Preface
The Olight Array is the next generation version of the Olight HS2 model.
This headlamp is specially designed for outdoor activities such as running, hiking and etc.
Let’s check out the merits and demerits of this new generation Olight Array model.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- The separate electronic switch requires a fairly firm and deliberate press to activate and helps in preventing any unwanted activation of the light.
- It comes with a Clamping Ring to help ensure that the Battery Pack stays connected to the switch via the Connector.
- A nice Carry Case is included for transporting the headlamp.
- The provided Cable Clips help ensure the cables stay attached to the headband and prevent them from flopping around when engaging in more vigorous activities.
- Headband provided is of good quality and should withstand day-to-day abuse without issue.
- The provided proprietary 18650 battery (Olight ORB-186C35) will work in other flashlights but Olight advises that it should only be recharged inside this flashlight (do not use other external chargers to recharge).
Notes:
- Remove the Yellow Tag (Connection Instructions).
- Before using the headlamp for the first time, attach the Battery Pack to the Switch using the Connector. Use the Clamping Ring to secure the Connector.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Top:
Bottom:
Box Contents:
Remove the Yellow Tag (Connection Instructions):
Attach the Battery Pack to the Switch using the Connector:
Use the Clamping Ring to secure the Connector:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Aluminium and Polymer
- Main LED: 2 x Cree XP-G2 CW (Cool White)
- Taillight LEDs: 8 x Red LEDs
- Battery Format: Customised Li-Po 2,000mAh Proprietary Battery
- Output & Runtime (with included 2,000mAh Proprietary Battery):
- FLOOD LOW (50 lumens / 13h)
- FLOOD HIGH (200 lumens / 4h 30min)
- FLOOD SOS (200 lumens)
- MIXED LOW (100 lumens / 6h 30min)
- MIXED HIGH (400 lumens / 2h 30min)
- MIXED SOS (400 lumens)
- Note: MIXED stands for FLOOD and SPOT
- Max Beam Distance: 80m
- Beam intensity: 1,600cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-4 Standard
- Impact Resistance: 1m
- Dimension:
- Headlamp – 45mm (length) x 23mm (width) x 24mm (height)
- Battery Pack – 65.4mm (length) x 24mm (width) x 42.2mm (height)
- Weight: 124g (including batteries)
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Olight 2,000mAh Proprietary Battery Pack
- 1*Headlamp Strap
- 1*Magnetic Charging Cable
- 2*Cable Clips
- 1*Velcro
- MSRP: ~$60
UI (User Interface)
UI for this headlamp is good for Every Day Carry (EDC) as it is fairly straightforward to use.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the electronic switch on the headlamp, so no momentary activation is possible.
Normal Operation
From OFF:
- 1 Click – Last brightness level (all modes except SOS mode is memorized) is activated.
From ON (FLOOD):
- 1 Click – Light will switch OFF.
- 2 Clicks – Mode change (light cycles between FLOOD ⇔ MIXED only).
- 3 Clicks – Direct access to FLOOD SOS mode.
- HOLD – Brightness level change (light cycles through FLOOD LOW ⇔ FLOOD HIGH only).
From ON (MIXED):
- 1 Click – Light will switch OFF.
- 2 Clicks – Mode change (light cycles between FLOOD ⇔ MIXED only).
- 3 Clicks – Direct access to MIXED SOS mode.
- HOLD – Brightness level change (light cycles through MIXED LOW ⇔ MIXED HIGH only).
Notes:
- When switching ON and OFF, the headlamp will ramp to increase brightness and ramp to decrease brightness correspondingly.
- There is 1 blinky mode for this headlamp (SOS only) and no STROBE modes.
- The Taillight (8 LEDs in total) on the Battery Pack will be activated when the headlamp is switched ON. It will always light up in groups of 4 (as seen in the photo below) and move in a clockwise direction. This will remain ON for another ~15secs after the headlamp is switched OFF.
Power Indicator
There is only 1 type of Power Indicator for this headlamp.
The Battery Pack comes equipped with a rather unique Taillight.
When the headlamp is switched ON,
- The 8 Red LEDs will switch ON starting from the 12 O’Clock position and progressively move in a clockwise direction until all 8 LEDs are switched ON.
- The Red LEDs will then “bounce back” to show the current battery charge.
- 8 Red LEDs – Power is ~100%
- 4 Red LEDs – Power is ~50%
- In the photo below, 6 Red LEDs can be seen so power remaining is ~75%.
Form Factor
For headlamps that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC) and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
This entire headlamp (with Battery Pack) 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 its on your head.
The Olight-branded headband held the headlamp sturdily even when doing more vigorous activity (eg jogging/running), at no time did the headlamp feel like it was about to fall off. The battery pack at the back does help the headlamp feel more well-balanced on the head and the mounts of the headlamp did not leave any marks on one’s forehead after prolonged usage.
