2015 Lights Shootout, Bike Light, Gloworm, Lights, Lights Shootout, X2 - November 13, 2014

Review: Gloworm X2

Gloworm is an Mtbr forum legend with the X2 model sitting in the sweet spot between the X1 and the XS. This year, the X2 raises its measured output from 1391 Lumens to 1545. Total weight and run time have stayed the same and the price dropped a bit to $255.

We rode the X2 on our local trail and love all the details of compactness and versatility. The light system comes in a tiny box that one can just keep in the bike bag all the time. The helmet mount and bar mount are included in the package, and the remote wired switch is just something you don’t see these days. It frees up head unit real estate for critical cooling fins, and it protects the user’s fingers from a potentially hot light head.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOp8qU04K3U

Video: Test loop with the Gloworm X2. Camera is on a locked ISO setting and is set to Wide Angle mode.

This light is ideal on the bar with an X1 complementing it on the helmet. By itself, helmet mounting is ideal to cover all the switchbacks and tight turns with illumination. We even used the smaller Gloworm battery (not included) on the helmet so we could mount the battery on the back of the helmet for a ‘backpackless’ helmet light. That worked very well and run time was halved to 1:15 hours. Running it at mid power during climbs gave us more than enough light and enough run time.

So the Gloworm X2 wins again. It’s not a huge improvement from last year, but it keeps marching on with a beautiful beam pattern, a well-conceived package and good value.

Beam Pattern Photo

We photographed the lights in the same location setting with the same camera settings. The photos were taken in the back yard that is approximately 25 yards long. These photos feature many objects and a distinct background to analyze detail and beam pattern. Compare all Beam Patterns here »

Integrating Sphere Measured Lumens

This light measured 1545 Lumens in an integrating sphere. Claimed Lumens by the manufacturer is 1500 Lumens. The Lumen-hour graph below shows how the light performs over the first three minutes of its battery cycle. Compare all Lumen Tests here »