is so strong that we suspect the periphery just appears darker in contrast. It’s worth noting the Lux measurement, of 280 at five metres, which is a serious level of fiercely channelled light.
The directness of that beam can make it feel a little like you’re riding down a tunnel – but this is when it’s in the highest Boost setting, and of course it can be run at a lower lumen level. Running the light on full triggers a lot of memories of mountain-bike night riding and it is ideal for transforming dark singletrack into day, but unlikely to be the default mode for general road use. Unlike most of the other lights on test, this model does not have any cut-outs in the housing to provide side illumination. It’s probably not a deal breaker, but it is a feature that we’ve come to expect in a road-specific front light.
The Lumina 1200 has seven modes: Low, Medium, High, Boost, Fast Flash, Pulse Flash and Walk. The maximumpower Boost mode can be accessed smoothly and quickly from any of the other modes by simply double-clicking the on/off button, which is a handy shortcut. A further useful feature is a lockout operation that ensures the light isn’t switched on by accident when stored in your bag – press and hold for eight seconds to lock and unlock. It is charged via a standard micro USB cable.
The bracket is a classic clamp style that is tightened easily by hand even when wearing gloves, and the light body slides onto the mount with a reassuring positive click. The mount swivels side to side so you can angle the light to suit your own riding preference, or move it temporarily to avoid dazzling another rider – very handy. A helmet mount is available separately although the Lumina’s relatively high weight makes this is a light that we’d prefer to keep on the bar.
The NiteRider is well made and its Boost mode means it’s equally at home off-road as it is on the urban commute. Therefore, it’s versatile across a mixedterrain collection of bikes. Would it be our first choice for the road? Probably not, because for the equivalent cost there are other lights that (in our opinion) have a better beam pattern, but it is compact, well-featured and high quality.
Running the Lumina on full triggers a lot of memories of mountainbike night riding