Review: Imalent HR20 XP-L HI Rechargeable Headlamp

[degarb]

To claim 500m throw is to claim 62,000 cd. I = (R^2)/4 = (500^2)/4= 62,500 cd. Clearly though, it's a typo. 50m is closer to the truth.

First, I wish to scrap book this post to pull out 3 years from now. Likely, not a thread tool.

Secondly, doing the math what percentage, roughly, of lights have accurate throw v. Candela claims, off shelf and webstore lights?

I am over buying poorly driven worklights, preferring to make my own, so can no longer do the math for practice. The Imalent hr20, may be the last light i buy for a long time, unless a better, higher energy, battery is released. Though i may buy a cheap astrolux nichia for a toy.

 

[Genzod]

First, I wish to scrap book this post to pull out 3 years from now. Likely, not a thread tool.

I'm not sure what you mean exactly when you say "likely, not a thread tool" or how that applies to the mentioning of a hilarious typo?

Edit: Oh, I get it, the option to archive or bookmark this thread for later viewing. Curious though, why would you want to archive it?

 

[degarb]

Two other notes on this light.

The ring holding lens end was loose on the banggood version, so I hand screwed tightened it in. Is there a tool for ring? I dont see any divit, like in covoy pill. (Ground down pliers...)

I dropped in a fresh Panasonic 3400, and it seems brighter than ever. Doesn't seem right for a true cc light. I haven't got around to full 8 hour lux test to see how cc this light really is. But am suspicious. I did measure a 14% drop over 2 hours, at a roughly 300 ma setting.


I am now noticing a slightly larger hotspot on the warm. I don't see reflector sitting differently. Not sure why this is. I want to tighten the lens retaining ring to be sure of seal. But presently, can only finger tighten.


On a side note. If I took it fishing, I would just bring hi viz duct tape, and tape over electronics end. Tested, and passes blow test. Used the hr20, unmodified, in rain, twice. But fishing is where you risk a dip.... I did cast one end cap from silicone caulk and cornstarch. I failed to make
It long enough, so, it fell off and got lost after a day. Also, will try amazing goop or 100 percent polyurethane caulk next time for tear resistance. I used packing tape as the non-stick surface, during the cast.

 

[degarb]

Edit: Oh, I get it, the option to archive or bookmark this thread for later viewing. Curious though, why would you want to archive it?[/QUOTE]

Every few months there is such an educational or inspiring post. Unfortunately, often complicated or not immediately relevant. Sometimes, just an incredible articulation.... Thus, scrapbook or archive.

Hopefully, i will remember r^2 over 4, two years from now when making a buying choice. But i have a keen enough memory to know my limitations.

I go by rule of 3. Tell me once, i remember 3 minutes, remind me in 3 minutes and i remember 3 hours. Remind me in 3 hours and i am good for 3 days. Remind me in 3 days for 3 weeks. Remind me in 3 weeks and i am good for 3 months. Remind me in 3 months and i am good for 3 years. Remind me in 3 years, i am good for 30 years. Remind me in 30 years, ask me again in 300.... Other people are like this. Emotional event need not this pattern.

 

[Genzod]

Every few months there is such an educational or inspiring post. Unfortunately, often complicated or not immediately relevant. Sometimes, just an incredible articulation.... Thus, scrapbook or archive.

Hopefully, i will remember r^2 over 4, two years from now when making a buying choice. But i have a keen enough memory to know my limitations.

I go by rule of 3. Tell me once, i remember 3 minutes, remind me in 3 minutes and i remember 3 hours. Remind me in 3 hours and i am good for 3 days. Remind me in 3 days for 3 weeks. Remind me in 3 weeks and i am good for 3 months. Remind me in 3 months and i am good for 3 years. Remind me in 3 years, i am good for 30 years. Remind me in 30 years, ask me again in 300.... Other people are like this. Emotional event need not this pattern.

Okay, you value the intensity/throw formula.

I find that when needing to memorize something, use the deep delta sleep memory grafting ability to your advantage. Work with the equation I= R*R/4 with a few headlamp specs from manufacturers, go to sleep, graft it. Work the next day again, sleep and graft it.

Or, you could associate the memory with an emotionally evoking event, like the absurdity of an $8 headlamp having a 500m/62500cd throw/intensity.

62,500cd is intensity in candella (lumens/steradian) at 1 meter (at that point it's 62,500 lm/sr and lux lm/m^2 since there, 1sr=1 m^2). At 500 meters, that intensity would drop to moonlight or 0.25 lux which is pretty much the standard manufacturers are referring to when they state a range.

