# ive been looking at headlamps....... hang on nitecore ?



## zs&tas (Nov 4, 2013)

just seen the Nitecore HC50 pop up on their site, its the first headlight ive looked at and WANTED to buy, looks real nice guys


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## Szemhazai (Nov 4, 2013)

Like spark SD6 with 2 small red leds :tinfoil:


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## MrChoi (Nov 5, 2013)

I just saw this light too. Good timing, I'm in the market for a light similar to it. Any info on price?


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## conrincon (Nov 5, 2013)

Szemhazai said:


> Like spark SD6 with 2 small red leds :tinfoil:



Sorry, do you use three lights at the same time? this is what appears to be in your picture, and it seems a great idea. Better 3 lights than a very powerful unique one.


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## zs&tas (Nov 5, 2013)

MrChoi said:


> I just saw this light too. Good timing, I'm in the market for a light similar to it. Any info on price?




Battery Junction have them for pre order at $60


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## markr6 (Nov 5, 2013)

Looks nice, price seems OK. But I still can't seem to get a grasp on the size of this thing even though they have some nice photos. Looking forward to a side by side comparison to another light for better reference.


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## jonathanluu2 (Nov 5, 2013)

Wow, not pushing the lumen envelope by any means, but it definitely brings some diversity to the single-18650-cell-headlamp class. It looks to be fairly customize-able too, based on their photo of the bare aluminum body.


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## Outdoorsman5 (Nov 5, 2013)

This thing looks pretty good. I agree with jonathanluu2, not the brightest in its class but cool design.


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## zs&tas (Nov 6, 2013)

Outdoorsman5 said:


> This thing looks pretty good. I agree with jonathanluu2, not the brightest in its class but cool design.



no. but its got some kick to it, the heat build up on the 85mm body would be ridiculous driven any harder, i prefer it this way.

Ive been looking at head lights to wear when mountain biking, looked at lots but none that seemed up to the task untill this came along. i wont use the red but its nice its there as a back up to my rear bike light. It seems very versatile.
it also looks to be very good value.


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## airmj (Nov 15, 2013)

Available here as well. Looking sweet.

http://www.nitecorelights.com/products/hc50-565-lumens


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## markr6 (Nov 15, 2013)

Looks pretty nice, even for a huge Zebralight fan like me! The UI is nice and simple and appears I can can skip the flashing modes since I'd never use them.

The HC90 UI looks even better with a slide control! Finally someone made something like this!!


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## roberta (Nov 16, 2013)

markr6 said:


> ....
> .........
> The HC90 UI looks even better with a slide control! Finally someone made something like this!!


Good Day, 

I am looking forward to the HC90 with brightness control a la SRT7... :thumbsup:

Best Regards,
Roberta :devil:


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## Littlelantern (Nov 18, 2013)

roberta said:


> Good Day,
> 
> I am looking forward to the HC90 with brightness control a la SRT7... :thumbsup:
> 
> ...


+ 1 on your reply.i m fully agreed with you .i want that hc 90 too.


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## skeeterbait (Nov 18, 2013)

I really like the light but would prefer green LED's. It would be a prefect replacement for my Princeton Tec Remix Pro and help standardize my battery platform on 18650's.


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## Overclocker (Nov 18, 2013)

130 grams EXCLUDING battery???

a zebra h600 is 39 grams

add 50+ for an 18650. that's over 180 grams for the HC50. i'm not sure i want this on my head for extended periods of time


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## SuperTrouperLee (Nov 19, 2013)

Nitecore HC50 is quite a good choice!


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## markr6 (Nov 19, 2013)

Overclocker said:


> 130 grams EXCLUDING battery???
> 
> a zebra h600 is 39 grams
> 
> add 50+ for an 18650. that's over 180 grams for the HC50. i'm not sure i want this on my head for extended periods of time



Woah I overlooked the weight on this. over 6 OUNCES!? I feel like I'm pushing it sometimes with my H600 at about 3oz total.


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## Overclocker (Nov 19, 2013)

markr6 said:


> Woah I overlooked the weight on this. over 6 OUNCES!? I feel like I'm pushing it sometimes with my H600 at about 3oz total.




wait lemme qualify that. the 130g is INCLUDING the headband. which on the zebra is probably 20g?

so it's more like 130g vs 59g


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## conrincon (Nov 19, 2013)

Overclocker said:


> wait lemme qualify that. the 130g is INCLUDING the headband. which on the zebra is probably 20g?
> 
> so it's more like 130g vs 59g



I like the fact that it weights 130g. It means it disipates heat more effectively. For example, Zebralight H600w mkii is a great headlamp, i love its 12º throw, but useless unless you are in cold weather, below 0ºC, below 32ºF. In comparison, Wizard Pro Armytek, hasnt the great throw but it disipates much better and is usable below 10ºC=45ºF. 

