Thanks for tuning in today we're going
to be reviewing the LightSKIN S341 integrated LED seatpost.
LightSKIN is known for their Innovative and integrated bicycle lighting systems. One of their
first products and the winners of the 2010 Red Dot design award was their integrated tail light
feed post and this review will be looking at the latest version which is the S341 which offers more
output modes and improved seat clamp design. Note lights can also offer this on the StVZO option
that we're not showing here but available in the German markets. You can see packaging very simple
you can actually see the seat post through the cutout these nice little orange cutouts
here that show the instruction manual underneath and match the logo. It's available again quite a
few options we have the H2B we have the S341 variation which is battery operated they also
have dynamo as well as e-bike options. So lets go ahead and take out some box and go over the specs.
Retail price on this is $99 and again available both in e-bike and dynamo for the same price.
You have five flush mounted LEDs that keep you visible at night. It has 15 Candela output so
they don't actually publish the lumen output but still pretty bright and you have matte
black or a polished finish. So you can see this is the matte black finish but the polished one
has a nice polished look to it. It's micro USB rechargeable right at the seat head so you can
easily charge this while it's on your bike you don't have to keep removing it. It has a two bolt
clamp design so you can see you can easily adjust your saddle by adjusting each bolt independently.
In terms of what comes with it obviously you get the seat post the orange instruction manual
and a very long USB micro USB charging cable so you can reach an outlet. Now let's take a
look at the weight of the seat post so we have the 350 millimeter length variation so really
depend on which one you choose with the 27.2 millimeter diameter that comes in at 366 grams.
Now lets take a look at the fit and finish of the S341 seat post. LightSKIN offers the seat
post for a number of years now but they keep updating it with the latest version you have
a Li-Po battery that's actually inside the seat post itself instead of AAA batteries. You have an
easily accessible USB port right on top the micro USB not a USB type-C and a dual bolt clamp design
so really easy to adjust to your seat angle. You can adjust each of them independently to
adjust the tilt and you can see it's designed for round seat rails not carbon seat rails
but very simple to set up. It's just a standard seat post with a couple holes drilled into it
this is the non-german StVZO setup so that means you have non-protruding LEDs. They're all flush
so there's really no side visibility here which is one downside but you can see when it is on it is
quite bright from the direct rear and even from some angles as the seat post itself is rounded.
The user interface is actually hidden here so it's that second LED which is actually the button
itself. You do have to kind of reach in and you can see the indentation on your finger when you do
that but very simple to use and it's a one level interface so you just press it to cycle between
off and then all the available modes and you have some really cool ones here to attract attention.
The big downside of this setup is that the LEDs themselves are actually integrated so you want
to make sure your seat post position isn't any lower than the bottom one
and you can't really use a saddlebag as that would block most of the LEDs
so it's better suited for urban or city bikes without a saddle bag or very minimal ones.
There are four different output modes with the seat post you have chase which has a nice
up and down motion it's good for 20 hours. An on off flash which is also good for 20.
and then pulse which alternates two LEDs at a time and that's good for 50 hours. Finally
solid mode which is 10 hours. You can also run this in the three LED configuration which has
higher run times in all the modes. Here's some Daytime footage of the tail light and you can
see it's fairly bright not the brightest tail light on the market but still good for medium
distances and great for urban or city use is you don't have to worry about carrying a special
taillight it's all it's built in and integrated. One of the downsides of this tail light is the
fact that you can see the integrated design means it's easily blocked by saddlebags. You
can't really the LEDS up or down and if you have a lower seat height you obviously block
the bottom too and there is a maximum insertion length. This flush design also doesn't have any side
visibility as they're flush mounted so that's one big downside to this unlike some other taillights
on the market which really have more bulbous designs that are visible from higher angles.
Now let's go over the pros and cons for the S341 seatpost. What we like about it is that it's an
integrated design it's a very sleek and modern looking. It eliminates a lot of the clutter you
normally have with a separate seat post and taillight. You also have multiple eye-catching
flash patterns and the LEDs are spaced apart so it's a bigger form factor than traditional
taillights. Also with this battery model the USB port is really easy to access it's right at the
top of the seed rail so easy to recharge. The cons for the seat post is the fact that is micro USB
instead of USB type-c which we're seeing with a lot of newer products. Also saddlebags can
easily block the LEDs so you'll want to consider using a frame back or alternative ways to carry
extra gear. Also with this flush mount design there's no side visibility so you may want to
consider the other model which has a protruding LED design. Taking everything into account would
give the LightSKIN seat post an 8.5 out of 10. It's a really sleek integrated seat post tail
light combination obviously integrated design has some flaws but it's a great option for
city or urban use. Thanks for watching this review don't forget to like and subscribe.
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