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Cateye AMPP1100 front light review

Night light

Our rating

4.5

100.00
110.00

David Caudery/Immediate Media

Published: January 25, 2020 at 11:00 am

Our review
The user-friendly AMPP1100 provides plenty of high-quality light to safely illuminate almost any ride

Pros:

Excellent light output and coverage, decent run times

Cons:

Designed for above the bar mounting only

The AMPP’s built-in 2500mAh lithium-ion battery has a fast recharging circuit and can be fully charged via its Micro-USB to USB cable in three to five hours, depending on the specific power supply used.

Cateye says it can be fully charged and discharged around 300 times, and even then should still have a rated capacity of 70 per cent.

The light measures 105 x 48 x 34mm, and mine weighed 207g. Cateye’s tough FlexTight bracket quickly fits on to handlebars up to 35mm in diameter, tightening with a knurled, threaded knob from behind and gripping securely, thanks to its integral rubber strip. Optional brackets are available for helmet and fork crown mounting, too.

Twin LEDs with Cateye’s OptiCube lens technology cast crisp, white light a surprisingly long way. In its low-power position, the usable light pool reaches around 10 to 15m forward with evenly graduated light illuminating a wide country lane from hedge to hedge.

Its 400-lumen output with 4.5 hours’ run time is plenty for steady rural riding, and probably too much for lit urban environments.

Middle mode doubles output to 800-lumens with two hours’ run time, enough to see clearly for 25 to 30m and ensure you don’t miss a thing, but the 1,100-lumen high mode produces virtual daylight and hard shadows from your levers on each side.

Its claimed 1.5 hour run time is impressive from a small package, but it will dazzle oncoming traffic. HyperConstant mode mixes a constant 400-lumen light with an intense, pulsing 1,100-lumen flash and somehow manages a claimed run time of 6.5 hours, whereas the 200-lumen flashing mode can last 50 hours, but really is binary, like strobe lighting.

Sideways visibility is very good and I’ve been impressed with the quality and scope of illumination. Over the course of one typically mixed ride that required all three constant lighting modes (mainly middle and low) I managed just under three hours usage on a cold night. My other static tests supported Cateye’s claimed run times.

Product

Brandcateye
Price110.00 GBP,100.00 USD
Weight207.0000, GRAM () -

Features

br_lightTypefront
br_integratedBatteryyes
FeaturesLight/Modes: High, Middle, Low / Daytime / Flashing
Output: 1,100, 800, 400 / 400/1,100 / 200 lumens
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