Owning both a Varia 510 and RT 200 this has been my experience. A few years ago I setup both on flash mode in the garage and walked away maybe 150 meters to compare them from a distance. The RT 200 was indeed brighter and more attention grabbing IMHO. Now when a vehicle gets into radar range and the Varia goes into its hyperflash mode it seems to my eyes to be just as bright and attention grabbing as the RT 200. Both are easily visible from a distance even on a sunny summer day and much better than so many lights cyclists use that are lame, barely visible during the day and not worth effort to haul around.
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Totally agree! 
What worries me more is that there are cyclists out there with lights that doesnāt even appear to be on, unless its pitch black, and even then they are like a fart in space.
Rear light makes a HUGE difference in how visible you are on the road
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There was a GCN (AD) video couple years back where they talked about the ION RT 200 Lights and how they were tested by a university and came up with that triple flash beam pattern. I bought the lights shortly after watching that AD and am convinced these are some of the best day light running lights for cyclists on the market.
I never ride without my Varia these days and would consider the Trek solution once the Varia gives up the ghost. Looking forward to reviews from DC and Lama.
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What temperatures out of interest? My varia is about 6 years old, still handles 5-6 hour summer rides no problem (I turn it off on any stops). Battery life is noticeably worse in winter, I get low battery warnings after ~3 hours when itās close to freezing but luckily I have no interest in riding much longer than that in those temperatures anyway!
I clock up >5000 outdoor miles most years and use the Varia in flashing mode for all of them so Iāve been super impressed with the battery longevity. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe the newer models with more features are more power hungry (I have the original RTL 500 light)
More competition is good for sure, but the formalities of the trek doesnāt look great for a test light. Iām waiting for Garmin to finally release a version with USB C. Never felt the need for a radar here but if I need a new light Im considering it
You charge the devices for weeks straight? Do you realise how dangerous that can be overcharging? Your lucky the batteries have not exploded.
Uhhā¦ Ok.
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People like riding behind me on Wednesday night because āwe know when a car is coming because your radar starts flashing.ā
Iāve never seen it myself because other people forget to turn on peloton mode.
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The battery controller would have to fail catastrophically, Itās not like the battery is charged non-stop until you unplug it or it explodes.
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Misread it. Yes that table is Varia. Sorry I got my ass kicked while nose breathing at a Barre Fusion class this morning. Why is that class so hard? 
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By āa little betterā you mean how much less than the Garmin regular price?
As of now, the regular price is a single Ā£ more when the G is not on sale.
OK. But considering the marketing by Trek (which may all be bullocks from Shaneās initial look), they seem to be considering theirs superior to the Garmin and others. As such, at least in their mind having a āsameā price while offering their ābetterā features seems the reason I would predict they had in mind with their pricing choice.
May be totally irrelevant and immaterial to us as consumers and then mean the price isnāt justified for an identical function in basic terms. Time will tell if that works for them or if they have to adjust pricing to hit the sales they expect.
You never seen a phone battery explode before? I had it happen to some AA batteryās I used to charge constantly for the kids toys. Literally went bang and blew the circuit in the house.
They do have controllers but I doubt any manufacturer would recommend leaving anything in charge for 4 weeks straight.
Same here. My Varia is at least 5 years old now. I think Iāve seen it show low battery once and that was because I didnāt charge it for 2 or 3 rides.
Admittedly, I donāt do regular 5 or 6 hour rides - 3-3.5 hours was my standard Saturday ride.
I wonder if those with battery issues went in the app and set it to max brightness? Iām sure mine is set to the factory defaults.
This probably only applies to certain types of battery, but I can say that Black and Deckerās recommendations for the batteries for cordless tools that I have is to leave it in until needed.
That said, that is the only thing that I keep plugged in indefinitely, and only because the instructions told me to.
In my experience, the default or auto mode is good for about 5-6 hours max. The daylight flash seems to get the most battery life. I think mine has done 8 hours in that mode.
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I did a 7 hour moving time ride yesterday, I donāt even remember getting a low battery alert for the Varia. Day flash mode for most of it (light off for about an hour).
I charge my lights daily at work, with a 2 hour round trip commute. If i do a lot extra then Iāll charge back up. But my headlight is the limiting factor for me (Cycliq).
With the saddle rail mount and a saddle bag, the form factor should be fine. But Iām not seeing anything that would convince me to buy this over the Varia.
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As someone who trains outside almost daily and is forced off the road (into the ditch) multiple times per week, I purchased one because I own the Flare lights and am pleased with them. The radar feature works like it says it does. The only thing I donāt like is that the sound alerts from my Garmin 530 are too quiet to hear, but thatās on Garmin, not Bontrager. There is a companion phone app, and if I turn up phone volume to max, I can hear the alerts from my rear pocket. Unfortunately, the radar doesnāt stop vehicles from passing me with under 20 cm of clearance, but at least I have more of a warning that itās going to happen. Iām pleased with the purchase.
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Not sure which Varia you are referring to, but the 715 has USB-C .
I have seen such videos. Curiously, theyāre usually not plugged in and charging when they go kaboom. The batteries acquired damage or defects in some way prior. Some lithium battery chemistries are more prone to thermal runaway than others, but the risk is having such batteries around at all. On a charger or not. Just ask transport companies.
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