i love a bright headlamp for running on technical trails at night
but I also need something that can last for an entire night or sometimes more
for some of the more demanding challenges I tend to take on
So I've been testing a series of high-powered headlamps
in the quest to find the best for this particular use case.
With that in mind, I'd like to introduce you to the brightest headlamp I've tested so far
with a maximum output of 2,000 lumens
the Nitecore HC68 which retails for $100 USD
but that comes with some major caveats that I'll talk about in this review
as I answer the question, is this headlamp suitable for trail runners?
This video is quite detailed but it's divided into chapters listed in the description
so feel free to skip ahead.
I'm going to start by giving you an overview of all of its features and specifications.
I'll then rate it based on a series of criteria
including comfort and fit
build quality
customization vs ease of use
and overall value compared to other headlamps in this price range.
Lastly, I'll give you my final thoughts and suggested use cases for this headlamp.
Nitecore did send me this for review
but I was not paid to do so and they have not seen
nor do they have any input into what I'll be saying in this video.
I do, however, make a small commission from the affiliate links below
so in case you decide to buy the headlamp I'd appreciate if you use those
and it won't cost you anything extra but it does help out the channel.
So let's start with what's in the box.
The headlamp comes with a USB-C charging cable
a spare o-ring, the instructions
and a 3,500 mAh 18650 lithium-ion rechargeable battery.
This is a pretty standard battery type for this class of headlamp.
It's the same as the Fenix HM65R-T
another high-powered headlamp that I've been testing for the past year or so.
The first 4 numbers of the battery tell you that it's 18 mm in diameter and 65 mm long
but it also works with a pair of CR123 batteries which are the same diameter but half the length.
Those are much cheaper but I believe are also quite a bit lower in capacity
and they won't work with the higher or turbo modes on this headlamp which we'll talk about
but they could make for good backups to carry with you in a pinch.
The headlamp weighs 167 grams with the battery and the strap
which also makes it the heaviest headlamp that I've personally ever used.
Compare this again to the Fenix HM65R-T which comes in at just 140 grams.
You can see though that this headlamp comes with an optional top strap
which adds a little bit to the weight and which is actually removable
although this feature I find really does help to compensate for the weight
which I'll talk more about later on.
It uses two Luminous SST-40 watt LED's
which happens again to be the exact same bulb used for the spotlight in the Fenix HM65R-T.
The difference is that it uses this bulb for both the spot and the flood
which when combined will give you that maximum output of 2,000 lumens of white light.
But there's a huge caveat here with these turbo modes.
This will only last up to 60 seconds and possibly less if
the heat protection mechanism kicks in early.
These turbo modes are really designed for when you just need an extra boost
of power or distance momentarily
say in a search and rescue situation.
To Nitecore's credit though, this headlamp isn't actually specifically marketed for trail runners
and there's a reason why you don't often see these turbo modes on headlamps which are.
It's just not something that a trail runner would ever need.
I wish though that these brands wouldn't use these turbo ratings as the headline in their marketing
because it can just be a little bit misleading.
It then has a mode which is capable of delivering up to 1,800 lumens for up to 30 minutes
what it calls the Higher spotlight mode.
Again here, as a trail runner 30 minutes isn't going to get me very far
so I'd recommend that we set aside this mode completely as well.
But if you are looking for a headlamp to also use for caving or search and rescue
then these higher power modes should definitely catch your attention.
So with that in mind, let's move on to what it can sustain for a reasonable amount of time
which is 950 lumens on High spotlight mode.
This it can sustain for up to 2 hours and 30 minutes of runtime
which is more than enough to make easy runs in the evening feel like daylight.
I should also point out here though that you're
going to want to always take these output ratings with a grain of salt
and that's because most headlamps tend to start at their rated output level for a given mode
but will slowly start to dim as heat builds up
and as the battery voltage drops
and this is why there's never a direct correlation between output and runtime.
So for example, you'd expect that this High mode at 950 lumens
would last about double as long as the Higher mode at 1,800 lumens, right?
But as you can see here it actually lasts 5 times as long
and I'm willing to bet that this all comes down to thermal regulation.
And again in both cases you shouldn't expect that full 1,800 or even 950 lumens
for the entire stated runtime in real world use
and I'll talk more about these kinds of effects in a future video.