Hopefully Nitecore can be used in 500 lumens light during summer and spring, other than winter time. 80 grams Rugged HAIII military grade hard-anodized aero-grade aluminum alloy can make a huge very positive difference. Thank you Nitecore for designing for us who use your products.


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## RGB_LED (Nov 19, 2013)

Great to see NC come out with an interesting design. As perviously stated by others, I would have preferred green over red for the secondary LEDs. Interesting that NC appears to be using optics for a 100 degree flood which is similar to the bare LEDs on ZL's 602 series.

Also, is NC under-driving the LED for better runtimes? Then again, I guess ZL's 1000 lmns on their 602 series headlamps is really a bit misleading as I would guess that it does a step-down after a few minutes to a lower level. Anyone have both and can comment whether the output differences are really that great? 

Ok, as for the weight, I noticed the comments... wow.


Overclocker said:


> wait lemme qualify that. the 130g is INCLUDING the headband. which on the zebra is probably 20g? so it's more like 130g vs 59g


130gr including headband? And the ZL is 39+20gr for headband? Is the headband for the ZL really that light? That is a quite the difference... suddenly, I'm not too sure about the NC. :shakehead


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## Overclocker (Nov 19, 2013)

conrincon said:


> I like the fact that it weights 130g. It means it disipates heat more effectively. For example, Zebralight H600w mkii is a great headlamp, i love its 12º throw, but useless unless you are in cold weather, below 0ºC, below 32ºF. In comparison, Wizard Pro Armytek, hasnt the great throw but it disipates much better and is usable below 10ºC=45ºF.
> 
> Hopefully Nitecore can be used in 500 lumens light during summer and spring, other than winter time. 80 grams Rugged HAIII military grade hard-anodized aero-grade aluminum alloy can make a huge very positive difference. Thank you Nitecore for designing for us who use your products.




nope. the added mass only helps soak up heat in the BEGINNING. so what really matters is the thermal resistance between LED and heatsink, and the total surface area and design of the heatsink

but the HC50 is not driven very hard (less than 600 lumens) so it shouldn't have problems dissipating the heat

H600 mk2 now has thermal regulation so it dynamically throttles output to maintain thermals


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## Overclocker (Nov 19, 2013)

RGB_LED said:


> Great to see NC come out with an interesting design. As perviously stated by others, I would have preferred green over red for the secondary LEDs. Interesting that NC appears to be using optics for a 100 degree flood which is similar to the bare LEDs on ZL's 602 series.
> 
> Also, is NC under-driving the LED for better runtimes? Then again, I guess ZL's 1000 lmns on their 602 series headlamps is really a bit misleading as I would guess that it does a step-down after a few minutes to a lower level. Anyone have both and can comment whether the output differences are really that great?
> 
> ...




i have both lights coming. the 20g is just a guesstimate. i weighted 2 silicone diffusers and another brand of headband 

well there's no doubt the zebra is the better headlamp. but of course the nitecore is much cheaper... so the NC is still worthy of consideration. also some people may like to have the red leds


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## conrincon (Nov 21, 2013)

Overclocker said:


> nope. the added mass only helps soak up heat in the BEGINNING. so what really matters is the thermal resistance between LED and heatsink, and the total surface area and design of the heatsink
> 
> but the HC50 is not driven very hard (less than 600 lumens) so it shouldn't have problems dissipating the heat
> 
> H600 mk2 now has thermal regulation so it dynamically throttles output to maintain thermals



The thermal resistance is low, because both lamps use thermal paste. The main difference is the "total surface area and design of the heatsink", which is directly proportional of the heatsink, unless it is copper or other metal.

On the mkii, you are right. But why do I want a lamp that is capable of 1000 lumens if it is dynamically throttled to 300 lumens. I rather use the Spark ST6 that is a great lamp and maintains its 460 lumens. In fact, when I use them both together, I can clearly see that the Spark is more powerful.

Luckily, it is now winter. After dark, when I need it, it is around 28-29 ºF (-2ºC) and then, yes, the H600w, shines.


