Nitecore HC68 Headlamp Review

Here’s a review of the new HC68 headlamp by Nitecore. This dual-emitter headlamp with red secondary boasts USB-C charging. Read on for more!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Nitecore HC68 headlamp product page.

Versions

I believe there’s just one version of the Nitecore HC68 headlamp.

Price

These are listed for $99.95 currently but also appear to be backordered.

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Short Review

There are many things to like about the Nitecore HC68 headlamp.  The output is great (and it seems to hit the claimed specifications, too).  USB-C charging works quite well. The red secondary is good too.  All in all, it’s a good package.  At $100, it might be priced a bit high, but it’s a feature-rich package for sure.

Long Review

The Big Table

Nitecore HC68 Headlamp
Emitter:	Luminus SST-40-W (Both)
Price in USD at publication time:	$99.95
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime Graph
LVP?	?
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	0.02
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	2000
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1987 (99.4% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	3.7
Claimed Throw (m)	202
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	392lux @ 4.79m = 8994cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	189.7 (93.9% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	–
Measured CCT Range (K)	6000 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	NitecoreStore.com
All my Nitecore reviews!

 

Nitecore HC68 Headlamp
Emitter:	Luminus SST-40-W (Spot )
Price in USD at publication time:	$99.95
Cell:	1×18650
Higher  Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	?
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	0.02
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	1800
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1785 (99.2% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	9
Claimed Throw (m)	202
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	868lux @ 3.76m = 12271cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	221.6 (109.7% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	–
Measured CCT Range (K)	5300-5500 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	NitecoreStore.com
All my Nitecore reviews!

Nitecore HC68 Headlamp
Emitter:	Luminus SST-40-W (Flood)
Price in USD at publication time:	$99.95
Cell:	1×18650
Higher Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	?
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	0.02
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	1400
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1341 (95.8% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	1.7
Claimed Throw (m)	77
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	200lux @ 3.235m = 2093cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	91.5 (118.8% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	–
Measured CCT Range (K)	5700-6500 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	NitecoreStore.com
All my Nitecore reviews!

^ 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

• Nitecore HC68 Headlamp
• Headband
• Nitecore 3500mAh 18650
• Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Manual and papers

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

Inside the Nitecore HC68 headlamp you can see that the positive contact is just a little button. The tail cap though (the removable one, which isn’t the switch tailcap) has a nice beefy spring.

Only one tailcap is removable – you’ll see why in later photos. These threads are fairly fine and quite long (it takes a lot of twisting to remove this tailcap), but because they’re anodized (and lubed), they’re very smooth.

Size and Comps

Length 91.5 mm / 3.60 in
Head Size 26.5 mm / 1.04 in
Weight 118.5 g / 4.18 oz

If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo).  If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+.  Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple.  A very nice 18650 light.

And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light.  I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.

Retention and Carry

This is only a headlamp; you’ll almost certainly never carry it any other way. As such, it ships with the headband seen below.  This headband has an around and over the head part, too.

On the inside is a silicone strip that will aid in keeping the Nitecore HC68 headlamp in place on your head.

Here’s the back of the light attachment part.  This part will not contact your head; the headband will be between.  Also, note that it’s easy to remove the headband because of those slits in the plastic seen below.

Power and Runtime

The Nitecore HC68 headlamp is powered by a single lithium-ion battery. In this case, an 18650 fits, and the package from nitecorestore.com includes this 3500mAh 18650 seen below.

Install the cell with the button to the inside of the light. (This is the typical orientation for flashlight cells.)

Nitecore is using a standard 18650 in this headlamp. That’s great!

Here are a number of runtime graphs.  Turbo, which is both emitters and then 3 or so from each (white) emitter individually. Turbo actually automatically switches to a very low output after a minute or so.  In this case (the very first runtime below), I just sat with the light and kept turning on Turbo over and over.  As far as I know, there is no way to make the light stay on Turbo continually, which is a little annoying. But for brief bursts, this is fine. Also, I can say that the temperature log on this light was… complicated. I could find no good purchase for my sensor, and thus while I know for certain that this Turbo runtime got “quite hot,” the temperature seen in the graph does not reflect that. Resetting to turbo over and over like this does make the light very hot!

Nitecore also reports that 2xCR123 will also work in the light.

Charging

Nitecore is using a USB-C charging port for the Nitecore HC68 headlamp. The port is exceptionally well protected, being hidden under “the other” tailcap.  That is, it’s on the end where the tailcap does not come off fully. This is the same end that has the on/off e-switch, too.

Just like the tailcap that does come off, the threads here are anodized, fine, very long, and smooth.  This setup should mean that the USB-C port is very well protected from elements.

