FEREI HL60II Review | Luke Bennett – British Orienteering Athlete

Having not taken night events too seriously in the past, I would normally make do with my £10 headtorch from Amazon! However, once I started competing in more major night events, it was clear that I would need something better. Using the FEREI HL60II for the first time definitely made me realise what had been missing and how important it is to have a good-quality headtorch for night orienteering.

The brightest setting offers up to 3,500 lumens, which I immediately realised was more than sufficient. I first tested it at the Brighton City Race, where I only needed the low-power setting (offering 700 lumens). The brightness was definitely noticeable, given the comments I received from blinded tourists!

In a subsequent training Night O course, I first tested the full-brightness setting. The FEREI HL60II has an adjustable design, which allowed me to zoom in for a focused spot beam, useful to keep a line on a bearing, or a wide flood beam, which lit up my surroundings when looking for controls. Furthermore, it lit up my path well over 100m ahead, which made navigating in the dark much easier. The IPX4 splash protection and the battery pack’s IPX8 waterproof rating ensured that, when the heavens opened on the course, the headtorch was still fully functional and visibility wasn’t restricted.

On both occasions, I was only running for an hour (estimated winning time for most Night O events), and there was no sign of the light dimming or running out of battery. The spec claims that it has a runtime of 2.5hrs on full brightness or c. 9hrs on low-power mode. Furthermore, the head strap was comfortable and stayed securely on my head for the whole run with minimal movement and, at just over 200g, was barely noticeable when running.

I did find that after 5–10 minutes on the maximum brightness setting, the bulbs were considerably hot, and so care should be taken when adjusting the positioning of the beam. However, this is warned on the casing. Whilst some forward planning is required in terms of charging, with a recharge time of about 3.5–4hrs, I think this is more than reasonable considering its lengthy and reliable runtime.

Overall, the FEREI HL60II offers a strong performance with more than sufficient brightness for night orienteering and a long runtime. This ensures that, whether you are an elite out for the winning time or a casual orienteer out for a challenge in the dark, the HL60II offers a significant step up from entry-level headtorches. I will enjoy using it at the British Night Orienteering Championships in February, with full confidence that it will give me the best visibility possible to navigate in the dark.

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