Re: What Wants an HL05?
So I was the lucky winner of the Fenix HL05 headlamp giveaway on this thread. I received the headlamp 3 days ago and have been quite impressed thus far. Here's a quick rundown of the light before talking about usage…..
The headlamp came via USPS in a padded envelope. Upon opening, the packaging was clean and easy to open. I knew this headlamp would be small and lightweight and it definitely is.
What was in the box:
HL05 Headlamp\
CR2032 Batteries (2)
Storage Bag
Strap/Lanyard
Extra O-ring
Users Manual.
In between both CR2032 batteries was a separator to keep the light from turning on before being ready for use. To open the back of the headlamp to remove the separator or change the batteries, all you need is quarter and turning counter clockwise will do the trick. The storage bag feels well made and has a strap to loosen and tighten as necessary. The strap/lanyard for the headlamp also has a spring loaded clip to adjust the sizing, which makes it really easy to do. The clip on the back of the light is very sturdy and feels reliable (see more on this below).
There are 4 different angles (3 clicks) that can be used with this headlamp. It gives you a 180 degree radius of light.
There are 4 settings you can use with this headlamp. There are two for the white light: one at 8 lumens and the other 3 lumens. There are also two for red lighting: one at 0.2 lumens and the other (flashing) at 0.2 lumens.
To turn this headlamp on or off, you press the center of the headlamp for roughly 0.5 seconds. To cycle through the modes, you hit the center of the headlamp until you find your desired setting.
Usage….
I have been pleasantly surprised at how well the distribution of light is from this headlamp. As you guessed, the lighting is all flood with no hot spots. There seems to be a nice wide radius of light (in white mode) around 10' out. I've used this to look for items in my car at night and for items around the house in the middle of the night (without having to turn on other lights or stepping on kids toys).
In a pitch black environment, the white modes on the HL05 are outstanding for proximity lighting! I've added some probable uses below that I feel this light would be perfect for.
The reason I was interested in this light was for its red functionality. For a walker, this light on the high setting would probably be ok to use while walking on city streets. Being a runner, it's not going to be a candidate for a main light source.
For all of my runs, I'm out the door in the early am hours. This means that (in the Midwest) for most of the year, I need a headlamp for at least a portion of most of my runs. Not only is it important for me to see where I'm going (city streets during the week) but more importantly to be seen as well.
Last winter, on top of a headlamp, I started carrying a flashlight designed for runners. The main reason was to have a light source closer to the ground to see ice, etc. That light actually has a blinking red led on the back of it and cars seemed to start going out further around from the day I started using it. I was completely sold on this feature after the first use.
I've already attached the HL05 to the back of my Fenix HL55 and will use the red blinking functionality on each of my runs starting tomorrow morning. I had a 100 mile trail race a few weeks ago so I've taken the last 2 weeks off of running to let my body recover. The HL05 would have been perfect to use during the race at the aid stations/drop bags to find what I needed and to keep from blinding volunteers. Even on the eco setting, the HL55 can still catch someone off guard when you are looking at them (inadvertently). The more distributed flood of the HL05 would have alleviated any of these issues.
With a possible 280 hours of usage while using the red blinking feature, that will get me through about a half years worth of time on the streets/trails. Also, the HL05 has an IPX-8 waterproof rating that means sweat, rain and snow aren't going to stop it from helping to keep me safe.
I was a little skeptical of this light due to the fact that I didn't know what the clip would be like. The last thing I wanted to do was put this on the back of a headlamp strap and it falls off halfway through a run. The clip is actually a metal piece built directly into the plastic housing of the headlamp. For me to say its sturdy is an understatement! It takes a little work to get this attached to an item but I'm comfortable to say that it isn't coming off unless I use force to remove it. I'm really impressed with the clip; I think Fenix nailed this feature!
Overall, I'm really impressed with the HL05! Because this will serve the purpose so well for my running kit, I'm going to order a few more so my wife, daughter and I can use them for some of the items mentioned below.
Probable uses:
Emergency light – home, glove box, purse, school backpack
Back-up light for running/hiking (put in pack)
Camping
Fishing
Reading
Attaching to dog leash/collar for walks
Safe/non blinding light for kids to play with (supervised)
Light source while cutting toddlers nails as they sleep
A huge thanks to Fenix-Store for this headlamp and opportunity!
