Looking for thoughts on these two lights. I just sold my Skilhunt H03 to a friend and am looking for a replacement. I liked the H03 enough to buy another, but at the same time, my need to try something new is itching…
Skilhunt H03, neutral white, $30:
Pros: Less expensive (could buy 2 for the price of the Armytek), I know for sure I like it
Cons: Neutral white (I prefer warm for headlights),
Armytek Wizard Pro V3 XHP50 Warm, $69 with coupon:
Pros: Warm white, XHP50 is “new and exciting”, higher output (but super high output is really negligible use in a headlamp IMO)
Cons: much more expensive, I may not like it
I have both and actually like the skilhunt better. The color on the armytek is great but the light is heavvier and has more quality control issues. There is also the cost. I have been using my H03 on a routine basis for nearly a year and have never had any problems.
If you have the money to spare: armytek is well made.
Ah, I just remembered stock H03 is XM-L2 so I’ll rethink my previous 219 plan. I’ve heard that smaller XP footprint LEDs (including N219) don’t give a great beam pattern when paired with optics designed for XM-L. So maybe I’ll have to go with 80+ CRI XM-L2. 90+ CRI XM-L sized emitters seem to be hard to come by.
Ho3 is a lot cheaper, but I love my armytec wizard pro xhp50. I have both and are very good lights. My h03 is fairly new but I have abused an h02 for going on a year now and has passed the test, so quality seems great for SKILHUNT. My wizard has seen less use due to being a $70 light I don’t want to break……
I have both, for the price difference I’d take the Skilhunt. I like that it’s lighter as mentioned and I also prefer the UI. The Wizard would be fine if an only light but if you swap regularly then I have to figure out the UI each time on the Wizard, it’s not hard but a bit different.
The ano on the Wizard is a grade up though for sure and it does reward you with a more quality feel. Output on turbo, with both lights on, you only see the Wizards beam!
Two Skilhunts vs one Wizard, cant really ignore that price difference.
Avoid Armytek light, they have issues( yet the support team is freindly) and cant be repaited easy, plus they are pricey( alot, considering overall performance)
H03 is a great light indeed , its just the neutral tint is TERRIBLE by default….tons of greenish in it, maybe the greeniest tint i have ever tested , buy cool white and mod it ( u3 3d fits great in it)…and no, its not 1200 lumens, more or less 900 yet its a great torch
I have 2 Armytek headlamps, a Tiara I purchased over a year ago, and Wizard Pro I purchased last June that’s used just about everyday with no issues at all. I’ve had 2 Zebralights that gave me problems. An SC52, and a H600F headlamp. Both had flickering problems. I had to send them to their facility in Texas. It took almost 2 months to get them repaired because they had to send them to the factory in China for repair.
What? Are you sure you have the right lights? I will try and get some photos tomorrow, the tint of my Skilhunt is as good as it gets! I will photo next to the Wizard and some Nichia lights if I get a chance.
My Wizard so far has also been faultless, it however hasn’t had a huge amount of use yet.
If you unscrew the head, you don't even have to file down the 16mm 219c stars if you get the ones from kaidomain. I put mine in from where the head unscrews (You still have to remove the optic). 4000k isn't that warm though , or at least it appears less warm when looking at it through the tir to my eyes. It's much better than the NW though. The NW actually bugged my eyes when walking around with tall blades of grass. I don't know how to explain it, but It felt like the weirdness when your eyes can detect PWM, only I don't think that's what it was, might just have been the tint and TIR combo? For some reason I don't get the same feeling with the 219c in there.
I recently got an H03 and liked it so much I ordered another.
The stock board is copper so it’s easy enough to just swap emitters and skip filing down another board, (assuming you stay with the larger footprint of XM).
The heatsink directly behind the MCPCB is fantastic, really pulls the heat off. I ran mine all day at work recently on various higher levels with no issues. Man, 18650 runtime on headlamps is fantastic.
Too nice for my dirty workplace though, ordered a crazy cheap Boruit RJ-02 for work and the H03 is going to the garage for car and motorcycle work.
