Freeme Review: Skilhunt H03 & H03F CREE XM-L2 U4 1000lm Headlamp - incomplete

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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Skilhunt H03 & H03F CREE XM-L2 U4 1000lm Headlamp

H03 NW sample was provided by GearBest.com for review purpose.

Overview:

Brand: Skilhunt

Model: H03

Price: $51.90 (cool white) / $52.90 (neutral white)

Emitter: CREE XM-L2 U4 Cool White/ Neutral White

Brightness: 1000LM (manufacturer rated), 1200lm LED lumens

Mode: 4 brightness level modes with 8 levels to choose from + 3 flashing modes

Peak beam intensity: 3,800cd

Lens: Beam surface TIR lens

Mode Arrangement: L1/ L2, M1/ M2. H1/H2, T1/ T2 (see diagram).

Mode Memory: Yes

Battery: 1x 18650 / 2xCR123A

Net Weight: 44g/ 1.55oz (without battery)

Size: 99.9mm / 3.93 inch, 23.5mm / 0.93 inch, 21.6mm / 0.85 inch

Waterproof Standard: IPX-8 Standard Waterproof

First Impression:

Package contains:

  • Skilhunt H03 headlamp
  • headband
  • lanyard
  • pocket clip
  • 2x o-ring
  • rubber pad (to fill up the empty space if you choose not to install the magnet)
  • user manual
  • warranty card

Close up look:

Weight:

User Interface:

Mode S1 (dual frequency strobe), S2 (beacon), S3 (slow flashing) and location indicator red LED on 1.5s press.

Performance: Tailcap Amperage Readings

1) Tailcap measurement:

T1: 2.55A

H1: 265mA

M1: 119mA

L1: 4mA

L2: 0.03mA(lowest brightness):

Test conducted with high drain Samsung 30Q 3000mAh 15A @4.18V

Parasitic drain:
H03 - 31.4μmA
H02 - 22.2μmA

Performance: Runtime

Battery is measured at 4.17V before test. Output value is recorded after 30sec from start (FL1 Standard). Consistent output level was observed for 2 hours after Turbo stepdown. Low voltage indicator kick around 2hr 48min mark for double flash (below 3.3V warning), and triple flash around 2hr 56min mark (below 3.0V warning). Flashlight auto shutdown at 3hr 10min mark, with 2.74V left in the battery.

Beam Profile: Tint

Beam Profile:

Beam projected 65cm / 25.6 inch away from blank wall.

Side-by-side comparison of H03 (left) and H03F beam (right). You could see a smooth transition between hotspot and spill* when diffuser lens is placed in front of LED.
*not captured on camera due to limited dynamic range of the sensor.

Edge of H03F beam will be blocked, when the swing open diffuser lens to extreme right.

Boom!!! 1200lm.

Beam Profile: Outdoor

Throw distance increases with the help of its lightly textured OP reflector when diffuser lens is swung open. Foreground is noticeably brighter, as the beam is concentrated to the front. Shadow cast by the lens hinge (right edge in above pic) is less prominent when beam is projected at far distance.

Just in case you didn't get what I meant. I was holding the headlamps in up right position when the outdoor beam shots were taken.

Operational Temperature

The hottest zone is located somewhere near neck of the flashlight at 52°C/125.6°F. Whereas temperature at body tube and tail section are more uniform, between 43°C/ 109.4°F +/- 2°C/35.6°F after running it for 3mins.

Note: flashlight output has been overpowered by my studio strobe lights, that is why you do not see the output (at this camera angle) even it is being switched on.

PWM (Pulse Wave Modulation)

Skilhunt H03 does not show any visible PWM in our test (JET-1 MK on the left).

Size Comparison:

Side by side comparison with Skilhun H02 (extreme left), Skilhunt H03 (2nd from the left), Skilhunt H03F (second from the right) and Fenix HL10 (extreme right).

