Review on 🚲 Knog Cobber: LED Wrap-Around Bike Light with 330º Waterproof Design, USB Rechargeable – Universal Bicycle Light by Drew Diaz

Knog Cobber Medium Taillight Review: It has interesting design features. The charging connector is a USB plug that fits into any USB-A socket without a cable. The connector forms part of the attachment mechanism and retracts securely when in use and appears to be watertight, which is cool. The mount is perhaps its best feature - where most lightweight mounts are a clunky, flimsy afterthought that sticks far away from the seatpost (or whatever) and always bumps and twists, this is a sleek, magnetically-assisted mount, which sits very close to the seat post. . The light itself wraps around the post so overall it has a very low profile design that looks cool and stays in place. But this USB charging plug? Nothing prevents you from connecting it the other way around, in which case it will not charge at all. There's a glowing green ring around the power button when it's charging properly - it's up to you if you connect it the other way around. Couldn't there be a function to make it fit just right? Or do you have charging pins on either side of the connector? But the biggest problem I have is that it's not light during the day. At night or twilight (to be honest, those are the only conditions Knog showed in his ad) that's enough. Most of the lights are there. However, 99% of the time I spend on my bike is during the day, with relentless Uber drivers running around staring at their phones in dark shades. I need bright daylight with a sharp, noticeable flash. It's not like this. I have a couple of Niterider Solas flashlights (batteries run out on long weekend trips). They (and similar kygolites and others) have a lens that focuses light so that it can be seen from a great distance directly behind you. This corncob style light features blank LEDs with a 180 degree wide beam pattern. Better visible from the side than my Solas at night. But in daylight it's almost invisible from any distance. Measured with a lux meter in a dark room - Solas 100 (100 lumens) with a shot battery measures 10 lux at 3m in the central beam; The Solas 150 (150 lumens) measures 26.5 lux at 3m. This rear Cobber Medium (rated at 170 lumens) measures 3.6 lux from the same position. I assume lumens include all the light on the ground and in the roadside trees? Just keep in mind that this doesn't show how well the drivers can see behind you. As for battery life - it ran out of power in the brightest flashing mode and died within six hours of riding. Less bright modes in daylight should not be considered. Be prepared to keep an eye on it and switch it off whenever possible on long journeys or charge it from the battery during stops. The charging port is completely inaccessible when installed. The mount doesn't have any tilt adjustment at all - it doesn't need it because it's omnidirectional. At the seat post, half of the light output is directed towards the ground. Half of the feathers are turned towards the sky. It doesn't matter - even if it were dead, the same amount of light (not very much) would be directed at the drivers behind you. In short, if you want daylight, don't consider anything that doesn't have a focusing lens and a scope mount. However, for suburban night and twilight lighting, it is quite good, unobtrusive and beautiful to look at. .PS - Knog has an app for Mac and Windows called Modemaker that allows you to customize the brightness and blinking patterns of the Cobber lights. Doesn't seem like a bother - it has an amazing range of permanent and shimmering patterns, none better or worse than what's available. And it leaves out the most important information - how bright and how long the light lasts in each mode. You can find hints on using the application to determine runtime - this only seems to apply to some "PWR" models I've never seen. There is no information about Cobber headlights. It's a lazy piece of software that you try once, then delete and forget it exists.