You have a lux meter, so you can measure center spot lux at 4 meters, and use the equation to bring it to 1 meter to get the candella intensity and see if it matches manufacturer's claims (multiply measured lux @4m by 4^2=16). Then you can move that cd value to 0.25 lux and determine the theoretical range (ignores atmospheric effects) R=sqroot(4*I@1m)

If you have the new ZL H53c or plan to get the new H53w, I would love to learn the lux at 4m. That would give me the theoretical range to 0.25 lux.

 

[degarb]

I think the charge Circuit not working on the second banggood hr20. Can't get green led overnight,charging a fresh Panasonic 3400. 400 or 500 ma charge rate? Over 9 hours, no green. The gearbest hr20 charges fine,as expected.

I wonder if I can unscrew head and measure charge voltage. Or if protection on charger would prohibit. Will try later when have a chance.

 

[Genzod]

I think the charge Circuit not working on the second banggood hr20. Can't get green led overnight,charging a fresh Panasonic 3400. 400 or 500 ma charge rate? Over 9 hours, no green. The gearbest hr20 charges fine,as expected.

I wonder if I can unscrew head and measure charge voltage. Or if protection on charger would prohibit. Will try later when have a chance.

With LED flashlights in general, you have the "tint lottery", with Imalent you have the "reliability lottery". I wonder how much it will cost you to mail a $35 headlamp back to China to replace it under warranty? :thinking:

 

[degarb]

With LED flashlights in general, you have the "tint lottery", with Imalent you have the "reliability lottery". I wonder how much it will cost you to mail a $35 headlamp back to China to replace it under warranty? :thinking:

I think it may be charging, but at a far slower rate than it should. Putting a multimeter in volt mode on head (tube removed) both jumped around. But the second seemed to be lower. Though in practice, taking days to recharge for a day's few minutes, just isn't going to work. New Imalent battery and new Panasonic cell.

As far as warrantee, who knows what banggood would do.

 

[Genzod]

As far as warrantee, who knows what banggood would do.

I mean, with the cost to ship it to China, I imagine it just wouldn't be worth sending it in for warranty.

 

[degarb]

As far as tint lottery goes, Cree is on sic 2, at least. This xpl hi tint looks identical to one on Star I bought last year.

 

[degarb]

Sadly, The HR20 is not constant current, constant output. I am also concluding the optic needs to be doubly disciplined to function as an emergency worklight with ample lux for 8 hours.

I chose a setting that looked to me to be 1 watt. 44 inches 2050 lux to start.

Time	Hour		Lux
11:47	0		2050
12:40	00:53		1800
13:00	01:13		1720
13:25	01:38		1670
15:13	03:26		1480
17:33	05:46		1160
18:16	06:29		240

I am not sure how this can be called constant current. Crashed at 6 hr. Maybe I could have dragged another 1.5 hours out of substandard light with a panasonic 3400.

This is second test. The first only went 2 hour, but I saw a drop there too. For science, I may try again with the warm version. But will need a full day with projects going on at the house, like today...Also, I did duct tape ring down to avoid any accidental ring movement....

I am also wondering how well the amc7135 does in these tests at 1 watt. I mostly use buck drivers and high voltage arrangement: buckpuck, fenix tk35/hp11--both have near zero lux drop in 7 or 8 hours. I have noticed drop in convoy and another brand. Though a home built test of a naked amc7135 in December, using a pwm dimmer and 555 circuit, I recall doing very well on the constant lux test over 8 hour range.

I would post the graph, however, the x axis is only plotting samples, not time. I have not now the knowledge to convert the time into the x axis. (Libre office)

I wonder is some other reflector or lossless tir could be epoxied in place to seriously increase the throw and allow less drain while working. (What tool can be employed in the ring unscrew to free the glass?) This is the throwiest light in its class, but the 20 mm still falls far short of the discipline of a 35 mm smo xml headlamp.

 

[Genzod]

oops already answered this question

 

[degarb]

I owe it to Banggood to report they fixed the problem I had with their Imalent. I would not hesitate buying from them.

They are concerned for their reputation. Being a company not in control of all factors on the planet that may affect their customers, they seem to do what they can.

I am trying to leave positive feedback on the panda score for them, but getting lost in the Javascript. No luck yet.

 

[elcidroyale]

I owe it to Banggood to report they fixed the problem I had with their Imalent. I would not hesitate buying from them.

They are concerned for their reputation. Being a company not in control of all factors on the planet that may affect their customers, they seem to do what they can.

I am trying to leave positive feedback on the panda score for them, but getting lost in the Javascript. No luck yet.

Anyone else can confirm the issues have been resolved? Not sure where to buy this from as who knows which version they're selling. I'd like the most up to date "fixed" version. Don't want the hassle of shipping back and forth to China.

 

[degarb]

I got lucky with gearbest, and banggood made it right. I wouldn't hesitate ordering again from them. Probably stay away from ebay or Amazon with this one.