What I Like About Skilhunt H03:

  • Coming soon

What Needs to Be Improved:

  • Coming soon

Our Skilhunt H03 Rating

H03 H03F
Power ★★★★✩ ★★★★✩
Ease of Mod ★★✩✩✩ ★★✩✩✩
Price ★★★✩✩ ★★★✩✩
Overall Value ★★★★★ ★★★★✩
Recommended

Conclusion:

Coming soon

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Reserved.

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Nice review Freeme. I’ve been playing with the H03 for a few days now, and find it very similar to the Zebralight H600Fd flood beam. Retail the H03 is $40 cheaper than the Zebralight, and of course the GB makes it even better. This headlamp is a great alternative to the $90 dollar Zebralight H600Fd.

Two things that bother me with the H03. One is the flashing “light finder” when it’s in lockout mode. The other is the low voltage indicator flashing lights. Do you know anyway to disable these blinking lights? I’m fully capable of knowing when my batteries need to be charged. I don’t need a blinking light in my face to tell me that.

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4) Press once to disable location indicator during lock-out. Nothing mentioned on disabling indicator for low voltage warning.

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Ah ok thank you. I misread the chinglish in the manual. Lockout “indicator off” works fine.

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Here is a mod for a clip. It seems none of these headlamp companies provide a clip that is forward facing or fits under the optic. Zebralight has the same problem. These are Eagle Eye clips. The tube clip is thinned down on a belt sander so they fit the Skilhunt and Zebralight. This way you can clip the light into a front jacket pocket where the light sits inside the pocket and still shines forward.

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It is because manufacturers want you to hang your light outside your pocket (see pic). Flashlight will run cooler when it is used this way.

I do understand that you could reduce the chances of losing your light when they are kept inside your pocket. However, I would not recommend to keep such a hard object near your chest region. I was told long time ago, that one of the reason police dept stopped using pocket whistle, it is because user could damage his rib cage if he had a fall while chasing criminal. It is definitely better to be safe than sorry.

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Well, I don’t chase criminals, and I don’t want to lose my lights. Having them on medium mode doesn’t get very hot anyway. It’s nice to be able to have hands free and not have the thing strapped to my head. Having that light clipped to the outside of your pants like that is a guarantee to lose it. Buying a replacement light is what they really want… lol

Zebralight said they are looking into forward facing clips. Lots of people have requested them.

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Thanks for the great review :wink:

Some points are not very clear to me though:

Official ANSI specs:

- H02: 820 lm

  • H03: 900 lm

How come the H03 measured output is actually even slightly smaller?

Also, the H03F without diffuser should be very similar to an H03R, so the output should be the same (according to specs) or slightly higher than the one of the H03 because of the lower losses in the optics (see H02 and H02R, 820 lm vs 860 lm)… on the contrary, the H03F measured output is considerably lower (10% lower).

When disabled by pressing once, will the indicator stay disabled until manually re-programmed or will it be enabled by default the next time the headlamp is turned off? (like the H15 does, I find it quite annoying… but at least it’s a reminder for the tailcap lockout).

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great review

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According to the run time chart, the NCR18650B outperforms the 30Q?
Am I understanding the chart correctly?

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Another nice mod for the clip is to heatshrink a rectangular magnet on the clip

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Both graphs were recorded based on LUX output readings. In my excel sheet, 30Q did register a higher lux output ( 20lux@10min~53lux@2min more) than Panasonic.

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Thank you freeme…

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Well if they do it right they do a deep carry clip, witch is even with the pocket AND add a second grove on the boddy so the head sticks out.

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I tried my H03 with protected Panasonic NCR 3400 and they are little bit longer. With unprotdcted everthing is OK.
Are the H02 battery tube is longer than H03?

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No the H02 head is taller then the H03 head.

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My H03s always work without any problems with Panasonic 18650B with PCB they are not too long

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Yes, I can put them to, but the springs inside are tightened at the end, so practically they do not function as a spring in case you drop it down. With unprotected is OK, but I do not have protection in case of short circuit.