Nitecore HC65 UHE headtorch | Tested and reviewed

Established in 2007, Nitecore is a Chinese brand originally founded by self-confessed ‘flashlight fanatics’. It specialises in tactical torches and portable power equipment. The company’s products have been adopted by law enforcement and military users, as well as industrial corporations and outdoor enthusiasts worldwide. Over the years, the brand has also won various industry gongs, including a Red Dot Design Award and an ISPO Gold Award. It was actually the previous generation of the HC65 hiking headtorch that won the latter award, one of the outdoor industry’s most coveted prizes.

But Nitecore hasn’t rested on its laurels. The company has built a reputation for bringing the latest technologies to market, so the latest generation of the HC65 – dubbed the HC65 UHE, or ‘Ultra High Efficiency’ – looks very different to its predecessor. That’s largely down to the redesigned LED array, which results in an uprated brightness output, decreased power consumption and improved beam distance.

Design and features

This headlamp is a very solid unit that is clearly built for serious outdoor use, with an anodised military-grade aluminium casing that feels extremely rugged. In fact, it’s the sort of lamp you might expect to see mounted to the helmet of a special forces soldier, with a low-profile black matte finish.

In terms of construction, the swivelling unit is permanently mounted on a flexible bracket, which rotates through almost 180 degrees for an excellent range of adjustment. Rubberised power and mode buttons are located on top of a barrel-type casing. A threaded metal cap unscrews at one end to reveal a 4000mAh 18650 rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. It charges via a USB-C port at the other end, which is hidden under a protective silicone cover.

Light output comes from a rectangular 10 LED array, with 8 main UHE LEDs providing primary lighting and 2 secondary LEDs providing auxiliary white light and red-light modes. Maximum output is a very impressive 2000 lumens in turbo mode. As you’d expect, this illuminates objects fully with high precision. It will also throw a bright white light over a distance in excess of 200 metres.

If you don’t need maximum brightness, there are also stepped 1300, 400 and 100 lumen settings, plus white light SOS and beacon modes.

In addition to those 4 levels of primary white light, the headlamp offers dual auxiliary lights; a high CRI white light which produces a realistic depiction of colour and is ideal for close up illumination. Switching to these gives you a 40 lumen ‘low’ setting and an 8 lumen ‘ultralow’ setting, plus three red light modes (high, low and strobe).

A nice added extra is the fact that the headtorch comes bundled with a padded, zippered hardshell case, which is great for storage and transport, stopping it from getting bumped around in your pack. Its easy portability has this headlamp fast becoming one of our core hiking gear essentials.

Performance and comfort

Weighing in at just over 150g, this isn’t the lightest headlamp around, but it is comfortable and secure in use, thanks to the chunky fabric headband, to which you can also fit an optional overhead strap. We’d highly recommend using this, as it really helps to stabilise the lamp and stop it moving around during dynamic activity. The headband itself is made of an elasticated fabric that feels pretty tough. It also has perforations to reduce sweat build-up, plus an inner, non-slip silicone grip lining.

Charge times are good, making use of USB-C technology, which means the HC65 UHE can be fully charged in as little as 2 hours. The high-capacity rechargeable 18650 battery is a definite plus too, as these aren’t proprietary to Nitecore – they’re widely available and relatively inexpensive (around £20). The 4000mAh battery that comes with the headtorch gives impressive burn times. You’ll get up to 2 hours on max power, and 82 hours on the ultralow setting.

We were excited to test that 2000-lumen turbo mode, and we weren’t disappointed. It is car-headlamp bright, and unlike many other high-powered headlamps, you aren’t restricted to using it just for a short ‘boost’ period.

For general use you’re more likely to stick with the higher and high settings (1300 and 600 lumens respectively), which are still more than bright enough for trail-finding and night navigation. Indeed, even these settings outshine a lot of the competition. In camp, the 100-lumen medium beam and 40-lumen auxiliary low beam are both good options, with the latter also offering a red-light mode for night vision.

The HC65’s other stand-out feature is the fact that it is also fully waterproof, with an impressive IP68 rating, which makes it a very practical headlamp for wet and wild weather. This is definitely a headlamp that we’d trust even in sustained downpours. Since it’s also impact resistant, it could even take on caving and canyoning adventures. It’s probably a little too heavy for the ultralight brigade, or for trail and road runners – particularly since it lacks a rear red light – but it really comes into its own for all-season hiking, mountaineering and backpacking, as well as any sort of nights out camping or bivvying.

In terms of drawbacks, other than the inevitable extra weight that comes with such high performance and a bombproof build, our only complaints are the slightly complicated sequences of single presses and long presses required to access and cycle through the different functions. Even after a test period of a few weeks, with regular nightly use, we struggled a little to remember exactly how to get to, say, the red-light mode straight away. But that minor niggle aside, there was little to fault. It was impossible not to be impressed with the build quality and performance of this tough and reliable headlamp.

Price and competition

With a UK RRP of just under £100, this is by no means a budget headlamp. But if you want maximum brightness for your hard-earned cash, we haven’t tested too many options that will compete with the Nitecore HC65 UHE, at least if you’re looking at lumens alone.

Black Diamond’s Distance LT1100, for example, which has a similar price point, will put out 1100 lumens, but only in boost mode. Its main high beam is 600 lumens, with a 4.25-hour runtime. In contrast, the HC65 UHE will put out its maximum 2000 lumens for up to 2 hours, or 1300 lumens for up to 5 hours. The Nitecore is a bit bulkier and heavier than the Black Diamond lamp though.

The HC65 UHE also outshines the new LED Lenser HF8R Core headlamp that we tested, which puts out 1600 lumens in boost and 900 lumens on high power (with a run time of 3.5 hours). That’s despite the fact that the LED Lenser lamp is even bulkier and heavier than the Nitecore model. On the other hand, the LED Lenser has some fancy adaptive light tech that the Nitecore lacks.

Of course, the question is, do you need that many lumens? The likely answer is not really, unless you’re a Mountain Rescue team member who needs to light up the hillside in search of a missing walker. After all, brightness isn’t everything. But the HC65 UHE has plenty else going for it too, not least its super-tough build and its impressive waterproofing stats. If you expect to be out in truly horrible conditions, such durability definitely gives added peace of mind.

Rugged and robust, this headlamp will perform in the toughest (and wettest) environments, with a dazzling light output. But unless you’re a mountain pro, it might be overkill.

About the author

Matt Jones is a freelance journalist based in the heart of Snowdonia National Park. He’s a vastly experienced gear tester and self-confessed outdoor kit geek. Matt’s been one of our main gear testers for the last couple of years and is the first person we call with any complicated kit queries that need in-depth forensic analysis.

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