Fenix Headlamp HM23 240 Lumens

The HM23 is a step backwards compared to the HL23. Now even though the claim is a total of 8 hrs on high output including drop offs, My HM23 got about 2.5 hrs of conservative operation time between medium and high setting before I was no longer able to switch out of low without a new battery (Eneloop Pro).I knew going into this that the stated claims would be nowhere near the advertised 8hr at 240L. (I have yet to find a light from any manufacturer that lives up to their advertised claims in real world usage) I did however expect the headlamp stay at 240L for at least 1hr. To my disbelief, the HM23 would not even operate at 240L for a straight hour without dropping down to a lower lumen output mode. The headlamp should be advertised with true runtimes instead of ... MoreThe HM23 is a step backwards compared to the HL23. Now even though the claim is a total of 8 hrs on high output including drop offs, My HM23 got about 2.5 hrs of conservative operation time between medium and high setting before I was no longer able to switch out of low without a new battery (Eneloop Pro).I knew going into this that the stated claims would be nowhere near the advertised 8hr at 240L. (I have yet to find a light from any manufacturer that lives up to their advertised claims in real world usage) I did however expect the headlamp stay at 240L for at least 1hr. To my disbelief, the HM23 would not even operate at 240L for a straight hour without dropping down to a lower lumen output mode. The headlamp should be advertised with true runtimes instead of the fine print drop off runtime times. Now, the HM23 does have a few features over its predecessor, HL23, a nicer headband, neutral white light and the rubberized housing bracket. As far as light output goes, from my perspective, there's not that much of a difference between the claimed 240L of the HM23 vs the HL23's 150L. Yeah, the HM23 does produce a little more light, but what the HL23 lacks in extra lumens, it makes up in lumen stamina usability.Given the choice between the HL23 or the HM23, I would choose the HL23. Heck, I would even choose brand "X" (the HL23 rival) that gives off that horrible green tint over the HM23. There's nothing worse than having a headlamp go dim on you while trekking through the woods and dodging branches left and right. At least with the HL23, I know that I will get a dependable 45-50 minutes of 150L output before before dropping into low mode.

Good quality. Not for below zero.

Bought it on sale for $15. Tag said it had been returned as battery didn’t last as long as claimed. I can’t vouch for battery life but I did find the same problem as another review: namely that after around 75 minutes in a temperature of minus 23 it suddenly went out. Once warmed up it worked. This cold weather shortcoming aside, it’s a well built light, has three useful brightness settings, easy to use, comfortable headband.

Great headlamp for EDC, fishing, and hiking.

I really like the HM23.First, it uses a single AA battery, which is easy to find in almost any store or gas station.Second, when I turn it on, it starts off with the lowest lumen setting, doesn't matter what the last used mode was.Its fairly small and light weight, so I can keep it in the backpack that I tend to carry everywhere for EDC. But I also use this for camping and fishing. It's a great all around light to have.It's not made of plastic, a bonus. My other camping headlamps were plastic and all broke over time with use. So this metal headlamp should last many years.

Great value headlamp

I really like this headlamp a lot. The head band that holds the lamp is very comfortable and breathable. It is NOT a think elastic that squeezes your head and absorbs sweat and odor which is a great improvement over most other brands of headlamps. I am a fan of a neutral light beam for a variety of applications and this is one of the few headlamps on the market with a more neutral white beam. Most headlamps use a colder or bluer LED. The silicone holder for the lamp body is super comfortable and does not do into your forehead even if you wear it for 1-2 hours which is truly excellent. You adjust the angle of the lamp easily and the light has ample power for activities like camping, some home improvement (e.g., under a sink of in a crawl space) and even some twilight ... MoreI really like this headlamp a lot. The head band that holds the lamp is very comfortable and breathable. It is NOT a think elastic that squeezes your head and absorbs sweat and odor which is a great improvement over most other brands of headlamps. I am a fan of a neutral light beam for a variety of applications and this is one of the few headlamps on the market with a more neutral white beam. Most headlamps use a colder or bluer LED. The silicone holder for the lamp body is super comfortable and does not do into your forehead even if you wear it for 1-2 hours which is truly excellent. You adjust the angle of the lamp easily and the light has ample power for activities like camping, some home improvement (e.g., under a sink of in a crawl space) and even some twilight hiking. I would not use this for caving, search & rescue, extensive or high intensity night hiking or anything that requires a strong beam that can operate for beyond an hour. This headlamp is a great all-around basic headlamp!

If only it had the Red LED, still not a deal breaker!

