InspectHerGadget
Enlightened
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2014
- Messages
- 247
I'm a newbie to this forum and headlamps and I already own a Black Diamond Storm which is great but I wanted more range. My brother gave me an H5 Lenser headlamp to use and I was impressed what it could do with a modest amount of lumens. It has now been relegated I have to say. It was my first light and in retrospect, I can live without it although it is maybe a good backup headlamp.
I heavily edited this review today April 25th, as this review had errors in it and wasn't all that well written. I should proof read better before I post, my fault!
The LED Lenser H14r.2 is a revised model of the earlier H14r, which is a rechargeable focusing headlamp. It has a maximum sustained output of 850 Lumens in Boost mode, 350 Lumens in Power mode and 60 Lumens in Low mode.
First of all the controls on this headlamp are identical to those on H7r.2 and all these headlamps are part of the 2014 lineup from LED Lenser.
Focusing headlamps are popular with many people as the spread of the beam can be controlled either giving good coverage or spot beam and therefore distance, as required which is claimed as 300m and I think is reasonably accurate, it is certainly on the high side of 200m and in fact is probably 200m or more at 350 Lumens.
This headlamp comes with a pack of 2 x 18650 2200mAh Li Ion rechargeable batteries. Higher capacity ones would have been nice and can be fitted but LL are obviously conservative in this department. It is certainly enough power though for the headlamp
The battery compartment is not straightforward in its design; rather more complex I would guess than some. It allows lengthwise use of the much longer 18650 batteries and AA batteries, 4x, across. The supplied battery pack will only fit properly with compartment doors down. The doors pivot up to snuggle after-market 18650 batteries to hold them securely in place. The ability to use AA and after-market 18650 batteries is a good idea but LL recommend using an EXTERNAL charger if you are not using their battery pack. I think in fact as this is a customised battery pack with +,-,- using three contacts on one side, my guess is for safety nothing else will charge anyway.
They also claim you can use 4x CR123A batteries in addition to CRI 18650 and AA NiMh and alkaline.
The controls are dead simple, a dial on the back for dimming and a button on the front. The switches, focus and button all are very nice and tactile to use. There are three light modes:
1. Low-Power-Boost
2. Power-Low-Boost
3. Power-Strobe-Boost
The lighting modes are activated while the lamp is off by pressing the back button/dial for five seconds whereupon it flashes once to indicate mode 1, twice for mode two and three times for mode 3. I use it only in mode 1.
It also has a more complex 7 presses followed by a hold to put it in either constant current mode or energy saving mode. Default is energy saving mode. Honestly I don't care. It works fine in the default mode.
Once in a mode you turn it on in the appropriate Beam for that mode then to go to the next beam level you need to press it once within a second. If you are say in Low and don't do this then you need to turn the lamp off then on again and click within the second. Boost is always available in any beam which is good and is activated by pressing and holding for 2 seconds.
One thing I did notice is it runs only 30 seconds in Boost. I was a bit disappointed but really the way I use it for briefly spotting on high mode, it doesn't matter but it needs to be stated and I really don't see why it can't run longer in boost. The lamp runs very cool by the way so it isn't stressed and the lamp assembly is made of aluminium and would have good heat dissipation properties I would think.
The dial on the back of the headlamp also has a red LED which can be pressed once to glow, twice within a second to blink which is handy. Anytime you turn the headlamp off it will be set to off and when switched on you will have to press it again to set it.
I should also mention that this has a USB cable for recharging so it can be charged from a laptop if you don't have a socket handy for the charger. The rear LED glows red while charging and green once charged.
It is also worth noting that when you turn it on it glows green for a few seconds to indicate > 50% charged, yellow for > 25% and < 50% charge and red for < 25% charge.
It also has a transport lock where, with the headlamp off, you press the front button and hold for five seconds until the headlamp goes off. You then need to press and hold the front button for 5 seconds to turn it on again.
