Troute’s new helmet light was fresh off the lathe when we got it, with a few teething issues to match. It’s definitely got potential, though.
This miniature head lamp (there’s a bar lamp planned too) squeezes in three LEDs and it’s brighter on the trail than the lux and lumen counts suggest.
Distance throw is limited and there’s a noticeably stepped ring effect, which can be disorientating. It automatically downshifts to the medium setting after a few minutes – great for run time but we’d rather it stayed at full chat.
The neatly machined angle adjustable mount for the miniature light adds negligible weight to your nut, so epic or extremely technical use is certainly not a problem.
The bag battery is a great big lump however, and we’d recommend going for a smaller battery pack because the capacity and run time will be overkill for most riders.
Reliability was excellent on the Troute LED we ran last year and we predict production versions of these lights will give the big brands a run for the ultra light head lamp honours.
Beam shot - Troute 3UP
For more information of how we tested this year's crop of lights, see our latest buyer's guide to mountain bike lights and Tested: 30 high-power mountain bike lights.
