I was fortunate to win the Nitecore HC50 headlamp in one of Gearbest's giveaways over in the Dealers forum.
There are already excellent reviews by FlashLion, Selfbuilt and UPz, but I'd like to add my impressions of the light.
The first thing that struck me was how well made the lamp was, and also how heavy it was. Just over 180g with a button top 18650 battery (flat top cells won't work). My old Spark ST6 460NW come in 10g lighter, which surprised me - I remembered it as much lighter on my head.
The headband works very well, and is very comfortable. The over the head strap is probably very necessary to support the weight. There are no problems fitting the light into the silicon (??) holder, and it stays in place very well.
The problem reported with early models staying on with an LED glow in a very low mode after being switched off has obviously been fixed.
I found the UI a little strange (not least because the instructions came only in Chinese) but it just needs a little familiarisation with the two click system, which I grew to like. I always forget how the Spark works, especially after using a Zebralight SC600 for a while, so this isn't a problem. I won't use the blinkie modes, which for me are well hidden, and won't be accidentally activated. Unlike a few other users, I didn't have a problem switching it on or changing modes when it was on my head.
I really like the voltage indicator when a new battery is inserted (the reading was spot on), and the glowing button each time the light is switched on is also very useful.
My first thought was that maybe there could be one fewer white light modes, but they are well spaced at 1, 35, 170, 350 and 565 lumens, and I'm not sure which I would do without. The 1 lumen low is appreciated. The tint was a little on the green side against a white wall, but this wasn't a problem at all outside. The beam on full white gives an excellent flood. I was also pleasantly surprised how useful light from the red LED's was - my only other light with coloured LED's is the Jetbeam TCR 10, which is useless. This gives a reasonably good beam.
Although it tailstands very well, I can't ever see myself using this other than as a headlamp (maybe because the light is in the centre, rather than at one end).
I would say that this headlamp would work very well for bicycle riders - the weight on a helmet would be insignificant, and the various blinkies could be handy. Altogether a nice piece of work, and at $60, pretty good value (even though mine was free).:twothumbs
There are already excellent reviews by FlashLion, Selfbuilt and UPz, but I'd like to add my impressions of the light.
The first thing that struck me was how well made the lamp was, and also how heavy it was. Just over 180g with a button top 18650 battery (flat top cells won't work). My old Spark ST6 460NW come in 10g lighter, which surprised me - I remembered it as much lighter on my head.
The headband works very well, and is very comfortable. The over the head strap is probably very necessary to support the weight. There are no problems fitting the light into the silicon (??) holder, and it stays in place very well.
The problem reported with early models staying on with an LED glow in a very low mode after being switched off has obviously been fixed.
I found the UI a little strange (not least because the instructions came only in Chinese) but it just needs a little familiarisation with the two click system, which I grew to like. I always forget how the Spark works, especially after using a Zebralight SC600 for a while, so this isn't a problem. I won't use the blinkie modes, which for me are well hidden, and won't be accidentally activated. Unlike a few other users, I didn't have a problem switching it on or changing modes when it was on my head.
I really like the voltage indicator when a new battery is inserted (the reading was spot on), and the glowing button each time the light is switched on is also very useful.
My first thought was that maybe there could be one fewer white light modes, but they are well spaced at 1, 35, 170, 350 and 565 lumens, and I'm not sure which I would do without. The 1 lumen low is appreciated. The tint was a little on the green side against a white wall, but this wasn't a problem at all outside. The beam on full white gives an excellent flood. I was also pleasantly surprised how useful light from the red LED's was - my only other light with coloured LED's is the Jetbeam TCR 10, which is useless. This gives a reasonably good beam.
Although it tailstands very well, I can't ever see myself using this other than as a headlamp (maybe because the light is in the centre, rather than at one end).
I would say that this headlamp would work very well for bicycle riders - the weight on a helmet would be insignificant, and the various blinkies could be handy. Altogether a nice piece of work, and at $60, pretty good value (even though mine was free).:twothumbs
