Olight’s H1 Nova headlamp light shows how much LED technology has improved in the last decade. Powered by a CR123 battery, the H1 Nova is a small, lightweight light mounted to an adjustable elastic headband. It’s comfortable and very portable, and a great addition to a flashlight collection because of how different a headlamp is from your standard hand light.
See further down for the specs on this light.
Outdoor Beamshots and Impressions
Check out my video review at the point where I take this headlamp outside to see how it performs! Impressions below.
The Low mode might be ok for really dark indoor rooms or for reading while you’re camping, but it seemed too dim to be of much use for other outdoor tasks. However, when I switched to the Medium mode there was a nice, usable amount of outdoor light. Anything closer than 10 feet had good detail, from the ground to trees and bushes I looked at.
I didn’t expect long throw distance from such a tiny light, but up relatively close the Medium mode provided a good balance of moderate light with good battery life.
The High mode impressed me most about the H1 Nova. The usable range increased to just over 10 feet, and it filled a nice wide area in front of me in detail. Anything I looked at from trees to leaves on the ground were crisp and easy to observe. If I were going to use rechargeable CR123 batteries I’d probably use this mode most of the time outdoors.
However, in my opinion CR123 batteries are too expensive to use a battery-hungry high mode most of the time otherwise.
Specs, Other Impressions, and Special Offer
The H1 Nova’s High mode puts out 180 lumens for 3 hours, with an optional Turbo mode for 500 lumens. The Medium mode puts out a reasonable 60 lumens for 8.5 hours, which is a fine compromise. The Lower mode uses 15 lumens for 42 hours, which is nice for reading or close up tasks.
The light seems well constructed, with no battery rattle and a well-made elastic band. The tail cap is magnetic, which makes it easy to take on and off when changing the battery. The fact that it also comes with a pocket clip is nice; you can remove the light from the elastic band and clip it to a pocket instead. Because the light is at a 90 degree angle, it’d sit perfectly forward in the pocket illuminating the space in front of you.
As an addition to a flashlight collector’s lineup, this little headlamp fills a cool niche that your average pocket light can’t.
If you’re reading this before Black Friday, take advantage of a 20-30% off sale by clicking the image below. (Or visit olightstore.com directly.)
