The new Voyager 4.0 packs a potent Luxeon 1 watt LED emitter churning out 45 darkness-scalding lumens through a sophisticated beam-shaping optical lens. So yeah, it’s plenty bright. And unique to Blackburn, two independently controlled amber side LED’s provide 180 degrees of feel-good, be-seen visibility.
Utilizing the same anti-dimming Constant Current Technology as our powerful System X lights, and four AA batteries will provide 4 hours of runtime at full brightness or 10 hours on low. There’s also separate flash modes for the side LED’s and the main beam. Batteries Included. Water resistant.
Submitted by
tkltangent
a Cross Country Rider
from Auburn Hills, MI, USA Date Reviewed: October 29, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Stoney Creek
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$50.00
Strengths:
Pretty decent light strength. I like the multiple settings.
Weaknesses:
Like everyone else, the mount broke on me. I have had to resort to duct-taping it to my bike to use it. This could be avoided by having the snaps made of metal instead of flimsy plastic. At least then if it bent we could bend it back a few times before it weakened.
Bottom Line:
Do not get this light if you use your bike regularly. If you are a casual user who will occasionally use it at night then this is probably fine. If you use your bike for regular commuting avoid this light at all costs. The slightest bump or vibration can send this light skittering across the pavement.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
hj@tringa.com
a Cross Country Rider
from Saint Paul, MN Date Reviewed: March 5, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Mpls Greenway
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Nashbar
Strengths:
Great light output, thanks to Luxeon LED's. Using standard rechargeable batteries make using it flexible and economical. Riding during the winter nights in the Twin Cities, I almost always left it in flashing mode - which gave me plenty of runtime, and enough light.
Weaknesses:
This model is unusable for anything above very casual use. I'm on my third unit (exchanges) and have had the mount break each time. The first one that broke, I admit I probably tightened it too much. The next two however broke after 250 miles of normal urban riding, and I was *very careful* to keep it snug, but no more than that.
Similar Products Used:
Cateye LED/halogen combos (less light, but brackets have never broken).
Bike Setup:
Trek 930 "winter" bike, studded Nokian tires; Planet Bike rear blinky and full fenders; "Ergo" handle bars.
Bottom Line:
Don't buy this light unless you are able to re-engineer the mount, or you ride a bike that is completely vibration-free. I'm debating on whether to try for a refund, or just "make my own" bracket -- since the *light* unit itself is fine. Or, I could just use it as a flashlight.
Somebody at Blackburn is in denial over the mounting design, and if they don't admit that they made a *mistake* on this one, I wouldn't buy again from this manufacturer.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark B.
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego Date Reviewed: March 4, 2009
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$33.00
Purchased At:
beyond Bikes
Strengths:
headlight works(ed) great as "highbeam"
used in tandem with 2nd 5 LED broadbeam light
Weaknesses:
bracket weak / poor design.
Bottom Line:
agree with many post here , bracket is a accident looking for a place to happen. Snapped on a downhill ,light bounced around in front of the will before sliding to the curb and shattering.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Warren Goodhue
a Weekend Warrior
from New Zealnd Date Reviewed: February 26, 2009
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Good light output. Amazingly tough.
Weaknesses:
Very poor clamp. Hungry on batteries.
Similar Products Used:
Planet bike Beamer 5. Smart.
Bike Setup:
CRX Commuter
Bottom Line:
Good light output but clamp is hopeless. Light must be pushed home very firmly or it will fall out at speed and bounce down the road. The fact that the light survived this three times before the tabs on the light base broke (rendering it useless) is, however, tribute to its shock resistance. When you do get it clipped in you then will struggle to get it out! Compared to its replacement (Beamer 5)it has heavy battery consumption to light output
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
pacman
a Weekend Warrior
from san jose, ca Date Reviewed: February 6, 2009
Favorite Trail:
basically anything at northstar
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
revolver bicycles
Strengths:
good light for the price. Has a decent burn time on a set of 4 AA's.
Weaknesses:
That bracket is horrible! Toss some aluminum and not just cheap plastic in there!
Similar Products Used:
cheap cat-eye's and stuff
Bike Setup:
Norco Torrent, Pike U-turn
Bottom Line:
I would save your money and pay for something more durable. if you fall one, of just accidently knock your bike over, dont expect the bracket to still be in one piece.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
pmcurran
a Cross Country Rider
from UK Date Reviewed: January 20, 2009
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Cheltenham Cycles
Strengths:
Bright, good beam pattern
Weaknesses:
The bracket - it's utterly useless. Broke within 10 minutes of me buying it. Only a tiny brass screw holds it together & with the substantial weight of the light it's never going to hold
Similar Products Used:
Cateye Halogens & Cateye LED
Bike Setup:
Commuting bike - MTB hardtail with slick tyres
Bottom Line:
Don't buy it! It'll never stay on your bike
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
instantdiver
a Weekend Warrior
from Hampshire, UK Date Reviewed: November 23, 2008
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Wiggle
Strengths:
Nice design from the outside, crisp clean quality of light, nice battery pack
Weaknesses:
mounting braket not up to the job, o-ring prone to get squashed, brightness suddenly reduced for no good reason
Similar Products Used:
Cateye products
Bike Setup:
customised '08 Spesh Hopper
Bottom Line:
I don't recommend buying this light. My first one sheared off the mount bracket whilst turning a corner (in heavy traffic) after one month of commuting use. This was replaced (FOC) but the same thing happened to the second one after another month of use the nest season. Bracket clearly isn't up to the job. Apart from that the second unit never performed as brightly as the first one despite high current batteries etc. The o-ring had a tendency to get caught when sealing the unit and it's also easy to not properly mount the unit on the bracket when you thing you've done so - resulting in the light dropping off when you go over the first bump. I contacted Blackburn about all this after reading how they rate good design as a priority but never received a response. This really bugs me as it isn't the cheapest light available but clearly isn't up to the job. Luckily Wiggle provided a full refund soI purchased a Niterider micronewt which though double the cost appears ten times better. No more Blackburn products for me.....
