LedlenserH14R.2 - Rechargeable Outdoor LED Head Torch, Super Bright 1000 Lumens Headlamp, Water Resistant (IPX4), Camping, Hiking Equipment, Head Torch Rechargeable, Up to 35 Hours Running Time

After recently getting more seriously into wild camping with some friends, my £5 head torch from a supermarket didn’t live very long with regular use and bad weather. I knew I wanted a CREE chip version, as I’d seen a friends CREE bike lamp and I was blown away at what a single LED from this manufacturer could do. A lot of the CREE LED versions on here however seemed to originate from China with some worrying reports of the 3.7V batteries getting very hot and/or exploding. Aside from having my head exploded (that would knock at least two stars off a review) I didn’t fancy the 4 to 6 week wait for delivery either! Priorities. That and not being able to use standard AAA batteries in a pinch…So as I always do, I started off with a £20 budget version in mind, and ended up blowing way past it for this model from a reputable EU manufacturer and UK stock. But I am so glad I did. This head torch ticks all the boxes.The next day delivery was just that. Ordered at 4pm Wednesday, and got the locker collection code for pick up 12:30pm next day.It is well made, and whilst it is plastic and not aluminium like higher price-point versions, it does not have any worrying flex or rattle. The hinged beam angle adjustment seems firm and unlikely to move when jostled about, but could have done with being a little stiffer. The focus adjustment ring is not too lose, but is not so stiff you’ll struggle to adjust it with wet gloves on. I like the rear battery pack which gives a better balance over my old front mounted version, plus the rear flashing red LED is a nice touch. The cabling from the battery pack seems of high quality and unlikely to cause me any problems.Suitably impressed with build quality, I inserted the battery pack and charged it up. I had to do this using my own HTC phone charger, as the one supplied was an EU 2 pin plug, not the 3 pin UK version. It took a little over two hours to charge (but this was not from flat), and the LED indicators in the control wheel indicate charging state. Red for charging, green for charged.I knew from my mistake with my friend’s aforementioned bike lamp not to look into a CREE lamp when turned on. Even trying this out in daylight in my front room impressed greatly. It goes incredibly bright, and has an even light spread throughout its entire focal range. At night time it’s more than you’ll ever need for seeing where you are going on foot. For close tasks you really need the lower settings or it is uncomfortably bright. Thankfully not only do you have a ‘HIGH’ and ‘LOW’ option, with each option you can tune the brightness further by adjusting the dial on the battery pack. You get a helpful blink of the beam when it reaches Max and Min values.One nice sensible touch is that the power cycles from OFF to LOW mode first by default, before going on to HIGH modes. This lets you use the night-vision-saving setting without having to ruin your night vision cycling through other brighter modes first. It also remembers which intensity setting you had LOW on previously, so if you had the setting turned way down to preserve night vision, it will still be on that setting even you if had switched to a higher mode and made adjustments. Someone at LED Lenser was thinking when they made this. It is appreciated! It is possible to swap this sequence about though if you would prefer the torch to go from OFF to FULL first. There is a decent notched feeling between dial settings, so again there is no trouble using this with wet gloves.Although I don’t see this being a problem for me, there is another feature to prevent accidental activation if it’s in a bag. With the torch off, long-press the power button for 5 seconds and it locks the torch off. It takes another 5 second long-press to release the lock. Personally I find the power button stiff enough to be unlikely to accidentally activate, but the feature is there if you want it. A long press with the torch already on activates a timed BOOST mode which maxes lumen output temporarily. I have not timed this, as personally so far HIGH mode on its own is plenty for most tasks. I suppose if you really need to find that gate across a field at night, this is the mode you want.Cleverer still, you can decide how the torch handles it power delivery. You have two options. The economy mode will let the brightness gradually decrease in line with charge from the battery pack. This will prolong the use you get out of it before it needs charging at the cost of light output towards the end of the charge. The other mode keeps brightness at whatever setting you have selected for as long as the battery can keep that up. Obviously you’ll get less notice when the battery becomes exhausted. The battery low warning is three blinks of the beam every 15 seconds.Having only used this on one outing so far, I cannot comment on battery life so I’ll update when I have to do my first charge. I will also charge it up off my portable 22400mAh battery pack from the 2.1A output to see if that helps charging times. This was another reason I chose this head torch. It is another device that can charge off micro USB. So far though, it has gone through two full nights of use which I estimate to be 12 hours with various settings (mostly LOW) and is still as good as when I started.I can’t think of a single reason not to recommend this torch. Buy with confidence.

Great peace of kit. was massively reduced in price to just under £20 which is amazing. I live in a rural location and really needed during winter months for dog walks and grtting fire wood. super bright and light weight. delivered quicker than expected also. very happy and recommended to my friends.

Great quality light, I'd recommend

My existing head torch gave me two hours usage from fully charged for trim work when painting in dim ambient light the H3.2 has a lovely wide open zoom providing even illumination with adjustable beam intensity. It outshines my powerful cycle headlight making me realise quoted lumens is not always a good guide to true performance. The power source is three AAA batteries set in a plastic case to the rear of the headband. I’ll be using it with long lasting LION batteries after the provided alkaline ones give up. The battery case is sealed with a tough rubber enclosure to keep out the rain - there’s a rotating lever to change from bright to dim lighting. The LED and lens are enclosed in a robust alloy metal casing screw mounted onto the main body of the lamp. Engineering is premium compared to low cost head torches - the zoom mechanism is sweet, precise and easy to operate whilst in use. There is a straight forward on/off button on top of the LED casing - no dodgy multitasking press sequences. Close inspection of the lens reveals its precision manufacture - a great product at competitive price point.

I had used it before, a bit pricey and be careful with the charging port, I now use one of those magnetic usb male because if you pull the cable just a bit the port loses the shape and charging becomes a nightmare. Gives a good light and last long

Great product. Great quality. Great price. High quality kit, nice touch that the batteries came with it.

This is just the mutts nuts I walk every morning down the lanes of Cornwall without any street lights and this is just like walking in daylight. The zoom facility is so easy to use and on the battery pack you also have a dimming slide so if you meet someone you want talk to you about without blinding them . Battery life isn't too bad either.

Brilliant torch… my only complaint is that it’s not compatible with any single 18650 batteries… and will only take the battery designed for it or 4 AA batteries…But if you get rechargeable AA batteries you’ll find they work great and are half the price of the batteries included.