[REVIEW] Super Tiger pure flood 18650 headlamp

I acquired this Headlamp from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CSH8JQD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The seller lists it at 150 Lumens on high with an IP55 rating.

What Do You Get
The package includes the headlamp with strap, a non-branded battery rated at 2200mAh, a micro USB charging cord (charge only – no data), a USB power supply, and an instruction sheet.
The instructions say three modes, High, Low, and Strobe.
It actually ramps and has a memory.

Description
This is a very compact headlamp. The molded plastic housing includes the battery compartment and the COB element. There is a white translucent cover over the COB element. The single head strap is ## inch wide, which is wider than several other cheap headlamps I have (a good thing).
The head strap is connected at each end to a hard plastic green bracket that holds the headlamp.

Observations and Tests
The construction is excellent considering the price point of this lamp. It feels quite sturdy. The strap is long and has plenty of room for a fat headed guy like me.
The green bracket that holds the lamp is hard plastic and not as comfortable as others I have used that are softer and/or larger (to distribute the weight better). But being so light it is not fatiguing to wear.
Speaking of weight, this thing has to be the lightest 18650 headlight out there. Only 2.1oz w/o battery. Packers/Climbers take note.

The power switch is on top and seems well sealed from the elements. The switch is slightly concave and it takes a deliberate effort to press the thing. Using gloves of any thickness would be problematic.

The charging port is on the bottom and the plug seats firmly.

The battery compartment is on the right side of the light. It opens with a ¼ turn.

There is a nearly invisible set of marking to help align the battery cap when inserting the battery.
I added a dot of tape to make it easier to see.

The battery tube and O ring were dry out of the box. The O ring needed lubing to operate smoothly.
Sure looks like it can be used without problem in heavy rain.

The light is held to the bracket by circular plastic rings on each side of the COB element body. This is a firm friction fit so there are no crappy teeth to brake off and limit the degree of adjustment. Well done Super Tiger.

The only possible flaw in the construction is how the rear of the head bracket connects to the two front rings that actually hold the light. These are attached by two metal screws that thread into the rings from the back of the bracket.
I’ve had no problem, but I’ve not abused the light. A bead of superglue along the front of the bracket where the rings attach might make this more bulletproof.
The light body where the rings are attached is about 1 inch in diameter. So if the bracket bites the dust, several other head straps have brackets for 1 inch lights that could be used.

The UI:
First click = High.
Second click = Medium.
Third click = Flashing.
Fourth click = Off.
From Medium, press and hold and the light will ramp up to high and then ramp down past the medium setting to low. Stop where you like it.
After sitting for a bit at any level, one click will turn the light off. The light remembers the last setting and will return there with a single click.
A second single click (after a few seconds) will turn it off again and keep that setting in memory. Additional clicks (or press and holds) will get you to the other levels.

The lamp is rated at 150 lumens on the included material. I’m not setup to do any real lumen measurements (yet). But I do have a photographic light meter and some other lights to compare it with using the ceiling bounce method. If I had to make a wild ass guess, I’d say it is at least 150 lumens. On low the light is still fairly bright.
It’s too bright, IMHO, for a reading light. The huge spill will disturb others nearby.

Using a fresh 30Q battery I measured 0.6amps at the tail cap on high, 0.17a on medium, and 0.04a on low. A funny deal, clicking into high gives a slightly higher draw than if high is reached by ramping up.

The Battery
The supplied battery is a button top protected cell. A button top battery is required because the positive terminal faces outward in the battery compartment. A solder blob battery will fit. A magnet spacer on a flat top works also.

The battery is marked 2200mAh. Mine tested 2358mAh and 62mOhms. 107% of the rated value!
That’s a pleasant change from the crappy batteries usually included with lights in this price range.

Using the freshly charged supplied battery the lamp ran for 240 minutes on high before the low voltage protection on the battery kicked it off.
I tried it with an unprotected cell and the light has no built in low voltage protection other than the brightness getting very dim.
Flashaholic safe, but keep to the protected cells for muggles.

Recharging the battery inside the light drew .87mps max and I measured 4.19volts after it finished a charge cycle.
There is a little LED next to the charging port to indicate when the charge cycle is finished.
The light had no problem reviving the cell with the protection tripped.
It’s a darned tight fit to get the micro USB cable in the port, but it works.

What’s it look like?
The 18 element COB beam pattern is pure flood. No hot spot at all and no artifacts at the edges. The spread is nearly 180 degrees. And yes there is some falloff to the sides.

On the head and angled down, you can see everything. Top to bottom, side to side - it’s all there.
Glasses wearers take note, unless it’s really tilted down you don’t get flair in the lenses.
I couldn’t really get a good beam shot to show the wonderful even light.
I’ve never seen a pure floody Z-Light but it’s hard to imagine anything better.

Even on low there is plenty of light for true dark work at arms-length. On full bright it would be fine for trail walking or camp use. There is no real throw to the headlamp. Outdoors the huge spread disappears at any distance.
The color temperature is cool white but it’s not blue. The white LED cover softens the light.

PWM
Taking a look at the O-scope one sees a fast PWM to control brightness. The scale is 2ms. Even at the lowest setting I see no PWM when using the light.
Once again this is better than expected in this price bracket.

PWM Full

PWM Ramping

PWM Low

Conclusions
This is one terrific buy for a floody headlamp. For the price you get a decent protected battery and an 110v USB power supply.
There is no PWM visible (to me) at lower settings.

It’s small, it’s light, it works.
This light strikes me a something that might disappear after the production run is gone.
I held off the review so I could scoop up 3 more.
I needed one for the house, one for the office, one for the car, and one for the drawer (in case one of the other 3 need replacing).

The batteries in the other 3 all test better than the rated 2200mAh.
I ran the test twice, just to be sure.

Is this a first for an inexpensive no-name battery?

My advice?
If you are looking for something for close up work – get one.
I got mine.

All the best
Jeff

Your review is well done; got me fired up and checked the link.

Put on pause, and speaking for myself, cold white light for close up work does not go well (eye fatigue). A strobe mode in the click sequence, albeit remembering to turn off from medium limits the dizzying. But the caveat is the Canadian price: $62~.
I like taking risks with the more budget lights, sometimes get a true value light that needs a new driver / emitter. This is not the case with this model.

Sidney,
Thanks for the kind words. I’m new to reviewing, having lurked for years.
Great Googlie Mooglie… It’s only $18.75 for us not in the great frozen north!
(By the way it’s supposed to hit 90 today here in Texas)

Having the flashy mode out of the click cycle after setting at any brightness really makes a difference to me.
I’d really hate it if the blinkies had to be gone through every time just to shut it off.
All the best,
Jeff

Three AAA version