RAVEMEN’s K series of headlights are budget friendly single LED designs with some interesting smart features. In this review, we’ll be looking at the K1800 which is the brightest model in the lineup. The K1800 retails for $84.99 and has a bright 1800 lumen output from the single LED lens. What makes this a smart light is that RAVEMEN has incorporated an ambient light sensor and an ambient light sensor which supports automatic day/night modes and auto-sleep features. The K1800 also features an AI night time learning mode which allows the headlight to adjust the light output and ramping to optimize runtime based on user riding habits. The K1800 also comes with a wireless remote that can be used to operate the headlight remotely.
The RAVEMEN K1800 is a budget friendly high-output headlight that has modern features as well as an interesting AI night riding mode.
| Retail Price | $84.99 |
| Rating | 8.8 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 179 (K1800), 17 (remote), 16 (handlebar mount) |
| Likes | + Budget friendly for the 1800 lumen output + Bright output with a wide beam + Wireless remote allows for convenient controlling of the headlight |
| Dislikes | – Backlight on power button is hard to see during the day – Flash mode is not separated from constant modes – Lack of a true on/off daytime flash mode |
| Where to Buy (US) | RAVEMEN |
UNBOXING
The RAVEMEN K1800 headlight comes in a compact cardboard box with orange and black branding that matches the RAVEMEN logo. Inside the box you’ll find:
- K1800 headlight
- Handlebar mount
- GoPro adapter w/ bolt
- USB-C charging cable
- Wireless remote + mounting straps
- Instruction manual
- Warranty card
RAVEMEN has done a good job keeping the packaging simple with the headlight secured in place with cardboard cutouts.
MOUNTING
On the bottom of the RAVEMEN K1800 you’ll find a raised plastic tab which is used for mounting. Although we would prefer a more standard quarter turn Garmin mount, this tab style mount works well and locks into place. RAVEMEN provides two mounts for the K1800, a handlebar mount and a GoPro adapter. That means you can mount the K1800 upright or flipped upside down on an out front mount as the K1800 has a non-directional beam. The handlebar mount is a standard rubber strap design with a matching plastic receiver for the tab mount. It’s a fairly thick rubber strap which should last quite a while along with a rubber pad to hold it in place. There is also a separate GoPro adapter with a simple plastic locking tab that can be used in conjunction with GoPro mounts.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the RAVEMEN K1800 has a standard rectangular design with a black metal body. With this being the 1800 lumen version, the K1800 has a high capacity 5000 mAh internal battery and a single LED lens. In terms of dimension, the headlight is 106.5mm x 34mm x 37mm which means it doesn’t take up much space on your handlebars. It’s actually only marginally larger than the RAVEMEN K700 we previously reviewed. To accommodate the higher output of the headlight, RAVEMEN has also added metal heat diffuser beneath the lens to dissipate heat. Branding on the light is limited to K1800 printed in white on the side and a RAVEMEN logo on the top. There is a rubber power button at the center with a backlight and a glossy cutout above it. Within this window is a round cutout which is the ambient light sensor and an indicator below it which is illuminated when the smart mode is on.
At the back of the light is a rubber cover which conceals the USB-C charging port which is always nice to see on modern bike accessories. RAVEMEN advertises the K1800 as an anti-glare design as the lens has horizontal diffusers to help spread the beam. Although this design lacks a sharp beam cut off, or any beam cutoff, the lens design creates a unique wide rectangular beam that helps distribute the light horizontally. RAVEMEN has also added small cutouts to the side of the lens for additional side visibility which helps ensure the light is visible from any angle.
USER INTERFACE
As far as the user interface, there is a single button interface which supports short and long presses to activate different features. A short press activates the battery status indicator which is either green, yellow or red and lets you check the battery status before you ride. The backlight illuminates the entire white rubber button, which is actually a glow-in-the-dark material that glows green, but it can be difficult to see during the daytime. Holding the button for 1.5 seconds turns the light on and off with built-in mode memory to ensure it always turns on in the same mode it was shut off in. A single press cycles through the four available modes which has four constant modes and a single flash mode.
