Review: Nitecore NU30 Headlamp (with X-rays of internals)

Thanks for the review!

Already have the NU20CRI, love it and wouldn’t mind a more powerful version of it. So I look forward to the NU30CRI.

^ Thanks for the comments. The more I use this light (I was using it for night photography in a forest again last night) the more I like it - fantastic multi-purpose headlamp.

Nobody has the blue tint in auxiliary LED? Compared to my other nichia lights, this one has an horrible tint, stil better than some of my cree xml or xpg light but it pales in comparison with my nichia tool. Also I have a totally different beam profile than the one in the last picture of OP. assuming it is turbo from main LED. I got a very tight and bright hotspot and a weak spill.
I find that managing the position of the light is frustrating to do with one hand, I don’t think it will last long, it’ll probably break if used alot.
The warning blink of low battery is useless when on your head and it’s * dangerous when using auxiliary leds, the light shuts down without stepdown. Happened to me when riding my bike, from one moment to the other I was in the dark.
I just don’t see what all the fuss is about, to me it’s a cheap-a light. I wonder how long it will last, especially in winter time and hard rain. The rubber for usb port is put in upside down and keeps popping out. So I expect water running in when used in pouring rain.
I hope the plastic is strong enough for freezing temps and/or temp differences which always killed my previous $10 AAA headlamps. The plastic gets brittle and breaks at thin points when under stress, most of the time it’s the battery compartment so probably less of an issue with NU30.
But I said it before and I’ll say it again: It aint worth the full price. Cause it’s actually a throw away light. How long will the battery last for people like me who use it everyday? Hopefully I can heatup with hairdryer and get the glue to loosen up to replace the battery if they used a standard size.
The only reason I bought one was because I needed one with red LEDs and the groupbuy price was convincing. It is light on the head but I had $10 energizer headlamps that where much more comfortable to wear and use (better beam profile also but that’s a matter of what you need), but they suck the juice right out of NiMh batteries.
I am not convinced.

just looked at the x-ray again and omg :person_facepalming:

wood screws, really? Come on, this is not something I would expect from a top of the line company like nitecore claims to be. Nuts and bolts of the right length and size is what I wanne see, not just some random screws they find in the janitors storage room.

The screws are actually the same size at the top and same size at the bottom, just the projection of the x-ray beam makes them look different sizes. X-rays have a diverging beam as the x-rays are generated by a point source.

You seem to be in minority of people who own the NU30 and aren’t happy.

My high-CRI beam has a pink tint rather than your blue. Not sure if these are Nichia emitters or not.

The last photo is in turbo, you can see the slightly yellow hotspot in the distant right side trees. For beam profile, the white wall beam shots are more realistic.

If you are ending up in the dark using the auxiliary emitters then you must have run the battery very low. I would advise taking more care with runtimes, and periodically checking capacity (especially if using not after a recharge).

Build quality seems to be similar to other lights in its class. I doubt it will outlive my Thrunite TH20, but I expect it to last a couple of years of regular use. My “indestructible” Varta/Rayovac headlamp broke after 1 year. My 10 year old plastic Black Diamond headlamps are still intact (just a shame they are so dim).

You compare it to the Energizers, which are a good range of consumer lights. However I’m not aware of any Energizers that are USB rechargeable. If you are so unhappy with your NU30, can you recommend us something better?

IDK really, I guess I expected too much of it. I haven’t found anything I like more or comes close to my H03, I’ve been looking for xtar comander with the red LED but I can’t find it (shipped to europe).
True it is different class of light and I don’t know any headlamp that is rechargeable. I would love to see one that uses the convoy style of recharging with the magnet thingy. I think armytek has them but they are way out of my price range and also no red LED.

It’s little things like the usb cover, the ui and no way to get it apart for fixing it when needed. But the blue tint (do you think it’s high cri?) and the main spot light I really dislike.
Do you use the xp-g2 led on the low setting? I find it next to useless, the spill is too weak, even reading a book is annoying. If I could open it up I would put some scotch tape over the lens to get more flood.

I hope nitecore proves me wrong and that it outlast my energizer lamps that craped out on me after a year or 2.

I just use it as a back-up light or when I go out partying (cause I might loose it and I like my skilhunt too much).
Rechargeable makes it nice if you stay in the “civilized” world, so you don’t have to carry any spare cells or charger ,you can charge it anywhere so to speak. But for long hikes in no-man’s land I’d rather carry spare cells.

