Exposure Link Plus Daybright

Exposure's Link Plus Daybright is a powerful and lightweight dual front/rear helmet light that adds a good amount of visibility. The mount is secure and the battery life is good too. The button is a little difficult to operate in heavy gloves and you might want to turn it on before you set off, but overall this is a good option for a secondary light.

Pros: Solid build quality; solid mount; powerful rear light

Cons: Not that easy to operate while riding

Having a powerful light located on your helmet is a great way to make yourself more visible, especially when you're in heavy traffic. Exposure's Link Plus with Daybright is a great addition for a serious commuter or roadie who likes to continue riding when the evenings get darker.

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The rear Daybright flash is brilliant and the battery life meant that I could run both front and rear on their brightest flash for the duration of my longer training rides.

It's not all brilliant, though. The single function button isn't the easiest to operate in large gloves. It doesn't feel prominent enough so it can be easy to miss. In thinner gloves and with bare hands the button is easy to find.

You can, of course, just stop and take the light from the mount. It clips in and out pretty easily but it's still a two-handed job while you're riding. That may be too much time with your hands off the bar for some riders.

If you're familiar with Exposure lights then you'll know how to operate the Link Plus. With the light off, you first hold the function button for two seconds. The light will then flash once, twice and then a third time. These flashes denote the high, medium and low brightness modes. Releasing the function button after the first flash selects the high mode, and this is the mode that I found most useful for daytime and early evening rides.

Initially, the memory function that should have instantly enabled my preferred flash mode wasn't working. But everything is working correctly now and getting set up is quick and easy. Just a quick double click of the function button and it's ready to go.

As this is a dual front and rear light, you've got quite a few (too many for me) options. And as it's a helmet-mounted light for being seen with – the front 150-lumen light isn't strong enough to see by – I went straight to the front and rear flash combination. This is the mode you'll get the Daybright rear light flash setting too. This kicks out a respectable 45 lumens which, although not the brightest I've used, does combine with the elevated mounting position to give very good visibility.

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Should you be heading out in the autumn and winter after work or in particularly bleak weather then I'd still recommend running a brighter main rear light on constant. You'll certainly need a more powerful front light for seeing with on unlit roads.

The rear light is angled so that it points roughly level when you're wearing your helmet. When looking straight ahead, the rear light is easily visible to anything behind you, though a few riding friends did point out that the visibility is reduced when looking to the side and it completely goes once your head is tilted down.

In the high program mode that I selected, the burn-time is 6hrs. For me, this is plenty for a week of commutes or a couple of mid-week rides after work. You get a coloured light when you switch the light off that tells you the remaining charge level. I took amber (50%-25% left) as the cue to recharge. Green indicates 100%-50%, red is 25%-5% and a red flash is less than 5%.

Charging takes around 7 hours from flat, and I was easily able to do this at my desk between morning and evening rides. The same light will illuminate solid green to show the light has recharged to 95%.

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At £85, this isn't a cheap solution to extra visibility. Cateye's Volt 400 is a bit cheaper at £69.99 and that kicks out 250 lumens for the rear light and 400 lumens for the front. That can also be attached to the handlebar, improving your mounting options. Thankfully, for your money, you do get the usual Exposure build quality.

As a secondary light, the two-in-one design and elevated mounting position of the Exposure Link Plus Daybright worked really well. There's the slight issue of button adjustability when wearing thick gloves and while riding, but overall, this would make a very good addition to a commuter or road rider's visibility.

Verdict

Very good secondary light in an elevated position