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## Overclocker (Nov 21, 2013)

conrincon said:


> The thermal resistance is low, because both lamps use thermal paste. The main difference is the "total surface area and design of the heatsink", which is directly proportional of the heatsink, unless it is copper or other metal.
> 
> On the mkii, you are right. But why do I want a lamp that is capable of 1000 lumens if it is dynamically throttled to 300 lumens. I rather use the Spark ST6 that is a great lamp and maintains its 460 lumens. In fact, when I use them both together, I can clearly see that the Spark is more powerful.
> 
> Luckily, it is now winter. After dark, when I need it, it is around 28-29 ºF (-2ºC) and then, yes, the H600w, shines.




oh it's not as simple as using thermal paste to get low thermal resistance. my name is Overclocker btw 

wait are you saying that h600 throttles down too aggressively? my hc50 and h600w are both still in the mail so i can't comment...


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## hiuintahs (Nov 23, 2013)

I like the new HC50 headlamp. I've been use to the 3xAAA headlamps in the past so I kind of like this different look. Size wise its about the same as my PT EOS but heavier.........built like a tank.

  
 PT EOS weighs 104 grams with 3 AAA eneloops.
 The HC50 weighs 176 grams with one 18650 battery.
  
 I didn't notice the extra weight wearing it around.
  
 It's bright and pretty floody. Measured the high output in my light box around 39,000 lux and as an example my Fenix PD32UE measures 46000 lux on turbo. The HC50 is well heat-sinked and no need to step down the output.

  
 It has 5 levels and seem well spaced. The switch is a reverse clicky but has a slight tactile feel when 1/2 pressing so you can change modes without actually turning the light off. It retains memory from the last setting however if you don't turn the switch off quickly you actually pass on to the next level as you turn the light off.
  
 I like that the red and flashy modes are hidden and don't show up through the 5 steps of output change.


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## mko1024 (Nov 23, 2013)

I just received my HC50 today. I purchased this to replace a Streamlight Argo HP that I have used for 6 or 7 years. I was looking for something with more lumens and a much wider flood. I'm very pleased with it in my first impression. I don't think the weight is going to be an issue. The light is built like a tank compared to the all-plastic Streamlight I have been using.


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## lampeDépêche (Nov 25, 2013)

Just watched the video. There's a lot to like about this unit.

But I wish that people who build red LED's into stuff would make provisions for *dimming* them!

Even red light needs to get very, very dim sometimes. 5 or 10 lumens of red light may be useful for some situations, but red light really makes the most sense, and offers the greatest utility, in low, sub-lumen levels. 

(To be honest, I don't think 5-10 lumens of red light *is* that useful, in any situation. It will not protect your night vision better than a few lumens of white light, and that is likely to be much more useful for actually seeing stuff. But maybe you have some other use for a bright red LED, and that's fine with me.)

That's why my favorite red Headlamp is a red Photon clipped anywhere on the headband of whatever head-light I like best that week. It is almost infinitely dimmable. And you can change out the 5mm diode to a color you like, if you find the 620-630 red that you typically get to be just too orange-y. 

On the tail-cap of my H600w I have a glued a small disc magnet that exactly fits into the recess of my Photon, and attracts the 2032 coin-cell right through the plastic cover. The Photon looks like it is part of the H600! But I can take it off any time, or switch it for a NVG-blue one, or any other color. 

Red is cool, but most people who build it in just don't give it enough flexibility.


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## Bullyson (Nov 30, 2013)

There's no HC90 on Nitecore's website.


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## resdn (Nov 30, 2013)

I'm stuck between the H600fw vs Armytek Wizard Pro, but I do like the price on the nitecore. I've seen some nice sales on the Armytek and nitecore, anyone ever see any good sales on the Zebralights?


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## pinhead (Nov 30, 2013)

Maybe this NiteCore HC50 review is of interest for you? http://translate.google.com/transla...w-nitecore-hc50-xm-l2-565-ansi-lumen-max.233/


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## Overclocker (Dec 11, 2013)

no battery


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## rje58 (Dec 12, 2013)

My understanding is that Zebralight discourages "sale prices" with MAP policies and tight dealer controls...?



resdn said:


> I'm stuck between the H600fw vs Armytek Wizard Pro, but I do like the price on the nitecore. I've seen some nice sales on the Armytek and nitecore, anyone ever see any good sales on the Zebralights?


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## subwoofer (Dec 12, 2013)

The HC50 with a NITECORE NL189 (their 3400mAh 18650) comes in at 181g, but on the head does not feel like anything at all thanks to an excellent headband.

I've just posted a review here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...RE-HC50-Headlamp-Review-(1x-18650-2x-R-CR123)


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