Fenix HM65R review and why I am returning it 

I love USB-C, wish everything I had was USB-C.

Love this light for everything. I use it for work (general contracting), hunting, and everything else. It can light up a basement or attic entirely at work if I need it to, the battery life is tremendous and it takes the same USB-C port as my laptop. I honestly think it’s waterproof because it’s taken several plunges on the way to a duck blind or crossing a creek. 6/5 stars for sure. Appreciate the review

Dang, thats too bad you had problems with it. I have this headlamp and have used it for probably 12-15 hours on caving trips and have experienced no problems. I absolutely love it. Most people love theirs. I wonder if you just got a bad one.

The USB C port was one of the things I was looking for when I went for the European version of this light. I absolutely didn't want one of those ports hidden under a screw on cap which you can lose. The great reason was an emergency scenario. You can plug it it to a powerbank and still use the medium mode (either spot or flood). If you use an angled USB C plug you can even keep it on your head. That's a HUGE advantage if you go into the mountains or just plan to spend the whole night outdoors (yep, you'd probably have some spare cell, but you'd probably star saving power AFTER something unexpected happens) or just fly to another country and have to minimize luggage weight and volume. Plus, the charging ports integrated in the batteries are usually micro USB which means having to have yet another cable type. For me the biggest bummer of this light is how hard it is to attach/detach the head strap. I was planning to (among other scenarios) use it with a helmet mount, but it seems it's much easier to adjust the straps each time than to detach them and use the mount.

This is my favorite running headlamp. I've ran through rain, snow and sweat. So far it's lasted longer than any other head lamp. Oh yea one more thing. I've ran this year alone almost 2000 miles, so you know this thing has taken a beating.

I like the USB-C so I don’t have to take out the battery. I ended up getting the HM65R-T because it has better high constant high lumen output plus the band on the -T is WAY better. I can’t hear anything from the light on any setting but I have tinnitus.

I have extremely sensitive hearing and the only time I hear any sort of sound from the light is when I am using my cell phone. But it is extremely faint and barely perceptible if there is any other noise going on. May be some sort of wave combination sensitivity?? Other than that, this is the best headlamp I have ever used and I used to equip all my welders on my crew with the Streamlights. If I had these and was able to make up a spatter case like we did for the Streamlight, I would have definitely spent the money on a huge stock of these Fenix HM65R’s for sure. Nice review my man. Good to show the combo of the spot and flood together. I use that configuration almost every time I have that thing on my head!! 👍🏻😎👍🏻

I really appreciate your review, but i gotta tell you, it's a great head lamp even with its flaws.

I bought mine 2 days ago and I haven't noticed the high pitched wine with mine but I will be checking that carefully. Overall so far I am very impressed with the features and the quality of construction BUT ..... The battery does NOT give 21 hours of 400 lumens. IT DOESN'T EVEN GIVEN SIX HOURS!!! That is a BIG problem in my opinion.

I always appreciate an honest review myself...whether I personally like or agree with the results, so thank you. I do agree that this specific headlamp model isn't for everyone. That said, it remains very popular despite retailing at nearly $100 USD. I believe this is due to having the two-LED option combined with Fenix's build-quality and reliability. A lot of the users who love this light are people like cavers, night hikers, and utility workers, who's life literally depends on having reliable lighting equipment that can take a beating.

Mine didn't come with the (over the) headstrap. How did you get one like that.

I would return it and try a new one. I had two powerbanks (Ravpower tough outdoors model) that emmited a high pitched whine). The third replacement was fine. Not a good hit ratio but paid a good local seller who returned them fine. The UI issues I understand. Thats a very personal thing. I use Zebralights which have a more complicated UI until it becomes second nature.

I bought one and I go night fishing with this light... oh my oh my... feel in love with this light, I just put my perun 2 in my backpack never touch it all night... wow... and I just order the charger and 2 xtra batt cost $68 I think on their web site... man with this light and 3 batt... I can work all day under the car.... perun2 is good too but it's a lot heavier then this... 👍👍 for fenix...

