Product: Olight H2R Nova Torch
Available at: Olight UK
Design: Headlamp/handheld torch
Max Output: 2300/2000 lumens
Max Throw: 153m
Weight: 109g
My Rating: 9.5 out of 10
I’m going to be taking a detailed look at the Olight H2R Nova torch/headlamp to see whether it stacks up to the seemingly glowing reviews that it gets…
Overview
The H2R Nova is available with two types of LED illumination – cool white (CW) and neutral white (NW).
It’s powered by a single 18650 battery with a maximum output of 2300 lumens (CW) and 2000 lumens (NW).
It’s described as a multi-use illumination tool that can be used as a headlamp with the included head strap that features a magnetic mount that wraps around the light for a secure and firm hold.
When detached from the mount it can also turn into a hand held light.
The H2R battery can be charged directly through the tail cap of the light using OLIGHT’s signature magnetic charging cable.
Specification
Output
Cool white will run at 2300 lumens (on turbo) for 1 minute before stepping down to 750 lumens.
Neutral white will run at 2000 lumens (on turbo) for 1 minute before stepping down to 700 lumens.
Light Source
CREE XHP50 CW
CREE XHP50 NW
Dimensions
Length: 4.33 in/110mm
Head Diameter: 0.95 in/25mm
Body Diameter:0.91 in/23.2mm
Weight (Body): 2.26 oz / 64g
Weight (Body including battery): 3.84 oz/ 109g
Weight (Body including battery and strap): 6.14 oz/ 174g
Body Material
6061-T6 aluminum alloy
Battery Source
Customized 3000mAh 18650 (included)
Waterproof Rating
IPX8 (suitable for continuous immersion in water down to a depth of 2m)
Drop rating
1.5m
Warranty
Olight’s 5 Year warranty
Standard Accessories
Head Strap and Mount
Customized 3000mAh 18650 (inside product)
Stainless Steel Pocket Clip (with product)
Magnetic Charging Cable
EVA Pad (replacement of the magnet)
Single-sided Adhesive Replacement EVA Pad
Features
The H2R Nova has a number of well-thought-out features.
Beam Quality
The performance of the light has a good balance between throw and flood, it’s easy to see what’s far off in the distance and it’s equally easy to see what’s on the path in front of you – this is due to the fact that the HR2 features a ‘TIR optic bead lens’ which produces a wide, soft and balanced beam with a smooth transition area.
CW on High Mode (600 lumens) – Distance
CW on High Mode (600 lumens) – Close Up
Charging
It’s very easy to charge – the magnet literally attracts the charging base and can easily be done one handed.
There is a charging light adjacent to the magnetic pad of the charging cable – it lights up red when charging and green when fully charged.
The H2R has a low battery warning – the light will blink once per minute when the battery is low (while the torch is on) and continuously blink twice when it is running out.
It took me 3 hours and 45 minutes to fully charge it from completely flat.
The magnetic base has exposed contacts – however it is safe and won’t short circuit, because there is an overcurrent protection in place that won’t allow this to happen.
Magnetic Base
The magnet at the charging base of the torch is very powerful and easily attaches to metal surfaces which is very useful – for example it can be attached to the inside of a car bonnet while working on the engine.
Power Button
The power button is at the top of the torch and the head has a slight angle, which makes turning it on and off very easy – even in the dark – no fiddling around as I’ve found on some other torches.
To lock the torch – hold down the power button for a few seconds, hold it down again to unlock. This is a very useful feature and prevents accidental powering on while the torch is in your bag, for example.
Modes
To go through the different modes – hold down the power button and it will cycle through them.
When cycling through the modes, it will light up or fade gradually to protect the eyes from the stimulation caused by sudden brightness changes.
The H2R will memorise the last brightness setting – this also works for High mode, but it only remembers this brightness setting for 10 minutes to avoid turning on a sudden intense light hours or days after its last use.
Double tap the power button for turbo mode. Note that the light and head of the torch get’s very hot in turbo mode and can start a fire.
Hold down the power button for one second while the torch is off to access the moonlight mode – if you keep it pressed for longer it will lock it.
There is also an SOS mode which can be triggered by triple tapping the power button
Clip
The torch has a detachable dual-sided metal clip for attachment to a rucksack or garments.
Because the torch’s light is angled at 90° to the main body, this makes the clip extra useful as the light can be switched on while the torch is attached to your belt or rucksack producing a very practical light source.
This is not possible with torches whose light is directed in the same direction as the body.
Head Mount
The head mount is very practical – the torch attaches to the mount easily with the aid of a magnet and can be secured with a silicone strap.
The clip can be left on while attaching the torch to the head mount and in fact the metal of the clip produces a stronger magnetic attachment.
However, it’s harder to secure the silicone strap while the clip is still attached and you need to apply a bit of force to stretch the strap completely around the body of the torch. If this becomes a problem for you, you can simply remove the clip before attaching it to the head mount.
Olight claims that the torch can be detached from the silicone strap single-handedly – initially I found this a bit fiddly and had to use two hands, but with practice I developed a technique and it is actually quite easy to detach it with one hand once you get the hang of it.
I found that with the strength of the magnetic attachment produced by the clip, I actually didn’t need to secure the torch with the strap unless I was running or bouncing up and down…
The other good aspect of the head mount design is that the torch can be rotated to angle the beam in different directions – from literally pointing directly up into the sky (if you’re approaching someone and you don’t want to dazzle them) to directly at your feet.
Conclusion
I found The Olight Nova HR2 to be an extremely intuitive and comfortable torch to use.
The form factor is very good, it fits in the hand and pocket very well and is not too heavy, even when wearing it as a headlamp.
It has excellent build quality – it really does look and feel like a premium product.
The torch is truly waterproof – there are no ports that need to be covered up to stop water getting in, so you can literally put it under water without having to think about it…
They are a few aspects of the torch that I felt let it down a little and I will mention them here:
The battery is a ‘customized’ 3000mAh 18650 and so not all 18650 batteries are compatible with it – this is kind of a shame, as it would have been much more useful to be able to use other 18650 batteries (of which I have a few) as backup options.
There is no storage bag provided.
But these are the only two negative points that I could find with the H2R Nova.
I have to say that overall it’s a fantastic torch that has shot it’s way to the top of my favourite list.
I’ll definitely be using it as my go-to torch on my various camping trips and other outdoor activities.
The Olight H2R Nova is available from Olight UK.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post.
If you have any questions or comments, then please leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