But where these high-powered headlamps really excite me
is in how long they can last at a more reasonable output level
On medium spotlight mode this headlamp will deliver up to 250 lumens for up to 6 hours.
The floodlight ratings are very similar in terms of runtime
which is no surprise given that it uses the same bulb
just with a different reflector and lens
resulting in that different beam pattern.
What's great though is how you can control these two LED's
separately to get a combination of spot and flood.
So for example, you could use the spot mode on Medium at 250 lumens
combined with the floodlight at around Medium intensity
for an additional 200 lumens or so of peripheral light.
So you'd be getting 450 lumens of total output
with a combination of these two beam patterns.
Although your runtimes will vary so you'd have to do a little bit of math.
I'll explain how to do all of this later when I talk about customization vs ease of use.
There's of course a Low setting for both
the spotlight and the floodlight of 50 and 45 lumens respectively
that lasts up to 28 hours each.
Which while these may not be very useful for running
they could be great for camping, at aid stations and so on
along with an Ultralow setting of only 1 lumen that lasts up to 800 hours
which I guess you could use in a tent.
But there's also a red light mode which is what these additional LED's are here in the middle
which will give you 11 lumens on High for up to 30 hours
which is a feature that's actually missing from
most headlamps that are designed specifically for trail running.
This also has a beacon mode which blasts out 2,000 lumens of white light
as well as an S.O.S. pattern
which could be useful if you were to ever find yourself in an emergency situation.
In terms of charging, you unscrew the cap at the end to reveal its USB-C fast charging port.
I'm a huge fan of USB-C charging
but it should be noted that the USB-C cable it comes with is actually USB-C to USB-A
meaning that you'll be limited to USB-A speeds
unless you have your own USB-C to USB-C cable and compatible USB-C charger.
The headlamp is rated IP68 which means it will be protected from dust and dirt
and is waterproof and submersible up to 2 meters
and it's rated for up to 2 meters of impact resistance
and those are excellent ratings.
So that's it for the features and specs.
Now let's get into my experience in using this headlamp over the past month or so.
Fit and comfort are really important considerations for me when choosing a headlamp
given that, as I said, I'm likely to be wearing it for hours at a time.
While this headlamp is definitely heavy, the strap is actually quite comfortable
and as I alluded to before
I find the optional overhead band actually does a great job in distributing this weight.
I've actually never used a headlamp with this strap design
because headlamps designed specifically for trail running usually don't have the overhead headband
but for me I'd say it's necessary for a headlamp over say 120 grams or so.
I find, for example, that even with the Fenix HM65R-T
which has a similar form factor but which is actually 20 grams lighter
it still bounces around quite a bit and needs to be readjusted from time to time
but with this extra strap on the Nitecore HC68
it's never felt like it's slipping or bouncing at all.
Having said that, the strap isn't very easy to adjust while you're actually wearing it
and I find you need to take it off to fiddle with it a bit once in a while.
So I'm going to deduct a point here and give it a rating of 4 out of 5 for fit and comfort.
Ease of use is another huge consideration for me.
I tend to rotate through a few different headlamps depending on my use case.
For example, whether I'm going for a shorter evening run
or running throughout the entire night
or maybe just carrying it in case of emergency
and I'm often using a headlamp in the dark while on the move
so it has to be completely intuitive to use
because I can't stand having to remember complicated button combinations.
The Nitecore HC68 provides a lot in terms of how the beams can be combined
but there's also a lot to remember.
There's a single button on the side to turn the headlamp on and off
and this headlamp has a memory so whichever beam was used last
will be what turns on when you press this button.
You then use the plus and minus buttons here to increase or decrease brightness in steps.
To switch between beam patterns
you then need to hold down the button for the bulb that's off
which will give you stepless adjustability of that bulb's brightness.
Once that second bulb reaches the same level as the first
it will become the primary beam
and at any point you can now press the plus or minus buttons
to change the new primary bulb in steps from Low to Higher mode.
So this is super customizable but I just find way too complicated
for me at least as a trail runner.
I find it hard sometimes to tell which of the two beam patterns I'm using
and I keep finding myself having to take the headlamp off to verify.
I'm also not a huge fan of stepless activation
even though it's actually marketed as a selling feature
but I'd just rather a simple and clear Low, Medium and High mode.
I can see accidentally having it set too high
which could then get me in trouble when my headlamp dies prematurely.