Hi guys, which headlamp would you recommend between this Fenix HM65R or Armytek Wizard C2 Pro? I will use it for long excursions in wood and mountain. Both of headlamps look great and one of the thing that doesn't convince me about the Armytek C2 Pro is the magnetic charger: It looks like less comfortable than USB C. What do you think about them? Thank you all

I got HM71R for my parents and I searched for USB-C specifically because they have charging capability for this port everywhere, car, powerbank, office, etc… I have lots flap-covered things on my bike and in the last 5 years of using these, did not yet have any issues with water. They say the device is IP68

Thank you so much for your review on the headlamp. I just bought one and I had been struggling trying to figure out how to turn it on. With your help guiding on how to turn on the light, I was able to figured it out! Thank you! I'm sorry the sounds bother u a lot but it didn't bother me with me wearing my hearing aids on, I didn't even know there were noises involved! Again, thanks so much for sharing this video! Stay safe!

Good points made. But, I would have liked to have known the "constant ON times/lumens mode". e.g. how long can we leace it on MED before it steps-down to LOW? How long can we have it on LOW before it shuts off--one constant on....??

I have 2 of this. Love it been using it every other day for the last 2 years and still strong.

I have the same one. I do Hvac for a living. I loved mine for the first 1.5 years. Sometimes it does buggy things such as not turning on even when it’s fully charged , the smaller light blinks when I try to use it. I’ve tried swapping out the batteries but it didn’t work. My buddy also bought one he had issues even quicker.

Mine has the floodlight red. For some reason. Tactical. Thought it was supposed to be like that. Mine does not have coil whine though.

Great review. Is it possible to take off the band on the top (so you only got the band around the head)?

I prefer the onea that have the external charger and can also have the batteries replaced. Best of both worlds

My Prius’s hybrid battery system gives off a magnetic field measuring in Milligause. I can read approx. 3 mG from the drivers seat when running engine on highway. I wonder if there is a mG reading from headlamp????!?!?!?!?!

How about the nitecore headlamps that have the usb c port under one of the screw caps? You keep solid waterproofing this way and also an accesible port on the body. HC60 v2 etc.

I own three special edition HM65R and never noticed any noise. I mostly use it for trail running and hiking but used it at home too recently and never had the problem. HM65R SuperRaptor (XM-L2 U2 spot and flood) HM65R ShadowMaster (SST40 spot + red light flood) HM65R SuperRaptor (SST40 spot and XP- G3 flood) The SuperRaptor and ShadowMaster are special editions for the Scandinavian and UK markets respectively. They have better regulation than the standard HM65R.

I have tinnitus so no problem for me.

I just bought 1 today from buckeys in leeds, AL . Im here to see if others thought the claimed 1400 lumins was bogus becouse i have a Nitecore HC-30 1000LUMIN headlamp thats everybit as bright

Well I'm thinking about either getting this headlamp or the HT18... I'll see which fits my needs better at what I'm doing.

Got the light as well and I don’t have the hf noise. Or maybe it’s too high for me to hear

Note* I learned several years ago that not everyone's ears can pick up that frequency. I can pick it up very strongly and I can't stand it. I want to know if that is on every one of those or if yours was a fluke. Other than that I love the design and the light. But that noise would be 100% deal breaker. Could be a $2000 light given to me for free and I couldn't use it for the sound it makes. I was just about to purchase this and was planning on cutting that top strap off and use it for hunting purposes but not with that noise. As far as the battery and charging port goes that's not going to let water go inside and mess it up what so ever and fenix already stated if something did happen to seep in then it would he considered a manufacturing defect. The c charging unit is an upgrade to all previous in all aspects. That's why it's on everything now. It's more stable. Thicker, and can be inserted by either side and it's more bullet proof because of that thickness. And I would probably get 2 of those batteries (or upgrade to a different 3500mah battery and charge it on my charging station. They tend to charge 20x faster and hold charges better than the quick charge through a port.)😏 but that sound is God awful. Almost makes me sick at my stomach.

Two days ago I bought Fenix hm65r. When I checked the battery level, one light was on which indicates that the battery level is %21-%40 according to the user manual. After a few try different combination of lighting the battery dropped below %20. I checked it and one light was flashing. So I began charging headlamp using my samsung phone charger. Later on immediately I saw that three lights were on constantly and the latter one was flashing as in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ff9xsMoKOcs.html I use the same charger which is seen in this video. I'm not sure if it's suitable for charging it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QbTRyO4ee8k.html This situation didn't change for about 2 hours. Still waiting for it to see any change. Is this normal? As far as understand from user manual, after starting to charge, one indicator should flash first. Other indicators should be off till %21. After that one light should be on constantly and the second light should flash so on.. Is there anything wrong with my headlamp?