I don’t own a black diamond but my friend’s one keeps turning on in his pocket he says, told me I shouldn’t get one just because of that. I had one energizer that had red lights and a not to bad main LED but the battery compartment fell apart (cheap plastics don’t like the cold). I liked that one. Smooth angle positioning, simple ui and almost didn’t feel I had it on my head. But that was before I got spoiled. Don’t know if I would still like it now.

The tints on both the primary and secondary LED’s are fine on mine, and the usb cover fits good and snug. Had the light in the pouring rain last night with no problems what so ever. The fact that you can connect a powerbank to this and have virtually endless run time is a huge plus. I own the H03, Zebralight H600Fd, and a Lumintrail, but really like how handy this NU30 is.

I recieved my two samples of the Nitecore NU30 today. When comparing tints it found that one of the lights has a greenish tint while the other one has a normal/expected cold white tint. Other than that i am very pleased with how neat and compact it is. Also the buttons sits lower in the light than i expected, i personally would like them to protrude a little more.
Quality seems good for this pricerange.

Now i just have to find a usb-cable with a coil, so that i can have a powerbank i my pocket/backpack. Any suggestions/recommendations?

PWM test added to review in OP - none detected!

I’m on the same hunt. As a pack light, this would be an unstoppable feature. What kind of bank would you pair it with?

Edit: oops. Meant to reply to the coil cable query above. I’ll PM you if I find one. Everyone is into peitzl headlamps for running, and all I see is a boxy light with a lot of R&D gone into headstraps and proprietary battery packs that I’d rather not have on my head anyway.

Replied above, much agreed!

Hi, i would much appreciate if you did! I recently bought a 8000mah powerbank, and i plan to keep it in the toplid of my backpack for longer hikingtrips. If i could get a coilet usb cable or some kind of super soft and flexible cable it would be perfect.

Btw,sry Stephenk for hijacking your post :person_facepalming: in hinsight i should have started a separate thread for my inquiry. I really enjoyed your review :+1: if its any consolation :slight_smile:

Amazon has both right and left angled coiled cables. There are also no angle coiled cables Amazon.com

Not sure how you would get one to Norway

Just because it has that type of thread does not mean it is a wood screw…
There are tons of screws that look like that.
They are for plastic, metal, and all kinds of other materials.
Since there are no nuts, this is the correct type of screw to use to attach the PCB to the plastic body.
It’s very common to use self-tapping screws for plastic. They are not “just some random screws”.

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Amazon has both right and left angled coiled cables. There are also no angle coiled cables https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PGJ67N4/ref=twister_B01HPS5OFU?\_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Not sure how you would get one to Norway
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With the amount of money I spend at Amazon, you’d think that I’d just look there first. Thanks.

Hi, everyone mine also have the bluish tinted secondary LEDs.It's doesn't seem to be of any hi-CRI type.The main led is rather yellowish than the secondary flood lights.

Iam not complaining ,it's just an observation.I have many nitecore tubes, and these secondary LEDs looks to be having that same tint.By the way ,I use the secondary led a lot and I like the fact that its brighter since it's of coolwhite tint.Ofcourse the colour reproduction is bad compared to the mainled.

Also,like many here I found that the main led should have been more floody.It annoys particularly during walking in high mode,as when you look down you are blinded by the tight hotspot.

If it could be taken apart, i would also add a tape or film to make the beam more floody.

Rest everything seems to be ok for me.I don't think the water can get in through the usb port, its having a good snug fit,and if pressed correctly won't pop out.weight seems to be fine and is comfortable to wear .Red LEDs are so bright and would prefer a lower red mode or a lower secondary led for reading purpose(main led is very concentrated even at low settings for closeup uses ).

Big battery is really useful for longer hikes, though charging from completely dead takes a while (around 4 to 5 hrs in my experience).But love the fact that it is usb rechargeable and can be used while charging.

So , after all these observations I must say I expected a little more(like good beam profile and lower modes), but am getting comfortable with it as I use it more and more.Plans to use it for next two years.(I had a few drops and dips but none seems to leave any mark, so I expect it to be sturdy enough to handle my daily outdoor uses).

i dont want to open new thread……what do you think is the smallest headlamp on the market? NU20?

The NU20 and NU20 CRI are pretty compact, and certainly have an excellent size/output ratio.

The AAA Fenix HL10 is also pretty compact, but only 70 lumens (which is good enough for urban night running).

i will buy this…for a joke…and change the led…hehe