# Olight H2R review (Headlamp/right angle, 18650, XHP50)



## maukka (Jun 11, 2017)

*Disclaimer: The Olight H2R Nova was provided for testing by the manufacturer free of charge

*Update: according to Olight's engineers there's over current protection on the battery at 27 amps. So shorting the tailcap contacts will not damage the battery or the light.

Update 2: the tailcap has been fixed and doesn't allow current flowing from it anymore







Finally a 18650 headlamp/right angle flashlight from Olight! Let's take a look at both the cool and neutral white versions.

*Features and manufacturer’s specifications*
Battery: 18650
Input voltage: 2.8-4.2 V (double 18350/16340/CR123A not supported)
LED: Cree XHP50, available in cool and neutral white (both tested)
Waterproof: IPX8
Impact resistance: 1.5 meters
Mode memory: yes

*Manufacturer’s output specs*
Maximum output: 2300 lumens (CW), 2000 lumens (NW)
Other output levels
CW: 600/150/30/1 lumens
NW: 550/140/27/1 lumens
Beam distance: 153 m
Light intensity: 5850 candela

*Measured dimensions and weight*
Length: 110 mm
Head width: 23.3 mm
Handle width: 21.5 mm
Weight: 64 g for the light and 49 g for the 18650 battery, 67 g for the headband

More information: https://www.olightstore.com/led-flashlights/camping-outdoor/olight-h2r-nova

*Box and contents*

The light comes packaged in a nice retail box with a cardboard insert with the accessories in a separate compartment.































*Bundled in the box with the light:*
Headband
Magnetic USB charger
Pocket clip
Adhesive strips
User manual

The H2R Nova is much more than a headlamp. I'm glad manufacturers are including a pocket clip as well as the headband these days. The magnet in the tailcap is easily strong enough to keep the 18650 light in place.






The new headband offers a much improved holder mechanism. The battery inside the light attaches to the magnet on the holder and the tube is secured with a silicone strap. There's enough force in the magnet to hold the light in place without the strap, but not if you move about.






*User interface*






Just like the little brother H1R, the H2R Nova is controlled by a single electronic switch at the end of the head.

The flush switch isn't perfect, but some people may prefer the quiet operation to a more distinct clicky feel. Still, I had no trouble pushing it even with gloves on. Accessing turbo with a double click posed no problem either.

There are five brightness levels in total with moonlight and turbo not being part of the normal mode cycle. They are memorized though, which is fantastic! Turbo and high are only memorized for 10 minutes to avoid accidental blinding during the night.

Three basic modes: low, mid, high
Two extended modes: moonlight, turbo (memorized but not part of the mode cycle)
One special modes: SOS

*Operation is as follows*

From off:
Single click turns the light on on previously used brightness (not including SOS)
Double click turns the light on on turbo
Triple click turns the light on on SOS
Press and hold to access moonlight
Keep pressing for electornic lockout, repeat to unlock

From on:
Single click turns the light off
Long press and hold cycles low, mid, high starting from the next mode or from low if moonlight or turbo was selected
Double click activates turbo
Triple click activates SOS (long press goes back to normal mode cycle)

*Physical appearance*

The emitter is behind a textured TIR optic surrounded by the traditional Olight blue bezel. There's no lens protecting the optic.










The new pocket clip allows for bezel up or down orientation.






The integrated charging works through the tailcap, which connects directly to the proprietary battery. Like on the other similar Olights the tailcap reverses the polarity, i.e. center contact is negative and the outer ring is positive. On the battery itself the contacts are center positive, ring negative.

There's live voltage on the tailcap contacts, hence the warning. The center contact is recessed so accidental shorts don't happen easily, but be warned, you can cause some damage to the battery and the light quite easily if you put the light in to a pocket with keys.

