Review Xtar Magnemite H3R Headlamp

Xtar Magnemite H3R magnetic rechargeable headlamp Cree XP-L V6 1000LM

This light is provided by Xtar.cc for review and it can be found here : http://www.xtar.cc/products_detail/productId=181.html

Basic product features, that are taken from the user’s manual and official product page :

Led : Cree XP-L V6
6 different modes
Max intensity : 5630cd
Max output : 1000 lumen
Max runtime : 18 days
Max beam distance : 150 meters
Waterproof : IPX-7
Impact resistant : 1.5 meters
Battery : 1x18650 / 2x16430 / 2xCR123A
Low voltage protection
Overheat protection
Dimension : 106.4mm x 21.9mm x 26.7mm
Weight : 55g
*Magnetic charging only for 18650

It came out in beautiful cardboard box which is also suitable for present, in the box there are additional plastic holder with bulkheads so the light and accessories can be safe in it during transport.

In package are included :

1 x Headlamp
1 x Head strap
1 x Magnetic USB cable ( for charging )
1 x O-rings
1 x Helmet clip
1 x Clip for belt
1 x Manual

  • I get a 18650 battery from Xtar but as I can see it not come in standard packs.

The light is very very small ( the smallest that I own so far) so I was surprised with the size and lightweight with only 53g and dimensions 106.3mm x 22.0mm x 26.7mm ( entire head size ), it is very small and compact, it can be easily fit into the pocket and operate with one hand, it can do a tail stand also. Finish on it is premium quality really, anodisations is great like on other very expensive lights. On the side of the head it is located a switch which is used to turn on and off also for change modes on light, and on the top side there is a magnetic charger for charging since this light have built-in charger in it.

As you can see a led is perfectly 100% centered.

Side head switch is big enought and easy to press, also very quality and not loud. I like it. Diameter of the switch is 12.5mm ( pressing part ).

At the top of the lamp is located 20mm exactly big circle with magnetic charging port in the center of it with size of 4mm, it grabs charging needle very fast and leaves an impression that is strong and stable, but it’s not like that, it can be stronger, as you can see it is rotating as I rotate lamps in my hands. So if you leave it while charging it will not be a problems, but as I said I would like that magnetic charging port strenght is stronger.

As I mentioned earlier the quality of produce is outstanding like other high quality lights that I have. The edges are finely shaped and all is well fit in hand. There is also some of heatsinks on the other side of the head, maybe insufficiently for such of small and powerfull light but there is not enought space for more since all other sides are already filled with switch, charging port and reflector.

At the bottom there is mark of the exact model of this light.

Tailcap is sized 24mm x 11.6mm outside and threads inside are 20.6mm, just simple tailcap since there is no switch in it, with very very good and wide spring which is pretty strong.

In the tube there is also a spring which is great so this light can accept a flat top cells, spring is smaller diameter than this on tailcap side. Driver is covered with some plastic so we can’t see nothing about it from this point.

Threads quality is satisfying it is not best out there but it is not bad, also they are anodised, in my case thread are lubricated but not enough sometimes when I turning around a tailcap I can hear squealing, but this is also not big thing since I have my silicone grease and I can add according to my wishes.

The reflector is sized 16.8mm diameter and it is OP which is standard for this kind of lights, it is perfect no signs of dirt inside of it, or some other problems like lower quality in some parts etc. There are four notch on bezel which are intended for unscrewing a bezel and to get out lens and reflector. As far as I can see there are no reflections of this lens, so it must be with AR coating on it.

I try to unscrew head from the tube, put a lot effort on it, but without success, so notice that this head is glued to the tube and you will probably won’t be able to unscrew it without damaging the light. So when i failed in that attempt, I also quit from removing a bezel to get out lens and reflector, since I don’t want to damage the light.

Battery configuration for this light is 1x18650, 2x16430 or 2xCR123A I have and use 18650. Since I get this protected 18650 from Xtar I decide not to use it since there is no that battery in standard package, I decide to use something that other people have and mostly use, it is Samsung 30Q.
You can here see fitting the battery into the tube, it will receive both types of cells protected or unprotected, but my personal opinion is that tube need to be slightly longer for protected cells.

