TESTED: Magicshine RN 3000

Words and photos: Mike Blewitt

When darkness comes and the trail beckons, you really do want a quality light at hand. Magicshine sell a variety of lights on the Australian market, and models like the creatively named RN 3000 are a modern update on the all-in-one Cateye you may have used a couple of decades ago. However, the differences are staggering.

The RN 3000 can pack a huge amount of lumens to light your path when the sun goes down. How many? You guess it, up to 3000! But far from being a gas to flat only light, you can run it on a single bulb or double on Eco, Low, Mid or High settings. This means you can put out anything from 150 lumens with a 62 hour burn time, right up to the full noise 3000 lumens, for 2h10min of retina burning mountain bike action. Your actual use may fall somewhere between the two.

The pack comes with the fast charging USB-C cord, and a variety of bar mounts to suit some different shapes. Given the light has an IPX6 waterproof rating, this could be a great light for commuting business through the week, with mountain bike night ride parties in the evenings or on the weekends. The light comes with a 90 degree turn Garmin-style mount that sits a little forward from the bar it mounts to. This means you also have quite a few options for mounts. The battery can also discharge from the port at the rear, so you're able to charge your phone or GPS from it as well – making it a good option for fast and light bikepacking trips.

On the trail

I found the single light on Mid really useful for climbing to trail heads and moderate speeds on easy trails. That setting is 750 lumens and gives almost 12 hours run time. It's a narrower beam than the width of both bulbs going, hence my preference for using it at lower speeds and on trails that aren't demanding.

When going faster on singletrack descents, the double bulbs in the same high setting was my preference. So that's 1500 lumens, and you can get almost 6 hours of burn time. The beam pattern is wider, but it's not as wide as some patterns. Still, on singletrack you don't need anything crazy wide, and the overlap of the two beams in the centre made for very sharp lighting. There is a high mode (3000 lumens) above this and it was awesome. But I only ever reached for that on fast road and fire trail descents with a greater speed. For a lot of trail riding the High setting was enough.

With four light options in 4 settings (left bulb, right bulb, both, flashing) it can be a little tedious double clicking from one setting to the next and then single clicks from one intensity to the next – but in general I found it fast enough to get through. When you turn it off, and then on again, the memory function has it fire up in the last setting.

Verdict

This is a great light that packs a punch for the size and weight (it's about 270g). To me, it's not an all out mountain biking light, as I feel you need something on your head as a priority. This may be too heavy for a head mount for most, compared to a light unit with a separate battery pack. But for those doing the daily commute in all weather who want something that packls a punch for completely unlit routes and some off road options – this is really worth looking at.

RRP: $259.95

From: magicshine.com.au

Hits:

• All in one unit
• 3000 lumens!
• Lots of beam and burn time options
• Weatherproof
• Discharge port

Misses:

• Needs to pair with a head mount for better off road use