WARNING: There seems to be no over current protection circtuit on the battery, or it's at >20 amps, so be very careful where you store the light. Especially since the contacts stay live even if you physically lock out the light by opening the tailcap a bit (or a lot). I think this is a clear oversight by Olight. Their previous lights with this charging system were bundled with protected batteries.

I recommend using a normal 18650 with a button top or a magnet instead of the otherwise perfectly performing Olight ORB-186C30.

*Olight ORB-186C30 battery measurements*






Length: 68.5 mm
Width: 18.6 mm
Weight: 49 g
Protected: no over current (or >20 A) nor low voltage protection, *update: OCP at 27 A according to Olight*
Capacity: 2994/2973 mAh
Energy: 10.795/10.705 Wh
Internal resistance: 0.030/0.033 ohm (measured at 8 amps)

Two batteries were tested by charging them at 1.0 A to 4.2 volts and discharging at 1.0 A down to 2.5 volts twice. Above figures are the average of those two discharge cycles.

The performance of the Olight 3000 mAh batteries is fantastic. They have a very low internal resistance and perform on par with Sony VTC6 up to 10 A. I can only see faint pink glow under the white parts on the wrapper, which together with the capacity would hint towards a Samsung 30Q, but I didn't remove the wrapper to find out.

Only button top 18650 batteries will work, since the positive contact in the tailcap is recessed. Normal batteries are also inserted with the negative pole towards the head.






The batteries from both lights are well matched





Charging with the integrated USB charger takes 4 hours 20 minutes.





Despite the description, I found no evidence of any protection circuit in the battery. Later I heard there is over current protection at 27 A.


*Size comparison*






18650 battery, Olight H1R Nova, Olight H2R Nova, Armytek Wizard Pro v3, Skilhunt H03, Zebralight H600Fd Mk3






The H2R Nova is one of the bigger 18650 headlamps approaching the mammoth that is the Wizard Pro. It's still quite a bit smaller than many normal 18650 lights.

*Beamshots*

_Finnish summer is here and it pretty much never gets dark. I'll post some outdoor beamshot comparisons as soon as possible._

*Beam, tint and color rendering*

Thanks to the diffusing TIR optics, the beam is smooth and floody. There is some sharp edge artifacts with a slight tint shift, but they are only visible on a white wall. Overall the beam is consistent in tint on both the cool and neutral white models.






I would rather call the neutral white a warm white at 3810 K. The difference between the CW and NW when compared side by side is huge.





The cool white H2R compared to other cool white headlamps.





The neutral white H2R compared to other neutral headlamps.

As with all diffusing headlamps, there's really no difference in the beam pattern. The beam is smooth and tint doesn't change much. Still, the tint on the new Olights is fantastic with no green or magenta cast.





Tint in different brightness modes. As is usually the case there's some shift when the current is increased, moreso on the cool white model but not really visible.





Tint in different parts of the beam. Very consistent and following the neutral black body line.

*Spectral data and color rendering*

For spectral information and CRI calculations I use an X-rite i1Pro spectrophotometer with HCFR, Babelcolor CT&A and ArgyllCMS spotread for the graphs and data. For runtime tests I use spotread with a custom script and an i1Display Pro because it doesn’t require calibration every 30 minutes like the i1Pro.

*Explanation of abbreviations (click link to read more)*

CCT = correlated color temperature, higher temperature means cooler (bluish)
CRI (Ra) = color rendering index consisting of 8 different colors (R1-R8), max value 100
CRI (R9) = color rendering index with deep red, usually difficult for led based light sources, max value 100
TLCI = television lighting consistency index, max value 100
CQS (Qa) = Proposed replacement for CRI, RMS average of 15 color samples
CRI2012 (Ra,2012) = Another proposed replacement for CRI, consists of 17 color samples
MCRI = Color rendering index based on the memory of colors or 9 familiar objects
*NEW Read more about the IES TM-30-15 method here (link is external) *
TM-30 = The newest color rendering method using 99 samples. Preferred for comparing LEDs.
TM-30 (Rf) = Accuracy of colors, fidelity index. Replaces CRI(Ra).
TM-30 (Rg) = Gamut of colors, saturation index. Higher number means more saturated colors.
Tint dev. (“Duv” in the CTA screenshots) is the tint’s distance to the black body radiator line in the CIE graphs. The higher the number, the greener the tint. 0,0000 means absolutely neutral white and negative numbers mean rosy/magenta tint. Anything over 0,0100 can be described as visibly green.

