Budget headlamp: Nichia vs. "neutral white" Cree? 18650 too heavy?

Sorry I edited the post.
The U4 is the newest and most powerful bin of XM-L2.
It has 60 degree TIR lens so it has very good beam. I worked under my car 5 hours and I almost forgot that it is on my head. Tomorrow I can make some beamshots if you want or you can find plenty reviews here on BLF or on youtube if you search.

Sounds really nice, but I’m also thinking about just going really super cheap instead. Hmmmmmmm. Any 18650 headlamps under like $15-20 that are good other than that RJ02?

I can not name one. A few days ago the Imalent HR20 was on sale at banggood with coupon for 26,5$ included battery and with Micro USB charging.
There is a gap between Boruit RJ-02 and H03 and HR20.
When I bought the RJ02 I was happy.
When I bought H03 I thought I spent too much for a headlight…
But after the first use…It worth every penny and the boruit collecting dust since.

Actually, any idea what the main difference is from the Skilhunt H02 -> Skilhunt H03? That H02 is only $20 and looks rather similar!

The H03 has more thinner wall of tube and a bit less material in the head so it is lighter.
And I think the UI is better. The H02 has 4 modes fixed. But the H03 has 4 modes with selectable lower or higher submode and the light memorizing what you selected. For egzample I use it in low2, med2, High1, and turbo2. 2 is higher output than 1. you can switch between 1-2 with double click.

Definitely an XP footprint, but dunno if it’s even a real XP-G. Probably some generic Mystery Emitter. I’d love to swap it out for an XP-G2 or so, whatever’s the lowest Vf of the XP series, just to keep it in regulation as long as possible.

It’s not that “cool”, let alone “cold”, so don’t be scared off by that. I was out chiselling out a coupla feet of frozen snow that drifted up against a door (snowed, melted, refroze) for quite a while this past winter, and even reflecting off white snow, I didn’t mind it at all.

Gotta confess, with the price being what it is (and having like 4 spares), I kinda beat the Hell out of this critter, and other than losing the tethered rubber plug over the usb port (no idea how…), it’s held up admirably.

Hey, anyone know/recall offhand if 219BTs have the same solder-pad pattern as XP-Gs? I’d love to go high-CRI in at least one of these puppies. :smiley:

5000K is wonderfully neutral. My first experience with 4300K was, “Hmmm, warm…”. Well, warmer than I was used to, at least.

The XM-L2 and XP-L both use the same exact chip. Just the XM footprint/package is bigger than the XP footprint/package.

So the XP-L is just an XM-L2 on a smaller substrate, with the dome shaved down on the 4 sides to make them fit when stacked next to each other.

Seems like the H02 isn’t too bad of a deal at all. Main differences seem to be:

- Overall lower lumens (not the U4 version of the XM-L2)

- Doesn’t have the TIR lens? Not sure

- 4 modes instead of 8 modes

- Low standby current below 0.5uA in H03 only

  • H03 is slightly lighter (0.5oz)

H03: 0.5, 3, 20 (75hrs), 70 (25hrs), 160, 365, 490, 900
H02: 5, 110, 380, 820

Doesn’t seem to be available on gearbest right now, though =/

Downsides seem to be no firefly mode (0.5) or lower powered medium mode in the 20-70 range. Not sure if either can ramp up infinitely between their modes.

H02 has TIR.
No ramping on skilhunts.

H02 is taller and heavier than the H03.
But they have the same TIR or reflector.
H03 can preset all 4 modes in 2 levels with double click (low 1 / low 2 - medium 1 / medium 2 - high 1 / high 2 - turbo 1 / turbo 2).

If you’re a long distance hiker, then yes, 18650 is too heavy. I have a Zebralight H52 to cut down some of that weight and bulk, but unfortunately for you, I don’t think there’s a Nichia option. Since I’m out there to hike, I’m awake for very little time when it’s dark, so I can easily get 500 miles from a battery, so it’s safe to use a lithium primary AA, which saves even more weight. The H52 really is overkill for me, but I really like the ability to get a spare AA while restocking my food bag in town. The beam pattern is great for hiking too. Just the right amount of flood and throw to light up the trail, but still enough throw to find campsites if I waited to long to get off the trail.

From the imalent HR20 review Review: Imalent HR20 XP-L HI Rechargeable Headlamp
a comparison of different lamps how floddy the Skilhunt H03 is
!https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5535/31165320802_57100e6450_o.gif !

Lumenzilla has a giv with all brightness settings. The last picture
https://lumenzilla.com/en/reviews/review-skilhunt-h03-tir-optic.html

For HR20 and H03 NW there are coupons on Gearbest

My H03 bought from Gearbest 4 weeks ago is ~4500K and nice , but as always it’s a bit of a lottery.

I made some compare pics.

For outdoor use, high CRI is what matters more than anything else, if you want to be able to see details.
The Nitecore NU20 CRI is a very nice lightweight headlamp.

Nice comparison…

I swapped out the default TIR from my RJ02 to a 60°. Very nice.

Tried a 90 and 120 which I got yesterday, but didn’t like the beams. Too much of a “bullseye”, rather bright ring around the periphery, then slightly darker towards the middle, then pretty much the same hotspot as my 60. It’s annoying even in practice, not just white-wall hunting.

Sticking with the 60, as it’s nice and smooth. If I need a little more throw, I got the come-with TIR just in case.

The Imalent HR20 is $19.99 right now. (includes 2600mAH cell)

M4DM4X’s thread here.

The Imalent HR20 is a nice package, but it has a normal beam, not a wide one, what more people prefer on a headlamp.
All comparisons I’ve read favour the H03 for headlamp and normal use.

I have a H03 so I buy the HR20 on purpose for a far throwing headlamp.

Consider what you’re going to be using the headlamp for, before deciding on the battery type. An 18650 light really only makes sense if you need really long run time, or very high output + decent run time. Also, you don’t want to be bouncing around too much with the bulk and weight of an 18650 light on your head. Otherwise, a AA/14500 light makes more sense.

A 1xAA or 14500 light will give you about 8 hours at 50 lumens output, which is probably what you’ll be using most of the time. If you want to use it at 200 lumens, that just means you need to change the battery every couple of hours. If you need higher output than that on a constant basis, then you probably want an 18650 light.

I am considering this. It might be nicer to have a lighter weight headlamp, and just carry a spare 14500 battery in my backpack.

I’ve read some mixed reviews - for camping/hiking, would you say most people end up using ~ 20 lumens (low mode) or ~ 50-70 lumens (medium mode)?

That will help me get a better estimate of the runtime I’d get from each battery.

Can anyone help me fill out this chart for most batteries?

Average Runtime Low (~20 lumens) Medium (~50-70 lumens)
186500 75hrs@20 25hrs@70
14500 x 3hrs@50 (acebeam)

Anyone have a good sense of how long I’d typically get on a 14500 in medium (50-70 lumens)? The 3hrs on that acebeam seems really short, but found another thorfire that seems to show similar. Makes me lean towards an 18650.

I’m not seeing anything that does 8 hours @ 50 lumens like you described.