Cost £34.99
Available from www.Decathlon.co.uk
Most runners who run at night reach for a trusty head torch and this has it’s practicalities but also pitfalls. The team at Kalenji, Decathlon’s running brand have thought about this and thought outside the box.
They have created a 250 Lumen running light with a red safety light for £35 but the main difference is you wear it on your chest!
I have to say when I first got it I wasn’t sold but when my eldest son saw it it suddenly became ultra-cool, “Wow dad you look like Iron Man!”. Come to think about it you do! The Light is positioned in the middle of your chest and kept in place by a 3 point harness that has a quick release buckle on one side. The rear box contains the rechargeable battery (Via cable (supplied) and laptop/USB plug (not supplied)) and also 3 LED red lights which flash when it’s on. The front light has 3 light settings and is easy to navigate through.
I was unsure at first, if I would like it but I have to say it’s a great bit of kit. As well as the great feeling to be like Iron Man as you head out in the dark it’s a great bit of kit. Due to the lens you get a good flood of light on the trail in front and I found it light enough for dark trail running too. I thought you may get major swing from side to side as you run but it’s not as great as I thought. It gives you an insight into how much or little body movement you have in your running style. The rear red light is a great feature too and once you have the harness adjusted which is easy you get no movement. Battery life seems to be good i have used it for 4 hours + on full and still have not had to charge it!
I only found a few niggles but they were only minor. Due to the lens and positioning of the light it was impossible to read my GPS watch unless I was running in a street lighted area or had its back light on. The only other issue that took time to get used to, unlike a head torch the light points the way that you are facing and I regularly found myself looking with my head into the darkness before remembering to move my body.
I have found this a great choice if you are a night runner in a town or city as it will give you far more light than you need, great visibility but not effect what you can wear on your head. I haven’t tried it with a trail pack on yet but you would just lose the rear light feature. It would be possible to change the straps to attach it to the chest strap of a backpack I would think.
So in summary this is a great rechargeable light for £35 if all you need is a night running light as it may not be as versatile for other jobs as a Head Torch and the fact you look like Iron Man as you run has got to be a Plus Point! 😉