 

[elcidroyale]

I got lucky with gearbest, and banggood made it right. I wouldn't hesitate ordering again from them. Probably stay away from ebay or Amazon with this one.

Thanks!

 

[degarb]

I cleaned up my threads with sandpaper. Still having to hand tighten tube every day to stop flicker caused by electrical contact. Variable resitor endemically may cause flicker, since it is just a brush touching a metal ring with wedge of varying resistance. Using these, playing with dial, fixes the innate flicker. Apart from threads, I don't think the temporary flicker is a manufacturing flaw, just a feature,state of the art. Probably a real buck, since based on my lux/runtime test, it ain't cc, but clearly regulated. Then i never been impressed with the cc of amc7135,which is linear. But this is less cc, even.

I need cc for extreme detail inspection at work. Don't need cc for home and recreation. I am using these hr20 for home, recreation, and backup (forgetting to bring my home built 700ma to xpl v6 nw in a 35mm via buckpuck off 2p18650 balanced in rear. What bothers me the most about this light is the wasteful 20 mm smo. With a 26 mm and xplhi, i can work and inspect just as well at a fraction of the current. Hotspots don't need to exceed 12 degrees, 15 in theory, based on cone distribution. More, wasted precious runtime.

Maybe someday someone will redo this light with a true cc and 555 timer, and allow a 24 or 26 mm smo with ar glass to inter change the 20 mm smo. Yeah if i only camped or read with the light i would make or buy a red or clear diffuser.

I probably will never again buy a manufactured light simply because that target of 10 hours, workday, at 1k lux minimum at 2 meters, seems so hard for people to grasp. At least, ramping light levels, infinitely variable will allow me to find the correct level without idiotic 10,30,100 defaults that simply are usually too dim or too short runtime. Only the hp11 ever stumbled on a correct lux and runtime level of 4 k candela for 9 hours cc. And it came with a diffuser,which protected lens during transport. Old tech, but still using the lights, despite my 300 lumen 5400 candela 9.5 hour builds, simply because as long as most eye cones are covered with hotspot at 1000 reflected lux, this is what is important for task lighting. Reading, navigation, jogging, camping, folding clothes, flood is the ticket. Just don't like the drive level, nor led bin, choices of the hp25 from fenix.

 

[Mattole]

I recently bought two of these headlamps. First one was the "Neutral White" version and the tint was way too yellow-orangish - it was quite dramatic. I returned that one for the Cool White version and the tint is fine as far as I'm concerned. This is by no means a perfect headlamp but it seems to be the best in its class in terms of a small form factor rechargeable headlamp with useful spill and pretty good throw. I also just purchased a Fenix HP30R for more heavy duty search and rescue type stuff but for everyday around the ranch work, this Imalent HR20 is pretty good...

 

[elcidroyale]

I recently bought two of these headlamps. First one was the "Neutral White" version and the tint was way too yellow-orangish - it was quite dramatic. I returned that one for the Cool White version and the tint is fine as far as I'm concerned. This is by no means a perfect headlamp but it seems to be the best in its class in terms of a small form factor rechargeable headlamp with useful spill and pretty good throw. I also just purchased a Fenix HP30R for more heavy duty search and rescue type stuff but for everyday around the ranch work, this Imalent HR20 is pretty good...

I agree too yellow for neutral white. Is the cool white closer to true neutral or actual cool white?

 

[degarb]

I agree too yellow for neutral white. Is the cool white closer to true neutral or actual cool white?

My cool white is not bad at all. Not blue or purple. Reds look fine (unlike older leds, 2012 and before), until done head to head with the 219 and the xpl 4300K. Very good at baby blue. I like the cool because it wakes me up (cool works way better than 4000k), using it to load and get out door in morning, and seems noticeably more efficient than the warm (stays brighter longer). The tint beats my xml u2 on older lights.

The 4300K seems much more noticeably efficient than my Nichia 219 (ajax?). Probably because the xpl has double the surface brightness, but in the 20 mm smo, still over 15 deg on center hotspot which covers all the eye cone sharp vision. Both the xpl 4300 and the 219 butcher baby blue, but the nichia does much better. (All my upstairs are different shades of babe blue, as well as back door, while my down stairs is reds, purples, yellows and greens). Deep red is rendered much better by the Nichia. But outside, looking at trees and bark, the HR20 4300K wins hands down at any distance greater than 6 foot/2 meters, since color perception is CRI + GAI + Luminance (per studies, confirmed by my thousands of jobsite tests over last 27 years by me). Though truth be told that looking at tree bark outside, there is underlying grey dirt and mold that is rendered better by the cool, at the expense of the brown and red.