It is a one level menu which means you do have to cycle through the flash mode when adjusting the brightness. The K1800 features an ambient light sensor and a motion sensor which gives the light some smart features. Holding the power button for 3.5 seconds with the light off activates the smart mode which automatically switches between the nighttime flash and medium mode based on the ambient light. It’s a convenient mode that allows the headlight to automatically change modes based on the current conditions but doesn’t have a true daytime visible flash (i.e. a high powered on/off) so it’s less effective than other lights we’ve used. Note, you always have to do the long hold to enable the smart mode which can be a little annoying.
AI NIGHTTIME MODE
The K1800 also has an exclusive AI learning mode that isn’t available on the other K headlight models. RAVEMEN doesn’t provide much information on what exactly this mode is but does state that it can take 5 days for the light to learn a rider’s habits to make the proper adjustments in output. We would describe this mode as an adaptive mode which slowly reduces the output at night as your eyes adjust to extend the runtime. It’s similar to the adaptive mode found on Outbound Lighting Detour light and helps increase run times by reducing the output level. We suspect RAVEMEN has incorporated an AI algorithm to adjust the ramping of the output reduction to match what it expects a rider to do.
Without proper testing equipment we couldn’t really evaluate how effective the AI algorithm is but on paper it seems like an interesting concept. To activate the mode you have to hold the power button on for 5 seconds until the blue indicator icon flashes. As with the smart mode, you have to do the long hold every time you want the mode as the light will not automatically turn on to that mode. It’s a bit tedious to do which is why we suspect most people will just cycle through modes manually instead. We found that the ramping and auto-off feature of the AI mode in daytime helped extend run times compared to leaving it on a single mode.
LIGHT OUTPUT
RAVEMEN programs the K1800 headlight with five modes that includes four constant options (i.e. eco, low, medium, high) and one flash option. The constant modes vary from a 1800 high output with 1.5 hour runtime down to an eco mode with 250 lumen and 8 hour runtime. There is only one flash mode which is a nighttime pulse with 500 lumen output and the longest 25 hour runtime. It’s a gentle low to high flash pattern that can be used during the day or darker situations. We were a bit surprised that RAVEMEN didn’t include a proper daytime on/off flash option as the K1800 has more than enough power to support it. The other smart modes simply switch between these output modes with the daytime auto-switch mode going from pulse to medium and the AI mode ramping the constant intensity down to preserve battery life.
The beam shape of the K1800 is nearly identical to the K700 with a single LED that creates a wide beam thanks to the horizontal diffusers on the lens. It’s a simple setup that lights up nearly 1.5 lanes of traffic or an entire bike trail. Although RAVEMEN describes it as anti-glare, the beam shape is a standard cone and will blind oncoming traffic in the high output modes. We would have liked to see additional vertical diffusers like those on the Magicshine Allty 2500S to reduce some of the glare. Otherwise, the K1800 is more than bright enough in the high or medium mode for fast night time cycling while the lower modes extend the runtime for urban commuting. The one flash mode is not separated from the constant modes in the one-level menu, so you do have to quickly cycle through it when riding at night.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the RAVEMEN K1800 to be a bright and budget friendly headlight. RAVEMEN has combined a bright 1800 lumen output with modern features such as USB-C charging at a highly competitive price point. While we were not really sold on the AI integration here, the smart features are nice to see and allow the headlight to adjust to the environment automatically. We liked the wide beam of the K1800 which lights up the entire width of a bike trail or road. As far as negatives, the K1800 has dim backlighting on the power button, no true daytime flash mode and does not have the constant mode separated from the flash mode. That said, the RAVEMEN K1800 offers a lot of power and features for the price.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by RAVEMEN. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.