Nitecore HA23 UHE Review – Multi-Color-Temp Lightweight Headlamp

1. Pricing & Availability
2. What comes in the box?
3. Design & Construction
4. Size & Measurements
5. User Interface
6. Emitter & Beam
7. Mode Chart
8. Runtime
9. Driver & Regulation
10. Batteries & Charging
11. Switch
12. Headband & Accessories
13. Competition
14. Conclusion

Pricing & Availability

Nitecore sent me this light in exchange for an honest review. Here is the official product page where you can see current pricing. At the time of writing, it’s $30 USD, and the optional rechargeable battery adds ~$14 USD.

What comes in the box?

The box is impressively small and does a great job showing off the light and its features. Inside is:

• The light itself
• Headband
• Three AAA alkaline batteries
• Rechargeable battery pack (optional)
• User manual & warranty card
• Clip
• Diffuser bag

Design & Construction

This is a traditional lightweight headlamp design with a single band, plastic construction, and a hinge with detents to hold it at the angle you choose. It’s available in black (shown here), light blue, and light green.

Build quality is fine. It’s plastic, but that’s desirable for weight savings. It feels reasonably well made and I don’t think it will break any time soon.

Size & Measurements

Nitecore HA23 UHE | Skilhunt H300 Nichia (with Olight Gober on the back)

Measurement	Measured (mm)
Width	60.1
Height	46.5
Depth	31
Weight (with headband, no battery)	56g
Optional rechargeable battery weight	25g

User Interface

This UI is tolerable and I can use it, but I have to think about everything I do because it’s totally different from all my other lights. It’d be much better with an industry-standard UI.

How it works:

• On/Off: Hold the power button to turn on Low. Hold the power button again to turn it off.
• Brightness adjustment: Click the power button to cycle up through the modes (Low-ed-High).
• Ultralow: Double click the power button to turn on Ultralow. Click to cycle up to Low.
• Red: Hold the mode button to turn on/off. Click the power button to cycle between Low and High.
• Blinkies: Double click the mode button to activate SOS. It’s neutral white and you can’t change it. Click the power button to cycle to white beacon. Click again to cycle to red beacon. Hold either button to turn it off.
• Color temperature: It always turns on in neutral white. Click the mode button to cycle to warm, then cool, then back to neutral. Blinkies are always neutral white and their color temp can’t be changed.
• Lockout: hold both switches for 2 seconds to enter/exit lockout mode.

Basic E-switch UI Checklist: 5.5/12

• 1C on/off❌
  • It’s 1H on/off
• 1H to change brightness❌
  • It’s 1C go change brightness
• Stepped levels✅
• Main rotation is Low-Med-High✅
• Moonlight shortcut: 1H from off✅/❌
  • There’s an “ultra low” shortcut, but it’s 2C on the power button. Half point.
• Low shortcut: 1H from Moonlight✅/❌
  • You can access Low from “Ultra low”, but it’s a hold not a click. Half point.
• Brightest mode shortcut: 2C from anywhere❌
  • There is no brightnest mode shortcut. It always starts on low or “ultra low”.
• Blinky shortcut: 3C from anywhere❌
  • Double clicking the mode button activates blinkies.
• Mode memory for Low, Medium, and High❌
  • There’s no mode memory.
• No mode memory for Moonlight, Turbo, and Strobe✅
• 4C to lock/unlock✅/❌
  • Hold both buttons for 2 seconds to lock/unlock. That’s not industry standard but it works ok, and there’s an infographic showing how to do it right next to the buttons. Half point.
• Does something when you click the switch in Lockout mode✅

Notes:

• I don’t see why this uses a hold for on/off and click for modes UI instead of the much-preferred and industry-standard click for on/off and hold for modes UI. Changing that would be a major improvement. They should put the white modes on one switch, with 2H to change color temperature. Put the red modes on the other switch and have it behave the same way as the white switch UI.

Emitter & Beam

The emitter setup here is cool. There’s one warm LED and one cool LED under each optic, plus two red LEDs in the white circles toward the bottom. Putting two LEDs under a single optic usually results in two different beams. Nitecore did a great job here getting the beams from the two LEDs almost identical. You can select the color temperature in three stages by choosing just the cool LED, both the cool and warm LEDs, or just the warm LED.

The beam is surprisingly narrow for a headlamp. I think Nitecore chose a narrow beam to minimize weight. Lighting up a small area takes less energy, so you can get away with a smaller battery, which reduces weight substantially. I don’t find the narrow beam problematic, but I do have to “point” my head more than I’m used to.

In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed and the wall is 2.8M away.

In the beamshots below, camera settings are as close as possible, 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. 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 these measurements with a grain of salt.

The official specs are above, followed by my own measurements below. The lumen and candela measurements were virtually identical across color temperatures, so I only extensively tested Neutral White.

