Imalent HR20 headlamp Review
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Hey folks today we have probably my favorite style of flashlight to review. The flashlight in question is highly unique. For a few different reasons it stands out in a good way of course. I love headlamps because they free up my hands when I am fishing and they make life so much easier. I will use a headlamp when I am fishing, hunting, hanging out the washing at night any excise will do. Headlamps also come in handy when I am working on other lights!
The flashlight in question is the Imalent HR20 I have seen heaps of people buy these but not to many reviews on them for some reason. The Imalent HR20 was sent to me by Gearbest for review. With the coupon it goes for $27.99 this is the group buy price. Sounds a bit rich to me NOT! I will leave the link and coupon here! Check it out if you are interested.
Imalent HR20
Coupon: UYS7
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Now moving on with the HR20 where to start? Like usual I will probably muddle every thing up and make it a pain to find the answers you want.
Seeing as I forgot this in my last review lets start here.
Whats in the package? You get every thing you need to run and use the HR20 out of the box. Which makes it hard to compare to other Headlamps or flashlights because none give you all of the gear at this price! But wait theirs more!!! (you will only get this if your Aussie)
- Imalent HR20
- Instructions
- Headband
- Imalent 18650
- Micro USB cable
- Spare O-rings
- Clip
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The Imlanet HR20 is a headlamp as I have already said numerous times. In a sense a modern day headlamp is not limited to being used a headlamp only. A modern day headlamp of quality will be multipurpose in its tasks and usages. Also I guess vice versa a modern day flashlight will have more then one use. Back in the days you couldn’t really stick a 3 D maglite on your head. If you could you probably have a fat head! Lol! Headlamps now give you the option of being used in a multipurpose environment. The Imalent HR20 is no different it comes with the goods you need to use the HR20 as an EDC. I guess you can still buy headlamps that are only used as a headlamp I have a few that I bought late 2014.
The HR20 is now apart of a long line of headlamps in my collection. The HR20 closest competition would be the Nitecore HC30 my regular fishing choice for a headlamp. Also the skilhunt H03R the HR20 does offer more features then these flashlights.
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THE HR20 is on the smaller side for an 18650 flashlight not the smallest headlamp on the market seeing as it has a built in charger. It is still really small and lite weight. Well it looks like I have crank out the scale and calipers to measure the HR20 it has no measurements any where. The Imalent HR20 comes in at 10.6cm in length and the battery tube is 2.2cm in diameter and the head is 2.6cm in diameter. As you can see the Imalent HR20 is still a really small 18650 flashlight even with the inbuilt charger system. The HR20 is really lite weight as is to be expected of course you cant have a brick on your head. The HR20 weights 47 grams without the battery. HR20 is 126 grams with the battery and with the included headband. The 47 gram weight of the HR20 is lighter then some of the recent 16340 flashlight I have reviewed wowzer! If I compare the length of the HR20 to the HC30 the HR20 is a tad longer not by much just a little. Like maybe 1cm longer. That is a great effort by Imalnet to make then charger fit and work in such a small space.
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Build quality wise the HR20 is great I was surprised by the build quality that Imalent have delivered on the HR20. You get all the good specs with the HR20 like Aerospace aluminum alloy body and hard anodizing type 3. You even get AR coated glass. All the threads are very well cut and the switch feels good to press. The HR20 came perfect no anodizing missing no marks on the light itself every thing looks very prim and proper. That is more then I can say for when I bought my HC30. The knurling is awesome on the HR20 it feels very grippy which is funny because the HR20 is market as a headlamp. I have tested some tactical style flashlight lately and they don’t even feel this good in the hand. I would rate the build quality of the HR20 better then my Nitecore HC30.
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Another awesome feature of the HR20 is the clip the clip is well built it appears to be stainless steel. Its a fairly deep clip I had no issues while using it. The best part about the clip is the fact that it can be used either on the top or the bottom of the HR20. So you can use the HR20 as a normal flashlight or reverse the clip and use it on your hat! Freaking awesome work here! Of course because the output is on the side the light will be pointing down if its on your hat. I like that because I will most likely be using my hand to need this.
