Cyclingnews Verdict

Blackburn’s Dayblazer 800 uses its power really well for see and be seen visibility and it's bombproof and waterproof too. The strap mount is wobbly though and run times are short at full power.

Pros

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Bombproof and waterproof
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Useful beam for the listed power
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Great price
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Some sideways awareness
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Solid button press
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Universal bar mount
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GoPro shoe provided
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Bundle options with rear lights

Cons

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Short run time
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Bar mount is wobbly

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Blackburn does a range of Dayblazer lights that now stretches from 1,500 to 400 lumens, but we reckon the 800 will be the sweet spot, high-value choice for commuters and recreational riders who occasionally need a bit more power for the darkest rural roads or light off-roading. Short full-power run times and a wobbly strap mount limit usefulness for rougher trails or faster rides though, so with those two issues in mind, how does the Blackburn Dayblazer 800 fare against the best bike lights on the market?

Blackburn Dayblazer 800 front light — Just a single LED is used, but it's house behind a lens with side cut-outs for wide-angle visibility (Image credit: Guy Kesteven)

The main body is an octagonal ribbed aluminium extrusion and the mini-USB charge port is hidden behind a thick and very securely sealed recessed rubber flap. From experience this makes Dayblazer lights not only super tough from drops and crashes, but the IP67 waterproofing rating is excellent too, no matter whether you’re hosing down or you’ve crashed into a pond. It also comes with a ‘limited lifetime warranty’ which is rare for lights.

While it doesn’t sound much, the 800-Lumen output is surprisingly useful. Compared to the Dayblazer 1100, it doesn’t have quite the same punch, but the distortion-free beam gives a great balance of early warning and wide-angle vision with no sharp edges to tire your eyes prematurely. Even the second 500-Lumen power setting is good enough for steady riding outside of town lights, and there's a 300-Lumen steady setting for see-and-be-seen visibility. To round out the modes, there are then two different strobe modes for maximum attention-seeking.

One downside to the Blackburn Dayblazer 800's light weight, compact size and affordable cost is the small battery, which won’t last far past an hour at full brightness, even when fresh on a mild night. On the plus side, Blackburn batteries are obviously of good quality, since all of the older units we’re still using haven’t lost much capacity over the years. The silicone button that changes modes with a positive click also gives rudimentary ‘traffic light’ remaining life information.

The fat, 360-degree rotatable wraparound strap mount is tough, simple to use and fits all bar sizes and most bar shapes too. The way it's designed means there's no danger of scratching your stem as you twist the light back straight after tightening the strap too. However, this mount still lets the Dayblazer wobble and twang about on rougher surfaces, which is really distracting. That means we’d recommend using the supplied GoPro shoe instead, which also opens up a helmet mount and an out-front mount option as well.