Review: Review: Neonight light
Interesting concept, useful in daily use – V.2 will, I’m sure, fix the minor niggles. Car drivers WILL take note!
Differentiating themselves from the pack by the use of of a blue electroluminescent light source rather than standard LED’s Neonight have developed a really handy light for user safety.
It’s clearly not designed to aid what you can see, rather it is entirely focussed on aiding you to be seen – and in this respect it scores very highly! It uses double sided phosphorous strips, producing a blue light, akin to the emergency services blue, which is solid in nature.
The light is USB rechargeable, and the charge lasts about 5 hours – there’s no warning when it goes off though, it just dies.
The box contains 2 lights, which attach via magnets and Neonight envisage them to be attached either side to your helmet. Armbands are also available and this was my preferred method of attachment – in use if attached to the arm they sit at eye height for drivers and have a very positive effect if you are undertaking in slow traffic . The blue light really does help you stand out, especially at eye level with the driver! It must be added, they are almost completely invisible in daylight though, their strengths really do lie in poor visibility and/or darkness!
They say “The use of colour is hugely important. The human eye makes use of different photoreceptors over varying light conditions. Daytime receptors (cones) are most sensitive to yellow. After dark we largely switch to rods which are particularly sensitive to the blue/green spectrum. Blue objects are easier to spot, even in difficult conditions such as fog or smoke.” so there you have it!
My biggest quibble was the methods of attachment and here I think V.2 will really improve on. Currently the armbands are velcro only, an elastic armband would make life much easier rather than having to use the velcro like a tourniquet to remain firm. There’s also much scope for other placements if the attachments are secure, for example the rear light loop of many a bag these days is too thick for the current attachment to work – PLEASE work on some adapters folks.
Whether attached to arm, helmet or even ankle, the lights themselves are great, as an additional layer of defence against drivers they really help – and to be frank, I see these lights as a better weapon than a helmet in my own safety on the roads. The full RRP is £59.99, currently their website is advertising them at £39.99 – money well spent!
