Nitecore HU2000 Headlamp Review
The Nitecore HU2000 headlamp features 10 white emitters and 4 red emitters. It runs on USB-C from an external battery pack, available from Nitecore. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp product page.
Versions
There’s just one version of the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp.
Price
The Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is available now and sells for under $50. Note that the price does not include a power source, so you’ll need to get that separately. I recommend the Nitecore NB10000 Gen3!
What’s Included
- Nitecore HU2000 headlamp
- Mounting bracket parts
- Manual and papers
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Check out that array of emitters. It’s a lot – there are 10 white emitters and in the between area, there are 4 red emitters. The whole Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is plastic, and the build quality is on par with plastic headlamps. I should say at least on par – this is a nice item.
There’s a fair bit of tilt in the light portion. I’m not sure what’s the point of these back parts here (in yellow) but I guess they’re to give some space between your head and the emitters. At 2000 lumens, it can get warm.
The Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is comfortable enough, thanks to the soft band. And it’s less likely to slip, thanks to the silicone area on the bottom part.
Size and Comps
Dimensions 80.0mm x 41.9mm x 26.1mm (3.15″ x 1.65″ x 1.03″)
Weight 114 g / 4.02 oz
No comparison shots for the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp. There’s too much going on, and none of it is detachable. (None of it. I’ll probably mention that later.)
Retention and Carry
The Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is only.
There are a few additional pieces that will allow the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp to be attached in a different way. After pulling the headlamp and accordion cable off the bigger headband, these pieces (below) allow the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp to be attached as MOLLE pieces. So you can use it on a backpack, etc.
With the headband parts attached, I’d generally say the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is a bit cumbersome. But removed from all of that and with the MOLLE parts on, the HU2000 is fairly sleek. You’ll still have to have an external power source, though! But the nice thing here is that thanks to the long cord, you can have it in a backpack pocket, for example. Thus the bulk of weight is wherever you’re most comfortable with it, and not on your head or hanging from a MOLLE.
Power and Runtime
Again I’ll say that the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp does not have a built-in power source. You’ll need to bring your own. It doesn’t have to be a Nitecore power supply or power bank, though. Most any USB-C power bank will work (will work, but not necessarily will work optimally.)
I say “optimally” because you need a ≥ 20W PD protocol power bank. Or technically “power source” – it can run off USB-C power from something like the XTAR EU4, too.
There are two male USB-C connectors here. The one above is direct from the headlamp itself, and if you remove the headlamp from the band, that’s the plug you will use.
If you use the Nitecore HU2000 as a headlamp, you’ll likely use the plug below. You’ll connect the plug above to that little red COB array (which is on the back of the headband). That one (the “middle” one) connects with a sort of lock, so it’s nice and snug.
I left it all wound up for testing but there are two wound parts above – one is a Velcro wrapper to secure the USB-C plug to your power source. The other, longer, and in the background, is a sufficient length of cable to allow storage of your powerbank “elsewhere” – like in your backpack or pocket.
Nitecore did not send a power supply, but I just happened to have this power bank made by Nitecore from years earlier testing. This is a PD power source, so should represent full output testing. Regardless of runtimes with this power source, for actual output testing, I used a PD wall adapter. And in practice, the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp “requested” 12V power.
What I sort of wish about this light is that both parts (headlamp and rear lamp) had female USB-C ports. Yes, Nitecore should still provide the cables as they already do, but if the parts had female cables, you would be able to sleek-up the whole package in a way that suits your exact needs.
Runtimes on this old many-cycle power bank might be useless (for duration purposes) but at least you can see the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp output profile. I tested only the highest level.
One more interesting thing about power – when you have the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp turned on and remove your power supply, the light will stay on for a little while. There’s a built-in 40mAh battery that claims to allow 30 minutes in Emergency mode.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens with PD Supply ≥ 20W | Amps with PD Supply ≥ 20W (measured in series) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | PD Supply ≥ 20W: 2000 Non PD Supply < 20W: Not available |
9h | (0s) (30s) |
1.63 |
| High | 1000 | PD Supply ≥ 20W: 11h Non PD Supply < 20W: 6h |
919 | 0.75 |
| Mid | 400 | PD Supply ≥ 20W: 17h Non PD Supply < 20W: 10h |
345 | 0.26 |
| Low | 180 | PD Supply ≥ 20W: 31h30m Non PD Supply < 20W: 20h |
163 | 0.12 |
| Emergency | 20 | PD Supply ≥ 20W: 66h Non PD Supply < 20W: 42h |
41 | 0.04 |
| Red High | 15 | PD Supply ≥ 20W: 52h Non PD Supply < 20W: 32h |
– | 0.05 |
| Red Low | 5 | PD Supply ≥ 20W: 78h Non PD Supply < 20W: 51h |
– | 0.03 |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the modes (including the two red modes, far right) use PWM. That’s great!
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
The Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is controlled with two e-switches. They are on the top (when the light is worn properly). I think the Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is fairly intuitive. Below you can see the bigger, textured power switch (right side) with the mode switch on the left.
Here’s a user interface table! As far as I can tell, the mode switch only switches between red and white output.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Double click power | Emergency (white lowest) |
| Off | Click power | Mode advance (LMH) |
| On | Double click power | Turbo (if power supply supports it) |
| On | Hold power | Off |
| Off | Hold power | Low (not lowest) |
| Turbo | Click power | Previous state |
| Off | Hold Mode | Red low |
| Red on | Click power | Red advance (Low, High, Flashing Red) |
| On, with rear light connected | Click rear light button | Rear light (red) flashing |
| Rrear light on | Click rear light button | Rear light advance (Flashing red, Steady red, Off) |
| Rear light on | Hold rear light button | Rear light off |
| Off, with rear light connected | Any rear button action | No change in state |
| Off | Hold both power and mode button | Lockout (blinks to indicate lockout) |
| Lockout | Any click | Blinks to indicate lockout |
| Lockout | Hold both power and mode button | Unlock to approximately Low |
LED and Beam
The Nitecore HU2000 headlamp uses 10 x NiteLab UHE LEDs. This is Nitecore’s own LED!
The rear piece has only red output but it can flash and be steady, too. This is good as a sort of “brake light” – an indicator.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The CCT here is cool to very cool white – all over 6000K. CRI is low, at around 7o, and the Duv is positive. You might pick up some green in the beam, but still, I’d say it’s pretty good.
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.
I think these beam shots are deceiving on how floody the light actually is! It is very floody!
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. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Summary and Conclusion
The Nitecore HU2000 headlamp is a neat light, for sure. If it’s the type thing you need (which is to say that you need a lightweight headlamp that has a power source off the light) then it seems like a great one. I appreciate that it includes the parts for being placed on a MOLLE
The Big Table
| Nitecore HU2000 headlamp | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | NiteLab UHE (10) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $49.95 |
| Cell: | User-selected |
| Runtime Graph | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | – |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | Yes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 2000 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1193 (59.7% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 1.23 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 160 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 210lux @ 5.129m = 5524cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 148.7 (92.9% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6100-6600 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 I like
- Good floody output
- Red secondary
- Fairly simple user interface
- Direct access to lowest mode from off
- Many power supply options
What I don’t like
- Bulky package (the light/headband/cables not the box lol)
- A bit of weirdness in the user interface
- The cables can’t be detached
- Cool white
- Low CRI
Notes
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