I received the NU30 from Nitecore for the review.
The NU headlamps are designed for trail runners, and feature compact and lightweight construction, integrate li-ion battery, micro USB recharge.
The NU30 is the most complete headlamp of the NU line, it offers both the flood characteristics of the NU10, and the throw of the NU20. It features different emitters: a CREE XP-G2 in a smooth reflector, 2 5mm red LEDs and 2 5 mm HICRI LEDs; all powered by a 1800mAh li-ion integrated battery (the biggest of the NU line), rechargeable with the micro USB port.
The NU30 comes in this box. Inside the box. NU30, headband, micro USB cable and manual (not shown).
The NU30 has a modern rounded design, that looks like the front end of a car.
On the front part we can see the XP-G2 CW emitter, and 4 5mm LEDS. The upper pair are the red ones, and the lower pair are the HICRI ones.
The XP-G2 emitter is the only one capable to provide some throw, while the other 5 mm LEDs will provide a flood beam.
on the top of the light there are 2 electronic switches, with a LED underneath them.
On the side there's the micro USB port for recharging the integrated battery
The NU30 has a plastic body, connected to the plastic headband adapter. The plastic headband adapter allows to tilt the light in 5 fixed positions.
The headband is elastic and goes only around the head and not over it.
Spring came so it's time to put the sunlight at work
UI
Copy and paste from Nitecore Manual.
The "3 seconds to change level", the "keep pressed to turbo" and the "keep pressed from off to turn the battery indicator on" are conserve throughout all the NU line, the NU30 is no exception.
The light can function while being charged.
Output and runtime
Note that normally I don't measure the colored outputs, because a) usually they are rather low, b) the wavelength of that color doesn't end up in the calibration interval of my luxmeter.
With the NU30, the output of the red LEDs is so intense that I could actually get somewhat of a reading using a different setup. To my eyes I can't tell if they really are 40 lumens (also the sensitivity of the human eyes is different), but this is a really bright output (you can use to lit a whole room of vivid, usable red light), as you will see in the beamshots.
In turbo mode, basically, after the initial stepdown, the output will match the one of the high mode.
After the initial stepdown the output will slowly decrease, from 250 to 25ish lumens in the course of 5 hours, roughly decreasing linearly 45 lumens each hour. After the 5th hour mark, the output will remain those 25ish lumens for many hours of regulated runtime.
Beamshots
5mm LEDs RED
5 mm LEDs HI CRI
XP-G2 S3
On the distance
One thing you can't see from the real life beamshot is that the tint of the XP-G2 beam is cool in the spill with a yellowish slightly green spot.
Also, the 5 mm LED HICRI will give you a flood beam, while the 5 mm LED red will give you a more focused beam.
My thoughts
The light is well built and finished as you would expect from Nitecore.
The NU30 shares the interface, level spacing and the runtime pattern of the other headlamps of the NU series.
The regulation, like the other NU lights, is conservative in regards of runtime; meaning that it will lower the output progressively, and still provide a lot of runtime in the "reserve levels" (you will not be left in the dark all of a sudden). For example, at the turbo mode after the initial stepdown the output will slowly decrease, from 250 to 25ish lumens in the course of 5 hours, roughly decreasing linearly 45 lumens each hour. After the 5th hour mark, the output will remain those 25ish lumens for many hours of regulated runtime.
The throw of the NU30 is increased compared to the NU20 because of the higher output and the bigger reflector; the flood aspect of the NU10 is conserved but with reduced output for white (HICRI light), and increased for the RED tint. Runtime will also be higher due to the bigger battery.
These things considered, this lamp is a good product for the trail runner who needs a technical headlamp (high efficiency LEDs, li-ion integrated rechargeable headlamp, regulated output on all levels, battery indicator) that is capable to provide light for different scenarios.
I'd like to be able to be able to turn on both the throw and the flood beams at the same time (rather than the throw and the red beam only), because as you saw in the beamshot the XP-G beam will not reach your feet; and if you want diffused light around you, you need to switch to the flood 5 mm LEDs.
If you want to improve the flood aspect of the spotlight you can always add some diffusion film on the glass (only the upper part for still having some throw, the whole glass to favor the diffusion strongly limiting throw).
As a flashaholic I'd like to see
Note: I'm not satisfied with the number of good beamshot that I took, but I believe there's no use in holding back further this review. I will update it with additional beamshot in the following days.
Thanks to: AntoLed for the camera advices and the luxmeter.
The NU headlamps are designed for trail runners, and feature compact and lightweight construction, integrate li-ion battery, micro USB recharge.
