Klarus HR1 Headlamp Review

Another Klarus, and this time the Klarus HR1 Headlamp.  This is a neat headlamp, with a few battery options, and a few emitters.  Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Klarus HR1 Headlamp product page.

Versions

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

Price

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

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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

Klarus HR1 Headlamp
Emitter:	Cree XP-G2 White (Secondary: Cree XP-G2 Warm)
Price in USD at publication time:	$49.95
High Runtime (Both Emitters)	Medium Runtime (Both Emitters)
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (A):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Chargetime
Power while charging?	Yes, all modes.
Direct power from USB-C?	Yes, all modes.
Claimed Lumens (lm)	600
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	656 (109.3% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	3.8
Claimed Throw (m)	90
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	253lux @ 3.199m = 2589cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	101.8 (113.1% of claim)^
All my Klarus reviews!

 

Klarus HR1 Plus
Emitter:	Cree XP-G2 White (Spotlight)
Candela per Lumen	4.8
Claimed Throw (m)	90
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	226lux @ 3.266m = 2411cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	98.2 (109.1% of claim)^

 

Klarus HR1 Plus
Emitter:	Secondary: Cree XP-G2 Warm (Floodlight)
Candela per Lumen	2.6
Claimed Throw (m)	90
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	189lux @ 2.412m = 1100cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	66.3 (73.7% of claim)^

^ Measurement disclaimer:  Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

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.

Charging

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

Pulse Width Modulation

Spotlight:

Floodlight:

Red emitter:

Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.

Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.

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 user interface 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 Cree XP-G2.  One’s Neutral White (the larger TIR Spotlight) 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. These photos are taken at floor level and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.

Both emitters:

Spot emitter:

Flood emitter:

Red emitter:

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.

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!

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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!
• For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks.com!
• Use my amazon.com referral link if you’re willing to help support making more reviews like this one!
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