I am retired Army and could have used a few of these back in the day if only it had the Red LED. I was looking for a replacement for my old Energizer head lamp and ran across this one, was concerned with the price so went with the HM23 to give it a try. Quality is worth every penny, light weight, and very comfortable on the head. Three levels of light are right on point for my needs, on the low setting the battery lasts longer than expected. Would have liked to have had the Red Led light option for hunting and even better battery life but that is probably asking a lot at this price point. Over all I am very pleased and will be adding another Fenix with a Red LED option for the next hunting season. Will be using the HM23 this year on the Motorcycle for travel and ... MoreI am retired Army and could have used a few of these back in the day if only it had the Red LED. I was looking for a replacement for my old Energizer head lamp and ran across this one, was concerned with the price so went with the HM23 to give it a try. Quality is worth every penny, light weight, and very comfortable on the head. Three levels of light are right on point for my needs, on the low setting the battery lasts longer than expected. Would have liked to have had the Red Led light option for hunting and even better battery life but that is probably asking a lot at this price point. Over all I am very pleased and will be adding another Fenix with a Red LED option for the next hunting season. Will be using the HM23 this year on the Motorcycle for travel and camping. Top notch equipment, very well made and worth every cent.

Might be perfect

Fenix has a variety of headlamps available, some specifically designed for the many athletes and runners who exercise after work in the dark. Several years ago when working the evening shift I would run after work using one of the newest LED headlamps available at that time with only a total light of about 100 Lumen. Times have changed and LED lighting has really been improved significantly. With the addition of Li-Ion batteries, service life has also been extended almost tenfold. The HM23 headlamp is one of the least expensive from Fenix and uses one single AA battery for 8 hours at 240 Lumens and shows over double the amount of light I previously had to see my path forward. Fortunately, I knew the course well enough to run it without incident. The HM23 may be the ... MoreFenix has a variety of headlamps available, some specifically designed for the many athletes and runners who exercise after work in the dark. Several years ago when working the evening shift I would run after work using one of the newest LED headlamps available at that time with only a total light of about 100 Lumen. Times have changed and LED lighting has really been improved significantly. With the addition of Li-Ion batteries, service life has also been extended almost tenfold. The HM23 headlamp is one of the least expensive from Fenix and uses one single AA battery for 8 hours at 240 Lumens and shows over double the amount of light I previously had to see my path forward. Fortunately, I knew the course well enough to run it without incident. The HM23 may be the perfect headlamp for runners that run with a group or have some additional street lighting for most of their course, and the battery will likely have enough energy to last for another run before changing it for a new one.Some runners are very active in other sports like biking or skiing at night and so possibly have a use for one of the brighter headlamps up to 1500 Lumen. The most expensive is still under $100. Also when recording your runs and events with a GoPro, a brighter headlamp will show better video.

Nice little headlamp!

I've only used this for a few hours so far, but I really like it. It's nicely lightweight, despite the usual Fenix milled aluminum body. I'd consider the beam width to be "close to medium range"; as long as you're not riding a mountain bike, I think it's great. It's the usual perfectly even circle that Fenix gets out of their LEDs, comfortable up close even for reading, but with a fairly significant throw at the higher light levels.It's nice to have dead-simple controls- hold half a second to turn on (it always turns on at "low"), single button presses for medium & high, short hold to turn off. It's my personal opinion, but that's exactly how I think controls should work. The button also protrudes enough you can press it with gloved hands.I also like ... MoreI've only used this for a few hours so far, but I really like it. It's nicely lightweight, despite the usual Fenix milled aluminum body. I'd consider the beam width to be "close to medium range"; as long as you're not riding a mountain bike, I think it's great. It's the usual perfectly even circle that Fenix gets out of their LEDs, comfortable up close even for reading, but with a fairly significant throw at the higher light levels.It's nice to have dead-simple controls- hold half a second to turn on (it always turns on at "low"), single button presses for medium & high, short hold to turn off. It's my personal opinion, but that's exactly how I think controls should work. The button also protrudes enough you can press it with gloved hands.I also like standardizing on AA batteries; they're not quite the best power source, and I like how Fenix has rechargeable headlamps that can also take AAA's, but I just don't want to deal with it. Unscrew one end, shake out old battery, insert new, screw closed, done.All in all, for a solid general-purpose headlamp, this is an easy recommendation!

Terrible Headlamp

This thing is absolutely useless. It will not stay on anything other than the lowest setting for longer than 5 minutes. I reached out to Fenix about this and they said this was a safety feature to protect against heat damage. This is a major design flaw because the light needs to be used on medium or high beam to serve any function. Otherwise you’re better off operating by moonlight.

