A look to the Olight H1R NW and Cw versions

I reeived the Olight H1R Nova from Olightstore.com
The H1R is available in NW and CW version. I got both.

Olight Specs for the H1R

The H1R Nova is the brighter and rechargeable version of the popular H1 Nova. Using a highly efficient CREE XM-L2 LED and TIR bead lens, the brightness covers a range of 2~600 lumens. Featuring a magnetic charging port, the light can be charged on the go with the included RCR123A battery and custom magnetic USB cable. With the included pocket clip and head strap, the rechargeable H1R Nova can be used as a standard pocket light or headlamp making this one of the most practical and useful flashlights in the illumination industry.

FLASHLIGHT FEATURES:
Rechargeable through the USB port on the magnetic tailcap
Powered by a customized 650mAh rechargeable RCR123A battery with a maximum output up to 600 lumens
Olight USB magnetic charging cable included (compatible with S1R/S2R/S10RIII/S30RIII)
Compact and handy with multiple use options: headlamp, pocket light, clip to a bag, etc.
Utilizes CREE XM-L2 LED (NW/CW) paired with bead TIR optic lens, giving a perfect close-range illumination experience
Gradual brightness changes. When turned on/off on medium, high and turbo modes, it will light up or fade gradually to protect eyes from the stimulation caused by sudden brightness changes
180 degrees smooth vertical rotation for the light on the silicone mount
SOS mode available for emergency uses

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES:
Head Strap with Silicone Mount
Customized 3.7V 650mAh RCR123A
Stainless Steel Pocket Clip
Magnetic Charging Cable
Pouch

Click to expand...

The H1R is Olight's upgraded version of their H1 Nova. The H1R now fratures a magnetic tailcap with rechargeable battery (while the H1 came with not rechargeable CR123A cell). The battery, the base and the magnetic tailcap are standard from Olight.
UI, Optic Output and runtime are the same of the Regular H1, so I can borrow my own pics.

The H1R comes in this box.










With the H1R you get: RCR battery, manual, charger, pouch, lanyard.




The H1R mantains a very compact size. The bigger magnetic tailcap allowing charge makes the light 3 mm longer than the H1.



The TIR optic


The clip is already mounted. It allows a deep carry.


There is a quality RCR IMR protected 16340 with 650mAh in each light.



The silicone hlder indicates how correctly insert the light into it.



NW and CW side by side



Standard magnetic charging base from Olight




UI
Standard Olight interface:
The light turns on and off with a single click.
From off, keep pressed the switch to turn the light on at moonlight
When the light is on keep pressed the switch to circle between low, mid and high mode.
The light has memory mode except for turbo (comes back on high).
Double click for turbo mode
Triple click for SOS.
Lockout mode: keep pressed the switch for more than 2seconds when the light is off. Re-do for unlocking the light.

The provided proprietary RCR battery is an IMR, that is able to give high discharge performances without the risk of being over discharged since it is protected. This cell will work in other lights, because the only proprietary feature is its charging aspect: while the cell can be charged in any charger, the charging feature of the light works only with the proprietary cell. The light can function with any other CR or RCR cell, as long as they are button top, but can't recharge them.
To charge the battery just connect the magnetic base to the tailcap. During the charging process the light in base will be red, and green when the charging is done.



Beamshot at 0.5 meters from the wall



I red that someone complained about the tint of NW lights from Olight being too similar to the CW. You can see that there's a significant difference between the 2 tints.

Beamshot borrowed from the H1
The TIR optic give you a defined spot that disappears gradually as the distance increased, but the spill is wide enough to arrive almost at your feet. This is very good. I don't want a light that will light 100 meters from me, but will make me stumble on a rock or in a hole because it starts to light 2 meters from me on.



Other Beamshots






I red that someone complained about the tint of NW lights from Olight being too similar to the CW. You can see that there's a significant difference between the 2 tints.


Output and runtime
In the H1R emitter and driver are the same of the H1, so I borrow the data of the H1. For the H1R NW expect a 5-10% less output for each level.
Keep in mind that the Olight H1R comes with a 650mAh cell, while I did the tests of the H1 with a 550 mAh cell. So the runtime should be around 18% longer.






My thoughts
Fit and finishes are good as you would expect from Olight.
Finally Olight has made the rechargeable version of the H1, making the light way more convenient to use, since the recharging process is easier, and I am more than happy to accept a 3 mm increase in length. I surely recommend protected batteries because unprotected batteries will be discharged. You don't have to worry about this if you are running your H1R with the provided cell, since it is protected.
The UI is fine for me: I like access to lowest, highest and last used mode. I would have preferred to have strobe instead of SOS mode. I'd like an additional level, lower than moonlight.
Output and runtime are limited due to size and battery capacity, but this has to be expected since this is a small and lightweight lamp.
The magnet in the tailcap, present also in the H1, increases the possible uses of this light, since it can be attached to metallic surface providing a flood beam, useful for close distances applications.
I like that the H1R comes in two tint versions: CW and NW. I red that someone complained about the tint of NW lights from Olight being too similar to the CW. You can see above that there's a significant difference between the 2 tints. I'm very picky myself when it comes to flashlights tint, and I'm happy with the NW of my H1R NW.
I used the H1 for running and hiking and it has a great beam, wider than any of my headlamp, and I'm more than happy to replace my H1 CW with my H1R NW for my running and hiking needs.

Thanks to: AntoLed for the camera and the luxmeter.

nice light and review....shame it steps down so quick, and so much

I wish that I had known that they were going to be coming out with a rechargeable model before I purchased the regular model for my son.

Now I just hope that they will sell an upgrade path, i.e. a tailcap, charging base, and rechargeable cell all as one unit. I'd buy that.

