Olight has their game on lately. I’ve been a fan of the brand since purchasing my first Olight back in 2009 – since that time the company has regularly introduced modern lights, well-made, at reasonable prices.
The H1R NOVA is the latest introduction from Olight and it combines several desirable features: built-in charging of the included RCR 3.7V Olight cell; very small form factor along with a weight of less than 2 ounces (including battery); removable clip that is easy to clip to the outside of pants pockets or the bill of a cap; a head strap that turns the light into a nice headlight. All of this, and 600 lumen of very floody, white light.
Speaking of the output, here are the factory ratings for output/run time:
LIGHTING LEVELS | |
Level 1 | – 600 lumens (180lm) – 80m (3m) |
Level 2 | – 180 lumens – 100 minutes |
Level 3 – | – 60 lumens – 5h |
Level 4 – | – 15 lumens – 20h |
Level 5 – | – 2 lumens – 6 days |
Strobe – | SOS mode |
The light comes nicely packaged – typical for Olight
Included in the package are the light (with clip and battery), head strap, charging cable, cloth pouch and instruction manual:
Conversion to a headlamp is easy – just slip the light into 2 flexible rubber straps:
The light uses a beaded lens over a TIR optic to provide a very smooth, even beam. Olight claims a 72 meter distance for the beam. Maybe. At the highest setting (600 lumen) you might have some usable light out that far.
Here’s a photo using the light to illuminate a photo – you can see the smoothness of the beam.
This light uses the same charging cable with magnetic base that several other Olights use. USB port to supply power – the magnetic base literally ‘jumps’ into position on the light. The LED on the base glows red while charging and green when charging is completed.
This is a nice little light with lots of utility. It is available from multiple sources including the Olight Web Store for less than $70