Knuckle Lights Review

Let’s face it, seeing in the dark is hard. At this point in my life, I’m man enough to admit that, absent some sort of aid, I’m not really good at seeing things that are not illuminated. As we creep towards November, the availability of natural illumination, i.e. sunlight, on my preferred running paths has disappeared earlier and earlier, which makes it that much harder to run comfortably without fear of tripping. This is especially problematic on some sections of the path on the Charles River that are both dark and rooty, which roots are difficult to distinguish in the dark, leading to many a misplaced footfall. Enter, Knuckle Lights.

I previously reviewed the original Knuckle Lights way back in 2013 and, now, thanks to the gracious folks at Knuckle Lights, I can tell you all about their brand new version, which maintain the basic concept of lights on your hands while adding in new features, notably among them rechargability (please note, “rechargability” is not actually a word, but it should be). Here, you can see the dock used to recharge your lights.

As the name implies, Knuckle Lights go on your knuckles, as opposed to a headlamp, which goes on your head.

The lights are held on by an adjustable rubber strap, which I found a bit difficult to adjust at first, but had no problems with once I got it locked in.

The lights have 3 settings, which you can rotate through using the rubberized buttons at the top, high, low and blinking. For my purposes, the low has sufficed, even on darker sections of paths, but I suspect that there is still some ambient light helping out there, which wouldn’t exist on, say, a forest trail at night. According to Knuckle Lights, the high power produces 140 lumens per light, for 280 total for the pair.

And this is on low!

Here’s a demonstration of the lights on a dark section of the Jamaica Pond path on the low setting.

As you can see, these are not weak lights. During my test run, I found that I could run at full speed without ever having to worry about my footfall, which is really all that you can ask for out of a light. What I love about Knuckle Lights is the ability to shine the light where you need it while keeping your head in a natural position. This makes it easier to scope out the whole path while having the additional advantage over a headlamp of not blinding a running mate every time you look over to chat. While running, the lights stayed comfortably secure on my hands without having to pay attention to gripping them. I would guess that they might become a bit sweaty during hot weather running, but I also don’t foresee running at times that I would actually need them in hot weather.

One neat extra feature of the new version of Knuckle Lights? They have magnets that keep the pair together as a set, making it that much harder for people like me to misplace one.

Also, according to Knuckle Lights, they are IPX-6 waterproof. Other specs include battery life of 4 hours on high, 8 on low, 14 on blinking, and each light weighs 3 ounces.

So, if you’re looking to stay safe on the roads and paths as the sun sets every more depressingly early, I would suggest you get yourself a pair of Knuckle Lights.

Disclaimer: For the avoidance of doubt, I was sent these lights by Knuckle Lights to review. However, as always, all opinions expressed are mine, and mine alone.