Note: Since the headlamp is powered (connected) by a Micro-USB, there is the option of connecting of the headlamp directly to a portable powerbank with a Micro-USB cable.
Charging Process
With the provided Magnetic Charging Cable, the battery was charging at ~0.89A.
The headlamp is capable of operating on all modes when charging (at the expense of a slower charging rate). However, it is recommended to use “FLOOD LOW” only, to ensure that the battery does get charged.
Solid RED indicator on the TAIL part of the MCC Charger depicts charging in progress.
Solid GREEN indicator on the TAIL part of the MCC Charger depicts charging has completed.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the dual LED TIR (Spot & Frosted) optics. The LEDs are fully covered under the TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optics. Hence, the beam has both “throw” and soft flood for recognizing items in the up-close to near range distance.
The above beam profile is a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting.
The FLOOD beam has a fairly wide circular hotspot with some slight corona and wide spill (most of the beam produced is focused into the hotspot). There are some beam artifacts in the beam when whitewall hunting but not visible in real world usage.
The MIXED (FLOOD & SPOT) beam has a more focused circular hotspot (contributed by the SPOT beam) with some slight corona and wide spill (most of the beam produced is focused into the hotspot). There are some beam artifacts in the beam when whitewall hunting but not visible in real world usage.
All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (FLOOD LOW: 1/2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, FLOOD HIGH: 1/5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MIXED LOW: 1/4sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and MIXED HIGH: 1/8sec, 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 headlamp from the door is 4.6m.
Control shot:
FLOOD LOW (50 lumens):
FLOOD HIGH (200 lumens):
MIXED LOW (100 lumens):
MIXED HIGH (400 lumens):
Mode (Output) Spacing
Mode spacing appears to be progressively brighter to the eye and the modes are relatively 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).
There isn’t a true MOONLIGHT mode of under 1 lumen for this headlamp for bedtime night snack runs or with night-adjusted eyes. However, as it is marketed as an outdoor activity headlamp, it is mostly understandable why Olight did not include a moonlight mode – the lowest mode is 50 lumens (FLOOD LOW mode).
Note: Avoid running the headlamp on MIXED HIGH mode (400 lumens) for a prolonged period if its is left unattended, it does get rather warm when there is no airflow.
Tint & CRI
Olight did not disclose the tint (color temperature) and/or the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the LEDs used in their headlamp. For this headlamp, a guesstimate would be in the 6500K and 70CRI ballpark.
However, there are tint shifts throughout the both beam profiles (FLOOD and MIXED). The hotspot is mostly cool white tint whilst the corona possess a slight yellowish green tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint.
This is not as noticeable in real life usage.
Waterproofness
As the headlamp is rated for IPX4 only, the headlamp was subjected to being left under room temperature running water whilst running on MIXED HIGH.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, connector or battery pack was seen.
Lockout Capability
There is no Electronic lockout but mechanical lockout is possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
Removing the Battery Pack by disconnecting the Connector will enable Mechanical LOCKOUT.
Quick Comparison to Olight HS2
| Description | Olight Array | Olight HS2 |
|---|---|---|
| Beam Profile Options | FLOOD and MIXED (FLOOD & SPOT) | FLOOD, SPOT and MIXED (FLOOD & SPOT) |
| Max Beam Intensity | 1,600cd | 1,800cd |
| Max Beam Distance | 80m | 85m |
| Mode Memory | Yes | No, always switch ON to MIXED HIGH |
| Taillight | Yes | No |
| Battery Level Indicator | Yes, 8 Red LEDs to depict battery power % | Yes, 4 Blue LEDs and beeping alert sound at ~10% battery power |
| Charging Type | USB Magnetic Charging Cable | Micro-USB |
| Clamping Ring | Yes | No |
| MSRP | ~$60 | ~$70 |
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 headlamp for our own EDC or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this headlamp, it is a YES, if the lack of a true Moonlight mode is not an issue for your usage.
The fairly straightforward UI with mode memory, the ability to have either FLOOD only or MIXED (FLOOD & SPOT) beam profile, inclusion of Clamping Ring to ensure that the Connector stays connected to the Battery Pack, innovative Taillight that doubles up as a battery Power Indicator and the option to charge the Battery Pack via Magnetic Charging Cable or connect directly to an external powerbank (via Micro-USB) are all plus points for this headlamp.
That said, we do hope that a true moonlight mode (hidden in the UI like the Olight Baton Series) could be added for future Olight headlamp models.
Side note, if the ability to have SPOT only beam profile is required, the Olight HS2 can be a good alternative as well.
Here is a bonus size comparison with some of the other similar sized headlamps we reviewed previously.
From Left to Right: Olight H16 Wave, Olight Array, Nitecore HC65 and Nitecore NU32.
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Headlamp was provided for by Olight (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.
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Olight Array
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