Following our October 2010 write-up on Knog’s Boomer Battery mini lights, concerns were raised over the reliability of their switchgear. Both front and rear have a moulded button covering a pip on the hard plastic shell lying under the soft white exterior skin. Depressing the button (and in turn the pip) turns the light on, swaps between modes and turns the light off, the latter requiring a two-second press in any mode.
Soon after the start of the test, our front sample began cycling through modes of its own accord, which is apparently not uncommon. The cause is an over-sensitive switch, which responds when the light, which sits atop the handlebars, is jolted by a bump. The problem didn’t last long, seeming to resolve itself of its own accord within a couple of weeks.
Recently, however, the light has begun to suffer the same problem that, for a while, afflicted the rear – it sometimes can’t be turned off using the switch. Instead, the skin must be partly removed and the base of the shell detached to break the battery connection. Reversing the process turns the light on, after which the switch will cycle between modes as it should.
Meanwhile, the rear seems recently to have recovered and can now usually be turned off using the button. So even the problems can’t be relied upon to be problematic…
Anyway, neither has actually stopped working or turned itself off in some 50 hours of use. Given the long battery life, ease of attachment and bright beam, both can be considered a worthwhile buy although the switch issues, which may be fixed in more recent examples, may be a deal breaker for some.
Knog Boomer Battery mini light, front £24.99; rear £22.99
Update: on the ride home following the publishing of this article, the front sample began turning itself off at random, only to prove impossible to turn off using the switch once I got home. Not good.