If you have an hour to spare, I recommend watching this presentation on IES TM-30-15 which also shines light into color rendering in general.







CRI data for the cool white H2R.





CRI data for the neutral white H2R.





Color comparison to other 18650 headlamps.


*Runtimes and output*

All the lights were measured with their bundled batteries. If there was none, a Sony VTC6 was used. For efficiency test a high capacity Sanyo NCR18650GA was used for all lights.

Since I don't have a professional sphere with a reference calibration light source, all the lumen measurements are just approximations. Lumen and candela measurements were taken with an Xrite i1Pro spectrophotometer, not a lux meter.

To my surprise, I measured the neutral version at higher output and better efficiency than the cool white. The difference is only marginal though. Both lights step down from about 2400 lumens down to a bit shy of 700 lumens. The output is better than what Olight specifies and clearly so for the neutral white one (2360 vs. 2000 lumens).
















I did notice, that with a Sony VTC6 the light gets hotter faster than with the Olight battery and the output steps down already at the 30 second mark. With the VTC6 the output at 30 seconds was 2050 lumens for the NW and 2100 lumens for the CW. This pretty much matches the specs for the NW. The slight differences are probably caused by the rapid dimming of the light combined with the couple second integration time of my meter (i1Pro).

When I removed the batteries after the runtime tests, they read between 2.80 and 2.90 volts. The H2R Nova has a low voltage protection and shuts the light off before the voltage gets too low. It blinks for a long while before it finally shuts completely off, but I would prefer that it stepped down to a very low level rather than leaving me in the dark.

Regulation on the lower modes (moon, low, mid, high) is excellent with a perfectly stable output from beginning to end even without cooling.
















The thermal regulation is not very sophisticated. Instead of a PID controller the light just steps down hard when the head heats up too much. I measured this to occur at 55°C. If the light is cooled well and the head drops down to 43°C, it will momentarily reset and return to full turbo output for a short while. This results in a pumping output. The Armytek Wizard Pro v3 has a more elegant temperature control which keeps the head at a steady 60-63°C.

However, in a light breeze, the stepdown is not as hard. Instead of dropping down to 660 lumens when not cooled at all, it stabilizes at about 1050. So there's more brains than full on or off than might be concluded from the above graph.






In room temperature (25°C), the output between the lights is very comparable. There's some ringing in the Armytek while the Olight just steps down and stays there. Olight steps down a minute earlier when the head gets to about 55°C. Armytek is a bit more relaxed in its behavior as it lets the temperature climb up to 65°C. The hottest I measured 58°C for the Olight and 67 for the Armytek a little while after they had stepped down.






In any case, the turbo is only for momentary usage. The light gets hot fast, which is not surprising, it is the brightest headlamp after all and shedding 2000 lumens worth of heat on a light this size is impossible.

As usual I tested the efficacy of the H2R Nova using a Sanyo 18650GA battery. Here the Olight really shines as it trumps the other lights with a magnificent 2 hour 40 minute run at 600 lumens and produces most lumens per watt of any light I've measured. The only other XHP50 light here is the Armytek, which doesn't come close. The Zebralight is a particular disappointment, but the Skilhunt performs very well. All the lights were fan cooled during this test.











*Temperature*

The head of the light gets up to about 55°C and then starts limiting output. Maximum I measured was 58 degrees from the head and 52 degrees from the handle.











