Bookman Curve Front Light

Light, bright and with excellent run-times, the Bookman Curve Front Light is a great choice for urban commuting or as an emergency back-up. It looks a bit different too.

Finding an LED front light that offers decent levels of brightness combined with good run-times and fast charging can be tricky. The Bookman Curve, though, balances all those handy features well, and looks pretty funky to boot with its interesting wedge shape. It's even available in a variety of colours, and either on its own or in a set with the matching rear.

> Buy this online here

The Curve only fits in one orientation, but does so easily to bars of between 22mm and 42mm with a simple silicone band and buckle that clips back into the light unit. I say easily, but the wedge shape does mean fitting it can be tricky depending on your cabling – I found it difficult to fit on one drop bar that's slightly narrower than standard, with prominent cabling.

While its shape maximises output at the front, there's also some spill at the sides to help make you more visible from other angles.

The build quality of the Bookman light is excellent and the power socket is well protected at the side of the light and covered with a silicone bung. There's little worry about water ingress in even heavy rain.

Modes

It has five modes – three steady (high/220 lumens, mid/100lm, low/15lm) and two flashing (high/220lm and low/15lm). Bookman claims a run-time of an hour on steady high, 3 hours on flashing high, 2.5 hours on mid, and 15 hours on steady low, with up to 70 hours on the low flashing. I found these accurate, though I confess I didn't test the full 70 hours... Recharging is via USB and takes two hours from empty to fully charged, making it handy for office use.

It's easy to use, with a simple button press to scroll through the modes.

On the highest steady setting it's definitely bright enough to get you seen by day or night. Its hour run-time is probably long enough for most urban commutes. In this mode it gives a decent throw of light forwards and in a good arc to allow for pretty good vision, too. In streetlit areas it's sufficient as your only form of illumination, but it also does an adequate job on dark unlit roads, should you need an emergency back-up. The beam isn't powerful enough for high speeds, but it would get you home at a steady pace.

It's a good option for dawn and dusk riding, and in low light winter conditions, where it's needed more for being seen by other road users than for seeing the road ahead.

> Buyer’s Guide: The best 2021/22 front lights for cycling

On the 100-lumen mid setting the light is visible to other road users and just bright enough to be viable as an emergency backup on unlit roads, though you'd need to adjust your speed accordingly – it's a better option under streetlights.

The lowest setting (15 lumens) is certainly best suited to being a back-up safety light, used alongside another light for illuminating the road ahead and keeping you visible to other road users. It gives just enough light to ride by if there are plenty of streetlights, and the run-time of 15 hours means it's convenient for those with well-lit urban commutes.

The two flashing modes are essentially a choice between a daylight flash and a low-level flash for additional visibility.

Value and conclusion

Value-wise, it's not a cheap LED option at £34.99 (€39 on Bookman's site), but it's difficult to find a light to compare it with, as most around this price don't have such a high max output.

It's closest in terms of value and performance to the Exposure Trace DayBright, now £45, but even this only has a maximum steady mode of 125 lumens, much lower than the Bookman.

Overall, it's light, compact and easy to use, with good versatility for urban and occasional dark lane use, and it looks pretty funky too.

Verdict

Well made, effective and bright enough to genuinely light the road ahead, plus it charges quickly