Nukeproof Reactor Light  2009 Mountain Bike Review

Nukeproof Reactor Light 2009

Reviews / Lights

Nukeproof 95,129

At A Glance

The first thing that struck us about this light was the packaging! We know you can’t judge a book by its cover, but it undoubtedly had us ‘oooh-ing’ over it! A circular, brushed-silver tin and when you lift the lid there’s a bright yellow and black nuclear reactor hazard sign staring back at you before you uncover the carefully padded Nuke Proof light beneath. Obviously, we realise it doesn’t have any effect on the standard of the light itself, other than ensuring it gets to you in pristine condition, but it certainly gives you the impression of a well made and carefully thought out product.
The Nuke Proof is a good looking number; sleek and stylish, with the on/off button situated on the top which glows a soft blue when turned on making it super easy to find if you want to change a setting or turn it off. There are 3 main settings: low, medium and full. You could probably ride at night using the medium setting if you wanted to prolong the battery life for a longer ride, but the full setting is the one to use to get the full Nuke Proof experience. Even on full the battery life is just under 4 hours, which is very impressive.

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On the Trail

On initial appearance the colour of the light beam from the Nuke Proof is much softer and yellower than the others, but it has a warm spot in the middle, the light actually comes with three filters for the lens, so you can have a spot light, medium or wide beam. We filmed the light with the medium filter on, but tried all of them out for the test. For riding on the trails the medium filter gives the best of both worlds, there is enough spill to light up your peripheral vision, whilst the central beam is even more intense giving a decent focus ahead of you on the trail. You could easily ride with the Nuke Proof on it’s own, as there is plenty of light to see what you need to.

Overall

A very bright light with excellent battery life, it comes with both helmet mounts and handle bars mounts, plus the extra beam filters and all in a brilliant package. There are two pricing options depending on what battery you go for, making this a very high performance, yet affordable bit of kit.

Specs
• Maximum Output 900 lumens
• Mode: 6 settings (Power Save / Standard / Super Power / Fast Flash / Slow Flash / Low Power)\
• Burn Time: Super Power (900 lumens, 4 hours extreme battery / 2 hours eco battery) Standard (540 lumens 7 hours extreme battery / 3.5 hours eco battery) Power Saving (225 lumens 12 hours extreme battery / 6 hours eco battery)
• Batteries: Li-Ion batteries 4 cells Extreme Battery Pack / 2 cells Eco Battery Pack

Lux Meter Reading
Full Power
10 yards: 30 Lux
20 yards: 7 Lux

UK RRP £199 (Eco Battery) £249.99 (Extreme Battery)

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By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.

Tried this? What did you think?