Moon Meteor Storm Pro Light Review

If you are going to be doing a lot of riding after dark it makes sense to get yourself a quality light to be seen and to see where you are going. Front head lights can be a serious investment of several hundred pounds. For the past 10 years or more I’ve been a dedicated fan of Exposure lights, liking their wireless handlebar set-up and high output. However, the cost is starting to become prohibitive so when my latest light needed replacement I looked around for some alternatives.

I settled on the Moon Meteor Storm Pro RRP £125. (Available for less!)

The maximum output of 1700 lumens compares favourably to the more expensive Exposure units, with a run time of 2 hours in this setting.

That’s the figures but what is the light like in the real world? On the road I run in on the 3^rd brightness setting of the 5 available (850 lumens). This is more than adequate 90% of the time for normal riding, even on fast descents. It also isn’t so bright that it dazzles oncoming drivers and runs for the best part of 4.5 hours in this mode. I’ve only once felt the need to increase the output, on a narrow leaf covered lane in the pouring rain.

Off-road I have used the higher settings much more. The maximum output provides excellent trail visibility when tackling technical terrain or moving at speed. Again I drop it back to conserve battery life when climbing or riding wider fire roads.

A “boost” mode is available, kicking out 2000 lumens for a brief 10 seconds with a double press of the button. To be honest I don’t find this useful at all, it’s just not long enough. When things are about to get sketchy you don’t want to be fumbling for buttons, so you naturally boost early and then quickly loose the benefit when you actually need it.

The button is nicely accessible on the top of the case, but reasonably hard to activate, especially with gloved hands. There is remote switch supplied in the box which really helps on the mountain bike as you don’t have to take your hands off the bars. I’ve yet to find a convenient spot on the road bike that is any better than just using the switch on the light.

The LED display lets you monitor the battery level (Fully charged/High/Half depleted/Low) When you press the button it also displays the current output setting for a few seconds.

One gripe about the switch is that you can only cycle through the brightness settings in one direction. So when you reach a tricky area and need to increase output, you have to cycle through all the dimmer settings first. This can take a few seconds with the firm button feel. In reality what you want to do is toggle backwards and forwards between high and low.

The handlebar mount with my light is very stiff. It’s a difficult balance to stop it being loose and rattily I guess, but it can be a real struggle removing the light at the end of a ride. I also must have inadvertently failed to lock the light securely to the bracket on one ride. My expensive Meteror skittling across the road shortly after I had set-off! The plastic mount uses a finger tightened clamp. Mine hasn’t slipped, but it is a little bulkier and unsightly compared to the neat Exposure bracket which I used to leave on my bike all winter. My light was also supplied with a machined ‘out-front mount’ that allows you to fit a Garmin on top and the light underneath. I’m pleased I didn’t pay £50 for this bracket as it places the light upside down, making it impossible to read the display. The switch is now also inaccessible so you’ll rely on the remote or, like I do, just leave it alone. More fundamentally the design of the light means that there is an unacceptable amount of upwards light bleed shining into your face when used in this configeration.

So the Moon definitely has some niggly issues. Fundamentally however the light itself is an impressive bit of kit. It provides hours of very usable light that will cover the longest winter commutes or multi hour evening MTB rides. It also seems a very robust, sturdy 215g unit. As mentioned it survived bouncing down the road totally unscathed! It’s also working fine after some pretty damp and muddy outings. The light is USB rechargeable so you can top it up at work for the ride home. Charging times vary up to 6hrs depending on method, with an indication of when its fully charged.

Summary: Recommended based on performance, but Moon could improve some of the human factors of the design. Avoid the ‘out-front’ bar mount.