I received the Olight HS2 from Olight for the review.
The HS2 is a compact, lightweight headlamp for running and other sports. It features 2 XP-G2 emitters with 2 different optics (one for a flood beam, one for a throw beam) and is powered by a provided battery.
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The HS2 comes in this box
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The content of the box: HS2, headband, battery, micro USB cable, manual, spare cable ties. Everything is secured in a small box with zippers that you can use to carry the light.
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The headband with everything mounted on: the HS2 and the battery pack.
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Technically, the real HS2 is just the head that contains the 2 emitters and ends with a piece of cable with the switch and a female micro USB port:
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The battery pack and the HS2 head connect via a micro USB connector, however the housing of the male connector of the battery pack is shaped in a way that ensures waterproofness (IPX4).
I could power the HS2 without the battery using some micro USB cables, however I had issues with an old USB power supply.
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The battery pack is squared and hosts a li-po battery with a capacity of 2000mAh.
There is a micro USB port for charging it, protected by a rubber cover, and the switch for the battery indicator: pressing the blue switch will turn on the blue LEDs and they will turn on indicating the % of battery left.
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The 2 emitters have different optics, a floody and a throwy one.
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The back of the head has some cooling fins to dissipate the heat of the 2 emitters.
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The cable coming out of the head of the HS2 is quite thick and appears resistant.
The switch is wide and grippy, offers a good feedback when pressed.
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UI
The light has 2 emitters, and each emitters has 2 levels: low and high. Both emitters can be turned on at the same time, doubling the total output for both low and high mode.
Click once on the switch to turn the light on. Long click to turn it off.
The light always comes on at high flood + throw beam. Click once to cycle between the high and low mode, in loop.
Double click to switch from flood + throw beam to either just flood, just throw, flood + throw, in loop.
For every brightness change, activation and turning off the HS2, the lights doesn’t make any sudden change in brightness, instead it fades or ramps up, providing a more gentle change in the output.
Triple click activates SOS.
When the battery pack is running low (<10%), it will beep for 10 minutes (or until you press the blue switch on the battery pack).
When charging the battery pack, the blue LEDs will blink giving you an estimation of the charging state.
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The battery can be charged while the light is on.
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Beamshots
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Like for the H1R and H2R, the optic of the HS2 makes the spill come out of the light perpendicularly.
The Throw optic still provides a usable amount of wide spill.
Unfortunately, there is fast-ish but visible PWM at both modes, less visible (ie faster) for the high one.
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Output and runtime
Both tested with the Olight battery pack
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Thermographic test
When running the several heatsinks provide a more efficient cooling compared to a table resting HS2.
The HS2 doesn’t get much warm hen running a single emitter at high level.
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My thoughts
The light is well built and finished.
The HS2 is surely built for providing a good amount of runtime and light for running and outdoor activities: a light with enough light for running and moving around, with good runtime, easy to recharge and with an easy interface. This is not the H2R or any other high output headlamp with a lot of modes. It’s a simple lamp without moonlight or low modes, just a couple of settings to allow you to save the battery / not blinding yourself (no low level for reading in the bed, or for sneaking in the house).
The interface is easy even for non flashaholics, and the 2 beams mix well and give a good beam: even if you use only one of them, it’s not the end of the world (the throw one is not a laser and has some diffused light, and the flood gives still some meters of throw).
Considering the target market of this light (sport guys), I like it. I believe that for running-hiking or most low speed sports the high output is fine.
I like the possibility recharge the battery it while using the light.
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I still think a regular beacon/locator would be more useful instead of having the SOS as the only flashing mode: I often go for runs in the evening where there’s enough light to not require a light, but a flashing light is always useful to catch the attention of all the other people on the road, making sure they lift their sight from the cellphones and acknowledge my presence.
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I would like to see the without PWM, and in a NW tint.
I would like the HS2 gave an earlier signal of low battery: as you can see in the plots, the good regulation keeps the output steady and you will know that your battery are running low when you will hear the battery pack beeping; at that point you are left with only a few minutes of runtime (around 15’ at high mode Flood + Throw). You can always check the battery indicator on the battery pack, but you have to stop and take the headband off your head.
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Thanks to: AntoLed for the camera help, the luxmeter, the thermal camera; Zampa for the tripod.
Surely Italy isn’t that cold this time a year?