Moon Meteor-X Auto Pro

The Moon Meteor-X Pro is a brilliant light that packs way more punch than its price tag would suggest. It's easily capable of acting as a primary light for night commuting and the day flash is perfect for an anytime blinker.

• Pros: Powerful, versatile, great price
• Cons: Full power constant could last longer, charging is fast but fiddly

When I first saw the Meteor-X Auto Pro I thought it looked a little bit like my Lezyne Micro Drive 450XL, and was expecting it to be a decent support light with a slightly flimsy design. How wrong I was.

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Okay, on its 450 lumens high constant setting, battery life is nothing to shout about. The 1.5hr run-time was sufficient to get me home easily, even after riding to work with the light flashing, but chances are you'll have to remember to charge it between rides.

For the size of the unit, though, I'm pretty impressed by the output. Visibility is good when used alone, even on unlit roads under tree cover. The beam is nicely direct, illuminating what you need to see, with very little wasted power out of the sides.

You can of course drop the lumens to 250, giving you 3hrs of run-time. I didn't quite get that on one daytime training ride, the light went out after 2hrs 53mins, but it was a pretty cold day. This setting is perfect for street-lit rides in the evening.

My favourite setting is the daytime flash, which puts out 700 lumens in a slow rhythm. I actually used this at night, along with my regular main light (a Light&Motion Imjin 800); the setting might be called Day Flash, but I found it really useful for getting that extra bit of attention from drivers on narrower lanes.

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In the day flash setting you'll get 45hrs out of the light. That's easily enough for all the riding I can do for nearly a month. It's perfect for training rides when the sun never really comes up.

There is an auto mode, which turns the light on and off in whichever of the light's seven settings you choose, depending on how dark/bright the conditions. Some will appreciate this (George found it 'interesting' when he reviewed the slightly lower power non-Pro Moon Meteor-X Auto), but I'm pretty indifferent to it. I'm sure there's an application for it, I just never found it.

A quick poll in the road.cc office suggests everyone has their own favourite methods for mode selection, which might explain why George found the Meteor-X Auto a bit confusing whereas I found the Auto Pro easy and familiar: a double-click to change between constant and flashing, then single clicks to select your preferred lumen output. Most of us tend to choose a favourite one or two modes and stick to them anyway.

The button itself is easy to find, with its grippy rubber sitting proud above the light's shell.

Mount-tastic

The mount is another great feature. Here, the piece that sits on the bar is shaped to give perfect contact on a round bar. For my flat top aero bar that should be an issue, but the attachment hook at the rear can move to accommodate any tube shape. It's been perfectly secure on my oddly shaped bar.

Charge!

Charging times are pretty quick. I had this one recharged from low to full in just over two hours. Most of the time I just left it plugged in; the Moon will cut off automatically when it's done charging. Accessing the charging port is a little fiddly – the rubber mounting strap gets in the way a bit – but you get used to it.

Reliability looks to be very good too. I'm ashamed to say that I've left my bike outside to be rained on quite a few times with this attached. It's also seen all the frost that we've had with no problems.

At £39.99 it's a great unit, and beats my Lezyne hands down: the beam seems more direct and the day flash is more powerful. I'm also happy with the robustness this has shown so far, having lost my Lezyne's USB cover...

Verdict

Excellent for town and evening rides, and strong enough to be a primary for night rides