Olight H05S Active + H05 Active review (TIR,XM-L2,2xAAA)

viperxp

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
218
Location
Israel
Greeting,
Today's review will be dedicated to new headlights from Olight - Olight H05S active and Olight H05 active. The lights are almost identical, and it was the main reason for the joined review.

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What do we get from reading the specs and looking at the pictures?

1. H05 Active comes in different colors, a bit lighter, less bright (150 lm vs 200 that H05S has) and a bit cheaper as well.
2. H05S has a infrared sensor for hand less operation, comes in black only and is a bit more expensive.
3. Another less obvious difference - H05 has a better runtime, on any mode.

Shall we start?

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Here are all the lights. I like the green one.

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Here is the different model - in black comes the H05S Active.

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The light comes with a user manual and 1.5v aaa lithium batteries (non-rechargeable).

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Here is the battery box. There is a thin resin thing around it - it would not provide total water resistance, and light's water-resistance rating of IPX4 (splash resistant only) prove it. You can further disassemble the light using regular phillips screwdriver.

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Despite being made of plastic and being not expensive the build quality is very decent. As you can see the text is sharp and clear as well.

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Everything said regarding H05S can be said about H05. The quality is great. The flashlight is very light, and does not move on the head during running.

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Don't they look cure?

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Unique feature of the H05S - it has a polarity direction helper glowing in red, even without batteries. I guess there is some capacitor inside that feeds those led's. Anyway, the flashlight direction led's managed to work for about a week without batteries, as weird as it sounds.

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Here we can see explanation of of flashlight operation.


Lux

Flashlight/ModeLowMidTurbo
H05 Lithium703001000
H05 Ni-MH703101050
H05S Lithium853001300
H05S Ni-MH802801200

The light is very similar, it would be hard to tell which one is brighter without luxmeter.

Shall we light?

H05S

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H05

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Not much difference.
No PWM was detected, and the flashlights remain dead silent.
TIR optics works really well for close-range illumination, and those headlights are a great example.


Hand Less operation

The feature works well, you can wave in a distance from 0 to 15-20 centimeters from the light and it will switch itself on/off. I have a little experience using that function from H15S wave, and may recommend closing your eyes while waving, so you don't get blinded by the returned light.

Video reviews





Conclusion

Another example of a good headlight. I think those lights will fit best for runners/cyclists, because of the minimal weight and bulkiness, and a decent runtime.

I would like to thank Olight for providing me the review samples
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Questions? Suggestions? Let me know and I will be happy to assist.
 
Last edited:

moldyoldy

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
1,410
Location
Maybe Wisconsin, maybe near Nürnberg
Ref the observation that there is not much visible difference between the high output of the H05 & H05S (150 lumens to 200 lumens per specs): On the basis of a single sample of the H05S and 3 of the H05 headlamps, I concur with KJ2. I am unable to ascertain any difference in intensity on a light-colored target between those headlamps.

On the plus side, I observe that the beam pattern and beam colors of the H05 series are relatively consistent compared with most of the 1xAAA lights that I have had and given away.

I have yet to figure out how to use the wave off/on aspect of the H05S headlamp. At least with the wave function, the H05S comes on again in whichever level it was switched off in. Otherwise the H05 always cycles thru the High-Med-Low-Off-High-Med-Low-Off... sequence.

The switch is a bit too firm for me, but I understand that avoids any inadvertent switching on when dropped in to a backpack.

These headlamps seem like good gifting lights, low enough price and high quality. TBD on what the recipients report.
 

jmsodpc

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
45
old thread but i just got one of these tonight and it is very comfortable on the head...light works nicely and i like the ability to angle the light downward a touch. i never had a headlamp but can see that having your hands free and having light can be very handy.
 
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