*PWM and noise*

There's clearly visible (to me at least) PWM on moonlight and non visible (to the eye) PWM/noise on low and mid. 

Here's moon at 400 Hz






Low 10-16 kHz





Slight pulsing on mid at 50-100 kHz





There's no audible coil whine from the boost driver.

*Standby current*

As the switch is electronic, there is a small current being drawn from the battery even when the light is not turned on. I measured the parasitic standby drain at 55 and 56 µA. This means it would take about 6 years to drain a 3000 mAh 18650. Opening the tailcap a bit avoids this.

*Verdict*

Olight has finally scaled up the tiny H1R Nova, which is a superb headlamp hindered by its 16340 battery. The new H2R Nova uses an 18650 which we all love for the energy/size ratio. At the same time, the H2R happens to be the highest output headlamp ever produced. At over 2300 lumens it blows everything else away, but naturally does it only for a very short while.

Not that thousands of lumens is really needed in a headlamp. The H2R Nova excels on the lower modes too. At the high mode of 600 lumens, it is the most efficient flashlight I've measured at over 130 lumens/watt. Somehow the warmer version of my two samples was more efficient when usually the cooler tints produce more light at a certain power.

The new headband and its retaining mechanism is a welcome improvement. No more pushing through two tight silicone rings, just snap the light on to the magnetic holder and secure it easily with a single strap. You can also use the new headband with the H1R Nova. The pocket clip can be attached while using the headband, but it makes the inserting and removing much more difficult.

_update_: The tailcap has exposed contacts to the battery. There's is over current protection at 27 amps, but shorting the contacts with a high resistance object might drain the battery. Using normal button top 18650 cells is safer, since they only have the positive terminal in the head.

+ Great neutral tint on both cool and neutral (actually warm) white versions
+ Excellent efficacy, especially for a boost driver and diffused optic
+ Highest output 18650 headlamp
+ Excellent finish and build quality
+ Instant access to moonlight and turbo, which the light also memorizes
+ Low standby drain
+ Comes with a headband, pocket clip and magnetic tailcap
+ Battery performs very well
+ Handy charging system (with its drawbacks)
- No 4500-5000 K neutral white or high CRI option
- Visible PWM on moonlight, less so on low and mid
- LIVE VOLTAGE ON THE TAILCAP AND NO PROTECTION IN THE BATTERY *update: this doesn't seem to be the case, there's OCP at 27 amps according to Olight, update2: the tailcap has been fixed and doesn't allow current flowing from the battery anymore*
- Having the pocket clip on while using the headband is difficult


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## noboneshotdog (Jun 11, 2017)

Awesome! Thanks for the outstanding review!


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## maukka (Jun 11, 2017)

Just to add. If someone happens to love the usb charging and have an S30R III, its battery (ORB-186C35, 3500 mAh) works well and has protection. It doesn’t sacrifice any lumens either. The S2R battery (ORB-186C32, 3200 mAh) on the other hand trips at 5 amps and doesn’t work on turbo on the H2R.

Still, just ditch the charging system and use a good regular cell…


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## DRAWs (Jun 11, 2017)

a sophisticated review, nice job !


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## TCY (Jun 11, 2017)

Thanks maukka for another professional review. I love that NW tint, but lack of high CRI options and PWM on firefly killed it for me. That said, I'm sure many other people would enjoy this light


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## dmsoule (Jun 11, 2017)

Wonderfully detailed review, thank you Maukka. I love the color temperature of your NW version, but I fear there is much variation in specs and I would probably get one closer to 5000K.

Regarding the Zebralight's low lumens per watt, is this primarily explained by the higher CRI?


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## maukka (Jun 11, 2017)

dmsoule said:


> Regarding the Zebralight's low lumens per watt, is this primarily explained by the higher CRI?



The 6 volt Easywhite XM-L2 is inherently inefficient. According to Cree the XHP50 is 149 lm/W while the Easywhite XM-L2 is just 113 lm/W at maximum binning. High CRI usually accounts for 15-30 % lower efficiency.