ETA: I should have also said: Excellent review, Budda! I am very grateful to you for the time you are putting into your testing, photographing, and writing. It is a real service to the community.

Good review. Thanks Budda! There is a upgrade path for H1:twothumbs, there is a charging kit for H1 which was mentioned in Olight official facebook page.

Give me the link to the product and I'll update both this thread and the teview of the H1.

H1: http://www.olightstore.com/led-flashlights/headlamps/olight-h1-nova
H1R: http://www.olightstore.com/led-flashlights/all-flashlights/olight-h1r-nova

There is no link to the upgrade kit, because I don't think it is on sale yet.

But Toby is right that the Facebook page says it will be coming out. Someone in a comment on the Olight Facebook page says:

"[FONT=&quot]Would be nice to be able to buy the new tail cap to convert my 1 month old H1 to an H1r...[/FONT]"

And Olight World replies:
"[FONT=&quot]coming out with it. No worries.[/FONT]"

So that's good news!

I just received my H1 three weeks ago. A conversion kit would be great.
Hopefully, it won't cost too much.

Thank you budda for your time and review.

My H1 NW is less than 2 months new .
So, for this H1R, I should be buying the CW variant.

Now, i begin to wonder, when will Olight bring us the H1 in Ti / copper edition .
Another wonder, when would Olight be releasing (if they ever do so) the S1A-R ?
Another another wonder, when would Olight be releasing the S1A in Ti ?
(Olight is good at making us spend more money on their lovely products, aren't they)

Thanks again.

Great review Budda! Thank you for your great effort.

Yeah, their neutral-white is basically cool-white.
That cool-white is basically blue.

I strongly disagree

Thanks for the great review.

Just to clarify, low mode is always directly accessible with a long press, regardless of which mode is memorized?

I always want direct access to low mode, regardless of which mode was last used before being switched off.

Thanks.

What is the CRI for the neutral white?

Budda-

Wonderful write up, and review. I have had interest in this light for some time now, But after reading your review, Has made me decide to get one.
I really like the utility that this light offers, with the magnetic tail, pocket clip, and head strap.

Great work, and thanks for your time and effort you put into this.

Nick

LightObsession said:

What is the CRI for the neutral white?

Click to expand...

Maukka's sample tested at 73 CRI with -8 R9 at a fairly cool 5018K.

A warning to anyone considering the "R" version of this light: This light uses a 750mAh charge rate which is much higher then the recommended, and often max, charge rates for most 16340/RCR123's. Expect poor cell life at this charge rate and be careful to read your cells recommended and max charge rates before charging them in this light for safety. Personally, I would would go with the H1 Nova without the built in charger for this reason.

Tachead said:

A warning to anyone considering the "R" version of this light: This light uses a 750mAh charge rate which is much higher then the recommended, and often max, charge rates for most 16340/RCR123's. Expect poor cell life at this charge rate and be careful to read your cells recommended and max charge rates before charging them in this light for safety. Personally, I would would go with the H1 Nova without the built in charger for this reason.

Click to expand...

so they put in a charging system too hot, and fast for the battery they supplied for their own light ?
and put a small bomb to market for all to have?
is that what im hearing here ?
since when did 3/4 amp become too fast?
i just checked, most if not all of these batteries are 1c charge rate...
alot of them are 1.5 amp charge rate
where did you get that bs info from?

hahoo said:

so they put in a charging system too hot, and fast for the battery they supplied for their own light ?
and put a small bomb to market for all to have?
is that what im hearing here ?
since when did 3/4 amp become too fast?
i just checked, most if not all of these batteries are 1c charge rate...
alot of them are 1.5 amp charge rate
where did you get that bs info from?

Click to expand...

I am guessing they used this charging system to save production and R&D costs by using the same charger for several different models. Olight is not concerned about how long your batteries last because they sell them and make a profit from selling new ones.

Now you're just being silly. I said nothing about the light being a bomb. But, charging batteries above the manufactures recommendations can be dangerous and is not a good idea. Not to mention, charging cells at high rates can greatly shorten their service life.

The common charge rate for 16340/RCR123's is 250-350mA. Some charge at 500mA if they are in a rush or if that is the lowest setting their charger has. 750mA is a very high charge rate for these cells and is higher then many of their manufacturers ratings.

Most 16340/RCR123's listed capacity is 550-700mAh but, their actual capacity can be lower then the label. Even if you go by the listed capacity, 1C on a 700mAh cell is still only 700mA and that 1C rating is likely the maximum charge rating. Charging a cell at the maximum charge rating is hard on it and will usually greatly reduce its service life. As a comparison, charging a 3500mAh Sanyo NCR18650GA at it's maximum charge rating would mean charging it at 3.35 amps. Almost nobody does that. Most people charge their 18650's at 1 amp, some at 2 amps if they need it fast.

Common Protected 16340/RCR123's Manufacturers Recommended(Rec) and Max(Max) Charge Rates

Nitecore NL166 650mAh - 300mAh(Rec)/650mAh(Max)

Olight ORB-163P06 650mAh- 325mAH(Rec)/650mAh(Max)

Fenix ARB-L16 700mAh - 350mAh(Rec)/700mAh(Max)

Tenergy 3V 600mAh - 0.2C/120mAh(Rec)

These are just a few common cells. Some unprotected IMR chemistry cells allow for a higher maximum charge rates but, the recommend charge rates are often still under 750mAh. Using unprotected cells in this light might not be the greatest idea for your average user however because it doesn't have a low voltage cutoff.

I personally think that Olight's chosen rate of 750mA for this light is ridiculous and that they should have designed a new charging system at a more conservative rate instead of just using what they already had. YMMV of course.