Bike lights have come a long way since I’ve used my bike as the primary mode of transportation during my college days. This small and well designed MetroFlash light showcases all the simple improvement to this line of simple products that make it a much more useful and convenient gadget.

LED light. This is probably the single biggest improvement over the old incandescent light bulbs, and one that has made all of the other improvements possible. LED lights are very small, last long, and consume only a fraction of the power while giving off incredibly bright and steady light.

Compact size. This feature can not be emphasized strongly enough. This is a very small light. It’s barely larger than your key-chain light. If you are not careful enough you’ll easily lose it when you are not using it while biking.

Tool-free mounting. This light comes with several convenient mounting options, all of which are, thanks to the light’s small size, tool-free. You can mount the light stand with the included rubberized ring, a velcro strip, or a couple of cable strips. Each one of these options is very easy and straightforward to implement, and the installation instructions are as clear as they come. You can either mount the light on your bike directly or attach it to your helmet.

USB charging. This I think is a wonderful feature. Gone are the days of fiddling with batteries, rechargeable or otherwise. You just take this light off, connect it to any USB charger via the included micro USB cable, and after about an hour or charging you are ready to go. I have not tested how long does a single charge last yet, but from my experience with LED lights in general I can assume it will take me weeks of regular use before I need recharging.

Four light modes. This light allows you to use four different lighting modes – four different ones of varying intensity, and one flashing mode. I only end up using the most intense light mode, although I think that the flashing mode would come in handy even in the daylight when alerting car drivers to your presence on the road.

Overall, this is a very well designed and functional bike light.