Lezyne Strip Drive 300+ LED Rear Light

If you're looking for a no-nonsense, easy-to-use and capable rear light, I think you'd struggle to find better than the Lezyne Strip Drive 300+ LED at this price, especially given its impressive run-times. It lacks any kind of smart braking technology, but Lezyne offers a more powerful version with this built in, if you really want it.

Check out our guide to the best rear bike lights for more options – and our best front bike lights buyer's guide, so you have each end covered.

The Strip Drive 300+ features 10 LEDs (two sets of five inline, side by side). It's a chunky thing, measuring in at 70mm long, 37mm wide and 47mm deep, and weighs 75g, which is slightly towards the heavier end of the spectrum. The built-in rubber mount allows for easy, secure fitment, while the rubber strap simply hooks on one side, and attaches to the opposing hook. It fitted easily to a range of seatposts from my stable, including 27.2, 30.9 and 31.8mm diameters.

There's no spacer to mount the Strip Drive 300+ level with the ground, but in reality, with a slight downward angle there's less chance of it blinding following riders or drivers, and visibility certainly isn't affected (more on that later).

The rubberised body feels tough enough to be dropped by clumsy hands, and also features IPX7 waterproofing (meaning it's capable of protecting against water ingress when immersed in water of up to 1m depth for 30 minutes).

A thick rubber port cover on the bottom of the light reveals the USB-C charging port – there's no charging cable included in the box, but given their ubiquity these days, most people are likely to have one to hand (even iPhone owners now!).

Operating the light is simple: to turn it on just hold down the large button on the top for a couple of seconds; to turn it off just do the same again. Switching between modes is a single press of the button, and there's a memory function so the mode you've chosen will be selected each time you turn it on.

To check the remaining battery charge just press the button once while the light is turned off. Checking charge is simple – a single green light above both rows of LEDs means there's 75-100% remaining, a green and red light means it's between 25-75%, while red means you've got just 0-25% left... time to charge up.

Modes

The Strip Drive 300+ features a fairly typical range of modes – if you've owned a Lezyne rear light before it will certainly feel familiar. These include Economy (15 lumens), Blast (60 lumens), Pulse (60 lumens), Flash 1 (40 lumens), Day Flash 1 (150 lumens), Day Flash 2 (300 lumens), and Femto (5 lumens).

The options are generous enough to cover off the majority of riding conditions and situations you might find yourself in. The full 300-lumen Day Flash 2 is retina-searing to the point I'd be concerned it might actually dazzle anyone following you, but thankfully, the slightly less powerful Day Flash 1 is enough to do the job.

The Strip Drive 300+ also features 270-degree visibility thanks to the way the light is recessed into the body on both sides. It certainly grabs attention from a multitude of angles, day or night. I felt very comfortable having this light behind me during the test period.

The most impressive thing about the Strip Drive 300+ is the run-times. In the lowest 5-lumen Femto mode you get an astonishing 80 hours, making it ideal for multi-day rides, an audax, or any time you might find yourself riding for a long time without access to a charger. This mode isn't weedy either, and will still get you noticed.

Even in the hungriest 60-lumen Blast mode, which is essentially your brightest always-on option (my preferred type), you get a respectable (claimed) 5 hours and 30 minutes' run-time. In my testing I found the real-world time to be not far off that claim. A neat bonus is that when the battery gets very low, the light automatically switches to Femto, to help get you home safely.

The light has a 1,400mAh battery capacity, and charging it up from flat takes about 2.5 hours – not exactly super fast, but reasonable given the long battery life.

Value

For this sort of output, the Strip Drive 300+ is well priced compared with the competition. It lacks any kind of smart technology, which some in this price range have, but not everyone wants or needs this, and the light shines in many other areas – with very long run-times, great weatherproofing and a strong overall lighting performance.

The Cateye Viz 300 Rear Light is also £40 with a max output of 300 lumens, though it has fewer modes, inferior micro-USB charging tech, and a lower IPX rating too (4 vs 7). Battery life is less impressive too, though Steve still thought it was very good overall – and good value compared with some, such as the Lezyne Laser Drive 250 at £65.

If you do want braking technology built in, the Magicshine Seemee 200 Version 2 is a penny under £40 (up £1 since it was reviewed), and features an improved braking function, along with a wide range of lighting options, going all the way up to a sensible 200 lumens in daylight flash mode or when braking. Run-times aren't quite as impressive as the Lezyne, but the Seemee 200 has the advantage of being smaller and lighter.

Or there's the BBB SignalBrake Auto Brake for similar money (£36.99), but this seems to offer a maximum of 50 lumens.

If for some reason you're concerned that the Strip Drive 300+ might not be enough, Lezyne produces the more powerful Strip Drive Pro 400+ for £55, but it's probably overkill.

Overall

If you're not particularly interested in smart braking technology, then the Lezyne Strip Drive 300+ is, to my mind, a bit of a no-brainer at £40. It delivers in all the important areas for a rear light. I was particularly impressed by the exceptional run-times, making this not just a light to get you noticed on the road, but one to rely on for many hours – days even – at a time.

Verdict

Long run-times, a range of powerful lighting modes and solid waterproofing make this an easy recommendation