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The HR20 uses an adjustable brightness rotary switch basically a ramping feature. So there is no modes on the HR20 you can chose your own modes all the way from 1-1000 lumens. The ramping is electronic and feels good there is no lag in changing modes as such. Well at least no more then in a normal mode selection flashlight. Its actually crazy right now the price the HR20 is going for considering the quality you get. Imalent even went as far as to use a direct thermal path copper MCPCB. This is not essential but it is an awesome addition considering how lite weight the HR20 is. The copper star MCPCB will help dissipate heat better. The HR20 also has some trendy inbuilt cooling fins on the head. These cooling fins help to dissipate heat some what. They also offer a little extra grip while holding the HR20 it looks like Imalents logo?.
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The HR20 is perfect for all sorts of outdoor use it has all the usual ratings you need to get by while using the HR20 outdoors. Headlamps probably are the most used flashlights for an outdoors enthusiasts. I know personally I will chose a headlamp first whether it be for fishing or hunting. Even with the included charging features with HR20 still offer an IPX8 rating to 2 meter submersible. That is an amazing effort once again by Imalent. Most headlamps probably wont be dunked in the water to much. Its good to have that piece of mind to know your gear is safe in the rain and even from ocean spray. The Imalent HR20 also comes with a drop resistance rating of 1.5 meters which is also good. The last bunch of light I have tested only had a drop resistance to 1 meter and the HR20 also uses a buck driver. The same as those other flashlights I just tested.
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The HR20 also has an inbuilt charger the charger uses a standard micro USB 2 cable and charger at a rate of 500ma as far as I could tell. The charge rate may vary depending on how many volts the battery is. My included Imalent cell was already at 4 volts when trying the charging module. The HR20 comes with an included 2600mah 18650 so this makes charging time some where around 5 hours which is actually good. The charge cut of rate very good at 4.19 volts. While charging the HR20 will show a red LED and once fully charged the LED will be displayed as green. Imalent also say you can only charge cells with protection but that is not true I am currently charging an LG HG2 to see how that does. The Inbuilt charger can only 18650 no other batteries. The LG cell cut of at 4.19 volts also.
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The headband that is included with the Imalent HR20 is good after using the headband from the H03 I know they can do better if they want. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with the HR20 headband. I would say the headband is the same quality as the headband that is included with the Nitecore HC30. The HR20 headband in good in that sense just don’t thrash it to much. The loops that hold the headband to the flashlight are same thickness as the HC30. The padding and thickness of the elastic parts is on par with the HC30 also. In this aspect the Skilhunt H03 is a bit better. The H03 headband offers a much thicker loop system to hold the flashlight to the headband and is thicker in the padding department and also uses has more elastic. Just to put it into perspective the Imalnet HR20 headband weight 35 grams and the Skilhunt headband weight in at 50 grams. Either way the headband is still comfortable and works well. My HC30 headband is still going strong almost a year and half later!. I am sure you will have no issues with this headband just treat it how you would want to be treated lol! Unless your into BDSM lol
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The Imalent HR20 uses the Cree XPL-HI for a maximum output of 1000 lumens. The output itself is good for a headlamp and a flashlight of this size. Overall I do not expect the best output for a headlamp but 1000 lumens is a good mark to hit. If you have to much output then you will have to compromise run times and size.
Skilhunt headband works great
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The Imalent HR20 can be used with either the included 18650 or 2 CR123s. I can not find any thing to say that 16340 will work so just be careful if you want to use them. Some times working voltage may only account for the use of CR123s and not 16340s. It would appear the HR20 is using a constant current buck driver. There appears to be no PWM on the HR20 which is always a good sign of a well made driver. The HR20 has an inbuilt thermal control like most good headlamps do. The thermal control is just that. It is a thermal step down and not a timed step down. So it will stay at 1000 lumens as long as you can keep the HR20 cool. Maybe its a good time to go and play in the snow!. The Imlanet HR20 also has reverse polarity protection which is essential when using CR123s in case one goes in the wrong that can be bad lol. The included cell is on the longer side so you should be able to fit most bigger 18650 batteries in the HR20.
