Customer Reviews

Planet Bike BRT Strap Multi-Use LED Bicycle Safety Light

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised upon receiving my BRT Strap. I didn't realize nearly the whole strap, nearly all of the yellow surface you see in the picture (7" x 13/16"), glows or blinks bright red -- so it IS a taillight. It works great. It's lightweight, easy to use and comfortable, plus fits in my hip-pack nicely. I use it as a leg-light (above my left calf) for biking or late afternoon inline skating. Having a light move as you pedal, and highlight the left edge of your bike provides a major safety advantage. I highly recommend the BRT Strap. I may be buying more. It should make a nice gift item.

Be aware that the BRT Strap won't work until you pull a little plastic tab from the edge of the battery compartment that protects the battery from discharge before customer use.

A few more nighttime bicycle safety recommendations:

Don't miss the Planet Bike Sport Spot 4 LED Bicycle Light with Head, and Handlebar Mounts and Planet Bike Blinky "3H" 3-Led Rear Bicycle Light with Self Leveling Helmet Mount as a combo to mount on your helmet. It's fantastic to be able to point a light at drivers just by looking at them, plus the tail light swings and thus sort of flashes without using the flash mode. These lights are very light weight. I hardly know I have them mounted on my helmet. Most people who see me with them on my helmet think they're great. These two should be sold as a combo since the headlight takes three batteries, and the rear light takes one, so you can easily recharge four NiMH batteries at a time.

If you bike much at night, do yourself a favor and get all three, the BRT Strap, the Sport Spot, and Blinky "3H".

I also strongly recommend a bright safety vest, jersey, or jacket for day and night biking. A good one can provide a dramatic reduction in scary incidents -- people turning in front of you or coming by too close. I try hard to always use one -- it makes an amazing difference -- people seem to have an automatic reflex to be much more cautious and wait for me to pass when they see my safety vest.

I sometimes run at dawn, at dusk, or when it is pitch black. I no longer use this product. Here is why:

1. This product is not that bright, even when it is pitch black. For running at dawn or at dusk when there is some light, it is not that visible.

2. Despite its 8" length, this unit is bright only for a couple of inches from the red button; the rest is relatively dim.

3. The strap often loosens while running and needs to be readjusted.

Bottom line: This product is okay for parks or quiet streets, but not streets where you have to worry about oncoming traffic seeing you. A much better product that I currently use is the Nitezone LED Arm/Ankle Band, which I have reviewed on Amazon.

I often use illuminte leg warmers that are highly reflective(not sold on Amazon that I know of.) But as we head into warm summer nights I use these straps more often instead. They don't seem like much but the constant movement of your your leg lets drivers know that you are there.

Also, I've seen on rare occsasion police officers give tickets to people who don't have a reflector on their pedals. Reflectors on pedals often times fall off and are hard to replace. Sometimes the only way to replace them is to buy a whole new pedal. This is a good alternative. An officer would probably not ticket you if you were missing your pedal reflector but had this on your foot instead.

I don't know if they reflect as far as the ads say, but i've had someone view mine and could see them at least a few hundred feet away.

Other night riding equipment I use: headlight and taillight: Planet Bike Beamer 1 and Blinky 3 LED Bicycle Light Setand the Down Low Glow for side visibilty Down Low Glow Lighting Kit - Two Tubes -Ice(blue)

The Planet Bike BRT Strap Multi-Use LED Bicycle Safety Light is a nice little addition to any night bike rider. The Light itself seems rather weak as it isn't particularly bright and I'd guess it's only visible from about 300 (or less) yards or so. It is a light red, operates on what seems a watch battery.

Plastic hook doesn't seem too strong. The reflectivity of the yellow part might be better, it claims to be visible from about 2000 feet but I have yet to test it with someone's car Lights.

It won't hurt to have this on a leg or arm as it is cheap to buy. Made in China. I went riding and it kept falling down my pants, so be sure to keep checking if its there over time. I use it on my right leg for side visibilty when cars approach the road. It's good for that.

Cross Training Reflective Leg bands (pair) -Lime

Planet Bike Blinky Super Flash Tail Light

GLoWEAR Class 2 Economy Vest, Lime, 2XL/3XL #21027 / 8210HL

I commute by bike through the city and having these on my legs gives me a lot more confidence that I won't be broadsided.

They work great! Good value.

We read about this light first when it was praised by the NY Times. They were right! My wife runs in the dark and this light protects her better and is more comfortable than any other light that previously she has used. L. Sherman

I tried using these as armbands when walking and found that the elastic strap slowly slipped through the clip and constantly needed to be re-tightened. When walking with minimal arm movement (for example, carrying items), re-tightening was needed every 5-15 minutes. With active arm movement (exercise walking), it comes loose so quickly as to be unusable. However, for bicyclists, this may not be as much an issue.

Exception: During cold weather when I am wearing a fleece jacket, it works well: The additional thickness of the jacket means the strap is fully extended (tightening irrelevant) and the friction from the jacket keeps it from sliding down the arm.

Additional use: Was walking a neighbor's medium-sized dog and wanted to enhance his visibility at night and tried this as an add-on collar. He didn't seem to even notice it. With the blinking portion downward, it gave OK visibility from the front, although not directly, but from reflections off the ground, legs, chest and tags. With that portion to the side, it gave good visibility front and back, but it was intermittently obscured by the dog's head and body. The former I used when walking facing traffic on a sidewalk-less street; the latter when on a pedestrian/bike path.
Note: When the collar was set to flashing and visible from the rear, one person I was walking with found it to be incredibly annoying, so I switch it to the steady-on setting.
Note: YMMV: The activity pattern of your dog can dramatically affect visibility--you need to experiment with positioning.

Definitely the coolest and most effective way to be safe and seen if you're on the road in a low light situation. I wear mine running and cycling. Very compact and light weight. A quality product.

LED is red and quite bright. The frequency of the flashing mode is too fast for optimum visibility, though. On/off switch is easily accessible on the outside of the band. Length adjusts easily using elastic and a plastic buckle. It looks like the battery can probably be replaced by removing 4 small screws from the plastic housing behind the on/off switch.

Loosens easily, I use it on my arm when I'm running or cycling in the mornings. I constantly have to retighten the strap. The led lights work great.