![]() ![]() Otherwise, a long press of the button turns the light on or off, and a tap switches it between solid and flashing. In fact, there’s a clever feature that essentially disables the “on” button when that knob is in its brightest setting. It might be too easy to accidentally turn the light on while being stored or transported if all it’d take is the flip of a switch. The knob serves only as a mode adjust, which is probably a good call. The charging port lined up, the light turned on, and the button worked. But their prices are a lot closer to Bookman’s, and their lights don’t have near the refined design sensibilities. Fenix comes to mind, and they have a few good replaceable-battery lights that seem much more legit. What could go wrong? Well, turns out, the button could not function, the charging port could not line up, and the whole thing could just not turn on. I should have known by the $20 price tag that this 800-lumen TOWILD was a little suspect. It was a no-name light from Amazon … and it didn’t go well, despite its “versatile illuminations” and being “designed for professional night riding.” ![]() When I set out to try something different, it wasn’t the Bookman Volume. I just use it because bigger lights tend to get longer-lasting batteries. My long-distance / multi-day light is way bulkier and brighter than I need. Sure, that battery will be bigger, more expensive and harder to find than the AA you’ve got in your old VCR remote, but carrying a spare sure beats what I’ve been doing. Seemed to me like a swappable rechargeable battery would be an easy way to soothe the range anxiety of long-distance cyclists or last-minute night riders. Pry your way inside most rechargeable lights, and there’ll be a relatively familiar-looking cylindrical battery cell. I never understood why this wasn’t more common. The knob may be what gives the Volume light its name and grabs all its headlines, but what actually caught my attention first was the fact that it runs on a replaceable battery. Remember those days? When everyone had colorful silicone Frog lights between their colorful silicone Oury grips? Bookman’s minimalist “Block” and “Curve” lights harmonize with your bike in a similar way, but the new Volume lights are shaped much more like a traditional, techy bike light, with one clicky round exception. It reminds me of the mid-2000’s when Knog Lights reigned supreme. Like pedestrian lights that dangle from zippers or reflectors that work like slap bracelets. Bookman’s products seem to be designed primarily around ease of use. Bookman is based in Stockholm, which totally tracks given that Stockholm is one of the most livable cities on the planet. I bet their company Zoom meetings are awash with phrases like “hyperlocal” and “livable cities,” or at least their Swedish equivalents. ![]() Still, they’re not quite perfect.īookman has a real modern-young-urbanite vibe. They’re loaded with gimmicks, some of which should probably be standard on every light. Travis Engel had a similar experience testing the Bookman Volume 800 and Volume 1500 bike lights. They seemed like a novelty at first, but use one for long enough and you might wonder why they’re not on-or in-every new bike. How functional does a gimmick have to be for it to stop being called a gimmick? Consider down-tube storage compartments for example.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |