Our friends at Proviz very kindly supplied me with one of their new LED360 chest lamps to test and review. Before I begin the review, I was supplied this product free of charge for review purposes.
Key Features:
Background
I used to do my long marathon training runs home from work, which is 18 miles away. My route would often involve running down sections of the cycle path, which in January/February/March was pitch black by the time I arrived at it.
I already own 2 head lamps from well known and reputable brands. 1 cheap, one more expensive (£50).
I regularly used these head lamps until I joined a running club and saw how good some of their chest lamps were. I was recommended one from Amazon which I in turn went ahead and purchased. When this arrived, I was quite impressed with it and it quickly became my go to lamp, depending on the type of run I was going on. If there were streetlights and it wasn’t too cold, I’d use the head lamp. If it was cold and I needed a beanie, I’d wear the chest lamp. I found that a beanie and a headlamp combo wasn’t the best for me (and neither was the beanie with the inbuilt lamp as it was not bright enough).
Review
When I received the Proviz lamp, I noticed that it has a nice and familiar look to most of the chest lamps on the market. There is a good sized front lamp with the plastic hinge system to guide the beam to the level you want it.
The rear box contains a five bright red pulsing bulbs. This unit also contains the USB charge point. There is also a nice quality strap with a reflective strip down the centre.
There is also a single wire that runs from the top of the front lamp, along the strap and over the shoulder into the rear power pack. There are two adjustable clips for the wire to sit in on the shoulder strap.
Weight wise, on their website, Proviz claim that this lamp weighs in at 161g. Mine weighed in at 167g, which is close enough for me.
The lamp has multiple adjustable clips on the straps to adjust the size, so it is a one size fits all and very easy to adjust.
The lamp is IPX4 water resistant, which means that it is resistant to water splashes in any direction. From a Google search of this IP rating it reveals that this does not mean that it is waterproof in the sense that you can submerge the lamp, but this should be more than enough for a shower of rain. The Proviz website states that the lamp is waterproof, I have also reached out to them for clarification. Proviz have assured me that the lamp is suitable for running in the rain.
I noticed that the build quality of the lamp appears to be solid. It feels better constructed than the cheaper model I have. The lamp section in particular on my cheap lamp has popped out of its hinge holes on several occasions when adjusting it. Altogether the finished product just feels more premium.
The lamp has 4 beam levels and is very bright, so make sure that it is aiming down or dimmed if running alongside traffic or you may risk blinding drivers, however the main point is to see where you are running so it is likely to be aimed down anyway. The beam can be dimmed from pressing the power button on the bottom of the unit and adjusted up and down via the side hinges.
The straps were really comfortable and when you have adjusted them to fit, you barely even notice that they are there.
Testing
So, how does it fare up when you’re running? Well, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. I have a large common opposite my house, so my first test was to go over there with my lamps as it is pitch black.
I won’t go into the difference between the brightness and range of my head torches against the Proviz chest lamp as they are different products (for those curious, the Proviz lamp was vastly brighter than both). I mainly stuck to testing it alongside my cheaper chest lamp. From memory my cheap lamp was also 500 lumen, so they should be relatively similar.
As soon as I switched them both on the difference was very easy to see. Literally. The Proviz lamp appears to be so much brighter, despite being the same power output. I am assuming that this is down to the two-bulb design. The cheaper lamp only has one which handles all 3 beam settings. The Proviz lamp has 2. It also has what Proviz call PV Optical Technology, which they state is the following: A unique design for light to pass through the optical lens giving an optimal balance of reflection and refraction to transmit a more effective light beam. Either way, it works and works well.
When running, the lamp, when aimed towards the ground, illuminates everything you need it to and to a good distance ahead.
I ran across the common and was informed that the rear led lights were visible the entire time. When I reached the far treeline I stopped and turned round and they can still be seen by camera. The cheaper lamp was barely visible in comparison.
Final Thoughts
If you are a night runner, this is an item you should certainly be considering adding to your kit. As you would expect from Proviz, they have designed and released another great product. This is a very good lamp at a very reasonable price.
It has now replaced my current chest lamp and I am very much looking forward to using it in more often now that my running journey has resumed.
The lamp charges quickly, it is easy to put on, adjust and aim where you need it. The option to dim and alter your beam are also very useful.
Returning to the subject of the price, we have also been provided with a 15% off code which brings this lamp in at even more reasonable £27.62. All you need to do is to use the code runningbible15 at the checkout to take advantage of this offer. This offer is for use sitewide, so if you fancy a new jacket, it will work for that too.
If chest lamps aren’t your thing and you prefer head torches, they have released 2 new headlamps also. If they are anything near the quality of the chest lamp, then I would highly recommend.
Links
Product link – NEW: LED360 Chest Light (500 Lumens) (provizsports.com) for £32.49
Website – https://www.provizsports.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/provizsports
Twitter – https://twitter.com/provizsports
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/provizsports