Rather than being positioned on your bike with a traditional clamp, the Knog Boomer Wearable rear light is attached to the rider by way of magnets or a clip.
It’s a useful way of finding a more effective position for your rear light if perhaps your seatpost is obscured by a saddlebag or mudguards, or, even better, if using the Knog Boomer Wearable as a secondary light when commuting.
It’d probably be more accurate to re-name the Knog Boomer Wearable as the Knog Boomer Clippable, however. While the magnets are strong, with a claimed pull strength of 1.8kg, riding over the bumpy, pot-holed roads frequent in south London mean the magnet plate can become dislodged from the main unit unless attached to a thin jersey or t-shirt.
So that leaves the clip as the primary – and only realistic – method of attachment, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it’s very good as clips go, with a tight fit that will lock onto a backpack (best for commuters), belt buckle or pocket with few problems.
Once safely attached, the light itself is very bright, with a single central LED and two peripheral flashing LEDs. Output is a stated 20 Lumens, with four modes (one constant and three flashing), and the light can be turned of at any point in the cycle by holding down the large button on the front.
The Boomer Wearable is powered by a two AAA batteries (included) which you can access using the coin-shaped slot at the bottom. The unit is sealed very tight and on the first attempt at getting in it can feel like you’re going to break the plastic, but stick with it and use a coin to wedge the bottom of the unit open before sliding it round to separate the two parts. The tight seal does, however, mean the unit is water resistant and it hasn’t failed during the wet rides while on test.
What else? Burn time is claimed to be 12 hours on steady mode and 36 hours on flashing. We’d like to see a USB chargeable version of the Boomer Wearable, but you’re still getting a good amount of juice from your AAA batteries. Six colours are available and retail price is £20.49.
Verdict
Issues with the magnets aside, the Knog Boomer Wearable is a very useful addition to the commuting cyclist’s armoury; bright and adaptable.
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