The NU30 is the most complete headlamp of the NU line, it offers both the flood characteristics of the NU10, and the throw of the NU20. It features different emitters: a CREE XP-G2 in a smooth reflector, 2 5mm red LEDs and 2 5 mm HICRI LEDs; all powered by a 1800mAh li-ion integrated battery (the biggest of the NU line), rechargeable with the micro USB port.
The NU30 comes in this box. Inside the box. NU30, headband, micro USB cable and manual (not shown).
The NU30 has a modern rounded design, that looks like the front end of a car.
On the front part we can see the XP-G2 CW emitter, and 4 5mm LEDS. The upper pair are the red ones, and the lower pair are the HICRI ones.
The XP-G2 emitter is the only one capable to provide some throw, while the other 5 mm LEDs will provide a flood beam.
on the top of the light there are 2 electronic switches, with a LED underneath them.
On the side there's the micro USB port for recharging the integrated battery
The NU30 has a plastic body, connected to the plastic headband adapter. The plastic headband adapter allows to tilt the light in 5 fixed positions.
The headband is elastic and goes only around the head and not over it.
Spring came so it's time to put the sunlight at work
UI
Copy and paste from Nitecore Manual.
The "3 seconds to change level", the "keep pressed to turbo" and the "keep pressed from off to turn the battery indicator on" are conserve throughout all the NU line, the NU30 is no exception.
The light can function while being charged.
Output and runtime
Note that normally I don't measure the colored outputs, because a) usually they are rather low, b) the wavelength of that color doesn't end up in the calibration interval of my luxmeter.
With the NU30, the output of the red LEDs is so intense that I could actually get somewhat of a reading using a different setup. To my eyes I can't tell if they really are 40 lumens (also the sensitivity of the human eyes is different), but this is a really bright output (you can use to lit a whole room of vivid, usable red light), as you will see in the beamshots.
In turbo mode, basically, after the initial stepdown, the output will match the one of the high mode.
After the initial stepdown the output will slowly decrease, from 250 to 25ish lumens in the course of 5 hours, roughly decreasing linearly 45 lumens each hour. After the 5th hour mark, the output will remain those 25ish lumens for many hours of regulated runtime.
Beamshots
5mm LEDs RED
5 mm LEDs HI CRI
XP-G2 S3
On the distance
One thing you can't see from the real life beamshot is that the tint of the XP-G2 beam is cool in the spill with a yellowish slightly green spot.
Also, the 5 mm LED HICRI will give you a flood beam, while the 5 mm LED red will give you a more focused beam.
My thoughts
The light is well built and finished as you would expect from Nitecore.
The NU30 shares the interface, level spacing and the runtime pattern of the other headlamps of the NU series.
The regulation, like the other NU lights, is conservative in regards of runtime; meaning that it will lower the output progressively, and still provide a lot of runtime in the "reserve levels" (you will not be left in the dark all of a sudden). For example, at the turbo mode after the initial stepdown the output will slowly decrease, from 250 to 25ish lumens in the course of 5 hours, roughly decreasing linearly 45 lumens each hour. After the 5th hour mark, the output will remain those 25ish lumens for many hours of regulated runtime.
The throw of the NU30 is increased compared to the NU20 because of the higher output and the bigger reflector; the flood aspect of the NU10 is conserved but with reduced output for white (HICRI light), and increased for the RED tint. Runtime will also be higher due to the bigger battery.
These things considered, this lamp is a good product for the trail runner who needs a technical headlamp (high efficiency LEDs, li-ion integrated rechargeable headlamp, regulated output on all levels, battery indicator) that is capable to provide light for different scenarios.
I'd like to be able to be able to turn on both the throw and the flood beams at the same time (rather than the throw and the red beam only), because as you saw in the beamshot the XP-G beam will not reach your feet; and if you want diffused light around you, you need to switch to the flood 5 mm LEDs.
If you want to improve the flood aspect of the spotlight you can always add some diffusion film on the glass (only the upper part for still having some throw, the whole glass to favor the diffusion strongly limiting throw).
As a flashaholic I'd like to see
- a more flat regulation for the high mode, even reducing the extensive runtime at 20ish lumens,
- have a warmer tint both on the XP-G2 and the HICRI 5 mm LEDs,
- have a more flood beam from the red LEDs,
- have another low output mode both for red and HICRI 5mm LEDs.
Note: I'm not satisfied with the number of good beamshot that I took, but I believe there's no use in holding back further this review. I will update it with additional beamshot in the following days.
Thanks to: AntoLed for the camera advices and the luxmeter.
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