It's not dark where I am. So how can I use mine?

Perfect for chipping tanks out

If you don't like the external charging port, put tape over it. Batteries with charging ports on them are sold separately but their capacity is bound to be lower because of loss of volume.

How long is the battery life? I do a lot of work in crawlspaces and need something that'll last 8 to 10 consistently.

Mine is brandnew. I had it fully charged laying around for 1 week, used it occasionally on lowests setting and now its allmost empty. Is it broken? Anyone same exp?

I have a four sevens light that makes that awe full high pitch whine also. I hate that light! I never use it. I have 7 other Fenix lights and none of them do it. Sorry to hear that cuz I was looking to replace my Surefire Maximus headlamp

Hi i have just tried mine light and got it literally next to my ear and i have to say i dont hear anything, it may be broken try to ask for new one.

Thanks dor sharing your thoughts, specially the noisy one. You saved me some euros 🤗

I guess that video compression hided that that sound :/ but thank you for mentioning

Hey boi, the C-port needs no cover on kost Fenix lights. The cover is for dust, not water, the C port is water proof WITHOUT the cover on it.

Why not get a olight h2r or the olight perun or perun2,these are great headlamps, one button press an hold for your brightness levels.

I can’t decide between this and the hm70r! Thoughts?

buzzing or hi-pitch sound would be very annoying .... seems yours was defective. Streamlight has always been a leading brand... what model did you get ?

Did you find this lamp smell bad when open the box?and turn on light has some noise?

any chance doing fenix hm65r-t review?

What headlamp do you recommend?

Used this torch 7 hours a day on workdays (as a mechanic) for a year, and never heard anything from it. Judging by other responders here yours must have been a fluke

So what did you get instead?

"I'm not a fan of USB-C" -tough luck. It's the new standard. And how can anyone prefer micro usb instead??

Can’t hear the annoying sound but I’m 72 and probably got high frequency hearing loss, so that’s a bonus if I buy the light! 👍🏻

How long do you think the runtime when both light is on at the highest settings? Also, how warm does it get before it goes down at the highest setting 1400lumens?

Same sound on Ledlenser lights.

So did you find a light with good run time that would recommend?

Would you have kept it if it was not for the noise?

@3:31 Regarding batteries with USB port Fenix actually offers these as Fenix ARB-L18 in 2600Mah and 3500Mah and comes with Micro USB port instead of USB-C. I must say i haven't heard the whining high pitch noise but that might be due to your microphone or my hearing capacity. This headlamp is the absolute best if you want a headlamp that has unrivaled battery endurance (22 hours in 400 lumens mode!). Not really a requirement if you're just using it for under your car but if you have to rely on a headlamp for instance when you are trailrunning or ultrarunning in the outdoors that last multiple days a headlamp with only 4 hour battery endurance is totally useless. The only thing i miss at this HM65R is RGB lights! Now Fenix just released a new headlamp, the HM61R but that only last 4 hours @ 400 lumens while HM65R last 22 hours @ 400 lumens. HUGE difference (same battery).

Did you all hear that buzzing noise it was so loud nearly bursted me eardrums

So what light did you select...???

I like my Nitecore headlamp. It has a slide bar that changes from green, red, blue and low to hight white light. I cannot remember the model number. The only drawback is it's a bit heavy.

I want to buy this, but still look another choice. Just now i saw nitecore hc65. Would you know and tell me which one is better?

If you like flashlight review, than download osciloscope app in your phone. You will catch those buzzing visualy with that app...

I just bought the Fenix HM65R-T then I see this video 🙄🇦🇺. I hope my model doesn't suffer the same problem

Thank you for sharing wrt the sound, that would bother the hell out of me.

The nite core HC68 is the best, bro!

The HM60R say it has intelligent frequency-sensing... What is intelligent frequency-sensing...

Still gotta deal with o rings

I'm not sure how you could advertise it as rechargeable if you literally just mean the battery you can get rechargeable batteries in all sizes

Usb c is waterproof. The cover is just for dust and dirt

That noise would drive my crazy and would be the only reason I need to get rid of it

What's your camera you makes a video?

