Compact lights with tremendous Lumen output have become almost commonplace. Cateye's Volt 1600 is a dual LED 1600 Lumen headlight that is stunningly effective at 220 grams. Whether you are a hard core commuter, training road cyclist, or a mountain biker that lives for night rides, the Volt 1600 delivers a perfect beam output and shape that ensures safe riding at speed, with complex action. The bright white light of the LED's penetrates the space in front of you, and illuminates out to about 50 degrees from center. With the secure handlebar mount, or the use of and optional helmet mount, you can confidently ride into the night. The max 1600 Lumen output can be run for a solid two hours, but one step mode down you get 500 Lumens for a full five hours. This is a serious compact light.

Ease of use is a Cateye mounting system standard, which uses a secure side in mechanism and locking edge to hold the light in place via either the Flex-Tight bar mount, or the helmet mount. With the Flex-Tight, you can purchase extra mounts for multiple bikes, or simply unscrew the ratcheting strap system and remount elsewhere. Light control is a simple, lighted, push button that turns the unit on and off, as well as switching light modes. The button also serves as the low power indicator, illuminating when the battery is at about 20% capacity. A last note about the mode button. When you turn off the light, the light retains the last-used mode, and when you turn it back on, it comes on in the last-used mode. The Li-Ion rechargeable battery (3.6V-6800mAh), can be charged directly via USB while installed in the head unit, and a USB micro charging cable is included with the light. Charging time with USB 3.0 is about 9 hours, and older USB connections range from 10-15 hours.

Lighting modes include three constant modes- 1600, 500, 200 Lumens, and the Hyper Constant, which varies between the 1600 and 200 Lumen levels. The final mode is a Flash, that is a bright 200 Lumens. Most riding will likely be done in the 500 and 200 Lumen modes, with the 1600 utilized in serious trail environments for extreme conditions. But as long as your ride in the dark is 2 hours or less, you can run the 1600 full bore. Cateye's electronics and materials are top notch, and always have been. Durability and battery life are exceptional, with no degradation of charging capacity through at least 300 full charge cycles. The casing is not unbreakable, but impact resistant, and will block any wet weather. We don't recommend you submerge the unit, but otherwise you will be protected from the elements. If serious illumination is your requirement in a compact light design, the Cateye Volt 1600 is a tremendous headlight option.