I usually run with a floody 18650 light in-hand, but had a similar need for a running headlamp (though my requirements are different), and after quite a bit of research I went with the Olight H1. I got it today and already tried it out so I’ll post the whole story together with some impressions.
What I wanted:
- something above 100 lumen for 2 hours. It may seem on the low side, but once the eyes have adjusted I find it enough for most situations even when going downhill fast
- a light with no top strap ( I hate them! ) that would not bounce around when running fast / jumping above creeks or other obstacles
- decent tint, I don’t think this needs any explanation
- a floody beam so that there would not be an hotspot bouncing around or blinding me when I tighten my shoelaces
- IPX7 or better so I don’t have to worry about the weather
The main problem was finding a light that didn’t bounce around. I already had a Thrunite TH20 and that was unusable, the main problem is it’s heavy and sits far from the head giving it too much leverage. So I looked for a light that was lightweight and had its center of mass close to the head. I narrowed it down to the Olight and the Nitecore NU20 CRI, but the Nitecore had limited runtime and lacked swappable batteries.
Here you can see how it sits in its holder basically as close to the head as it is possible.
So I got the Olight, here’s what I like and what I don’t:
LIKE:
- lightweight enough not to bounce around at all
- though it is 70cri, the tint is consistent throughout the beam, slightly rosy and overall pretty good
- 16340 batteries are so small I can easily carry a spare in the mini-pocket most running pants have for car keys and not notice it
DISLIKE:
- the button is flat and only activates when pressed in the center, basically unusable when running fast
- depth perception is definitely a problem, I really felt less capable of gauging step distances during fast downhill sections and overall I feel my performance was lower than usual
So overall I think this is almost as good as it gets for my needs, and allows me to keep my hands free if I want to do mixed training.
But I will keep bringing an 18650 handeld like my E2L on more serious runs.