I can hear the high pitched sound

What did you get instead?

USB type C is the best what are you talking about dude. Even Apple went USB type C. I like this flashlight, just ordered its perfect for what I need it. But I see what you mean with the port if it's pouring rain. We'll see.

That high pitched whine is weird, is that happening to anyone else?

Wait WTF, on the website there is said that using 400 lumens it will last for 4 hours, and here u have on the box written it last 22 hours using 400lumens.............. WTF ????

What do you recognize

Why he's returning it: 8:13

Those sealed chargeable batteries would be great if not for constant removal. Even the higher end headlamps seam to quickly fail in the contacts when batteries are removed often. The nightcore and fenix lamps with the detached battery packs both failed within a week when the batteries in the packs were frequently swapped out with fresh batteries

I just enjoyed listening to this dude's accent (I am not from the USA). 🙂👍 Not a bad video either, pointed out a negative feature that I haven't seen other reviewers talk about.

the port on the outside and the 3/13 deal is why i went for the olight m2r warrior pro over the fenix pd35r which in my opinion beats the m2r pro in high, low, and eco. the m2r pro was better in turbo and medium. ive been unfortunate to be stuck outside during a tornado warning for almost 2 hours with one actually touching down in a near by town. while stuck there was the most rain, lightning, and thunder i had ever seen. 20 miles away in my hometown there where tornado sirens and tree being ripped up and thrown across the road. it was pretty bad. i was lucky that after the first 4 seconds of what seemed like 50mph wind it died down to nothing in the valley i was in. i had checked the weather right before i was dropped off there and it said thunderstorms at 6pm, the damn thing decided that it will be much worse and roll in 1.5 hours later at 1:45. they tell you not to hide under trees but i knew it was safer than standing out in the open. they should say never be the tallest thing and never hide under the tallest thing. i was kayaking at the lake in that valley and it was surrounded by a fairly dense forest so i hid among some of the smaller trees about 15 feet in. there was lighting all around me and quite a few withing 100 yards but never got any closer. i now bring a poncho no matter what the weather is like or projected to be. ill also carry that olight once it arrives tomorrow. oh and that whine is coil whine from cheap Chinese capacitors that vibrate at a audible level. literally 1-2 cents more would have got fenix a Japanese capacitor that doesn't do that. i cant stand that noise. i was gonna get this light because it destroys everything olight has, id hot glue the port closed and charge the battery externally but i could still peel it off and use it in a emergency. oh well back to searching.

this review is bullshit, disagree in everything. mine makes no sound. c port is exellent.

This with a red light would be ideal.

Does not work with any of my many standard 18650 batteries only the Fenix battery it came with. USELESS!

What would you suggest for me instead of the fenix crap? I am a climber and I love to climb at night. I have a ledlenser h7r core and need a reserve one. Most important is that lamp is durable, has many hours of light and keeps up in cold nights. With the fenix accu crapping out early, that is the last thing I need hanging in a 400m wall in the middle of the night. Also I dont need it to overheat and burn my house. My ledlenser is superb but it has one flaw, it turns itself on very easily due to exposed on knob. So i need some reserve lamp just in case. Fenix was so cool but seriously, they say it is dangerous to overheat and burn, like WTF.

Glue the flap closed?

Great review

I can hear traffic, love USB-C

If I was the manger I would not take that back as a return after he finger fuked it for 30 mins , I would be like enjoy your new light thank you for purchasing fenix prouducts.🤷‍♂️

So you bought it to make a video knowing that you were going to return it. Sad bro

You wasted how long making a video of why you are returning something? What the hell. Wow

If your a mechanic a little noise shouldn’t bother you

For $100bucs or better the thing should work like a dream no problem s at all now I know not to purchase this product

Well that was clickbait. Hard no.

Dude. That high Pitch sound was awfull

you are one PICKY dude . its 2 meters water proof. who cares how its charged. usb type C is great. i got 50 of these cables. same as samsung cable. every where i take my phone i can charge my headlamp. fyi for video is over exposed , way to much light. i didnt like that.

This review is useless for me. So much so that I'm buying this headlamp and I'll never return it.

Luv my Nitecore HC65 headlamp 💪

its a piece of shit light

Terrible review. I mean seriously you are returning a flashlight that makes noises in your head that only you can hear?

borring revew