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Al Harris
a Weekend Warrior
from UK Date Reviewed: October 12, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Revolution Cycles
Strengths:
A fine well focused beam with a hard crisp white light. Brightness versus run time is excellent .
The removable battery pack is excellent.
Weaknesses:
The mounting bracket proved totally inadequate and dangerous. The bracket snapped after 5 days use ( smooth tarmac road only ) and sent the unit under the front wheel resulting in bad a crash. DO NOT USE THIS LIGHT with the current bracket.
Bottom Line:
The light is excellent with a bright well focused beam.
The mounting bracket proved a safety hazard.
DO NOT USE THIS UNIT with the current bracket.
This is a nice reading light from Blackburn.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
cronometro
a Cross Country Rider
from Wiscosin Date Reviewed: August 29, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Nine Mile
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
Rib Mountain Cycles
Strengths:
Good Light, nice pattern, batteries last.
Weaknesses:
The Mount, mine broke from road vibrations.
Similar Products Used:
Planet bike, night rider 12e
Bike Setup:
Redline 9-2-5
Bottom Line:
Good light poor mount. I returned mine for credit and got a Planet bike light. I liked the Blackburn light pattern more but the planet bike mount is better.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Watertown, MA Date Reviewed: May 30, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Strengths:
powerful for size and battery life
Weaknesses:
mounting bracker, weight
Similar Products Used:
Cateye LED light
Bike Setup:
commuter
Bottom Line:
I've been using this light for commuting for about 6 months now and have broken two brackets. I haven't even crashed, they just can't handle the vibration of the road. Blackburn has been good about replacing the brackets, but this is unacceptable even for a commuting bike. I've had Cateye lights for several years before that have survived crashes without breaking. I wouldn't buy this or any other Blackburn light again, but I'll keep using it for the light quality and compact size as long as Blackburn keeps sending me replacement brackets.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Watertown, MA Date Reviewed: January 29, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Strengths:
Bright, even light
Weaknesses:
Mounting bracket
Similar Products Used:
Cateye LED
Bike Setup:
Old Giant MTB commuter
Bottom Line:
I've been using this light for commuting on city streets for a few months now. The first day I used it, it fell out of it's bracket because I had installed it wrong. It's stayed on once I installed it correctly, but it shows how delicate the connection to the bracket is. Even after I installed it correctly, it still slipped a lot due to the weight of the light and the size of the bracket. Recently when I tried straightening it out, the bracket broke. I'm going to try getting a new bracket from Blackburn. The light itself works quite well. It's much brighter than my old triple led, 4 AA powered light from Cateye (but that one even survived a crash with a truck that might not have happened if it were a brighter light) and has good battery life. It's on the heavy side, but that's to be expected for a light this bright with batteries.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Knight Chen
a Cross Country Rider
from Windsor,ON,Canada Date Reviewed: November 9, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Very bright and circular beam shape. Good for seeing things 20 feet ahead of you because the light shape becomes bigger when the beam shoots farther. The light shines the ground even under raining conditions. Also easy installation.
Weaknesses:
LED doesn't give you wide enough beam but compared to other single LED light, this one is good. I use another wide beam helogen light to compensate this weakness; Side flashing bulbs are unnecessary; Internal computer part interfers with the signals of my wireless speedometer and disfunctions it -- wireless speedometer bikers need to think about it.
Similar Products Used:
Cateye HL-EL530, Cateye HL-EL300
Bike Setup:
full suspension mountain bike with some upgrades
Bottom Line:
Overall good-quality product. It is the best battery LED head light I have ever seen. I will discard my Cateye HL-EL530 and stick with this one. The price definitely worths it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Trevor
a
from Denville, NJ, USA Date Reviewed: September 9, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
Cycle Craft
Strengths:
Very bright! This light is a great backup to your primary lighting system. I use the Niterider MiNewt X2 dual and this light has come in handy for a friend who does not have a light and works great as a flashlight.
Weaknesses:
For the price I really can't find a weakness.
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
2007 Cannondale Prophet 3z - Stock
Bottom Line:
Great light at a great price. Blackburn customer service is great too. I broke my mount for the light and they send a new one to me ASAP.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Donald
a Cross Country Rider
from Stewartstown, Pa,USA Date Reviewed: May 24, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Heritage Rail Trail
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$48.00
Purchased At:
Adventure Cycling, York, Pa
Strengths:
This light is very well made and mounts easily. It is very bright and lights up a circular pattern well ahead of you.In total darkness, you can spot small animals 100ft ahead of you. Exellent choice for rail trails and dirt roads or bike paths. Side marker LED's are pretty cool too. Burn time on 4 fresh 'AA' on high avarages about 6 hrs.
Weaknesses:
A little heavy.
Similar Products Used:
Cat eye 300(weak) NightHawk Emitter(Nice But mount very weak)
Bike Setup:
K2 Lithium3, soft ride kit(frt&rr) Mavic Crossride,Maxxis overdrives , riser bars etc.(old guys have to sit up )
Bottom Line:
Great light, well made, and performs as well or better than advertised. Easy to mount and stays pointed where you put it. Does NOT rattle! Not the best choice for rugged technical trails where a 'flame thrower' is needed.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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