When I already own it I do a capacity test for this Xtar 18650 battery and with 500 mA discharge on NOR test I get this :

Head strap is high quality, comparing to other from lower quality lights that I have here it is thicker, more elastic and much better quality in terms of making and materials used for production. Plastic corsets are little bigger and thicker also. When you put both in hands you will feel the difference in moment, it is hard to describe but this Xtar’s is top one. It is also longer general but that is not matter I supposed since no one have that much big head.

When you want to put light into the rubber part that is in the middle of head strap it will not go easy and very fast ( instant ), it need some time to mount in rubber since this rubber part is strong and it’s harder to pass through these bulges on the light. There is couple of ways to install a light in rubber part since there is more of these bulges so you can set it closer to tailcap, closer to head or in the middle. I prefer like is it on the picture or all the way to the head, since in that position light is the most stable. I did not run with it, just normal use and no problems at all, lights remain as I set it and changing modes works like a charm.

Here are some pics of my friend with light and head strap.

User interface is very simple, good thing is that Turbo mode can be memorized and immediately activated by double press from OFF.
There are in total 6 modes that can be used, Moon, Low, Medium, High, Turbo and SOS, and all modes instead SOS can be memorized, and mode memory is momentarily, no need to wait couple of seconds that mode be memorized. Turbo and SOS can be instantly activated by double and triple press when light is OFF. Turn ON light with long press ( about 2 sec ) will always start it in Moon mode. Turn ON light with short press will always turn on light in last memorized mode. When you turn ON light and if you press button for about 2 seconds and release, it will jump to next mode in order Moon, Low, Medium, High ( fast double and fast triple for Turbo and SOS ), but if you keep pressure on the button for about 3+ seconds it will automatically cycle try Moon, Low, Medium and High until you don’t release the button.

Charging and discharging is a bit complicated so I will explain it later. Now I wan’t to show this magnetic cable which is long 60cm and needle diameter is 1mm. At the opposite side of the magnet there are colored notifications about charging status. So like always red is for charging in progress and green is when charging is done or finished.

I put Samsung 30Q to charge in the light with 2.75V, and you will see on the pictures the whole process of charging, all that I can say is that full charge is completed for 3 hours and 51 minutes, after that I take out battery from the light and check it with my DMM and it shows 4.17V.

Start of charging process.

After 1 hour.

After 2 hours.

After 2.5 hours.

After 3 hours.

After 3.5 hours.

End of charge.

One problem that I notices is about LVP. It write : ‘’When the battery power is running low, the light will flash 3 times for every 3 mins to remind you’’. I discharge my 30Q at level of 2.75V as you can see on the picture and I did not notice any of flashes ! Only thing that I notice is that when battery is about 3.2V I was unable to bump it to turbo mode anymore, so only moon, low, medium and high, and when battery reachs about 2.9V I was unable to go on high mode anymore. I was not go more from 2.75V since I don’t want to damage my battery, but from what I see here there is no LVP protection. Only way that you can know battery lvl is about on 3.2V you will not be able to go in turbo more. I dislike this, I prefer 3-3.2V flashing warnings and 2.8V cut off.

Current consumption is measured with very thick and short wires, so you will not be able to see a light since wires are very short and I can’t snow light and DMM at te same time.

Moon

Low

Medium

High

Turbo

Water resistant test passed successfully. Put the light into the water container, keep it 5 min, change modes couple of times etc, take it out, battery and tube was dry also no water in reflector part.

There was some number of bubbles but as I said water do not get inside.

Lumen ( lux ) and temperature measurements. I use my DIY lumen tube for lumen measurements, also put some other lights just for comparison, all values are taken after 30 seconds from time that light was turned ON.

Xtar H3R Turbo x10 = 9640 lux

Xtar H3R High x10 = 4950 lux

Xtar H3R Mid x10 = 2560 lux

Xtar H3R Low = 643 lux

Xtar H3R Moon = 34 lux

And from this I calculated following :

Turbo = 968 lm
High = 497 lm
Mid = 257 lm
Low = 64 lm
Moon = 3 lm

Other lights for comparing Convoy s2+ XM-L2 U2 ( 7135 x8 ) and Ultrafire 501b XP-L V5.

