Exposure Six Pack MK12 Review

The Exposure Six Pack MK12 is the flagship off-road riding light from British illumination experts. Over 5,000 lumens of trail torching.

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By singletrackross

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Exposure Six Pack MK12 Review

You’ve got a typo

focused athletes who rehire run time and illumination flexibility

I run a MaxxD mk12 and find Reflex never worked predictably so I’ve kept it in program 4. I find it much safer that way.

I run a MaxxD mk12 and find Reflex never worked predictably so I’ve kept it in program 4. I find it much safer that way.

Find the reflex function on mine really good, turn it on, ride and let it do it’s thang.  Is a mk13 perhaps they’ve improved it?

The light itself is great, but the little, tapered-edge alloy mount, right at the front with all the mass behind it is inadequate at best.

These lights are too expensive to have them fall off and go bouncing down the trail, not to mention the danger of an accident after being plunged into darkness at speed, and I can’t tell you how many times it’s happened to ours and guys we ride with who have these lights.

All that’s needed to cure the problem is a rearward facing platform on the mount to support the light under the battery section and a fat O-ring to roll up the body and around the mount platform. It would literally cost pence to fix the poor design. The light’s mass and oscillation of it on a rough trail is just too much for the skinny tapered bit of ally right at the front to support.

Exposure seem happier to replace knackered stuff that actually fix the design, which baffles me.

@cappuccino34 I take it you’ve had this happen to you? As I’ve been on Exposure lights for years and never lost one, even racing 24hr in places like Fort William and Slovakia.

Also never had a light fall out, I’ve been impressed with the mount. It’s rock solid

The thing the reviews on Exposure lights miss is the exact changes from the previous year’s model – LED spec, tech, battery capacity, beam pattern etc

Mount is crap IMO, also quite dangerous when the light isn’t mounted as it’s sharp and pointy (although the one in the review looks to have been updated to remove the pointy bit). I have a K-edge one which uses a Go-Pro type fitting and have changed the mount on the SixPack to suit (Exposure sell a GoPro fitting), actually rock solid!

Agree the mount is crap.

My light mount rattles in the bar mount – which I fix with a bit of electrical tape to stop it rattling.

Tuesday’s ride up Dumyat saw us stop on the descent as one of the Exposure light’s tapered mount rotated on the light. My advice – use threadlock. But really.

@davosaurusrex

have changed the mount on the SixPack to suit (Exposure sell a GoPro fitting

Got a link to that please?
The only one I can see says it’s only for the smaller lights not the six-pack.

In nearly 15 years of using Exposure lights the only mount issues I’ve ever had related to user error – not correctly tightening it (easier now as they’ve turned the ‘bolt around) and not using the rubber band (to take up the ‘vibes’).

On everything from roads to gravel to enduro – tonight we should be at the Golfie in the snow 🙂

Yeah, the mount is rubbish. Have an over the bars and its mass plus leverage on that mount often knocks them – then the bolt holding the cleat can’t be tightened up properly, leading to progressive over tightening and then stripping of the soft threads. Some may say this is user error but I disagree. I ride with a group that are out all year every Wednesday night, we all have them and have all had issues. I ended up having to get Exposure to repplace part of the light…and now its been knocked again:(

Brilliant lights – crap mounts!

@davosaurusrex – would also like a link – cheers

Don’t think this is actually meant for a light but works a treat, K-Edge Go Big Pro

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394129479135?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=DxbLgvT0QzW&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Pxot0eN7RDK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

You also need the Exposure GoPro mount

https://www.exposure-use.com/Brands/Exposure-Lights/Products/Bike/Brackets-and-Mounts/Light-Mount-for-Action-Camera-Bracket

I don’t like the mount on exposure lights at all. I had a maxxd that left me completely blinded on a rocky trail after it came off. No idea how I stopped without stacking it.

The other extreme is sometimes when you want to get it off/out the taper has wedged itself so hard it won’t come out. Not great imo.