The one redeeming feature here though is the headlamp's memory function.
So you could probably take the time to set your headlamp before starting your run
and then trust that it will go back to the same setting when you turn it off and on.
In reality though, I'm often switching between modes and beam patterns while on the move.
To activate the red light you need to double tap the power button.
You then use the plus button to go from Low red to High
and then to beacon and S.O.S. mode.
I didn't love this functionality either
because it's really easy to forget that you're already on High red
and to accidentally go on to beacon mode
which blasts you and anyone around you with 2,000 lumens of white light
completely ruining your night vision
which is probably why you were using the red light mode in the first place.
You similarly activate Turbo mode when the light is off
by pressing and holding the power button
which as I said before only lasts for up to 60 seconds
before both bulbs automatically return to their memorized state.
I'm glad that this is a separate function
because Turbo mode not only burns battery very quickly
but it also causes the headlamp to get really hot.
I activated this once by accident on a group run while we were standing at a trailhead
kind of waiting to regroup
and I went to cover my headlamp momentarily with my glove as I often do
to avoid blinding some oncoming runners
and within just a few seconds I burned a hole right through my glove
and almost burned my skin.
Headlamps like this are designed with heat sinks to help with thermal regulation
but it only goes so far.
LED light doesn't produce much heat itself
but there's a lot of heat generated within the LED device
especially with these high powered LED's.
The battery indicator also leaves a little to be desired.
To activate it, you just need to press either the plus or minus button while it's turned off.
It'll then flash blue depending on the remaining power.
4 times to show that it's at full power
3 times to show that it's above 50%
Twice that it's below 50%
and once that is below 10%.
Sometimes when I see a single flash of blue
I think, okay that must mean that it's charged
but then I have to remember that
no, it needs to flash 3 or even 4 times on this particular headlamp
for me to have enough battery to get through a run.
I definitely prefer headlamps with multiple lights to indicate intuitively how much charge is left.
There's also no lock on this headlamp
meaning that it could be accidentally activated in your pack
unless you remove the battery completely.
This is a pretty big drawback in my opinion when it comes to safety.
Lastly, and this is a really small thing
there is no indication of which direction to insert the battery
other than in the instruction manual.
So again here, you have to remember which way you removed it when changing batteries
which I found a little bit annoying.
So with all this in mind
I think I'd only give this headlamp 2 out of 5 for customization vs ease of use
because while it's highly customizable and I love the memory function
it's just way too complicated for my needs as a trail runner.
Having said that, the build quality of this headlamp is excellent.
Nitecore has a great reputation
and they've been making award-winning headlamps for 15 years
so there's no surprises there.
The optics are very good and the lenses do a really great job of eliminating hot spots
particularly on the floodlight.
I like that the charging port is so safely tucked away
and there's really no potential points of failure on this headlamp at all.
It's built like a tank and there's no reason it wouldn't last a lifetime.
So I'd give it 5 out of 5 for build quality.
Overall, at a $100 USD and given all of its features
this headlamp is an excellent value compared to other headlamps in its class
and I give it an overall rating on value of 4 out of 5.
Assume though that you're going to need a second battery even just to carry as a backup
so that'll run you another 30 bucks or so.
In terms of use cases though
I think this headlamp is pretty limited when it comes to trail running.
As I said off the top, I love a bright headlamp
and even at the conservative rating of 950 lumens on High spotlight mode
this is definitely still overkill for trail running
and on Medium mode with 250 lumens for up to 6 hours
it's a lot of headlamp to carry for shorter evening runs
but that 6 hours also isn't really long enough to last through the night.
So I don't think this would work for 100 milers either.
With that in mind
I think it only really makes sense for a trail runner
who also needs the functionality of an extremely bright beam for shorter periods of time
along with features like a red light.
So again, for things like camping, hunting,
caving, search and rescue, or industrial applications
which is really what this headlamp was designed for.
In fact, I'd say it's one of the best and definitely
the most versatile headlamps that I've ever tried
when it comes to these more general outdoor uses
but it's probably not the best fit for the average runner.
I've got more headlamp reviews in the works
as I continue my own search for the best headlamps for trail running
including one on the Fenix HM65R-T that I mentioned a couple of times
and which I've been using for over a year now.
So stay tuned for that.
And let me know in the comments if you like the format for these reviews
or if there's anything else that you'd like to see.
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