Contents

• Pricing & Availability
• What comes in the box?
• Design & Construction
• Size & Measurements
• User Interface
• Emitter & Beam
• Mode Chart
• Runtime
• Driver & Regulation
• Switch
• Carry & Ergonomics
• Batteries & Charging
• Competition
• Conclusion

Pricing & Availability

FlashlightGo sent me this light at my request in exchange for an honest review. Here is the product page on their website where you can see current pricing and purchase this light. They carry a wide variety of lighting brands and models and I’m grateful for their support. After posting, Nitecore also sent me a second sample for testing because they believed my original sample may have been faulty.

What comes in the box?

The box is set up for retail with detailed printing and a pegboard hanger. Inside is:

• Hard shell carrying case
• The light itself
• Battery (inside the light)
• Headband
• User manual
• USB C-to-C charging cable
• Spare o-ring

Design & Construction

This is a traditional headlamp design with LEDs centered in the front and buttons on top. I like all the machined angles and screw-together construction. The large optic looks pretty cool too.

Build quality feels great. It’s on par with other premium brands like Fenix, Olight, and Acebeam.

Size & Measurements

Mini Maglite | Skilhunt H300 | Nitecore HC65 UHE | Skilhunt MiX-7 | Acebeam M2

Measurement	Measured (mm)
Height (including headband)	42.3
Depth (bezel to forehead)	~42
Width	89.9
MCPCB Size	Custom
Case Dimensions	103x103x52
Included Battery Length	69.6
Headband strap width	~32

Weight with included battery & headband: 155g
Weight of case & other accessories: 76

User Interface

How it works:

• Main LEDs: While off, holding the power button turns on the main LEDs in low mode. Clicking the power button will cycle among Low, Medium, and High modes. Double-clicking the power button will go to Turbo. Clicking the mode button will change to the high CRI LEDs. Double-clicking the mode button will enter SOS. From SOS, clicking the power button will cycle to Beacon mode (bright flash every 2 seconds).
• High CRI LEDs: While off, double-clicking the power button will turn on the high CRI LEDs in low mode. Clicking the power button will cycle between Low and High modes. Double-clicking the power button will switch to the main LEDs and activate Turbo. Clicking the mode button switch it to red.
• Red LEDs: While off, holding the mode button will turn on the red LEDs in low mode. Clicking the power button will cycle between Low, High, and Blink modes. Clicking the mode button will switch it to the main LEDs.

What I like:

• Each set of LEDs has a dedicated shortcut from off. If you want red, you can go straight to it.
• You can activate the dimmest mode directly from off. That’s because it always starts on the lowest mode.
• Double click from on goes to Turbo. That’s a pretty typical and intuitive shortcut.

What I don’t like:

• Hold for on/off and click to change modes is slow, unintuitive,, and backward. Flashlights should turn on/off with a single click and holding to change modes works well. That’s how most other flashlight UIs work and I wish Nitecore followed that industry “standard”.
• The blinking mode in the main red mode rotation. Sometimes if you cycle from red High to Blinking, it seems like you’ve turned the light off but then it starts blinking. That’s confusing. It would make more sense to double-click the mode button to activate Blink in red, just like how SOS is accessed in the main white channel.
• There’s no instant access to brighter modes. To get to Turbo, you have to hold the mode button, wait for the light to turn on, then double-click the mode button.

Emitter & Beam

Nitecore says the LED is “8-Core UHE LED”, which is meaningless marketing mumbo-jumbo. Unfortunately, I can’t tell the actual make or model of any of these LEDs. They’re not the typical domed 3535 emitters I expected. Notice how the high-CRI and red LEDs are combined on two packages instead of being separate individual diodes. More on that later.

The main beam is great. It’s got more throw than your average headlamp to be able to see far away, but it’s still floody enough that it’s comfortable to use up close. If this were the only beam, it would be too narrow, but it’s not the only beam!

