The Blink/Steady is a smart-looking rear light. It's made from machined aluminium and comes at an undeniably hefty price. Its party piece is its use of an accelerometer to detect movement and control its operation. Start riding and it'll switch on automatically, staying that way for a minute until after movement has ceased, at which point it switches itself off. Provided you don't want to change the lighting mode, once it's fitted to a bike, you don't have to do a thing - not even switch it on or off.
The rectangular case houses a couple of AAA batteries and two 0.5-watt LEDs as well as the circuitry. It screws to the seatpost clamp; water is kept out with a rubber seal. It’s stood up flawlessly to road spray and grime while we've been using it over the last couple of months - and that's on a bike that's never even seen a set of mudguards.
The Blink/Steady rear light runs on two AAA batteries
The Blink/Steady offers two lighting modes available, flashing or continuous, depending on which way the light is fitted. If the 'Blink’ side is facing upwards, it will flash, if 'Steady' is facing up, it will be on continuously. It's clever, but does mean that switching between modes means you need to use an Allen or torx key to unscrew the light from the seatclamp and flip it round. The upside is that it'll be awkward to steal.
Battery life is reasonable, but not quite the 200 hours (in Blink mode) stated by the manufacturer. The main problem we encountered is that there's no warning when the batteries start running low. At best this is inconvenient, at worst, it's potentially dangerous if the Blink/Steady is your only light and the batteries die while you're riding.
We think the Blink/Steady will be popular with urban cyclists who want a stylish and beautifully made light. It's bright enough for use in towns and cities, but we'd definitely pair it with another, brighter light for after-dark countryside riding. The price will undoubtedly put some people off, but its particular take on form and function is likely to appeal to riders with an eye for design.
It's available in the UK from www.patterrn.com/shop/ or wordwide from www.blinksteady.com. Delivery is free to the USA.