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As of yet you don’t see to many headlamps using a XPLHI considering most headlamps are made for flood and not overall throw. The HR20 is more so in between it throws good for a stock headlamp that doesn’t have a hug reflector. The HR20 has a rating of 11200cd which equals a throw measurement of 225 meters which isn’t to bad. As much I love my optics on my headlamps some time i need a little more throw to see stuff out a tad further. If we compare the HR20 VS the HC30 the HR20 throws 225 and the HC30 throws 162 meters. This is mainly down to the use of the XPLHI in the HR20. The reflector in both flashlights are about the same size.
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Output and modes on the HR20 are completely up to you. The Imalnet HR20 doesn’t have any mode sets at all. The HR20 uses a ramping mode selection so you can chose any mode between 1-1000 lumens as your mode. By simply turning the rotary adjuster switch on the side. Now this feature may not be for every one but I feel its awesome it lets you chose the exact mode you want when you want it! I often just fling the rotary switch up and down to chose a random level. I am goof and do not do this at home for all you playing along I am not sure how good it is for the light lol.
Imalent does write the following modes this is the highest and lowest setting you can chose. The choice is yours any thing in between these outputs. These are ANSI rated numbers using an 18650 battery.
- Lowest mode: 1 lumen at 360 hours
- Highest mode: 1000 lumens at 1 hour and 45 min
The choice is yours!
The Imalent HR20 does actually have a few special modes.
- Strobe 1-1000 lumens
- Beacon 1-1000 lumens
- SOS 1-1000 lumens
Once again you can chose any setting between 1-1000 lumens even for these special modes. To access the special modes simply push and hold the power switch for 3 seconds to access the strobe from there you push and hold again to move onto the nest modes. I like this I some times use a beacon while rock fishing in a dangerous spot and being able to control the output of beacon mode is awesome!
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This is the first headlamp I have seen with no set modes. Not the first flashlight I have seen with no set modes. I have had a few flashlight with ramping features that remember the output I love it. At first I thought it was gimmick but now I know its good for a reason. I would rather this UI then the UI on the H03 I hate having to change mode groups and cycle through 100 modes to get the perfect mode. Then I will add you can probably get the perfect output on the HR20 easier because it is completly up to you!
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Overall the Imlanet HR20 is one of the best headlamps on the market. Price to performance it can not be beaten. You get every thing you need to use this flashlight straight from the box. Plus extras in case you want to EDC the HR20. The build quality on the HR20 is better then on my HC30 and it cost less and offers more. The only thing for some people is the ramping mode selection for me this is no issues. I love it! So I can highly recommend the HR20 to any one looking for a good quality headlamp. Or even some one looking for a small sized 18650 EDC the Imalent HR20 is hard to go past.
All these photo where taken at ISO800 but it was raining and really windy! Also the HR20 has no modes so i chose a few outputs in between!
Lowest mode! Its still fairly bright its seem about 3 lumens.
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This is about a 1/4 turn of the adjusting rotary switch.
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Ahhh maybe like above the last setting but below half way lol
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This is 1/2 turn of the rotary switch. 5-600 lumens.
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Highest setting 1000 lumens in heavy rain.
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100 meters to the tree on turbo mode. The HR20 hits the tree easy. (It reaches easy but the rain makes it hard to see!)
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About 60 meters to this tree.
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The tint isn’t to bad
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Imalent HR20 left and Nitecore HC50 right
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Imalent HR20 left and Convoy S2+ right
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Imalent HR20 left and Nitecore HC30 Right
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Imalent HR20 Left and Skilhunt H03R Right
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Okay folks thanks for reading i will update more pictures tomorrow but right now its bed time!
Regards Chris