Also proprietary charging these days?! Get usb c PD on them at least.

Exposure are stuck in the incremental led/battery capacity game. They need to change their design philosophy imo to remain competitive as they’re not an option to consider any more imo.

Thanks davos.

The mounts are ok when clean, but in filthy conditions they can accrue grit causing the sprung pin to not engage properly. That’s the only reason I have noticed for the lights falling off….but it has happened a few times at speed.

Re the reflex, I have a very old maxxd. That works fine, but a newer race has a dodgy reflex function. Sometimes works, sometimes just stays on max and drains the battery very quickly. Been fixed twice, and works for a bit then goes back to working sometimes. Mostly just gets used on program 4 to avoid getting caught short without light and it’s fine like that, just not as bright as the reflex function.

I’ve been using Exposure lights for almost 15y and have never had a proper bar mount fail. My lights are used 4-5 times per week and are removed and reinstalled on each day they’re used. Odd.

Do you all mount above the bar or below it?

as above been using them for absolutely ages – i have no idea how people are losing them or the mounts not working as intended – never once been a issue in at least 15 years of expsosures for me

+1 didnt realise exposure mounts were an issue, all my night riding chums have never mentioned problems..

Both halves of the Mount need replacing every few years imo, but the light keeps going on.

I love mine and it doubles up as my power bank and trips.

My issue is with how to get that stupid rubber cover to fit easily over the power port. Is there a technique I have missed.

Other than that I love all my exposure lights.

What I want to know is which Exposure light has the longest run time on a medium to low setting? i.e. for multi-day bikepacking. I need something to know how long it will run on 1000 lumen, for example. I know I could get a dynamo front wheel and I might, but this information doesn’t seem to be readily available on their website?

@clink I expect it would be the six pack. 1000 lumens would have these Leds barely ticking over and its got 6 cells inside. Exposures are so customisable they pretty much all can do 36hrs as you can adjust the power downwards.

I had a mk2 six pack and that could do 24hrs at 800 lumens. I’m sure a newer one with fresh cells could beat that!

Thanks @johnnystorm

My issue is with how to get that stupid rubber cover to fit easily over the power port. Is there a technique I have missed.

The one on my Toro is the bane of my life.

😀

My last Exposure light (Max-D) was 13 years old and the mount never had any issues or wore out. I’ve had the Six Pack MK12 for 6 months and it’s brilliant, comedy levels of light and run time and the reflex power adjustment works well. I set mine to the highest power (on reflex) for most of my riding, except for road sections. I usually still have over an hour left at the end of each ride, I’m not sure I’d ever want to night ride any longer!

I don’t think the Exposure bar mount is the best, but in a group of 12 of us, all using Exposure, most MaxxD, riding twice a week all winter, we’ve not had a single issue with the mounts losing the light or moving. That has to be getting on for 1,000 hours of use per year between us.

Is it perfect? No. I find you have to use molegrips to tighten it up from time to time so that the light can’t rattle, and they definitely wear out, but overall it’s rock solid.

I have the Mk13 MaxxD and have found reflex to work almost perfectly. I drop to low on the road, and leave the light on full to sort itself out when off-road.

Got two six packs and diablos in the house. I like them but dayum Exposure do have obvious design problems (mount and the stupid rubber cover thing) that they just don’t seem to care to fix.

Annoys the crap out of me. Could be the perfect product, but they seem to just want to add another number to the MKxxx every year or so just to get it through a new round of reviews.

Never had a problem with the mounts with my maxxd bought in 2015.
Only issue I had was the battery was rattling in the housing the other year. Exposure fixed it for £14 and that included delivery.

The fiddly port cover is a right bugger though.

Just sent an email to use ( the are fab company to deal with) for same battery rattle. I don’t bother with the port caps and yet to have an issue.

Easiest way to fit the fiddly rubber port cover is to rotate your thumb as you push, like moving a PS controller thumbstick around in circles.