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## Keitho (Jun 11, 2017)

I'd love to see a Zebralight headlamp with the XHP50, like the flashlight version SC600Fd III. Until then, this Olight looks great.


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## toobadorz (Jun 11, 2017)

Regarding the safety concern about the tail-cap charging, I think Olight probably should roll back to their design of the 1st generation, such as S30R Gen I.

*S30R (Gen I), images from selfbuilt's S30R review:

*














A twist of the tail-cap can physically lock-out this light and leave the exterior charging circuit disconnected. It is therefore much safer IMO. And, this design charges all 18650 cells!


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## maukka (Jun 11, 2017)

toobadorz said:


> Regarding the safety concern about the tail-cap charging, I think Olight probably should roll back to their design of the 1st generation, such as S30R Gen I.



Yes, that looks nice. Armytek still has a tailcap charging that works with normal batteries. It's way too slow though.

I really hope the batteries that were shipped with my light were some sort of preproduction models without protection.

I discharged them down to 2 volts and the low voltage protection they claim in the wrapper didn’t activate. Also, I haven’t seen any protection circuits that activate at currents higher than 20 amps (that’s as high as my dc load goes). I really don’t want to short the tailcap with the battery inside to be sure though.

Another indicator of them being unprotected is the weight. They weigh in at 48 and 49 grams while other protected Olight batteries weigh 50-51 grams.

I connected a 2 amp load to the tailcap and it was able to drive it. So current is definitely flowing from there.


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## proceed5 (Jun 11, 2017)

Thank you Maukka for the runtime charts, for the tint temperature, for the photos, for the explanations and for your time and effort in reviewing this light.

Thank you for info on usage with VTC6 and 18650GA. 

That temperature chart showed the light's temperature management system to be lacking ... it is a roller coaster, this is not good. Wouldn't this be a nightmare as the light output goes way Up and suddenly downs way down ? 

Thanks & best regards


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## maukka (Jun 11, 2017)

proceed5 said:


> That temperature chart showed the light's temperature management system to be lacking ... it is a roller coaster, this is not good. Wouldn't this be a nightmare as the light output goes way Up and suddenly downs way down ?



This will probably not happen in normal use when walking or jogging as the airflow on that measurement is quite strong.


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## proceed5 (Jun 11, 2017)

maukka said:


> This will probably not happen in normal use when walking or jogging as the airflow on that measurement is quite strong.



Thanks Maukka,
Wow, you mean, in actual usage, the H2R's temperature management system actually ramps the brightness violently ?
Ok, would you be able to check out, assuming it is Summer time and there little breeze when walking, and what would happen to the brightness levels produced by the H2R NW unit ?


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## maukka (Jun 11, 2017)

proceed5 said:


> Thanks Maukka,
> Wow, you mean, in actual usage, the H2R's temperature management system actually ramps the brightness violently ?
> Ok, would you be able to check out, assuming it is Summer time and there little breeze when walking, and what would happen to the brightness levels produced by the H2R NW unit ?



No, in practice the output will probably step down to between 700 and 1000 lumens and stays there, unless there's a storm. But of course that's really difficult to measure when actually walking outside.

On the more useful 600 lumen high level the output is perfectly stable for a long time. You're hard pressed to find any other single 18650 light that achieves better results than sustained 600 lumens for 2.5 hours.


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## proceed5 (Jun 11, 2017)

maukka said:


> No, in practice the output will probably step down to between 700 and 1000 lumens and stays there, unless there's a storm. But of course that's really difficult to measure when actually walking outside.
> 
> On the more useful 600 lumen high level the output is perfectly stable for a long time. You're hard pressed to find any other single 18650 light that achieves better results than sustained 600 lumens for 2.5 hours.



Thank you very much Maukka.