The high-CRI and red beams are… ugly. Because the high CRI and red LEDs share an optic, neither one can sit perfectly centered in the optic. That makes the high CRI beam shine to the left and the red beam shine to the right. On top of that, they’re ringy and the high CRI beam has some wild tint-shift. Some parts of it are a deep magenta and other parts are brown-ish. Finally, they’re annoyingly dim. I can’t use this high CRI beam at my workbench doing soldering or painting because 35 lumens just doesn’t cut it. I get that these aren’t the main LEDs, but competing makers do a lot better job implementing secondary light sources. It would have been better to have one red LED and one High CRI LED each centered under their own optic. Higher brightness options would have been welcome too.

In the beamshots below, the basketball goal to the right of the hotspot is 39M away and the power pole in the center is 185M away.

Mode Chart

Disclaimer: All of my measurements are taken at turn-on. Lumen measurements were taken on a Texas Ace 3.5″ Lumen Tube. A candela measurement was taken at 10 meters with an Opple Light Master III on the highest brightness, and other candela figures were calculated relative to that. CRI, CCT, & DUV data were taken for each mode from a few feet away at the center of the hotspot with the Opple Light Master and Waveform DUV Calculator. Runtime tests were performed with the Ceilingbounce app on my smartphone. All of these tests were performed with a fully charged included battery unless otherwise specified. I cannot measure moonlight directly, so moonlight readings are calculated based on the brightness relative to the next-lowest mode. None of this is professional equipment, so take all of these measurements with a grain of salt.

Above are the official specs, followed by my own measurements below.

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
Main Turbo	1980	12000	219	64	5764	0.0095
Main High	1300	7879	178	64	5683	0.0105
Main Med	390	2364	97	62	5526	0.0126
Main Low	90	545	47	62	5460	0.0134
HCRI High	35	N/M	N/M	100	5100	-0.0111
HCRI Low	6	N/M	N/M	100	5130	-0.0101
Red High	18	N/M	N/M	N/A	N/A	N/A
Red Low	6	N/M	N/M	N/A	N/A	N/A

Mode Spacing is weird. There are no moonlight modes, which is unfortunate for a headlamp. All the low modes are on the ugly secondary channels and all the bright modes are on the main channel. The actual spacing between the modes is ok, but the they’re poorly organized.

Runtime

NOTE: After posting, Nitecore contacted me and sent me another sample because they thought my runtimes didn’t look right and the thermal regulation wasn’t working. This section has been rewritten to reflect the replacement sample. The rest of the review is unchanged, so the peak brightness numbers may vary between this section and the rest of the review.

Runtime is excellent. ~2.5hrs at 5-600lm is excellent. 5+hrs at ~250lm is excellent. 12+hrs at ~100lm is excellent. This is the best runtime at these brightness levels of any 18650 light I’ve tested. That 4000mAh battery and “UHI” LEDs really seem to work well together.

Weird Stepdowns: Every mode I tested has brightness step-downs regardless of temperature. Even the ~400lm medium mode slowly dwindles to a mere 100lm. High mode has an expected thermal stepdown within the first 5 minutes, but then it keeps stepping down slowly and settles at ~250lm. I don’t like this behavior. I expect a light to maintain it’s turn-on brightness until it gets too hot, the battery gets low, or the user deactivates it.

Active thermal regulation is present, but it only works after an initial timed stepdown and it never gets brighter than that stepdown threshold (~600lm). My first sample displayed no active thermal regulation, so this is an improvement. I would have preferred all brightness adjustments to be temperature-controlled instead of time-controlled.

LVP (Low Voltage Protection): The light itself has low voltage protection and will shut off when the battery is empty, so it’s safe to use unprotected batteries in this light. The light can be re-activated after low voltage shutoff in an emergency.

Driver & Regulation

I don’t know what kind of driver this light uses. The good news is, it appears to be well-regulated and super efficient. Turbo and High are accessible until the battery is low, but not until the battery is empty. This is exactly what I like to see. That tells me it’s well-regulated and the battery and LEDs are being pushed for maximum performance. The runtime charts also show fantastic efficiency.

