Exposure - Six Pack Mk7 and Diablo Mk8 front lights - Dirt

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Exposure – Six Pack Mk7 and Diablo Mk8 front lights

Benchmark designs for night riding - from here in the UK

Exposure has been at the forefront of bike light technology for many years now, pioneering their ‘cable free design’. With development, testing and production all carried out in their UK facility they have built a reputation for both high performance and reliability.

We take a look at the two lights featured in their video – the Six Pack Mk3 handlebar light and the Diablo Mk8 helmet light. These are examples of the best in handlebar and helmet mounted lights currently available from Exposure.

What do we look for in a lighting system for off road use?

Output and beam pattern:

Every year we see lights with higher output ratings come to the market. It’s not just about the brightness of the light but the area it covers and the quality of the light. For fast and technical night riding, a main light with 2000 lumens or above with a good beam pattern and a pool of light around your front wheel area is ideal. An additional helmet mounted light will help too, letting you scope out terrain outside the vision that your bar mounted light gives – round corners and to the side of the trail.

Ease of use:

It’s all too easy to lose mounting brackets, battery leads or chargers, making it a stress to get organised and out on the trails at night. Most high-powered light systems run a lamp with a separate frame mounted battery, connected with a lead. This keeps a lower weight light on the bars and offers up options on where to place the battery. Other brands (such a Exposure) have focussed on all-in-one units keeping things simple – a lamp, bracket and charger are all that’s needed. The result – fewer things to lose and a clean, simple design.

Features:

Fuel gauge – Essential to monitor the riding time you have left before you’re out of power and left in the dark.

Programmable modes – A helpful feature allowing you to choose a run of settings to toggle through that suits your own style of riding and the length of time you’ll be on the trail for.

Remote switching – A recent development in bike lights and useful for faster paced riding. The switch is always to hand and useful for quickly moving to a higher output when you drop into challenging terrain. You can keep your hands safely on the bars, staying in control.

 

EXPOSURE SIX PACK MK7

The Six pack light has been in Exposure’s range for years and has undergone a steady process of development as new technologies have arrived. It sits at the top of the Exposure range and is their most powerful handlebar mounted light.

There’s a real quality feel to Exposure lights and as with all their models the Six Pack Mk7 has a CNC aluminium body with a tough crystal ‘optical plastic’ lens. It may look like a bulky light but the overall weight of 386g is low in comparison to competing lights with a similar output and burn time. A proven light system with a separate battery will usually weigh between 450g and 700g. With all the weight in one place it leaves the bike tidy with no battery, leads and cables getting muddy but you may ask the question of how secure it is on the bars. Exposure got it right from the start and their quick release aluminium bar mount has needed very little development. Small and sturdy, it holds the Six Pack light steady and leaves little clutter on the bars when the light is not in use. An updated bracket to fit 35/31.8mm bar clamp diameters, is now available.

The Six Pack has programmable using just main switch and the settings chart etched onto the light’s body. You can choose between settings using the low/medium/high outputs, with varying burn times or one of the Reflex settings.

Reflex setting? This technology enables the Exposure light to intelligently adjust its own brightness to suit your riding. A combination of gradient, acceleration and cornering forces are interpreted to match output to your need for light while automatically maintaining the burn time you have selected. The digital OLED status display (OSD) confirms the mode you have selected and shows the remaining burn time in each of the light settings.

 ‘It’s a dedicated handlebar mounted system in a clean, simple design with a low overall weight.’

With a maximum of 3400 lumens from six LEDs on the brightest setting, the output is more than enough for high-speed riding in technical terrain. This is further boosted to the 4500 lumens in Reflex mode when your speed increases on descents. It shifts back again once your speed drops, preserving battery life. A remote switch is also a useful option, available for £29.95.

Wall socket and USB chargers are supplied and a full charge from empty is three hours.

With all the power you need, a useful beam pattern of light and the wide (and easy to understand) range of settings, the Mk7 Exposure Six Pack is an impressive package. It’s a dedicated handlebar mounted system in a clean and simple design with a low overall weight.

– Reflex Plus Technology
– OLED Status Display
– Smart Port Technology +
– Cable Free Design
– Intelligent Thermal Management
– Optimum Mode Selector
– Fuel Gauge
– QR Bracket
– Made in the UK

PRICE: £419.95

EXPOSURE Diablo Mk8

However good a bar mounted light is, an additional helmet mount can be a benefit when riding in more challenging terrain and at higher speeds. Exposure’s Joystick and Diablo lights have always been a proven piece of kit and has become a benchmark against which others are judged.

The Diablo is now in its eighth generation and continues with the slim aluminium body and compact fuss free design. The weight is kept low at only 120g (the latest Joystick is just under 100g). This torch-like unit is small enough to keep with you in your pack to get you out of trouble at any time of the year.

As with the Six Pack light, the Diablo has programmable settings too but does without the digital display due to its small size. The Optimised mode selector (OMS) is adjusted via the light’s main stainless steel switch and there is a grid etched on the main body showing the various mode options.

The three LEDs give a great beam pattern allowing you to scan the trail for obstacles. With a run time of 1 hour on full beam (1400 lumens) through to 24 hours on the lowest output, 8 settings (with a mix of the three power ouputs) will give enough burn time flexibility for most riders.

‘This torch-like unit is small enough to keep in your pack to get you out of trouble at any time of the year.’

The ball and socket helmet mount and slim size of the light keep the height of the package very low and out of the way of overhanging branches. Two different helmet mounts are supplied (to cover most helmet venting designs) along with a handlebar mount. Although we tested this as a helmet light, with this power it is ideal for handlebar mounted use on less testing terrain, or even on your road or commuting bike. Beam pattern is excellent for fast paced off road riding and this works well on one of the lower settings when paired up with one of Exposure’s dedicated bar mount lights such as the Six Pack, Maxx D or Toro.

The Diablo MK8 is worthy of its status as a classic design when it comes to helmet mounted lights. With a lightweight, low profile design, multiple mounting options and a powerful and useful beam pattern it’s a package that is hard to beat.

– Smart Port Technology +
– Cable Free Design
– Intelligent Thermal Management
– Optimum Mode Selector
– Fuel Gauge
– Made in the UK

PRICE: £209.95

exposurelights.com

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