Garmin Varia RCT715

The light intensity is the same on the RCT715 and the RTL510, except they added a ‘peloton mode’ on the RCT715, which is meant to be used when in group rides – and it’s only 8 lumens.

The light intensity will change on radar event detection. Although the idea is somewhat simple, the user experience is anything but. There’s a steep learning curve that’s plagued with a number of shortfalls with the app and the hardware.

If you just wanna benefit from the radar light functionality, you should be able to get up to 6 hours of use using the solid or night flash mode, up to 8 hours of use using the peloton light mode and then up to 10 hours using the day flash mode.

The quick headline is this: If you already have a Varia radar/light combined, then don’t upgrade to this. Buy a separate rear camera if that’s what you think you need.

The actual rear light itself, it’s very nice. In terms of functionality, I’ve been really impressed. Yeah, I can’t fault it on its actual ability to detect cars or people, because it just works.

GoPro Hero 4 (front camera): See brand, color, license plate? Yes.
Garmin RCT715: Detect brand, color, license plate? Yes. Yes. Yes.

The light flashes like it’s it’s a backlight, but it’s a smart backlight. It detects a car and the lights flashes harder. This is the Garmin Varia radar. I think everyone should have one. You don’t need this one. Maybe it’s a bit, uh, overkill.

I’ve been commuting to work at night so I wanted to give you some footage. I’m quite impressed with it.

Radar works like like other Varia. Video quality is trash, you can’t even read license plates, also no stabilization. Very choppy.

It’s kind of three things; it’s a tail light, it’s a radar and it’s a camera. I wouldn’t expect this camera to do super-well in low light or anything like that, but overall, the footage looks pretty good to my eyes.

If you have an extra ___ bucks burning a hole in your pocket this is going to be a radar system for you. If not, you’re better off with the Varia RTL515, without the camera.

I’m still gonna put other lights on my bicycle on the front, as well as this one being on the back, so it’s the alerts that is the big deal for me.

A package of tail-light, camera and radar in one unit. I think it works just fine. Using the phone to download photos and videos was not a great experience, however, using the phone to change the settings worked great.

Day flash mode is the maximum intensity. This is the brightest at 65 lumen and to be honest the only mode I use as I only ride in daylight anyway.

The RCT715 offers a bright light that can be used day or night. Video quality is relatively minimal and was most useful at identifying the make and model of a vehicle rather than details of the driver and license plate.

You will feel much safer on roads with the RCT715 radar. The camera offers zero stabilization, and the app is not user-friendly. Considering the high price, I don’t recommend it to people who don’t need to record what’s happening behind them.

During my initial testing, I was “lucky” enough to have an incident. It was actually a false alarm. I braked hard. It started beeping and counting down before sending my emergency contacts notifications. I cancelled the incident, and continued riding. I plan to keep using the Varia RCT715.

Among the four available lighting modes, the ‘peloton’ mode is interesting. It detects your group and will not blind them.

The concept doesn’t really work for me for two reasons: on the one hand, the size and weight. I could overlook the size and weight if you then had videos, but the footage is mediocre at best. The app proves to be stubborn under testing.

So in the end, for Garmin, it’s not 100% with this new Varia. The video quality is too poor, and the lack of a front-view camera is also an issue in some cases. But one thing after another. This first iteration is not completely useless!