Ok. so long as the H2R does not violently fluctuate in brightness (due to temperature management system) I will get one. 
Yup, I like the high mode's flat regulation and long run time.

Thank you again


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## UnderPar (Jun 12, 2017)

Thank you for sharing this review Maukka. This might
be my next headlamp purchase. Cheers!!


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## Andrey (Jun 13, 2017)

Maukka, thank you for the great review!

Viperxp on the russian Fonarevka ("Flashlightery") forum reported the following brave experiment. (FYI, Google translation is very decent).
He shorted the H2R charging contacts with a wire. :devil: 
It turned out quite uneventful: following a small spark, no heat or smoke emissions observed from neither light nor the wire, light remained lit normally. Viperxp notes that after shorting test, charger continues to work as well.

Could you investigate the tailcap for the presence of some type of protection?


Cheers!


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## maukka (Jun 13, 2017)

Here's inside the tailcap. One smd component, that isn't a diode or a capacitor. Measured a resistance of about 0.1 ohm over it. A nice placeholder for a diode though


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## narmattaru (Jun 13, 2017)

graeat review. thanx.
i`ve just god CW version, liked it. Olight managed to employ something new in this headlamp, mostly with magnet pad in headband.


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## CREEXHP70LED (Jun 13, 2017)

Thank you for this very well done review and all of your time. If I end up getting one it will be the NW version, and use Q30's. I am waiting for the M2R to be released.


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## maukka (Jun 13, 2017)

CREEXHP70LED said:


> Thank you for this very well done review and all of your time. If I end up getting one it will be the NW version, and use Q30's. I am waiting for the M2R to be released.



I'd probably stick to the bundled high drain cells or a VTC6. They seem to be able to access turbo longer than a 30Q.

I did some testing by first discharging 1000 mAh out of some batteries (Bundled Olight, Samsung 30Q, Sony VTC6, Sanyo GA, BL, LG MH1, Panasonic 18650B) and seeing if they could enable turbo. At the first round every battery was able to run turbo for about 40 sec, but the 18650B did blink once to indicate low voltage.

On the second round after about 20 minutes the 30Q and 18650B weren't able to access turbo anymore. At this time the Sanyo BL and LG MH1 blinked for low voltage.

Just do this to the bundled 3000 mAh Olight and you're good to go.


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## Zak (Jun 13, 2017)

I think I like Armytek's version better, even though Olight's driver is more efficient and the charging is faster. Armytek has a better UI and much better thermal regulation. Peak output is lower, but I think sustainable output under most conditions is higher.

All that pales in comparison to the fact that the Wizard isn't prone to exploding in your pocket because Armytek actually *does* know what a diode is for and no current will flow from the tail contacts.


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## the Kwan (Jun 13, 2017)

Thanks for the cool review it made good reading, about as comprehensive as it gets.


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## proceed5 (Jun 13, 2017)

maukka said:


> Just do this to the bundled 3000 mAh Olight and you're good to go.


What about sealing the outer parts of tail cap ?


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## maukka (Jun 18, 2017)

Update: according to Olight's engineers there's over current protection on the battery at 27 amps. So shorting the tailcap contacts will not damage the battery or the light.


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## fonfan (Sep 16, 2017)

What? Permanent battery Voltage on charging contacts and magnet in tailcap - geniusly. Buy R-olight and isolate special R-battery?


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## howardq99 (Sep 17, 2017)

Thanks for the great review! I just picked one up on a lightning deal on Amazon...$76.46 with next day delivery.


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## Chad Varnadore (Sep 27, 2017)

Does the H2R get too hot to hold after a while on high (600 lumen) mode, just as if it were on Turbo? Or does it remain cooler, more akin a 400 or lower lumen output? The Armytek gets surprisingly HOT even on Turbo1 (700+ lumens). After about 5 minutes, it's almost too hot to lower the mode without turning it off and letting it cool first, since the clicky is on the side of the head and thus you have to rest your other finger on the opposite side of the head to double click down to standard brightness levels.


