Light and Motion VIS Pro 1000 review

Decent power but lacks punch

This competition is now closed

By Luke Marshall

Published: November 21, 2022 at 9:00 am

Light and Motion’s VIS Pro 1000 is a small unit that packs plenty of power. It produces 1,000 lumens from a CREE LED in a package that weighs only 115g.

This small light is housed in a sleek aluminium and plastic case with a waterproof rating of IP67, meaning it can withstand being submerged in one metre of water.

This should fend off any rain shower or storm with ease.

There’s no mention of battery capacity, but it has a claimed run time of one hour, 30 minutes on full power. Charging is through a micro-USB port on the underside of the light.

Light and Motion says it takes two hours, 30 minutes to achieve full capacity. I found this reasonably accurate.

A small LED battery indicator light on the rear changes colour to represent the state of charge left in the battery. This changes from green at 100 per cent to orange at 50 per cent and red at 25 per cent, flashing at five per cent.

If you need longer run times, the VIS Pro 1000 can be run with an external power source.

The four modes are toggled through with the power button on the top of the light. The modes are High (1,000 lumens), Medium (500 lumens), Low (250 lumens) and Safe Pulse (500 lumens).

It also features a Race mode setting that uses only the Medium and High settings to help reduce power quicker.

The light uses a micro-peened reflector to give an even beam pattern that avoids hard edges, and the spot-style LED uses a 20-degree beam angle.

The light has an adaptor with a GoPro mount, so you can attach it to any three-prong mount. Another feature is the small orange side lights that help make you more visible to others around you.

The adaptor that enables you to mount the light to a GoPro connector is easy to fit and very secure. It holds the light in place well and is rattle-free when tackling even rough terrain.

The light’s low weight means it affects your helmet less when riding and doesn’t cause the helmet to move or bounce more than usual.

Once attached, the light is easy to operate with just one button, and it’s easy to find and press with gloves on. It needs a firm press, but that makes it useful for not changing modes by mistake.

In its full-power mode, the 20-degree beam is spread relatively wide, and the micro-peened reflector does a good job of diffusing the light without a hard edge.

However, this is one of the sticking points of using the VIS Pro 1000 as a helmet light.

The wide spread of light doesn’t have a sharp enough focus point at its centre to help highlight and illuminate the sections of trail where you’re looking.

It spreads out its 1,000-lumen output, making it less useful than rival helmet lights.

This relatively broad beam makes it harder to punch through a brighter handlebar light. Of course, it’s possible to ride with this light by itself, but it would be best not to rely on the VIS Pro 1000 alone.

Throw down the trail is adequate, but it illuminates the trail gently rather than providing the bright spot beam pattern needed.

The VIS Pro 1000 will be more than adequate as a standalone light for double-track adventures. It has enough power to get you around trail-centre blue trails without drama.

However, it doesn’t quite have the punch needed for more technical mountain bike trails and spreads its power too wide.

I managed to get a run time of one hour, 44 minutes on full power, which is a little longer than claimed. However, in the last 10 per cent of the battery, the light goes through flashing and dimming modes, so the one hour, 30 minutes of full power is pretty accurate.

The VIS Pro 1000 is compact, and the GoPro-style attachment holds the light securely to the mount. There’s a low-battery warning light and auto shut-off to protect it.

It’s also claimed to be waterproof to a depth of one metre, so it should fend off the heaviest downpours. Its wide beam helps pick up the edges of the trail.

However, The yellow light is spread wide in a large circular pattern, making it too diffuse to highlight a bright spot at its centre.

That makes it more challenging to pick out trail-feature definitions. The 1,000 lumens aren’t used as effectively as the best mountain bike lights of this type, and the price is high for the level of performance it offers.

We put six helmet-compatible lights to the test. With prices ranging from £65 to £265, there should be something for everyone’s budget.

The lights chosen here have an output of 450 lumens up to 2,100 lumens. That covers everything from occasional use or as a backup light, to full-on, high-speed riding.

We tested how each light performs riding back-to-back runs on the same trails, comparing beam pattern, LED colour, ease of operation and, most importantly, light projection.

We also timed them all on maximum power to find out just how long the batteries last, and whether they live up to the brands’ claims.

While many of these lights can also be used as handlebar-mounted units, for this test, they were specifically reviewed for use as helmet lights for off-road night riding.

Head to BikeRadar’s round-up of the best helmet lights for our pick of the bunch.

Technical writer

Luke Marshall is a technical writer for BikeRadar and MBUK magazine. He's been working for both titles since 2018 and has over 20 years of mountain biking experience. Luke is a gravity-focused rider with a history of racing downhill, previously competing in the UCI Downhill World Cup. Educated to a degree level in engineering and with a penchant for full-throttle speed, Luke is more than qualified to put every bike and product through its paces to bring you informative and independent reviews. You'll most likely find him on a trail, enduro or downhill bike riding the off-piste tracks around south Wales and the south west of England. He often makes an appearance on BikeRadar's podcast and YouTube channel.