Just a quick sidenote on how the switch looks when the charging port is “open.”  The switch is accessible (you can see it below, barely).

A charging cable is included: USB to USB-C.

Charging from C to C works just fine – the charge profile is practically the same between A to C and C to C. Despite charging to “only” around 4.15V-4.17V, the cell is “full.”

Modes and Currents

Both white emitters:

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	2000	–	1987	6.35

Spot light:

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Higher	1800	30m	1785	6.25
High	950	2h30m	1026	2.37
Mid	250	6h	271	0.48
Low	50	28h	55	0.09
Ultralow	1	800h	0.9	6.82mA

Flood light:

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Higher	1400	30m	1341	6.20
High	850	2h30m	756	2.34
Mid	220	6h	205	0.47
Low	45	28h	40	0.09
Ultralow	1	800h	0.7	6.75mA

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
High	11	30h	–	130mA
Low	3	110h	–	30mA

Pulse Width Modulation

There’s really no PWM on any mode.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor.  Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find.  I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light.  Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms.  5ms.  2ms.  1ms.  0.5ms.  0.2ms.  In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line.  I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.

User Interface and Operation

First, there’s a “tailswitch” on the headlamp. Since it’s a headlamp, it’s not really on the “tail” but let’s call it that.

There are also two e-switches on the top of the Nitecore HC68 headlamp.

When worn in the normal way on a headband – that is with these plus/minus e-switches on the TOP, the “tail” switch is on the right-hand side of the light. Below, you can identify it by the USB charging icon on the left.

Here’s a UI table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click either Top Switch	Battery Check^
Off	Hold either Top Switch	No action
Off	Hold Tail Switch	Turbo
On	Click Tail Switch	Off
Off	Click Tail Switch	On – Mode Memory
On	Click Plus Top Switch	Increase output of selected emitter
On	Click Minus Top Switch	Decrease output of selected emitter
Ultralow	Hold Top Switch over respective emitter	No change
Ultralow	Hold Top Switch farthest from respective emitter^^	Switch to another emitter
Off	Hold Plus Switch and click Tail Switch	“Higher” of whatever emitter is selected (in memory)
Off	Hold Minus Switch and click Tail Switch	“Ultralow” of whatever emitter is selected (in memory)
Off	Double click Tail Switch	Red Low
Special Group	Click Plus Top Switch	Special mode advance, as follows: Red Low > Red High > Red Flashing > Beacon (white) > SOS (white)
Special Group	Click Minus Top Switch	“Decrease” special group (reverse order from the above list)
On (except Ultralow)	Hold Top Switch farthest from the emitter that’s on	Emitter turns on and ramps up. Release at the desired level.^^^

^ Battery check blinks the voltage exactly, in ones and tenths. For example, 4.2V is four blinks (of the blue emitters between the top switches) then a pause then two blinks. If using two CR123 cells, the blinks indicate >50%, <50%, or <10% by three, two, or one blinks, respectively.
^^ Specifically, the Minus button switches to Flood, and the Plus button switches to Spot.
^^^ I am not sure what’s the point of this exactly, but trust me that it’ll be confusing at first. Just remember that to switch between emitters, the light must be in an Ultralow state. Otherwise, the “switching” action won’t switch, it’ll combine. Past that, changing the modes is a bit nebulous… The emitters do not initially seem to be matched in output, but if you go up and back down, they’ll both definitely be in ultralow (otherwise it’s really too bright to tell what’s what just by looking into the light.) Interestingly this actually seems to be the only way to get to “ultra-ultralow” (or “ultralow of both emitters at the same time”).  The output is not documented in the manual, either. (I am not a fan of undocumented features!)

LED and Beam

Both white emitters are Luminus SST-40-W emitters. I don’t think Nitecore specifies what the CCT is.

Those white squares in the middle are the red emitters.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

These Luminus SST-40-W emitters are interestingly different in CCT by my measurements. The flood emitter is much cooler, particularly at higher output. The CRI for both is also low, at under 70.

Flood:

Spot:

 

Turbo, then the two modes of red:

Beamshots

These beamshots are always with the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.

Flood:

Spot:

Turbo, then the two modes of red:

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.

Flood:

Spot:

Turbo, then the two modes of red:

I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Conclusion

What I like

• USB-C charging works very well
• Complete package
• Red emitter modes
• Meets output specifications
• Comfortable
• The difference between spot and flood is remarkably different
• Switches are very responsive

What I don’t like

• The cost is a bit high
• Mixed emitter ramping doesn’t seem adequately explained in the manual
• This ramping is only available when one emitter is steady and one is increasing or decreasing
• Very long threads, so unscrewing the tailcap or revealing the charging port takes a lot of twisting.

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Notes

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