Beryl Laserlight Core review: awesome visibility comes in a bulky package

Beryl Laserlight Core review in a sentence: bulky yet powerful bike front lights in a slightly underwhelming plastic casing.

Investing in a good set of bike lights is a smart move, because even as we head towards longer, sunnier evenings (hopefully), it’s easy to get caught out after picnicking with friends or, dare we say it, drinks in the pub garden.

A good front bike light will be bright, robust and easy to both attach and detach from your handlebars or some other mounting point. On top of this, most modern units have moved away from disposable batteries and now pack built-in rechargeable Lithium-ion numbers, making it easier to plug in and recharge when at work or at home.

The Beryl Laserlight Core takes all of the functionality of its more premium, aluminium-clad sibling and crams it into a cheaper plastic body. That means it sill packs the same laser technology, which projects a small green bike symbol in front of your ride, effectively giving you a rolling cycle lane to enjoy.

Beryl Laserlight Core: price and availability

The Berly Laserlight Core costs £69.99 and can be purchased directly from Beryl's webshop.

Beryl Laserlight Core review: design and features 

It has to be said the the original and more expensive Laserlight is by far the more fetching piece of design. Shrouded in "aircraft grade" aluminium with neat flush buttons, it looks good perched atop a set of fixie or city bike handlebars.

The Laserlight Core is a little more disappointing. The shape of the plastic shell wouldn't be out of place in our best torch guide. This, coupled with the bulky mounting interface, means it's probably not going to grace any sleek road racers any time soon. Garmin, for example, gets around this by offering a light that works with existing "out front" bicycle computer mounts, for example.

Regardless, numerous rivals opt for a similar shape and anyone wanting to hit anything near this 400 lumen output will have to put up with something that's a bit bulky on the bars. After all, the light needs somewhere to stash its tech and batteries.

The Laserlight Core's main party trick is its ability to beam an image onto the road ahead, meaning cyclists are arguably visible before they are seen. This works extremely well at junctions, where fellow road users will spot the bright green cycling logo first, as well as near pavements, where crossing pedestrians will notice the mark on the road long before you arrive.

On top of this, there are four light modes, including a lower powered Day Flash, Pulse, 100 per cent Solid and 50 per cent Solid. You can achieve up to 41 hours of light in the lowest powered Day Flash mode.

Beryl Laserlight Core review: performance

The light mounts easily and quickly to pretty much any bike handlebars, as it opts for a tried-and-tested silicone strap and hook style system. I've found these can be a bit unreliable though, and do have a tendency to slip around, while the light itself is easy to knock out of position.

This isn't so bad when you are simply using the flashing or solid light mode, but achieving the perfect positioning for a decent laser image takes a bit of fiddling and it's annoying when this hard work is undone because the unit slips out of place because you've just hit a bump in the road.

With 400 lumen of street-illuminating power, I found that the Beryl Laserlight Core is perfectly strong enough for town or city riding and even does a good job of lighting up those dimmer cycle paths.

That said, brands like Exposure and Halfords offer front lights that emit 1600 lumen or more, which is exactly what you need if you find yourself regularly hitting the backroads or pedalling out into the countryside at night. Unfortunately, the Beryl just won't cut it here.

Instead, this Laserlight Core seems more adept in busy urban environments, where visibility is key and attracting the attention of distracted drivers is essential. In this respect, the laser element works really well and doesn't fail to have passers-by looking.

The battery life is impressive, although I found juice is drained far quicker when the light is set to its strongest constant setting. If you can get away with a Pulse or Flash, it seems to last ages.

That said, it charges via a standard USB, so it's easily plugged into a computer when at work or a fancy outlet in a coffee shop, should you need it.

Beryl Laserlight Core review: verdict

The Beryl Laserlight Core might not be the brightest front bike light on the market, nor is it the prettiest, but the addition of a laser function undeniably increases visibility, especially when riding in congested areas.

For those who perhaps take leisurely rides out in the countryside, similar money will be better spent on something that emits 1,000 lumen or above. But if you live in a busy town or city and constantly find pedestrians walk out in front of you or cars fail to stop at junctions, this could prove a lifesaver. 

Beryl Laserlight Core review: also consider

The Lezyne Hecto Drive 400XL is a better choice for cyclist who prefer to pedal on well-lit urban roads as opposed dark country lanes. This cheap and cheerful light can deliver up to 17.5 hours of light at its lowest output setting and its heat-dissipating CNC machined aluminium casing is certainly more reassuring than the Beryl's plastic body.

Looking for even more lighting-power than the Beryl Laserlight Core? The Kryptonite Street F-450 has a maximum lumen output of 450, can be charged via USB and on energy conserving Economic Flash, it ekes out 24 hours of light from the on-board batteries. It's also pretty cheap.