[Review] Skilhunt H03C RC (XM-L Color, 1 x 18650) ~ A Headlamp with RGBW !

The flashlight was sent to me by Skilhunt for review.
Product's link: Skilhunt H03C RC

The flashlight arrived in the usual, elegant looking box used by Skilhunt.



It's seated inside some foam for added protection during shipping.



The included accessories list is fairly large:

  • Black pocket clip
  • Headband + silicon flashlight mount
  • USB charging cable
  • Adjustable wrist lanyard
  • Two spare o-rings and a silicone circle plug (for replacing the builtin tailcap magnet)



The H03C RC is designed along the lines of the rest flashlights of Skilhunt.
It comes with a matte black anodization and diamond-shaped knurling across the body.



Its e-switch is mounted in the right of the emitter.
The switch is surrounded by a polished metal ring and is covered by a silicon boot.



There is an indicator LED inside the switch's boot that is used for showing the battery's charge.



The H03C RC utilizes a TIR reflectror which produces a wide, diffused beam.
In the base of the reflector there is an XM-L Color emitter, which basically incorporates 4 dies (RGBW) under a single dome.
The use of the TIR optic is mandatory in order to dissolve any artifacts created by the emitter.



Opposite to the switch there are some deep heatsinking grooves for passively cooling the flashlight.



The included pocket clip comes with a glossy black coating and is mounted under the head of the flashlight.



The clip is very strong and really grips onto the pocket.
While clipped into the pocket, only a couple of centimeters of the flashlight's head is visible.



The charging interface, which is common across all Skilhunt lights, is consisted out of two concentric circular plates.
In order to utilize it a proprietary USB cable has to be used.



The charging cable integrates an indicator LED that provides info for the charge's state.
While not connected to the flashlight, the LED shines in blue.



While charging the indicator will shine in red - Blue indicates a full charge.
The cable is automatically mounted on the metal plates thanks to its magnets.
As a result, attaching / deattaching the charger is really quick 'n easy.



The spring's design allow it to be unmounted easily so that the user can access the integrated magnet.



The magnet can be replaced by the included circular silicone piece.



The tail-side threads are square cut and anodized, which means that the flashlight can be mechanically locked out.
Unfortunately, the head seems to be glued to the body, so I wasn't able to get a look at the driver side.



Here's a few shots of the internals.
The TIR lens is held in place by 4 torx screws. The screws aren't glued.



The PCB seems to be square.



Both the charging circuit and the driver are held in place by white silicone.



And here's the TIR.



The headband assembly is consisted out of two individual elastic bands.



Here's how it looks after putting everything together.



The bands can stretch quite a bit and of course both of them are adjustable.
The mount is made out of silicone and provides great retention to the flashlight.



The flashlight can be mounted both ways and thanks to its design its switch and charging port is always accessible.



From left to right:
18650 cell, Skilhunt H03C RC, Skilhunt M200, Jaxman E2L, Convoy S2+, Nitecore EC23




User Interface

The user interface of the flashlight has been adjusted to fit the needs of the XM-L Color emitter that's being used.
Here's all the supported actions:

Turn on: Single press.
Turn off: Long press (1 sec)
Mode cycle (White): Single press ( Low > Mid > High > Turbo > Low > ...)
Switch to RGB: Double press from anywhere / Long press while off.
Color cycle: Single press (Red > Green > Blue > Red ... ) with in RGB mode
Blinkies: Triple press
Blinkies cycle: Single press ( Beacon (Red) > SOS (Red) > RGB > Strobe (Blue & Red - police like)

Performance

In order to get my measurements I used a Samsung 25R 18650 cell.
Here's the tailcap current readings along with my measured lumens.


The standby current draw was measured at 30μA.
To be honest the standby current really impressed me, as it's the lowest value I have ever gotten from a flashlight.

And some photos of the light produced.

White (NW)


Red


Green


Blue


Overall the H03C RC is very versatile headlamp/flashlight.
The XM-L Color is not intended for everyone, but if you indeed need an RGBW light then this will definitely be one of the top choices.

Huh… that’s pretty kewl!

Yeap, definitely a cool gadget :slight_smile:

I know it’s very handy for people into light painting.
Are there any other uses that I am missing?

Lighting up stuff?

Now that’s something I hadn’t thought of :slight_smile:

Glad to help… :laughing:

i want to see under TIR lens

Okay, I will try to remove the screws and take a couple of photos.

Love the multi coloredness of this offering, but only 232 lumens of white on high mode, on an 18650?

That’s where the diode sits, so that’s why it has so little power:



Here's a few shots of the internals.
The TIR lens is held in place by 4 torx screws. The screws aren't glued.



The PCB seems to be square.



Both the charging circuit and the driver are held in place by white silicone.



And here's the TIR.

LSD or Mushrooms :slight_smile:

Are the color modes also memorized or does it always turn on in the white light mode?


Sorry for the extremely late reply, but it seems that I had completely missed your message.
I found it by accident while scrolling through my subscriptions :)

A single press turns the flashlight to the last memorized white mode.
On the other hand, a long press will jump to the last memorized color mode.