Tumble & Fall Halo light

While it’s got some neat features for mixed road/off-road use, the Halo’s switch menu undermines on-trail flow. The ribbed twin-LED head gives a relatively focused beam and the listed 2,000-lumen output compares to properly calibrated 1-500-lumen lamps on the trail, with good distant reach. Irregularity towards the edges of the beam can be distracting, especially given the tendency of the O-ring mount to waggle on rougher trails. The three power settings are split with consecutive flash and off modes too, making the change from medium to high power a sketchy ‘disco then dark’ panic. Useful visibility is added by the outer ‘halo’ rings that give the light its name. There’s no battery gauge apart from a last-gasp change of switch colour, but its generous six-cell capacity means that’s rarely an issue.

Weight 410g
Run time 2hrs 30mins

Price $165

Cannondale Trail SL 29 SS

The fat aluminium tubes are a constrast to the skinny items seen elsewhere in the test, but this rigid Cannondale uses them to create one of the most old-school - and lightest - rides here.

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KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

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SKS Airbuster CO2 inflator

The alloy Airbuster has a large knob so you can regulate the flow of gas, a mechanical stop to prevent the cartridge being pierced in transit and a dust cap to keep the valve free of debris. While it works with Presta and Schrader valves, switching between them requires a fiddly change of the valve head. The thin rubber sleeve doesn’t provide much protection from cold spent canisters. You can’t insert much of the valve into the inflator head, so you have to be careful to avoid leaks. Price $33 w/16g cartridge

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