Another Klarus, and this time a headlamp. This is a neat little thing, with a few battery options, and a few emitters. Read on for some testing!

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the official product page.

Versions

There is only emitter option, but two bodies. Black (seen here) and teal.

Price and Coupon

MSRP on these is $49.95, and they’re available on amazon! (Referral link.)

Short Review

I’m pleased with this headlamp, and it does work well. It meets or beats specs, has some battery options, and can even be run off a powerbank!

Long Review

The Big Table

* Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).

What’s Included

Klarus HR1 Headlamp

Klarus PP20 lipo battery

Charge cable (USB to USB-C)

Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

I’m really quite impressed about this light… for a “plastic body headlamp” in the… can we say “hiking” style? it’s very well built. Sturdy, even.

The band is nice, the cables are nice, …. everything’s just nice about this build.

Here on the back of the light itself, you can see a bit of metal peeking through. Good for spreading the heat! Also see how the light body (very thin!) tilts downward for easy adjustment and beam location.

Size and Comps

• Dimensions: 65.6mm(2.58”) × 30.2mm(1.19”) × 18.2mm(0.72”)

• Weight: 46g (1.62oz) (w/o battery)

Retention and Carry

This is a 100% dedicated headlamp, and no option for removal. In fact the light is unusually cabled to the battery on the back – the cable is sewn into the headband to connect to the battery on the back.

The headband is very nice, too. Soft and comfortable, with a soft patch on the back.

That said, it can wear a bit funny depending on your head shape, with the PP20 battery. It sits off the back of the head a little, because it’s just a rectangle – not contoured.

It’s adjustable. At the largest, it’ll be big enough for the biggest heads out there, but just.

Power and Runtime

Power for my HR1 is from the PP20, which is an option – and included at the $49.95 price on amazon.

This power pack has a button – more on that part later.

It’s also very slim.

This is a 2000mAh LiPo.

There are two ports on this battery. One is USB-C in, for charging, and one is USB-C out. That the battery has both sex USB-C connectors makes it interesting – the light part plugs into the male port on the battery. Conversely, the light’s port is a female USB-C, and that means it can be powered from a USB-C powerbank. Unfortunately the female port on the battery can’t be used as a powerbank.

Here are a couple of runtimes. Interestingly the High with both emitters is the same as the high on the spot (main) emitter.

And below is why this review is coming at [late:30] instead of the more common Wednesday time; this runtime was just a massive file and my Excel absolutely hated it. I finally just took a screenshot. Hope it’s still useful. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The light does have a hard shutoff after some stepdowns.

The PP20 has a USB-C port for charging, with a press in cover. The cover is very stable.

An appropriate cable is included. I did not find the PP20 to charge with USB-C to USB-C.

Charging goes along at a respectable ~1A. While charging, the switch on the PP20 is red, and when charging is complete, the switch turns green. It’s a very well lit, even surround, too. The switch also indicates power at turn on, for 5 seconds, as follows:

Green: 70%-100%

Orange: 30%-70%

Red: 10%-30%

Red Flashing: <10%





Modes and Currents

The manual really only makes claims for output when both emitters are on. Amps are measured from when the light is being used as a powerbank, but at the least will give some idea.

Mode Mode Claimed Output (lm) Claimed Runtime Measured Lumens Tailcap Amps High – Both 600 4h 656 1.01 Medium – Both 150 12h 156 0.23 Low – Both 30 32h 31 0.05 High – Spotlight – – 546 0.99 Medium – Spotlight – – 140 0.23 Low – Spotlight – – 31 0.05 High – Floodlight – – 460 1.01 Medium – Floodlight – – 140 0.23 Low – Floodlight – – 31 0.05 Red 5 43h – 0.04

PWM

Spotlight:

Floodlight:

Red emitter:

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. And here’s the worst PWM light I have ever owned. Also one of the very first lights I ordered directly from China!

User Interface and Operation

There are a couple of e-switches on the light body. When wearing the light, the switches are on top. The bigger (“Main”) switch is then on the right, and the smaller (“Side”) is on the left.

Here’s a UI table!

State Action Result Off Click Main Switch (MS) On (Mode Memory) Off Hold MS Low On Hold MS Off On Click MS Mode advance* Off Click Side Switch (SS) No action On Click SS Emitter change (Flood>Spot>Both) Any Hold SS Red steady Red Click SS Previous mode (even if that was “off”) Off Double Click SS SOS SOS Double Click SS Beacon Off Hold Both Lockout** Lockout Click either 3x Unlock

* Click within 5s from turn on, modes advance as H>M>L. After 5s of being on, modes advance as H>M only.

** When locked out, clicking either button activates Red on very low 3x.

It’s possible I missed something here…. the UI is quite comprehensive.

LED and Beam

Both white emitters are are Cree XP-G2. One’s Neutral White (the larger TIR Spot light) and the other’s a Warm White flood TIR output. There’s also a small, all flood red emitter.

These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.

Both emitters:

Spot emitter:

Flood emitter:

Red emitter:

Tint vs BLF-348 (Killzone 219b version)

Test light is on the left.

Both, spot, flood, then red.

I compare everything to the Killzone 219b BLF-348, because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Conclusion

What I like

Use of USB-C

Meets specs

Mix of emitters having the same output is a weird choice

Dual Switch UI is convenient

Battery options (including AAA!)

Can run off a powerbank

Reasonable tilt adjustment on light body

No flappy bits, so good for running

What I don’t like

Powerbank on the PP20 would be great!

Notes

This light was provided by Klarus for review. I was not paid to write this review.

This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!

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