The Brightness Step Down is a Huge Let Down on this AA Headlamp.It kicks in too soon to make this light useful in any way.

My recently purchased Fenix HM23 Compact Hiking/Running Headlamp has not been functioning properly. I have used it for approximately 3 weeks on the included Alkaline's and Fully Charged Ni-MH Rechargeable Tenergy AA Cells (purchased from Fenix-Store also).The headlamp is used for brief intervals for assembling small computer parts, etc. It is never left on for more than a few minutes at a time. The headlamp responds to the initial start click fine and quickly goes into low mode, but, if I select the next mode up; it remains there for only a few seconds even with a fresh battery installed. When I have managed to get it to go to high mode, it quickly scales back down to the lowest mode and does not allow me to go to mid mode to continue what I was working on. Again, ... MoreMy recently purchased Fenix HM23 Compact Hiking/Running Headlamp has not been functioning properly. I have used it for approximately 3 weeks on the included Alkaline's and Fully Charged Ni-MH Rechargeable Tenergy AA Cells (purchased from Fenix-Store also).The headlamp is used for brief intervals for assembling small computer parts, etc. It is never left on for more than a few minutes at a time. The headlamp responds to the initial start click fine and quickly goes into low mode, but, if I select the next mode up; it remains there for only a few seconds even with a fresh battery installed. When I have managed to get it to go to high mode, it quickly scales back down to the lowest mode and does not allow me to go to mid mode to continue what I was working on. Again, the unit will run briefly for a few minutes, when mid mode is selected, it quickly dims back to the lowest mode. The same occurs if/when I can get it to reach high mode. As I had already discarded the packaging the unit arrived in, I was offered an even exchange minus a 10% restocking fee, which I refused.The light does not work as described, and I am sure that a replacement would exhibit the same faulty operation. (Firmware likely glitchy; needs further development or tweaking and/or a result of likely QC ISSUES overseas with internal heat sensor/firmware settings, etc). For now, the headlamp sits on the side of my gaming monitor on the headphone holder as it is useless as is. Discouraged with this simple purchase. I am now hesitant to put in more orders for the few other Fenix Flashlights, Camping Lanterns, Assorted Batteries and other accessories I was looking forward to purchasing in the near future.I asked for an upgrade instead of an exchange as I can not use the light for what it was designed for. I would rather upgrade the light to something more dependable, functional/usable and better suited for my use.I requested A Fenix HL15 LED Headlamp (to make use of AA batteries) & a Fenix AFH-02 Headband Special Edition to have on hand as a backup, if needed..I can cover the difference in Cost/Price using Points accumulated on my Fenix-Store account, if required.Note: I previously lost Points on a prior order that were never applied, credited or put back on my total points earned..All past orders placed in recent months have arrived without any problems in any of the received Flashlights, Chargers, Camping Lanterns, Spare Batteries Ni-MH & Li-Ions, and assorted extras.These have been my only negative comments regarding any FENIX item. My PD36R & A FENIX E20 are what I EDC. They never fail to receive compliments because each is so versatile, in their own way.I would like to continue to purchase from Fenix, but, this situation threw me off, so to speak.Any and All Assistance You Can Provide Would Be greatly Appreciated.Thank You, Fenix.J.V..

The Ultimate Hiker's Headlight

I love this headlamp because it uses only one AA battery, easily found virtually anywhere in the world. Simplicity is nice. Earlier this year I completed a 10-day solo summer hike in remote alpine, and took the headlight to try it out. I also took two spare batteries for it, hoping they would be enough for the trip. Of course, during serious hiking trips you tend to go to bed early each night and arise early each morning, so, you are not usually up late at nights using your headlight. In fact the initial battery lasted easily for the whole trip and I did not need to use the two spares at all. The light was plenty bright enough for all uses around camp in the dark, and for navigation during darkness. The light is lightweight, rugged, and reliable. Yes, I love this ... MoreI love this headlamp because it uses only one AA battery, easily found virtually anywhere in the world. Simplicity is nice. Earlier this year I completed a 10-day solo summer hike in remote alpine, and took the headlight to try it out. I also took two spare batteries for it, hoping they would be enough for the trip. Of course, during serious hiking trips you tend to go to bed early each night and arise early each morning, so, you are not usually up late at nights using your headlight. In fact the initial battery lasted easily for the whole trip and I did not need to use the two spares at all. The light was plenty bright enough for all uses around camp in the dark, and for navigation during darkness. The light is lightweight, rugged, and reliable. Yes, I love this headlamp and it is now reserved in my gear as my 'hiking headlight'.