Preface
The HR30 is the latest in Jetbeam’s headlamp series and it probably is one of the first headlamps in the market that feature USB-C charging as well and the usage of a slightly less common brand of LEDs – Luminus.
Read on to find out more about this headlamp.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- The threads and o-rings were lightly lubricated. Threads were smooth and clean (no gritty feeling).
- A reversible (can be attached to both sides of the headlamp) clip is provided to pocket carry the light.
- The clip has sufficient tension to ensure that the light will stay clipped to any material, to prevent the light from falling out.
- The magnetic tail cap (on the charging side) is able to bear the light’s weight when attached horizontally and vertically (upside down) to a flat ferrous metallic surface.
- The electronic switch has a slight tactile feel that produces an audible click upon activation.
- Anodizing of the light is uniform without any missing specs.
- Headband provided is of good quality and should withstand day-to-day abuse without issue.
- Battery compartment holds the Jetbeam non-proprietary 18650 2600mAh battery OR KeepPower 18650 3400mAh battery with sufficient room for a slightly thicker battery width. 18650 3500mAh batteries should be able to fit without issue as well.
Note: This headlamp is capable of operating with an unprotected 20700 battery. Hence, the battery tube is substantially larger than most 18650-only headlamps/flashlights. In order to prevent battery rattling from occuring, a half-sized battery sleeve is included for 18650 batteries usage – when using 20700 batteries, the battery sleeve has to be removed.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Box Contents:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Black HAIII Aluminium
- LED: Luminus SST40 N5 bin (RED LED is not mentioned)
- Battery Format: 1 x 18650 / 1 x 20700 / 2 x CR123A ONLY
- Output & Runtime (with Jetbeam 18650 3500mAh battery):
- Eco – (5 lumens – 100h)
- Low – (50 lumens – 30h)
- Mid – (150 lumens – 10h 30min)
- High – (400 lumens – 3h 48min)
- Turbo – (950 lumens / 3min) -> (450 lumens / 2 h 48min)
- RED Light – (1 lumen – 100h)
- Max Beam Distance: 120m
- Beam intensity: 3,600cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-7 Standard (1m)
- Impact Resistance: 1.5m
- Dimension: 87mm (length) x 44.5mm (body diameter) / 46mm (head diameter)
- Weight: 105g (including battery)
- Battery reverse polarity protection
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Jetbeam JL260 18650 2600mAh battery
- 1*USB-C Cable
- 1*Headband with removable top strap
- 1*Clip
- 1*Battery Sleeve
- 2*Spare O-rings
- MSRP: ~$60
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is good for Every Day Carry (EDC) as it is straightforward to use after the initial learning curve.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the electronic switch on the front of the light (next to the LEDs), so no momentary activation is possible.
From OFF:
- HOLD (~0.5 sec) – Light will switch ON to last used mode (last mode memory).
- 1 Click – Battery Capacity Indicator (LEDs will flash one of the following sequences for ~3 sec).
- White LED flashing (>70% battery capacity)
- Alternate White & RED LEDs Flashing (<30% to <70% battery capacity)
- RED LED Flashing (<30% battery capacity & LOW/MID modes can be used only)
From ON:
- 1 Click – Mode change with every 1 Click (light cycles through RED, ECO, LOW, MID, HIGH & TURBO).
- HOLD (~0.5 sec) – Light will switch OFF.
Form Factor
For flashlights that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC) and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
This light fits a medium sized hand easily. For headlamps, there isn’t many ways of holding it but rather it would be more of test of comfort whilst it’s on your head. The surprisingly unbranded headband is a nice welcome and it held the light sturdily even when doing more vigorous activity (e.g. jogging/running) – at no time did the headlamp feel like it was about to fall off. The curvature of the headlamp’s head mounts and cushion from the headband ensures that it does not leave any marks on one’s forehead after prolonged usage.
Its 160 degrees rotating mechanism is made possible by a piece of plastic (attached on the headlamp mount) holding onto the ridges on the back of the headlamp. It is rather useful and holds the headlamp at the angle needed but only time will tell how long the plastic piece will survive to bumps and drops.
While using the light without the headband, the light is able to stand perfectly on its left or right.
