Garmin Varia RCT715 Radar light & camera review

Garmin's Varia radar is still as good as ever, but the added camera has one fairly sizeable flaw

Garmin Varia RCT715
(Image: © Josh Ross)

Cyclingnews Verdict

Garmin Varia radar is one of the absolute best products you can buy for a bike but this new entry in the ecosystem might not be worth an upgrade. The Garmin Varia RCT715 beats the competition but that doesn’t make it perfect.

Pros

  • +

    Rear light and Varia functionality continues to be amazing

  • +

    USB-C charging

  • +

    IPX7 exceeds the competition

  • +

    Controllable via some Garmin head units

  • +

    Battery life is reduced compared to the RTL515 but it's still good

Cons

  • -

    Video isn't good enough to catch low-light licence plates

  • -

    Incident detection needs attention

  • -

    App is very slow and difficult to use for interaction with saved files

  • -

    Small memory card included

You can trust Cyclingnews Our experts spend countless hours testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

If you are talking about the best bike light on the market, there's no conversation to be had without including the Garmin Varia rear light. Not only is it a very good rear bike light by itself, but it's an incredible piece of technology if you consider the radar functionality. It's one of those innovations that flat-out makes cycling better. It's so good in fact that it transcends the normal product cycles. How can you make something so good, better? With the release of the Varia RCT715, Garmin thinks it has found a way. 

After spending time with the Garmin Varia RCT715 I am ready to share all the ins and outs. This is a rare product that straddles the use spectrum, by which I mean there's a use case for the casual commuter cyclists in urban centres but there's also a use case for those who spend their riding time away from the city on low traffic roads. If safety is an important consideration for your riding, then keep reading to see if the Garmin Varia RCT715 should be your next purchase. 

Josh Ross

Josh hails from the Pacific Northwest of the United States but would prefer riding through the desert than the rain. He will happily talk for hours about the minutiae of cycling tech but also has an understanding that most people just want things to work. He is a road cyclist at heart and doesn't care much if those roads are paved, dirt, or digital. Although he rarely races, if you ask him to ride from sunrise to sunset the answer will be yes. Height: 5'9" Weight: 140 lb. Rides: Salsa Warbird, Cannondale CAAD9, Enve Melee, Look 795 Blade RS, Priority Continuum Onyx