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Light & Motion Vis 500 — Specs & Analysis
Manufacturer specifications, compared against every other lighting in our database. We do not test gear in the field — we measure, verify, and compare.
The Vis 500 is a solid rechargeable front light for bikepackers who don't ride a dynamo. 500 lumens handles road and light trail riding, USB-C charging means one less cable to carry, and the amber side LEDs improve intersection visibility.
Who Is the Light & Motion Vis 500 Best For?
USB-rechargeable front light for road and light trail bikepacking. If that describes your riding style, the Vis 500 should be at the top of your shortlist. It sits in the Lighting category alongside 16 other products we track.
How It Compares
At 80g and $70, the Vis 500 is 35g heavier than the lightest option in this category (the Nitecore NU25 UL Headlamp at 45g). The most budget-friendly option is the Goal Zero Crush Light Solar Lantern at $30.
The price-to-weight ratio comes in at $88 per 100g — a premium price point, but you're paying for quality, materials, and design that justify the investment for serious bikepackers.
What We Like
- +USB-C charging
- +500 lumens on high
- +Amber side LEDs for visibility
- +Lightweight at 80g
Watch Out For
- −Battery life is 1.5hrs on high
- −Not enough for dark singletrack
- −Rubber mount can slip on wet bars
The Bottom Line
We haven't scored the Light & Motion Vis 500, and neither has anyone else we can cite. It's here for its verified specifications and dimensions, which is what the fit tools run on — a score is an editorial judgement, and we don't hand one out until someone has a basis for it. What this page can tell you is measured: 80g, $70, and how both sit against every other lighting product we track.
The price and weight above have not yet been checked against the manufacturer's own page. We are working through the catalogue and saying so as we go, rather than letting silence imply otherwise.
Specifications and dimensions come from the sources listed above. Where a page draws on first-hand riding, it says so.
What it packs down to
Light & Motion publishes a packed size of 3.5" x 1.5", which is 0.1 litres as a stuff sack. Of the 55 bags we track that publish a capacity, 55 have room for it and 0 do not.
Volume is computed from Light & Motion's own packed size, treating a two-dimension figure as a stuff sack. Bag capacities are the makers' published figures, not ours — 12 of the bags we hold dimensions for publish no capacity and are left out of the count rather than assumed. A stuff sack does not reshape itself, so read the headroom as room to spare rather than a guarantee it goes in easily.
How it compares
Against the 17 lighting products we hold published specs for.
At 80g the Vis 500 is lighter than 12 of 16 alternatives we track. The category median is 110g.
At $70 it undercuts 7 of 16 of them, against a median of $70. That works out at $88 per 100g — above the $73 median for lighting products.
Weight and price come from published specifications. Cost per 100g is a blunt measure — it rewards light gear and says nothing about durability or whether the thing works — so treat it as one input, not a verdict.
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