HM71R V2.0 Review: The best headlamp just got better

The Fenix HM71R has been my favorite headlamp for over three years, and it just got better. I only had one big annoyance with the original version, and they fixed it. The HM71R V2.0 puts out a blinding 3500 lumens, comes with a 5500 mAh battery, and retails for $125.

Everything in front

A balanced headlamp has the batteries in the back and the light in front. This one isn’t balanced; the battery pack and light are in one compact package, making the light front-heavy. After using the first version of this light for over three years, I can confidently tell you it’s a non-issue. It’s light enough that you don’t even notice.

Furthermore, I appreciate having everything self-contained in a single package. I’ve had problems with power cords getting caught on stuff or getting damaged, and I will probably never buy another headlamp with the batteries in the back.

Detachable

My favorite feature of the HM71R is that it’s detachable from the headband, turning it into a standalone right-angle flashlight.

It’s easy to remove from the headband, and it feels good in your hand. For projects that need light, it’s much easier to point a right-angle flashlight exactly where you want than a standard flashlight. To top it off, this flashlight has a powerful magnetic base strong enough to hold it at a 90° angle, giving it even more versatility.

I use this as a stand-alone flashlight just as much as I use it as a headlamp. Anytime I have a project around the house, this is my go-to light.

Controls

Like the first version, this headlamp has a huge button on the end that you can operate even while wearing mittens. But unlike its predecessor, the new version also has a dial at the top to select from four different modes: floodlight, spotlight, red light, and locked off. The first version made you “scroll” through all these options to get the one you wanted, which I didn’t like. But they fixed it. What a great improvement.

And if you want to go straight into all-out blinding turbo mode, hold down the power button while in floodlight or spotlight mode. This activates the floodlight and spotlight at full brightness, but only for about a minute. It gets hot very quickly in this mode, so I’m guessing this was done to prevent damage to the unit.

Power, modes, and runtimes

As I mentioned, this flashlight comes with a 5500 mAh 21700 battery, which is the big brother of the ubiquitous 18650. It has a built-in USB-C charging port protected by a waterproof slider, a nice upgrade from the rubber plug that came with the first version.

To check the battery level, give the power button a quick tap.

Spotlight mode reaches up to 3000 lumens, but only for about a minute. After that, it drops down to about 800 lumens. On the lowest spotlight mode of 50 lumens, it’ll run for over 53 hours. Floodlight mode starts at 5 lumens and goes up to 500 lumens. At 5 lumens, it’ll run for two weeks straight. It also has a new red light mode that ranges from 5 to 100 lumens. You can see all of the run times below:

Images

I took photos with a DSLR camera set to full manual exposure, to ensure I’m comparing apples to apples. The first image shows the spotlight mode at 350 lumens.

Next, spotlight mode at 800 lumens.

And finally, spotlight mode at 3000 lumens. To see examples of the red light mode and floodlight mode, check out my video above.

Conclusion

This is the best headlamp made today. Anyone who buys this headlamp won’t be disappointed. And no, I’m not getting compensated in any way for this review; not even with a free product. I’m just a big fan.

You can find the HM71R V2.0 on Amazon.