Thursday, March 5, 2020

Fenix HM50R Multipurpose LED Headlamp Review

I was provided the opportunity to receive this product without charge in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I had not worn a headlamp for running in a while. The one that I used (around 6-7 years ago) was pretty heavy and gave me a headache when I ran. I figured it was time to give another headlamp a shot and when I was given the opportunity to try the Fenix HM50R headlamp I couldn't say no. Especially since I knew that the Fenix brand was great having already reviewed their Fenix CL30R Camping Lantern, the brightest lantern I've ever owned. You can check out that review here.



I was excited when I received the headlamp. Here is the packaging. 
Included are the user manual, micro USB recharging cable (you do need to have your own USB port plug) , a spare headlamp holder, and a micro usb anti-dust cap replacement.
The first thing I did was charge it. You just need to flip open the micro USB cap and plug the Micro USB terminal of the charging cable into the charging port of the headlamp. The indicator is blue when charging and turns green when fully charged. Charging time is about 1.5 hours. 
The headlamp does have a cool battery level indicator. Starting with the light off, I just have to single click the switch to see the battery level in different colors. If you see:
Green flashes: 50%-80% battery level
Blue constant on: 20%-50% battery level
Blue flashing: less than 20% battery level

The headband is reflective and is made of sweat-blocking material. 
I put the headlamp on around my hat and it sat well there and it felt really comfortable. No movement or slipping whatsoever. 
The headlamp has four output levels. They are:
Low - 4 lumens
Medium - 30 lumens
High - 130 lumens
Turbo - 500 lumens

It's really neat that there are 4 brightness levels. While running I like to use the High level. Medium wasn't bright enough for running in the dark and Turbo was just crazy bright. I can see myself using Turbo if I had to run trails at night or if I needed to really see something while hiking or camping at night. 

Below are a couple of shots of me running with the headlamp.
I really like that the headlamp is lightweight. I did not get a headache while running with it, major plus right there! I also like how I could rotate the light so that it could face towards the ground. That is mostly what I like to see while running in the dark. The paths where I run sometimes have cracks and uneven pavement so I need to look at the ground and with this headlamp I can have the light pointed towards the ground which is great. It definitely helps avoid me from falling and tripping. The headlamp is waterproof with an IP68 rating so it can be underwater up to 2m, so I don't need to worry if it gets wet and can run in a downpour with the light if needed. 
Overall, I am very happy with the Fenix HM50R Multipurpose LED headlamp. It is great for morning runs and I can even see myself using this for Ragnar races where you need to run in the dark or even ultra trail races if I ever go higher than a 50k. What is also neat about this light, is you can also take it off the headlamp holder and use it as a flashlight. It's a great mini flashlight if you don't want to wear it on your head!
The headlamp retails for $59.95 which I find very reasonable for the great quality of a light you are getting. With it being rechargeable, durable, and the 4 brightness levels it is definitely a light I think you should check out!

Happy running!

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