The headlamp is very comfortable and once adjusted correctly is barely noticeable on the head. I also found the straps easy to adjust by feel. All the switchgear appears top notch and the headlamp assembly itself can pivot smoothly through 90 degrees and is made of aluminum. The level of quality and workmanship is very high.
The controls are VERY EASY to use and very well thought out. Whether using the rear mounted dimmer, using the push pull lens to focus or cycling through the modes quickly using the front mounted, on/off switch, it all worked well.
The ability to focus from wide to spot is useful and the beam is fine for walking even on the low 60 Lumen setting. I have it set to fairly wide and honestly the spot beam even on 60 Lumen is very good and gives good distance, at least 70m I would guess.
The 350 Lumen Power setting gives great light if you simply wish to have more light around you and obviously give great range on spot. The Power mode 350 Lumens is impressive and it can be nice sometimes to use this even when walking although 60 Lumens is enough and you can dim it using the dial on the back down to 60 lumens, if you wish, if you want to stay in power mode. The Low mode 60 Lumens can be dimmed further also for further power savings or to preserve night vision.
The 850 Lumen boost setting is something you would probably only use for spot work and I can vouch for it giving GOOD light at 200m away, maybe more although they claim 300m. It is impressive.
The focusing lens is very good but not perfect, over most of the range it give precision focus but at some points you get an outer ring which is more distracting than having any real downside but in use it can be avoided if it bothers you. The wider-angle settings show perfect focus and the focus is excellent also on spot beam. The movement of the lens is smooth and nice to use. The focussing lens means it is only IPX4 weather resistant which means it has to work after being splashed with water from all angles.
The battery life I haven't tested but certainly two hours on high is easy to do. I have noticed it takes quite some time to recharge, courtesy of the 18650 batteries.
The best thing about this lamp is ease of use, they really have thought of everything and once understood every feature is easy to access and use.
The other thing included with this model is a long (high quality) extension cord, again a quality product to allow you to mount this on your belt, pocket or whatever. The headlamp and the battery pack both can clip to belts, shirt pockets or whatever. The headlamp and the battery pack can even clip to each other if you simply want to set this up as a standalone light.
In conclusion, this is a rugged, impeccably well-designed Swiss army knife type headlamp that does most things well and comes with a 5 year warranty (which you pay for).
I heavily edited this review today April 25th, as this review had errors in it and wasn't all that well written. I should proof read better before I post, my fault!
The LED Lenser H14r.2 is a revised model of the earlier H14r, which is a rechargeable focusing headlamp. It has a maximum sustained output of 850 Lumens in Boost mode, 350 Lumens in Power mode and 60 Lumens in Low mode.
First of all the controls on this headlamp are identical to those on H7r.2 and all these headlamps are part of the 2014 lineup from LED Lenser.
Focusing headlamps are popular with many people as the spread of the beam can be controlled either giving good coverage or spot beam and therefore distance, as required which is claimed as 300m and I think is reasonably accurate, it is certainly on the high side of 200m and in fact is probably 200m or more at 350 Lumens.
This headlamp comes with a pack of 2 x 18650 2200mAh Li Ion rechargeable batteries. Higher capacity ones would have been nice and can be fitted but LL are obviously conservative in this department. It is certainly enough power though for the headlamp
The battery compartment is not straightforward in its design; rather more complex I would guess than some. It allows lengthwise use of the much longer 18650 batteries and AA batteries, 4x, across. The supplied battery pack will only fit properly with compartment doors down. The doors pivot up to snuggle after-market 18650 batteries to hold them securely in place. The ability to use AA and after-market 18650 batteries is a good idea but LL recommend using an EXTERNAL charger if you are not using their battery pack. I think in fact as this is a customised battery pack with +,-,- using three contacts on one side, my guess is for safety nothing else will charge anyway.
They also claim you can use 4x CR123A batteries in addition to CRI 18650 and AA NiMh and alkaline.
