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review

Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+

6
£32.00

VERDICT:

6
10
Works as expected and has a particularly good mount, but there are brighter lights for the same money
Stable and quick-to-use mount
Bright enough to see by in emergencies
Battery indicator
Not as good value as some
Weight: 
75g

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The Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+ is a decent 300-lumen 'be seen' light, designed to make you visible on the roads – though it can help you see where you're going in a pinch. It's quick to mount, has good run-times of between 3 and 100 hours, uses a USB-C charging port, and also has a battery indicator, giving you a heads-up when it's getting low on juice. It also has an IPX7 waterproof rating, meaning it will survive being 1m underwater – perfect for getting submerged in potholes...

Need more lumens or just want to see what else is out there? Check out our guide to the best bike lights for more options, front and rear.

The KTV Drive Pro 300+ has six modes, the brightest of which – aside from the day flash – is the 300-lumen 'blast'. It's bright, very bright. It's generally too much for motorists in urban areas, though it did come into its own on an unlit canal path. The Drive Pro 300+ is designed as a safety light (it sits in Lezyne's 'lights to be seen' range), so not generally for navigating in complete darkness, but it does provide enough light if you're slowly navigating somewhere off-road.

2023 Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+ LED Front Light - front.jpg

Along with the 300-lumen blast, you've got 200 and 100-lumen constant modes, and two flashing modes: the 300-lumen day flash, which is great on a really sunny day when you're needing to cut through the brightness, and a 100-lumen pulse, where the light output slightly and slowly increases, before returning to 100 lumens, but it's so subtle it felt rather redundant.

Run-times & charging

The light uses a USB-C charging port, the cover of which fits snugly and is located on the underside. It kept working perfectly in some UK monsoons.

2023 Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+ LED Front Light - charging port.jpg

It takes 3 hours to recharge from empty, and as I said above, lasts between 3 and 100 hours depending on which mode you select. I did a couple of specific tests on this and found the battery lasted for the times Lezyne specified, or rather was very close to them. From fully charged, the light should last 8 hours when on the 100-lumen 'economy' mode; it came in at 7 hours 52 minutes. The 300-lumen 'blast' mode should last 3 hours when fully charged. That came in at 2 hours 56 minutes.

Most lights at this price point offer some sort of battery indicator. On the KTV Pro Drive this is located on the on/off switch which will turn partly red when it has 75% left, with the amount of red increasing when it gets down to 50%, then 25%.

2023 Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+ LED Front Light - top.jpg

The output was consistent, even when it had little power left. When it does eventually run out, it dies completely rather than cutting out every few minutes as some lights do.

Mount

The mount gets a big thumbs-up from me. Keeping the light secured is a thick rubber strap, which despite a fair bit of tugging and pulling gave no indication it would be breaking any time soon.

It's also secured on one side (although can be completely removed if needed), making it quick to whip on and off your handlebar. This also means you can also pop on a replacement strap if the rubber breaks down over time, so you've got some longevity in there.

2023 Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+ LED Front Light - side.jpg

The underside of the light casing is slightly rounded and lined with rubber too, which helps keep the whole thing in place. I've been riding with it for an hour each day over the last few weeks and it hasn't budged on any of my rides. In fact, I ended up taking it over a bumpy track nearby to get it to shift around a bit, but nothing... nada... zilch.

Value

Unfortunately for the KTV Drive Pro 300+, it sits in a category where there's plenty of stiff competition.

There's the Cateye AMPP 400, for instance, which is just 99p more but, as the name suggests, gives you another 100 lumens to play with. Stef was pretty impressed with its output when he reviewed it in 2020, although it's a little weightier that the Lezyne.

Another rival is the competitively priced Moon Meteor, which is £34 but, like the Cateye, gives you a 400-lumen constant beam and a 500-lumen flash. It does have a slightly lower waterproof rating of IPX4, but when Shaun reviewed it in 2020 he found it fine for everyday rain, so sufficient for most users.

Conclusion

The Drive Pro 300+ is pretty good overall. The mount makes it quick to get it on and off your handlebar, the run-times are decent, and it has a variety of useful modes to choose from. The only real issue is that there are brighter options available for around the same money.

Verdict

Works as expected and has a particularly good mount, but there are brighter lights for the same money

road.cc test report

Make and model: Lezyne KTV Drive Pro 300+

Size tested: 300 lumens max

Tell us what the light is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Drive Pro 300+ is designed to make you visible on the roads.

Lezyne says, "A compact cycling safety light built around three high-output LED emitters, the KTV Drive Pro 300+ Front light offers up to 300 lumens of output and a highly disruptive Daytime Flash mode."

It was definitely enough to keep me visible in all weathers. I also found it sufficient for navigating slowly along quiet off-road paths, away from traffic.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the light?

Lezyne lists the spec as:

Max Lumens:300

Max Runtime: 100 hours

Battery Capacity (mAh): 1400

Recharge Type: USB-C

Weight: 73g

Dimensions: 76mm, 38mm, 35mm

Features: IPX7, Daytime Flash, Infinite Light Power Pack+

Rate the light for quality of construction:
 
8/10

Well made and durable.

Rate the light for design and ease of use. How simple was the light to use?
 
7/10
Rate the light for the design and usability of the clamping system/s
 
8/10

It has a good mount, which makes it quick and easy to get off the handlebar.

Rate the light for waterproofing. How did it stand up to the elements?
 
8/10
Rate the light for battery life. How long did it last? How long did it take to recharge?
 
7/10

Good battery life generally. I did a couple of timed tests on this. The 100 lumen 'economy' mode should last 8 hours from fully charged - it lasted 2hrs 52 minutes. The 300 lumen 'blast' mode should last 3 hours. It came in at 2hrs 56 minutes.

It takes 3 hours to recharge, which is pretty standard for lights in this category.

Rate the light for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the light for durability:
 
7/10

Early days but it feels pretty durable. I also like that the mount is strong, and the rubber strap can be easily replaced if it breaks.

Rate the light for weight:
 
6/10
Rate the light for value:
 
4/10

Struggles slightly on value, with brighter options for around the same price.

Tell us how the light performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It worked as designed. Overall charge was good, with the recharge time at 3 hours. The battery indicator worked as expected. All modes worked as expected too.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the light

The mount – it was very secure and quick to use.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the light

Nothing really, though it doesn't do anything to particularly stand out from the competition.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's not wildly expensive compared with others, but you can get some with higher outputs for around the same price.

Did you enjoy using the light? Yes

Would you consider buying the light? I'd probably go for something brighter.

Would you recommend the light to a friend? Probably not, given there are brighter options out there for the same money.

Use this box to explain your overall score

Overall I'd say it's quite good: everything works as expected, and I enjoyed using it, but it doesn't do anything to make it particularly stand out, and there are some good brighter options for the same sort of money.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 27  Height: 5ft 4  Weight: 147lbs

I usually ride: Dawes Galaxy  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding,

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