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## maukka (Sep 28, 2017)

On high, the H2R is still holdable (<46°C) after half an hour in room temperature.


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## Chad Varnadore (Sep 28, 2017)

maukka said:


> On high, the H2R is still holdable (<46°C) after half an hour in room temperature.



Thanks! I might have to try the H2R too then. I have frequent need to leave it on for 20-30 minutes at a time and the added 240 lumens would be nice for some jobs, if it's not too hot to clip to a shirt like the Armytek gets in it's 700+ lumen mode.


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## WDR65 (Sep 28, 2017)

maukka said:


> On high, the H2R is still holdable (<46°C) after half an hour in room temperature.



Can you show the two tailcaps side by side? I'm curious to see which version I have. I just purchased an H2R this week.


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## ven (Oct 14, 2017)

Great review maukka, thanks as always for your time and effort. I am kind of torn, been weighing a headlamp for ages now and (ZL is out as i can not find one UK side to suit my wants) the NC hc30 and Olight h2r seem to be the front runners( i know get both...........may happen anyway). But ideally one as use would be work mainly. Has to be NW flavour, no cool .......... Not bothered too much on reach, as most uses will be close up or within 10ft. The frosted h2r seems more suitable over the hc30 reflector, but the mode groups look more suitable on the hc30!!!  The charge option of the h2r also will be handy as it grows old swapping cells out as it is! 

Maybe not the usual question here, but will the headband open up enough to fit a hard hat? As thats where it would live most of the time.


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## tino_ale (Nov 3, 2017)

Just got myself a NW H2R for 59 euros thanks to Amazon flash sale and I must say I am blown away by the quality of the beam. It is simply perfect : smooth spread, no donut, no edge tint shift, perfect medium-wide angle (for a headlamp), and the tint is nothing short of the most neutral, tintless, I have ever seen thus far. Maybe a little warm for some but still far from incan and I absolutely love it.

BTW I have the updated tailcap (voltage is there but no current will flow through it) and the button click is okay (could be stronger but it is there).

On all levels up to medium, this thing will run forever. High will run for more than 2hrs, that is impressive.
After all I think the turbo mode will be the least used, along with SOS.

I am quite freaking pleased with this kit. BTW I _believe_ it could fit on a hard helmet (but can't check I haven't one).


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## KriegerKrieg (Dec 20, 2017)

Looks like the Zebralight is a MKII not MKIII it doesn't have the smooth ridge in the middle of the light.


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## maukka (Dec 20, 2017)

They changed the design within the MKIII. First ones were like mine.


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## SKV89 (Feb 12, 2018)

Wow such a great informative review. I ordered an Olight H2R and the new Acbeam H150 with XHP70.2. Can't wait to play with it. Originally I was going to go for the new Zebralight XHP50.2 headlamp but from your review and other places I've read, it seems Zebralights are really not that efficient.


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## Tachead (Feb 12, 2018)

SKV89 said:


> Wow such a great informative review. I ordered an Olight H2R and the new Acbeam H150 with XHP70.2. Can't wait to play with it. Originally I was going to go for the new Zebralight XHP50.2 headlamp but from your review and other places I've read, it seems Zebralights are really not that efficient.



His review was on a model with an older generation emitter which is less efficient. And, it was of a model with much higher CRI emitter which also reduces efficiency. It's apples vs oranges. You have to compare similar models if you want to see the true differences. Zebralight has the most advanced drivers in the industry and they are always among the most efficient. 

It should also be noted that you are splitting hairs as the lights from all the brands you are looking at are quite efficient. And, efficiency is only a small part of the picture when selecting a brand or model. Other things like build quality, ruggedness, UI design and flexibility, CRI ratings, Tint, warranty and customer support, size and weight, etc. should be taken into account and I can tell you for certain that ZL is superior to your other two options in most if not all of these areas.


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