Note: Installing the provided Clip is not exactly an easy feat, as the 2 circular & rather rigid rubber headlamp holder are a little too small in diameter to clear the caps on the left and right of the headlamp. Hence, it requires the removal of both caps and their corresponding o-rings; before almost forcing the 2 sides of the headlamp holder over the headlamp threads. You could probably skip removing the o-rings but they might get shredded during the headlamp holder removal process.
Charging Process
With the provided USB-C Cable, the battery was charging at ~1.53A – which is close to the specification’s charging rate of 1.5A.
The light is capable of operating on ECO, LOW & MID modes even when charging (at the expense of a slower charging rate). However, it is recommended to use “ECO” only, to ensure that the battery does get charged as quickly as possible.
The blinking RED LED depicts charging in progress and solid RED LED (non-blinking) depicts charging has completed.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the fairly shallow Orange Peel Reflector. With the SST40 LED used, the beam is still somewhat “throwy” for recognising items in the near to mid-range distance.
The RED LEDs are placed behind an opaque-style lens and are useful for up-close usage only.
The above beam profiles are a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting.
The main beam has a rather distinct hotspot with some corona and a rather wide usable (almost circular) spill. It also helps that the SST40 LED is perfectly centred in this sample. There is a slight ring in the main beam when whitewall hunting but is not visible in real world usage.
The RED light’s beam profile is fairly wide and even flood-type style. There are some rings and beam artifacts when whitewall hunting.
All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (ECO: 1 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, LOW & MID: 1/3 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, HIGH: 1/5 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, TURBO: 1/5 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB & RED light: 1.3 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the light from the door is 4.6m.
Control shot:
ECO (5 lumens):
LOW (50 lumens):
MID (150 lumens):
HIGH (400 lumens):
TURBO (950 lumens):
RED Light – (1 lumen):
Mode (Output) Spacing
Mode spacing appears to be progressively brighter to the eye and the modes are well spaced enough to be able to know which mode one is currently in. With that in mind, TLR tend to view mode spacing as battery life indicators (amount of runtime left) rather than the specific output (lumens).
Despite not having an actual MOONLIGHT mode, the RED LED mode of 1 lumen is perfect for night-adjusted eyes and midnight snack runs. However, it would be nice if Jetbeam could incorporate an option to activate the RED LED directly; instead of having it part of the main modes (& having to cycle through all the modes to get to RED).
Tint & CRI
White LED (SST40)
Jetbeam did not disclose the tint (color temperature) and/or the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the main LEDs used in their light. For this light, a guesstimate would be in the 5500K and 70CRI ballpark.
There are tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is a yellowish-green tint whilst the corona possess a slight yellowish green tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint.
This is still noticeable in real life usage.
RED LED
RED LEDs are generally poor in CRI as almost everything appears in different shades of red. They are generally used when retaining night vision is required and are excellent in that respect.
There is no tint shifts in the beam profile and it has an even red tint throughout.
Waterproofness
The light was subjected to warm water submersion, followed by cold water submersion and left under room temperature running water tap whilst running on Turbo.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, switch, body or charging port was seen.
Lockout Capability
No electronic lockout but mechanical lockout is possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
A quarter turn (anti-clockwise) of the left side portion (battery cap) of the light will enable mechanical lockout.
Scale Comparison (Ruler)
Summary
To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same light for our own EDC or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this light, it is a possible YES – if tint shift of the white LED is not an issue for your usage.
The included 18650 and fast USB-C charging allow for a complete headlamp setup – although a larger capacity 18650 should have been included as the default. The UI is extremely straightforward and having the ability to quickly access RED mode and/or TURBO would have been additional nice touches as it remains something that Jetbeam could learn from its other competitors.
With regards to the SST40 LED, the LED selected tend to give the beam profile less than ideal tint shifts but a DC-film fix does work wonders.
Here is a bonus size comparison picture next to some of the other headlamps we reviewed recently.
From Left to Right – Jetbeam HR30, Nitecore HC65, Imalent HR70 and Zebralight H600w.
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Light was provided for by Jetbeam (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.
Where to Buy Links
Disclaimer: The links below do not contain any affiliate or tracking links.
Jetbeam HR30
Jetbeam Store: Click Here
Jetbeam Product Page: Click Here
Available Discount Coupon Codes
- Click HERE to view our complete list of discount Coupon Codes.