RAVEMEN PR1200
£100 Innovative beam feature
Hit the top button and it will instantly change to low beam, anti-glare Road mode
Ravemen has designed the PR1200 with an innovative dual-lens configuration that allows you to quickly switch between high and low beam settings, which respectively offer longdistance visibility, primarily for off-road use or unlit country lanes, and anti-glare performance for road riding. To this end there are two main modes: Road and Mountain. The Road programme has four modes from High (600 lumens) to Eco (100 lumens). Mountain has High (1200 lumens) to Low (300 lumens).
Its ‘HiLo’ dual-LED Mountain mode emulates a car headlamp on full beam, with a far-reaching high beam. In the beam image below, taken at 1200 lumens in Mountain mode, you can see the tree canopy is lit, which is great for on the trail but will dazzle other road users. That’s where Ravemen’s clever beam feature comes into play. Hit the top button and it will instantly change to low beam (single LED) Road mode, with a close-range floodlight and strong cut-off line above the light to stop any glare for oncoming traffic. Ravemen recommends running at 600 lumens for road use and 1200 off-road, and this anti-dazzle feature can be used at both brightness settings.
In maximum (1200 lumens) output the beam has excellent reach and spread without any ‘stepping’ at the edges. However, there is no cut-away in the bulb housing to allow ‘be seen’ visibility from the side on this light. On quiet roads we’d be inclined to run at full beam to overcome this. Helpfully, there is a clear digital readout on the top of the light that shows available battery life in minutes for each brightness level instantly, which eliminates guesswork. The PR1200 boasts an excellent IP8 rating so should survive the heaviest downpours.
The Ravemen comes with a wired remote button so you don’t need to remove your hand from the bar. It’s a nice extra to have, but it only enables you to switch between brightness levels, and we found ourselves wishing that we could use it to alternate between the high and low beam options because that’s the change you want to effect most quickly in the majority of situations on the road.
The bracket is secured with a 4mm Allen key. It’s simple and solid once in place, but not as quick to switch between bikes as tool-free clamps. The light simply slides into place but, unlike the NiteRider, there is no lateral adjustment. Recharging is via a micro USB connector and it also has a standard USB outport so you can use it as an emergency power bank to charge your phone or another device.