REVIEW – Riding a bike on the road gives me anxiety sometimes, especially in areas without dedicated bike lanes and with narrow shoulders. Knog approached The Gadgeteer about doing a review and after looking over their products, the Blinder 1300 and Mid Cobber Rear bike light set really stood out to me. What immediately stood out to me how appropriate that calling a front light for a bike the Blinder was. Let’s see how well it lives up to its name!
What is it?
The Knog Blinder 1300 is a powerful 1300 lumen front light with a very light and small design. The Mid Cobber Rear is a very bright rear facing LED array that has customizable modes and a long battery life.
What’s included?
- Blinder 1300 front light
- Mounting hardware
- Mid Cobber rear light
- Short USB-A cable
Tech specs
Blinder 1300 Front Bike Light:
- BULB TYPE 6 x LEDs
- BATTERY 5000 mAh 21700 3.7V lithium ion rechargeable battery
- LENS OPTICS Polycarbonate, 3 x spot optics & 3 x wide angle optics
- BEAM ANGLE 23°
- MAX LUMEN OUTPUT 1300 lumens
- LIGHT MODES 6
- AERO BAR COMPATIBLE Yes
- LOW BATTERY INDICATOR Yes
- BATTERY CHARGE INDICATION Yellow flash = charging / green short flash = charge complete
- BATTERY STATUS INDICATION Green: 100 – 50%, Yellow: 50 – 25%, Red: 25 – 10%, Red Flash: <10%
- FITS BARS 22 – 28 mm & 29 – 35 mm
- RUN-TIME Eco flash: 120 hrs, High Steady: 1.5 hrs
- CHARGE TIME 5 hrs
- RECHARGEABLE Yes (via USB-C connector)
- WEIGHT 180 g / 6.3 oz
- DIMENSIONS H: 110 mm x W: 32 mm x L: 32 mm
- WATERPROOF Yes, IP67 rating
- CHASSIS CNC 6061 Aluminium
- OPERATING TEMP -20 to 50 °C / -4 to 122 °F
- STRAP / MOUNT MATERIAL Medical grade silicone / Glass reinforced plastic
- OPTIMUM CHARGING TEMP
- 20 to 22°C / 68 to 72 °F (Room Temperature)
Mid Cobber Rear Bike Light:
- BULB TYPE Chip On Board (COB) LEDs
- BATTERY 7V 800 mAH
- LIGHT OUTPUT RANGE Max: 170, Eco-Flash: 15
- LIGHT MODES 8
- PROGRAMMABLE WITH MODEMAKER Yes
- AERO SEAT POST COMPATIBLE Yes
- LOW BATTERY INDICATOR Yes
- FITS SET POSTS 22 – 32mm+ diameter
- RUN-TIME High: 100 hrs, Low: 2 hrs
- CHARGE TIME 4 hrs
- RECHARGEABLE Yes (integrated USB-A connector)
- WEIGHT 39 g / 1.4 oz
- DIMENSIONS H: 28mm x W: 43mm x L:62mm
- WATERPROOF Yes, IP67 rating
- OPERATING TEMP -4 to 122 °F
- STRAP MATERIAL Medical grade silicone
- OPTIMUM CHARGING TEMP 68 to 72 °F (Room Temperature)
Design and features
Both of these lights are very well designed. The Blinder 1300 has a nice heft to it, but isn’t heavy. The body is a solid piece of metal and there are little side window on the sides of the front to improve visibility. The mount fits snugly on the light and there is also a GoPro mount if you roll with that setup. (see picture about to see how they attach)
The Mid Cobber rear light has an interesting design. It has a built-in USB-A port that you can plug in to charge it. That port is built into the body design to mount it to a bike. It’s hard to describe, so a picture is best.
The Mid Cobber has multiple modes built in that you can rotate through and pick one to your liking. You can also load additional modes and light patterns into the device by plugging it into a computer and customizing it with Knog’s software.
Installation and setup
Installation and setup of the Blinder 1300 is incredibly easy. First, plug in the device with a USB-C cable and top off the charge it came with. Second, use one of the two included mounts to install it onto the front handlebars of your bike. It comes with a simple rubber strap that is easy to adjust as well as a GoPro mount if you use one of those rigs. I don’t have a GoPro, so I went with the former install setup.
Installation and setup of the Mid Cobber rear light is also very simple. To charge the device you slide off the little mounting plate on the back of the light and expose the USB-A plug. Plug it into a charger and let it charge up.
Once charged, find a good spot to attach on the rear of your bike. You can place it directly on the seat post or any other mounting spot. It’s pretty flexible.
Performance
The Blinder 1300 is BRIGHT. It definitely lives up to its name. This is great because it makes it visible in the day in addition to the night. There are multiple modes you can run it in, from eco to full in addition to different strobing patterns. The strobing patterns are disconcerting at night, so I think that’s probably a better choice for the daytime. I imagine there’s probably a danger for those who are susceptible to strobing light, so take caution.
The Mid Cobber rear light is impressive. It’s bright. It has cool patterns. It’s customizable! There are so many options it’s hard to choose which would be best for a given application. I took a video of the default options. Apologies for the difficult visibility. Recording bright LEDs does odd things to cameras.
The Knog software’s ability to customize the Mid Cobber was a very unexpected feature. It’s kind of fun, but in the long run, not critical.
What I like about the Blinder 1300 and Mid Cobber rear light
- These are well built with definite thought and consideration put into the design and usability
- Brightness. There is no question that you will see an notice these lights out on the road
- Adaptability. The mounting hardware is adaptable and fits a number of different applications.
- Quality is excellent. I can see these being used for years to come.
What needs to be improved?
- Instructions / User manual. It may be that my review package just didn’t have an instruction set or it got lost along the way. I was able to figure things out by googling it and visiting the Knog website, so not a big deal.
- Nothing else
Final thoughts
These are great lights. I feel much safer riding around with these in place. They are built well and look like they should last for a long time. Being rechargeable is another huge benefit because I don’t like dead flashlights and no spare batteries. I have enough charging options at this point that it’s much more convenient to be able to recharge the lights when needed. In reading more about Knog, I learned that they have accumulated quite a few awards for their designs. Those accolades are evident in these two devices and their focus on design. I would definitely recommend these for serious bikers or those who would like to improve the safety of their biking gear.
Price: $159.99
Where to buy: Knog
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Knog. Knog did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