Convoy s2+ High x10 = 9310 lux = 935 lm

Ultrafire 501b High x10 = 5000 lux = 503 lm

Decrease in output and temperature of light. I recorded a video for this, and pictures that you will see are screen shots from that video. To avoid confusion just to explain why lux now is less value than before. As you can see I open my lumen tube, don’t close it around the light, and I put a light on some stuff ( adhesive tape roll ) to raise it from the surface so there was couple of cm from the lights and lumen tube glass in order for better cooling, so lux values are lower now, but that is not important, important is to see how fast light output will decrease when light is in work.
It is about turbo mode.

Light temp before start

Start at 7400 lux

After 1 min of work

After 3 min of work

After 5 min of work

After 8 min of work

After 10 min of work

What I want to tell with this. First in manual write ‘’Under turbo mode, if headlamp runs more than 3 mins, brightness will reduce to 60% of original to avoid overheat’’. I’m not sure is this means that some step down will be done in the moment, or just after 3 min light will progressive reachs 60% and remain. Either way this is not true, as you can see we start with 7400 lux and after 3 min we get to 6900 lux, after 5 min 6370 lux… So light output drops as light heating up, there is no step down or whatever that will get light to 60% of output after 3 mins. In short I don’t want and don’t like to test this things like other people do with cell phone sensors, I think this way is better and precise, since this lux metter is much better and precise than some phone small sensors…
From start to 10 min we lose in roughly 220 lm so if my calculations are correct after 10 min of work this light will work on about 750 lm on turbo. Also you can see on pics a temp doings, and as you can see we reachs over 60 degrees after 10 min of work in turbo which leads that light was very very hot and also battery inside the light.
But I run a test with Convoy s2+ 7135 x8 and I can tell you that Convoy has faster falling of output and higher temperatures that Xtar’s light. It is about very small hosts and this is not surprisingly.

Beamshot section

First of all in short to tell that I don’t own headlapms I don’t use them and for comparison I try to choose lights that are similar in size and light output with this one, also borrow from my friend one headlamps for testing.

Lights that will be compared from left to right.
Convoy s2+ XM-L2 U2 7135x8 OP reflector
Ultrafire 501b XP-L V5 SMO reflector
Xtar H3R
Botuit headlamp 3x led ( central for throw, other two for flood )

First location ramp and space for the arrival of goods and other stuff, darkness 100%, all pics are taken with Focal Length = 18mm, White Balance = direct sunlight.
Dimensions.

Control shot with lights that are arranged inside.

Xtar H3R Moon mode is too low for capture, so no pic.

Xtar H3R Low mode

Xtar H3R Mid mode

Xtar H3R High mode

Xtar H3R Turbo mode

Xtar H3R vs Convoy s2+

Xtar H3R vs Ultrafire 501b

Xtar H3R vs Boruit headlamp

Second location is backyard, very dark all pics are taken with Focal Length = 35mm, White Balance = direct sunlight.
Dimensions.

Control shot in day focal length 18mm.

Control shot in day focal length 35mm ( used for beamshots ).

Xtar H3R Moon mode is too low for capture, so no pic.

Xtar H3R Low mode

Xtar H3R Mid mode

Xtar H3R High mode

Xtar H3R Turbo mode

Xtar H3R vs Convoy s2+

Xtar H3R vs Ultrafire 501b

Xtar H3R vs Boruit headlamp

Overall impressions.

For :
-Very good built quality.
-Easy and quality changing modes, good switch.
-Instant access to turbo, mode memory to for all modes.
-Very bright and compact.
-Top quality accessories.

Against :
-No LVP protection.
-Some disinformation in manual.
-Glued head.

That’s the best and most thorough review I’ve read for a long time! Well done Sir!

fantastic review! and the headlamp looks good too

a very detail review, thank you

Great review. Who makes that infrared Thermometer? I love the display.

Thanks guys.

@atbglenn it is about Mustool there are couple of them at similar price, but this one is model MT6800.