Ay-Up no longer has a UK distributor, so you now have to order direct from Australia. This means you have to pay tax after it’s been delivered to you in the UK, so expect an extra bill from HM Revenue and Customs – about £60 at the moment (January 8 2010).

The light sets have changed slightly too, for the better. The latest V4 Adventure set now has even more packed into a fancy (but probably slightly unnecessary) hard case. In addition to last year’s tiny 2x 3-hour and 1x 6-hour batteries and accessories, they now throw in an excellent headtorch strap (great for runners) and a pair of ‘Saxon’ clip-on red filters to quickly convert one pair into a bright rear light. This also works well with the new dimmer and flashing modes built into the battery packs.

On paper, the output doesn’t quite measure up to some of the others on test, but with one light on the bars and the other on your helmet, the placement of the beams can be tweaked to be just about perfect, which more than makes up for it. All you could possibly need for not a lot of cash.

Mbr rating: 10

Light: Ay-Up V4 Adventure Set
Price: £263.76 (At current exchange rate and excluding tax)
Weight: 322g (w/3hr batteries)
Burn time on max: 3hrs 15min (3-hour battery) or 6hrs 15 min (6-hour battery)
340 lumens per light (680 total)
Battery type: Neoprene bag with Velcro strap
Brightness settings: 2 + flash
Comes with 3x batteries, 2x red filters, 2x bar mounts, car charger, helmet mount, headtorch mount and cable extension
Contact: www.ayup-lights.com

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