Note: All regulation measurements are taken at turn-on so they do not reflect any thermal or low voltage stepdowns that may occur. A value of 0 indicates low voltage shutoff immediately upon activation.

PWM: No PWM is visible to my eyes or camera, nor audible to my ears.

Parasitic Drain: 14 microamps. That will take 32 years to drain the included battery. This is one of the lowest parasitic drain measurements I’ve seen. If you want to eliminate parasitic drain, just loosen the battery cap. That’s called mechanical lockout and it works great here.

Switch

This model has two rubber switches, both right on top and easy to access with either hand. There’s one larger power switch and one smaller mode switch. It’s easy to tell the difference between the two just by feel, though it’s not always easy to remember what they do.

Carry & Ergonomics

The headband is excellent. The band is wide so it distributes pressure and helps keep it comfortable. It’s vented so it doesn’t get sweaty. There’s a bright yellow band and retroreflective text to make sure you’re visible even in the dark. It’s easy to adjust, even while you’re wearing it (though it did loosen on me once by accident). There’s an optional top strap in the package that you can attach for more support if you choose. Lastly, there’s a bead of silicone on the inside front to keep it from slipping. Nitecore clearly put a lot of thought and design effort into this headband and it shows.

A case is included and I love it. Headlamp straps are fiddly and annoying any time they’re not on your head and this is the perfect solution! The light fits perfectly inside the hard case and there’s even a little pocket for the charging cable, top strap, and paperwork. This is such a thoughtful inclusion. Just make sure to loosen the battery cap so the light doesn’t get turned on inside the case by accident.

Batteries & Charging

Battery: This is the first light I’ve seen that includes an 18650 cell over 3600mah. This protected button top cell is 4000mah with a 10A discharge rating, and that’s great for runtime and performance. Unprotected cells will work too, but they must be button-tops because there’s physical reverse-polarity-protection that prevents flat top cells from making contact.

Battery Indicator: The side of the light has a small, four-LED battery indicator that lights up when you press the mode button. This is my favorite style of battery indicator because it’s so intuitive and glanceable. Everyone knows what this means in an instant. You don’t have to know some color-code system and you don’t have to sit and wait for a certain number of blinks. Well done, Nitecore!

Charging is facilitated by a USB-C port on the side of the light. It sits under a rubber cover labeled “IP68”, but it’s not particularly secure. I don’t really trust that IP68 rating for submersion but I’m sure it will keep rain and splashes out. The light is fully functional while plugged in, even if the battery is removed. It’s power in only, no powerbank function.

Competition

Here are some lights in the same class and how they compare.

Sofirn D25LR: the budget alternative

• dramatically less expensive
• white not as bright, red much brighter
• similar size and weight
• micro-USB instead of USB-C
• high-CRI main LED
• deep red secondary LED
• clean beams
• simple one-button UI
• relatively poor regulation & efficiency

Skilhunt H200: the right-angle alternative

• marginally less expensive
• right-angle shape, can be used as handheld or work light
• multiple body colors available
• dual main LEDs (high CRI available)
• red secondary LED
• magnetic charging instead of USB-C
• pocket clip & magnetic tailcap
• better UI
• similar headband

Acebeam H30: the premium alternative

• more expensive
• brighter
• larger and heavier
• permanent top strap
• larger 21700 battery
• similar dual buttons

This section is not comprehensive. If I didn’t include a particular light here, it doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t deserve to be here. I simply cannot list every possible competitor.

Conclusion

I requested this light for review because the 4000mah battery, battery indicator, and three different beams intrigued me. The fantastic runtime, intuitive battery indicator, convenient carrying case, impressive main beam, and comfortable headband are all great. The confusing UI, weird brightness stepdowns, ugly secondary beams, and mode spacing/organization could use some improvement. This might be a good option if you’re looking for a super bright headlamp with lots of throw and runtime and you occasionally need high CRI or RED LEDs too. Personally, I’ll be sticking with my Skilhunt H300 for my headlamp needs.

Thanks to FlashlightGo & Nitecore for sending me this light for review!