REVIEW – I own more flashlights than any one person with a normal amount of hobbies should, and the Olight H2R Nova is the one that talked its way into permanent EDC rotation. It is pitched as two lights in one, a handheld thrower and a magnetic headlamp, and Olight sent one over to see if that pitch actually holds up outside a marketing slide. Short version: it does, and I have been carrying it or wearing it on my head more nights than I expected since it showed up.
Note: Olight provided this H2R Nova free of charge for review. Olight did not have a final say on the review and did not preview it before publication.
The Basics
The H2R Nova is a compact, angle-head flashlight built around a swappable magnetic tailcap, which is the whole trick behind it doing double duty. Pop it into the included headstrap and it becomes a hands-free headlamp. Clip it to a pocket with the included two-way clip and it is back to being a regular EDC light. It runs on a rechargeable 18650 battery, tops out at 2300 lumens on turbo, and charges over a magnetic cable rather than a port, so there is nothing on the body to keep sealed against water and dust.
What You Get
- Olight H2R Nova flashlight
- Two-way pocket clip
- Head strap mount
- Silicone mount pad
- Olight 3.6V 3000mAh 18650 battery
- Magnetic USB charging cable
- Spare EVA pad
- Instruction manual
By the Numbers
- Price: $89.95
- Max output: 2300 lumens (turbo), 153 meter throw
- Brightness levels: 5 (moonlight through high), plus turbo and SOS
- LED: Cree XHP50, Cool or Neutral White
- Battery: Olight 3.6V 3000mAh 18650 (any button-top 18650 also works)
- Charging: magnetic cable, roughly 4 hours from empty
- Waterproof rating: IPX8
- Weight: 64 g / 2.26 oz
- Length: 110 mm, head diameter 25 mm
- Warranty: 5 years
Design and Build
The angled head is the signature move here, the same silhouette flashlight nerds will recognize from every headlamp-style light on the market, and it works because the light itself has real heft without feeling like a boat anchor in a pocket. The body is machined aluminum with deep, grippy knurling, and the blue accent ring around the lens is the only flourish on an otherwise all-business design. The top-mounted power switch is easy to find by feel, which matters more than it sounds like it should when you are digging a light out of a jacket pocket in the dark.
Two Lights in One: Handheld and Headlamp
The headstrap is where the H2R Nova earns its name. A silicone latch and a strong magnet in the mount lock the light in place, and swapping between handheld and hands-free takes about five seconds once you know the motion. I have used it as a headlamp digging through a crawlspace and as a handheld light checking a breaker panel in the same week, and it never once felt like a compromise in either mode.
Battery, Charging, and That Magnetic Cap
Power comes from a rechargeable 18650 battery, and Olight includes their own 3000mAh cell, though any standard button-top 18650 drops in as a replacement if you ever need one. Charging happens through a magnetic cable that snaps onto the tailcap instead of a port, which means there is no rubber flap to wear out or forget to close. A built-in LED at the contact point glows red while charging and switches to green at full, and a drained battery took a little over four hours to top back off in my testing.
Carry: The Pocket Clip
The two-way pocket clip is a small addition that turned out to matter more than I expected. It pops on and off without tools, so it comes off in seconds when the light needs to go into the headstrap, and it holds tight enough that I never worried about losing the light out of a pocket. Being two-way means it works whether the light rides bulb-up or bulb-down, which sounds minor until you have fumbled a flashlight out of a pocket at the wrong angle in the dark.
Modes, Brightness, and Wearing It as a Headlamp
Five brightness levels cover moonlight through high, with turbo and an SOS mode layered on top. A triple click fires off SOS, a double click jumps straight to turbo, and holding the switch from off cycles through the everyday levels until you let go on the one you want. The light also remembers your last brightness setting, though it only holds onto high and turbo for ten minutes at a time, presumably so nobody accidentally blinds themselves reaching for it hours later. Turbo and high are legitimately startling for a light this size, and while the runtime at those levels is short by design, it is there when you need a wall of light for a few minutes rather than a trickle for hours. A two-second hold locks the switch out entirely, confirmed by a single blink, which has saved the battery from at least one accidental pocket activation on my end.
Cleanup and Everyday Use
Living with the H2R Nova mostly means not thinking about it, which is the highest compliment I can give a flashlight. It rides in a jacket pocket most days and moves to the headstrap the second a task needs both hands, whether that is checking on Addy in the backyard after dark or working under the sink without a lamp to hold. There is no maintenance beyond the occasional charge and wiping the magnetic contacts clean if they pick up any pocket lint, since a dirty contact is the one thing that can keep the magnetic charging cable from seating properly.
What Could Be Better
The magnetic charging system is clever, but it means there is no backup way to charge the light if that specific cable gets lost or damaged, unlike a light with a standard USB-C port that any cable in the house can service. The custom 18650 is proprietary in shape enough that I would want a spare on hand for a long trip, even though generic 18650 cells technically work. And at $89.95, this sits well above the budget end of the flashlight market, which is a fair price for what it does but still a real number for a light that is, in the end, a light.
Final Thoughts
The Olight H2R Nova set out to be a flashlight and a headlamp without asking you to buy two separate products, and it delivers on that promise better than I expected going in. The build quality is excellent, the magnetic charging is genuinely clever once you get used to it, and switching between handheld and hands-free is fast enough that I actually do it instead of just carrying it one way out of habit. It is not the cheapest light in my drawer, and I would like a backup charging option, but it has earned a permanent spot in the rotation and outlasted plenty of lights that cost less and did less.
If you’re comparing options in this category, see The Best Flashlights I’ve Tested for how this one stacks up against the others I’ve tested.
Price: $89.95
Where to buy: Olight or Amazon
What I like: Genuinely useful as both a handheld light and a headlamp, strong turbo output, magnetic charging is fast and clever, two-way pocket clip is a nice touch
What I don’t: No backup charging option if the magnetic cable is ever lost, proprietary-shaped battery, price sits above budget flashlights
