Exposure Link+ Mk3 Front and Rear Combo with DayBright

The Exposure Link+ Mk3 Front and Rear Combo with DayBright is a helmet-mounted light that offers 360-degree visibility, with a front light offering 450 lumens and a rear delivering 50. Typically for Exposure, the construction quality of the UK-made light is excellent, and it proved reliable over months of testing, making me feel a bit safer on my urban commutes. I was so impressed overall that it has made me reconsider my views on helmet-mounted lights.

Helmet-mounted lights are quite niche and if you're looking for more traditional lighting, it's worth checking out our best bike lights buyer's guide. 

Before testing this I'd always felt helmet-mounted lights were pretty pointless and a little cumbersome. However, the directional and powerful front lighting and neat mounting of the Exposure Link+ has changed my mind.

On opening the Exposure Link+ box it's clear that this is a very well-made light that's constructed with durability in mind. This is backed up with a two-year guarantee for the light and battery, and a lifetime warranty for the LEDs.

It weighs 90g (13g more than claimed), the anodised aluminium construction is simple, and the light is designed to fit vented helmets using a circular screw mount, which lets you adjust the direction once it's mounted.

We'd still suggest checking that it works with your specific helmet or helmets, as some lids may not have vents in the correct place or of sufficient size, and the clamp could also potentially interfere with the action of a Mips liner.

Simple to use

The light is very simple to operate, with a single top-mounted button controlling both brightness and mode. The front offers three different lighting levels, and various modes allow you to use solely the front or rear lights, or both together.

While some riders have criticised the size of the single button, I had no issues with it and felt it was a clever way of controlling what is effectively 24 different settings.

The light was sent to me for testing with a handlebar mount, but you don't get one supplied in the box as standard, just the helmet mount. You can buy this simple QR bar mount for £14.99. I didn't feel it was particularly sturdy, though it was fine when I used it for my 20-minute commute.

I tested the light primarily on my helmet, using the white front light on its full 450-lumen setting and the red in a constant pulsing mode, which I felt offered maximum visibility without annoying other road users.

Charging & run-times

I did find recharging it a little fiddly as it took a fair bit of effort to prise open the rubber dock cover to insert the USB charging cable. That said, I'd much prefer that minor difficulty to having a charging port that's easily exposed to the elements. Technically speaking the light's IP65 rating means it's water-resistant rather than fully waterproof, but unless you're planning to submerge the light in water (our advice: don't!) it should survive any rain and road spray it encounters.

Once charged, battery life is excellent. I was getting over three hours with both lights on full power. This should cover just about every daily commute, and in my case the battery never ran out during an entire week's commuting – though your mileage may vary, of course. And Exposure claims running times of up to 32 hours at lower power settings.

Value and rivals

Selling for £90, the Exposure Link+ Mk3 isn't what you'd call cheap – but you are getting a high-quality, reliable and versatile helmet-mounted light with Exposure's usual impressive toughness.

There aren't many obvious rivals in the market, though Brightside's Topside is a reasonable alternative, costs just £30 and Shaun really liked it when he reviewed it. The Topside is much less powerful, though, with the front light firing out just 50 lumens or 100 lumens in flash mode.

Exposure itself also offers a 'mini' alternative, the Link Daybright at a slightly less expensive £70, which received similarly good scores when Simon reviewed it a few years ago.

Conclusion

There really is little fault about this light. I feel that it's at its best when mounted on your helmet, but you do also have the option of fitting it to your handlebar. The quite hefty price may be a deterrent, but I did genuinely feel safer on my commute using this – and it's very hard to put a price on that.

Tough, bright and versatile, the newest incarnation of Exposure's Link+ is a genuinely impressive piece of kit.

Verdict

A really brilliant helmet light that made me feel safer on my commute