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
High	“	“	“	66	5510	0.0051
Medium	“	“	“	68	5590	0.0045
Low	“	“	“	68	5610	0.0048
Ultralow	“	“	“	65	5650	0.0080

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
High	570	4900	140	69	4340	0.0031
Medium	270	2300	96	70	4280	0.0032
Low	94	810	57	68	4260	0.0053
Ultralow	4	38	12	68	4250	0.0055

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
High	“	“	“	66	3400	0.0104
Medium	“	“	“	66	3380	0.0069
Low	“	“	“	66	3390	0.0078
Ultralow	“	“	“	66	3360	0.0084

Red has two levels, 4lm and 15lm. Take those values with a grain of salt because I’m not sure my lumen tube measures red correctly.

Runtime

Performance: This isn’t what I like to see. The brightness trends down as the battery drains on both modes I tested. Normally that would speak to poor regulation, but my regulation tests show it can maintain consistent brightness. So, Nitecore has baked in slow, continuous dimming, presumably to extend runtime. Total runtime is great, but I really wish it held consistent brightness.

Thermal regulation: I didn’t do an active thermal regulation test because the light is made of plastic, a great insulator. I’m assuming the stepdown shown in High mode is timed.

LVP (Low Voltage Protection) is present and works well. When the battery is effectively empty, the light will shut itself off. It doesn’t rely on the battery’s protection circuit and the light can be re-activated in an emergency.

Driver & Regulation

The driver isn’t specified, but I suspect it’s a buck driver. That would be best for running ~3V LEDs off 4.5+ volts from three AAAs in series.

Regulation performance is good, average, and satisfactory on the optional rechargeable battery. It can reach peak brightness until the battery is virtually empty.

PWM: There’s no flickering of any kind on any mode (except the blinky modes of course).

Parasitic Drain: 4 microamps. That will take 42 years to drain the optional rechargeable battery, in theory. That battery pack may have its own internal parasitic drain and/or self-discharge but I can’t measure it.

Batteries & Charging

The battery options are great. A USB-C rechargeable pack is optionally included and will provide the best performance. It’s a Li-Hv pack, not a regular Li-ion, so it’s voltage range goes up to 4.35V. Alternatively, it can also accept AAAs in either the disposable Alkaline variety or the rechargeable NiMH variety.

Charging is facilitated by the USB-C port on the optionally included rechargeable battery pack. Next to the port is a small indicator LED that glows red during charging and turns green when charging is complete. Charging takes about 100 minutes. It CAN be used while charging, but not worn.

The battery indicator is a set of four blue LEDs on the front of the headlamp. Press the mode button to activate them for a few seconds. Four-LED indicator systems like this are my favorite because they’re intuitive, glanceable, and measure in even 25% increments.

Switch

There are two switches on top; a large textured power switch and a small flat mode switch. They’re easy to tell apart by feel, tactile, and fairly quiet.

Headband & Accessories

The headband is elastic and ventilated. It has a bead of grippy silicone on the inside and retroreflective text on the outside. I had to loosen it almost as large as it will go, so it may not fit over a helmet or hard hat.

A clip is also included. To use it, remove the headband and snap the clip in place. It can fit either way, to clip onto a shirt collar or to the bill of a hat. This is a neat inclusion I haven’t seen on a headlamp before.

The coolest accessory is the drawstring diffuser bag. It holds the light and its accessories all together, tames the headband, and diffuses the light for use in a tent or other small space. Since it’s a drawstring closure you can use it on any light, not just this one.

Competition

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

Emisar DW4K Triple Channel: This is a dramatically larger and heavier light, but it’s the only other headlamp I’m can actually find with adjustable color temperature and red light. It’s aluminum with a 21700 battery, magnetic tailcap, advanced Anduril firmware, higher price tag, and no battery or charger included.

Nitecore NU25 MCT / NU25 MCT UL: These models are very similar to HA25 UHE (light weight, same buttons, presumably same UI, red light, adjustable color temp, plastic construction) but they have a built in battery and are USB-C rechargeable, where HA23 UHE can accept AAAs or the optional USB rechargeable battery.

Skilhunt H200 Mini: Small aluminum right-angle light with an 18350 battery, magnetic USB recharging, magnetic tailcap, your choice of white LED (no adjustable CCT), plus a red secondary LED. The biggest feature for me is the largely industry-standard UI, so there’s no learning curve switching between this model and other flashlights. I reviewed the full-size H200 here.

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 love the light weight, optional rechargeable battery, battery indicator, comfort, and diffuser bag. The brightness is satisfactory and the throw is great, but it’s a bit narrow for close-up use. The adjustable color temperature and clip attachment are neat features, and I have no complains about the build quality or pricing. The slowly decreasing brightness is unfortunate and I strongly dislike the UI, but it’s usable.

Thanks to Nitecore for sending me this light for review!