The controls are dead simple, a dial on the back for dimming and a button on the front. The switches, focus and button all are very nice and tactile to use. There are three light modes:
1. Low-Power-Boost
2. Power-Low-Boost
3. Power-Strobe-Boost
The lighting modes are activated while the lamp is off by pressing the back button/dial for five seconds whereupon it flashes once to indicate mode 1, twice for mode two and three times for mode 3. I use it only in mode 1.
It also has a more complex 7 presses followed by a hold to put it in either constant current mode or energy saving mode. Default is energy saving mode. Honestly I don't care. It works fine in the default mode.
Once in a mode you turn it on in the appropriate Beam for that mode then to go to the next beam level you need to press it once within a second. If you are say in Low and don't do this then you need to turn the lamp off then on again and click within the second. Boost is always available in any beam which is good and is activated by pressing and holding for 2 seconds.
One thing I did notice is it runs only 30 seconds in Boost. I was a bit disappointed but really the way I use it for briefly spotting on high mode, it doesn't matter but it needs to be stated and I really don't see why it can't run longer in boost. The lamp runs very cool by the way so it isn't stressed and the lamp assembly is made of aluminium and would have good heat dissipation properties I would think.
The dial on the back of the headlamp also has a red LED which can be pressed once to glow, twice within a second to blink which is handy. Anytime you turn the headlamp off it will be set to off and when switched on you will have to press it again to set it.
I should also mention that this has a USB cable for recharging so it can be charged from a laptop if you don't have a socket handy for the charger. The rear LED glows red while charging and green once charged.
It is also worth noting that when you turn it on it glows green for a few seconds to indicate > 50% charged, yellow for > 25% and < 50% charge and red for < 25% charge.
It also has a transport lock where, with the headlamp off, you press the front button and hold for five seconds until the headlamp goes off. You then need to press and hold the front button for 5 seconds to turn it on again.
The headlamp is very comfortable and once adjusted correctly is barely noticeable on the head. I also found the straps easy to adjust by feel. All the switchgear appears top notch and the headlamp assembly itself can pivot smoothly through 90 degrees and is made of aluminum. The level of quality and workmanship is very high.
The controls are VERY EASY to use and very well thought out. Whether using the rear mounted dimmer, using the push pull lens to focus or cycling through the modes quickly using the front mounted, on/off switch, it all worked well.
The ability to focus from wide to spot is useful and the beam is fine for walking even on the low 60 Lumen setting. I have it set to fairly wide and honestly the spot beam even on 60 Lumen is very good and gives good distance, at least 70m I would guess.
The 350 Lumen Power setting gives great light if you simply wish to have more light around you and obviously give great range on spot. The Power mode 350 Lumens is impressive and it can be nice sometimes to use this even when walking although 60 Lumens is enough and you can dim it using the dial on the back down to 60 lumens, if you wish, if you want to stay in power mode. The Low mode 60 Lumens can be dimmed further also for further power savings or to preserve night vision.
The 850 Lumen boost setting is something you would probably only use for spot work and I can vouch for it giving GOOD light at 200m away, maybe more although they claim 300m. It is impressive.
The focusing lens is very good but not perfect, over most of the range it give precision focus but at some points you get an outer ring which is more distracting than having any real downside but in use it can be avoided if it bothers you. The wider-angle settings show perfect focus and the focus is excellent also on spot beam. The movement of the lens is smooth and nice to use. The focussing lens means it is only IPX4 weather resistant which means it has to work after being splashed with water from all angles.
The battery life I haven't tested but certainly two hours on high is easy to do. I have noticed it takes quite some time to recharge, courtesy of the 18650 batteries.
The best thing about this lamp is ease of use, they really have thought of everything and once understood every feature is easy to access and use.
The other thing included with this model is a long (high quality) extension cord, again a quality product to allow you to mount this on your belt, pocket or whatever. The headlamp and the battery pack both can clip to belts, shirt pockets or whatever. The headlamp and the battery pack can even clip to each other if you simply want to set this up as a standalone light.
In conclusion, this is a rugged, impeccably well-designed Swiss army knife type headlamp that does most things well and comes with a 5 year warranty (which you pay for).
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