I recently bought a bike with intentions of riding home from work in the evenings. Since winter is approaching, I wanted a rear light to ensure I will be seen when the light gets dim. HOLY MOLEY! The only way I won't get noticed is if I forget to turn it on.

Don't turn this light on while looking directly at it. The Mars 3.0 comprises of seven super bright LED lights. The front is lit by five red lights with three at the top, one in the center and one at the bottom. Each side has an orange light each for side visibility.

If the brightly lit Mars 3.0 in steady mode doesn't get enough attention, you can choose between flash and chase modes. The batteries will last about 50 hours in steady mode or 150 hours in the other modes.

The Mars 3.0 requires 2 AAA batteries. Installing the batteries requires a small screw driver and some patience. Once the three tiny screws are removed, pulling the back off can be challenging. It may be a bit difficult to complete the task, but the light is water resistant as a result.

The light includes a seat post mount, but it is not required. The back of the light has a clip that could be used for attaching it to a belt, or backpack. Even though I have other options, I prefer to keep it mounted on my bike.

PROS:
Water resistant design
Super bright
Attention getting
Long battery life

CONS:
Changing batteries is difficult 5 stars

First impressions often lead to purchases which the passage of time reveals as mistaken. Such was the case with this light. True, it is very bright and well constructed to resist the elements. Then, the defects emerge.

Firstly, the batteries must rather laboriously be changed by removing three tiny screws, which although ensuring a tight seal in wet weather, are also prone to becoming lost or simply cross-threaded with repeated use. Use this light on a daily basis and it will deplete the batteries fairly quickly, whereupon one must fetch the small screwdriver and take out the little screws, taking care that they don't roll off the counter and disappear forever.

The second design defect of note is the brittle plastic attachment clip. Mine finally snapped under the stress of routine use, owing to the manufacturer's befuddling choice of an inferior yogurt container-type of plastic.

If you ride a lot and want dependable gear, I suggest Planet Bike's stuff, which exhibits a comparable level of operating performance but much better design. 2 stars

This flasher has 5 red LED lights in a 3-1-1 configuration on the back, and it also has 2 orange LEDs on the side - a nice safety extra. When you view the lights on-axis, they're amazingly bright. A flush clicker-switch cycles between 3 modes: all on, all flash at once, and "disco" or "up-and-down" flashing which looks like a lot of fun.

The clip is nicely designed to work on the bike-frame mount or on clothing or a bag strap.

The only drawback is that to replace batteries (2 AAA), you have to unscrew 3 small screws. 4 stars

I started biking to work this past fall, and boy is it dark! I needed a rear-flasher. I had seen another review on the little Mars 3.0, saying that the battery life was very-very long. Good enough for me. Then I saw it in person - WOW! this little guy is bright! That sold me on it.

It comes in 3 modes: Steady, Flashing & Disco (those are my words for it). You can lay a light pattern on the wall across the room with this thing. It's that bright.

It also has a clip with it. So, I clip it to my backpack.

So, why did I give it a 4 out of 5 stars? Putting the batteries in, is a pain. And boy am I glad they'll last a good long while, because I don't want to be replacing these things, but maybe once a year. 4 stars

This thing is BRIGHT. I've had mine for several months now, use it nightly (morningly, really). Works great, I'd recommend it to anyone, and provided you have a small enough philips-head screwdriver to switch the batteries in/out, you're golden.

If anything happens to the one I have, I'm buying another one just like it. In fact it's so great I'm tempted to buy another just for MORE being seen. 5 stars