Nextorch iStar Headlamp Review
The Nextorch iStar headlamp is a “natural light” headlamp, offering High CRI with spot, flood, and red emitters. It has USB-C charging, too! Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Nextorch iStar headlamp product page.
Versions
Looks like there is only one version of the Nextorch iStar headlamp.
Price
The going price for this multi-purpose headlamp is $45. The Nextorch iStar headlamp is available on amazon right now at $49.95 (with a 10% coupon available.) (referral link).
I also have a referral coupon for Nextorch.com that’ll give you 10% off! The code is “ZEROAIR“.
Short Review
Overall I like the design of the iStar and even the emitter choices seem fine. I do not like the user interface at all though, and improvements could easily be made there. USB-C charging is a nice touch. The price also seems a bit high.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Nextorch iStar headlamp | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Sunlike (Flood) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $45.00 |
| Cell: | Internal |
| Runtime Graph | |
| LVP? | ? |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | All modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 105 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | – |
| Candela per Lumen | 0.6 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 13 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 7lux @ 2.688m = 51cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 14.2 (109.2% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 3700 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Nextorch |
| All my Nextorch reviews! | |
| Nextorch iStar | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | – (Spot) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $45.00 |
| Cell: | Internal |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | |
| LVP? | ? |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | All modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 450 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | – |
| Candela per Lumen | 4.7 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 80 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 116lux @ 4.632m = 2489cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 99.8 (124.8% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5400-5600 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Nextorch |
| All my Nextorch 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
- Nextorch iStar headlamp
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The whole build of the Nextorch iStar headlamp is plastic. No big deal there – that means it rides nice and light on the head.
It’s also fairly unusual in design. The front has a very floody, diffuse beam.
But the front can be flipped up and expose a spotlight that turns on when the front is lifted.
Size and Comps
67mm x 39mm x 32mm and 70g.
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in 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.
Also above is 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
The Nextorch iStar can only be used as a headlamp. The band is fairly thin and attaches through the back as seen below.
It’s removable, though, so you can consider the band replaceable.
There’s a fairly broad amount of adjustment possible in the headband. Also, note that little part above – there’s a little lip that is labeled “Battery Pack Key.” However, I don’t get the impression (or see a way) that the battery pack is replaceable.
Power and Runtime
Inside the Nextorch iStar headlamp is a built-in 1100mAh “Li-ion battery.” This battery is not accessible or replaceable (as far as I can tell, despite there being a key in the headband.)
Below are two runtimes. First is the spot emitter. I only labeled this “toward the highest” output because there are no discrete modes, and the ramping from low to high doesn’t blink or anything when it reaches the extreme. So it’s really hard to test specifics, and as such, this is only a relative output test. I can not explain that blip at the end, either.
Same story for the flood output – I am only calling this “relative” output and not “Lumens.” This time though, the reason is that the output is so diffuse and not from a flat front/specific spot that I can’t get an accurate reading.
The light does not turn off when the voltage gets low, but the output does get very low.
Charging
A USB-C charging port is used for charging the Nextorch iStar headlamp.
The port has a sufficient press-in cover.
An appropriate cable is included: USB to USB-C.
Both A to C and C to C charging works. The profile is about the same and both require around 1.5 hours.
When charging, the e-switch indicates in red. After charging is complete, the switch turns blue.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotlight | [Variable] 20-450 |
21h-2h30m | – |
| Floodlight High | 105 | 2h45m | – |
| Floodlight Low | 14 | 15h | – |
| Red Light High | 14 | 15h | – |
| Red Light Flash | 14 | 25h | – |
Pulse Width Modulation
The mode order here (and below in the series photos) is two flood modes (high then low), then red, then four spot modes (sort of chosen at random, since there are no specific levels.) The same will hold true through the remaining series photos.
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’s one switch for controlling the iStar. It’s an e-switch and is on top of the light (when worn on the head properly).
Control of the Nextorch iStar headlamp depends on if the front is “open” or “closed.” Above is what I’d call closed, and is the time that the switch controls the floodlight. When open (as seen below), the spotlight will be on (necessarily) and then the switch controls the levels (but not on/off).
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | Battery check^ |
| Off | Hold | Flood light High |
| Flood light on | Click | Mode advance: Flood High, Flood Low, Red, Red flash |
| Flood light on | Hold | Off |
| Off | Flip up front for spotlight | Spotlight on (Mode memory) |
| Spotlight on | Hold | Continual ramping (up and down) of spotlight^^ |
^ Battery indicator blinks as follows:
Blue: 75-100%
Blue flashing: 50-75%
Red: 25-50%
Red flashing: 0-25%
^^ It’s not possible to release exactly where the extremes are. You need to just sort of feel for highest or lowest. In practice, though, just let it ramp til you have as much light as you need. So maybe this isn’t the worst problem.
LED and Beam
All Nextorch says about the iStar is that the flood light is a Sunlike high CRI emitter (or series of emitters, I guess.) They don’t cover the spotlight. It’s possible to open the spotlight about halfway before it comes on. But once it’s on, it must be fully closed to turn off.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
That floodlight is truly high CRI!! The rest is as you might expect. The spotlight has cool neutral to cool CCT and low CRI. But the CRI of that floodlight is astounding, at 99!! Nextorch claims an Rf of 97 – I measured 98, and an Rg of 101 – I measured 100. Both are “close enough.”
Beamshots
These beamshots always have 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.
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.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Lightweight construction
- USB-C charging works (and is quick)
- Spotlight has a good cd/lm ration
- Floodlight is very floody
- (Very truly) High CRI floodlight
- Red mode
What I don’t like
- Ramping spotlight – I need modes!!
- Battery is not replaceable
- There’s no very low red mode
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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