Trail Evo Bike Light

I already have the Hangover and my prior review of that being too bright stands. I figured if the Hangover was going to "ruin" my night riding experience I might as well get the bar mounted EVO and to make it even brighter at night. I now night ride with sunglasses on because of how bright these things are.

My first night ride experience was not uncommon. A hand me down set of lights with long cables, external battery packs, zip tie instructions, and some tape. They burned for an hour and, in hindsight, were no brighter or more useful than a modern phone flashlight. I bobbled down the trail a few times, but for over 5 years, I just thought night riding wasn't my thing.

Enter 2021. I bought a Hangover because I know the lead engineer at Outbound and he seemed like he knew a thing or two. "Maybe technology has improved," I said.

My. Goodness. The pattern, the brightness, the fact that is doesn't have one godforsaken cable. I was floored at this sorcery contained in a small little aesthetic and easy handling package.

Coming from my previous candlesticks, I felt like it couldn't get any better than this Hangover on my helmet. "Outbound has clearly figured out how to break physics and let me see the complete trail for a few hours with no cables, a single button, and a mount that fits most any helmet. How could it get any better?" Night riding season was good.

Fast forward to 2023. I ride in the mornings just as often as at night, getting in 20 miles before the baby's first nap. I figure, let's try Outbound's bar light. They were so right about the Hangover, the Evo might be ok.

Once again, the impeccable fit and finish, the ease of install, ability to set the mount once and then remove/install the light every time. It was clear that the Evo, just like the Hangover, was built by a crew who spend many a night in the forest. The pattern is a great complement to the Hangover. It casts great light low and directly in front of you. It helps in technical rocks and climbs. And I can still see the trail even when I drop my head in exhaustion for some heavy mouth breaths.

I consider my current Hangover/Evo light game 100% sorted. I don't even have to think about these. Charge each with a readily available USB-C, throw them on the pre-set mounts, and roll into the darkness. In the world of mountain bikes, it's flippin fantastic to have one component of your kit just totally figured out. Cheers, Outbound.

Used several times now, 2 very rainy dark nights, one of those off-road in "muddish" conditions. Took some getting used to "adaptive" mode, but that's ingenious and really nice. For Graveling, I turn to low on the hills up, turn to medium or high on way down. I've went 3.5+ hours, it outlasted me. Battery is fantastic and as stated. I happen to have funky aero bars on gravel and went with go-pro mount. I wish Outbound could IP infringe and put little teeth on the mount. The weight let's light drop. I SOLVED this with a little carbon paste though, and after 2 rides with carbon paste , no more issues that I see. For me, I'd like the tabs on the go pro to be just a little more offset so the light had more up/down adjustment without hitting mount. THIS IS NOT OUTBOUNDS issue, their design is solid, I'm nit-picking. Overall I couldn't be happier and have already set funding aside for the early 24' release of the new'er helmet MTB light. Bonus, the standard mount with teeth for handlebars on my 35mm MTB bars, MONEY!!, Chevy stole the line, "Like a rock" but they didn't have outbound lights on their bike. Again, adaptive on MTB handlbars, absolute brilliant. Don't really even need my helmet light which I do still use for a second light and it's a 800 lumen old exposure diablo. I skip it Grvl'ing, but do keep for MTB in case of catastrophic failure I'm not in the dark. =) Safety first. Save your pennies, buy one, you won't regret it.