Helmet lamp in the test: Ledlenser H19R Signature – the all-rounder

TEST: The all-rounder among helmet lamps has an adjustable light field and comes with accessories for all conceivable uses. Accordingly, the Ledlenser H19R Signature also has its price.

Test of the Ledlenser H19R Signature - all information & data on the helmet lamp at a glance

The H19R Signature is currently the flagship from Ledlenser and is available in stores for €329. The helmet lamp delivers up to 4000 lumens distributed over two individually controllable LEDs. A flood light with a wide light cone ensures even illumination of a large area in front of the lamp. A spot light for a bright, directional beam of light provides long-distance vision. Combined together, Ledlenser calls this system Fusion Beam and promises an application-optimized light pattern. The rear lamp housing and holder are made of an aluminum alloy, the front part is made of sturdy plastic. The processing of all components and accessories makes a very high-quality impression.
On closer inspection, however, the situation is somewhat different. The advertised 4000 lumens are only achieved briefly, around 10 seconds, in boost mode. This is therefore irrelevant for mountain bike use. Three modes are available for constant lighting: Power (1800 lumens), Mid Power (800 lumens) and Low Power (200 lumens).

The small print also contains the information that, for technical reasons, the actually achieved luminosity, lighting range and lighting duration can deviate from the nominal values ​​by up to 15% in individual cases. In addition, the lamp can regulate the luminosity downwards depending on the ambient temperature in order to avoid overheating and thus damage to the LEDs. In addition, the H19R Signature comes with a feature called Optisense Technology. This regulates the luminosity independently when the light falls on large reflective surfaces to avoid glare. Sounds useful, but could also be annoying. We subjected the multitude of functions and setting options to a practical test.

Data sheet

Delivery

The H19R Signature comes with lots of accessories, neatly packed in a practical bag. No wonder, because Ledlenser places it as a versatile and ultimate high-end headlamp for extreme athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. The scope of delivery includes:

• H19R Signature helmet lamp
• Battery 4800 mAh
• USB charging cable with charger
• Extension cable 1,2 m
• Bluetooth remote control
• Helmet holder with adhesive pad and four Velcro straps
• Fixing clips for climbing or construction helmets
• universal handlebar mount
• Adapter for GoPro mounts
• Posture for mounting the lamp and battery on a tripod

Accessories & Extension

The H19R Signature does not need many accessories - the set is already extensively equipped and leaves little to be desired. Nevertheless, all brackets are available for purchase in Ledlenser's in-house online shop. For example, the universal handlebar mount for €12,90 - if you want to operate the lamp and remote control on the handlebars. A complete second battery is available for €59,90; a pure battery pack as a replacement is available for a fair €39,90. Another helmet mount is available for €14,90.

Test: The Ledlenser H19R Signature in action

assembly and fastening

Mounting on the bicycle helmet is easy and works without any problems. To do this, we fixed the helmet adapter to the helmet with the appropriate adhesive pad and two Velcro straps. The lamp is pushed into the holder from one side. Engaging requires a lot of force before the corresponding click can be heard. That doesn't quite match the otherwise high value. In this configuration, there is no space on the helmet for the battery and at 230 grams it would also be too heavy for it. Therefore it is connected to the extension cable and goes into the backpack. For those who like to travel without a backpack, the cable is also long enough to stow the battery in a hip pack. The plug connection of the cables is quite stiff, which is due to the built-in rubber seals - but it is waterproof.

Service

The lamp is operated via three small, very close together rubberized buttons on the top of the lamp housing. The included instructions are very well illustrated, but otherwise quite sparse. It takes some time to get used to the controls. The individual setting of the light field as well as the behavior of the setting after switching off and on again would do with some explanatory text. The three small and closely spaced knobs on the top for the aforementioned high level of adjustability make adjusting the brightness and light field on the trail a bit of a challenge - especially with gloves on.
The included Bluetooth remote control can also be used from the handlebars. Unfortunately, the universal pole mount for the remote control is relatively clumsy. That's why it can only be found further inside on the handlebars - the handlebars still have to be released to operate it. The pressure point of the buttons on the remote control is poorly defined. The input does not always work, especially while driving.
The in-house app solves some of these problems: It offers many configuration options and also enables the programming of individual profiles with different power levels for the spot and wide-angle LEDs. The operation of the app is intuitive and simple. It further enhances the already very flexible system of the H19R Signature. It does take a while to find your individual settings with the H19R Signature - but these can then be saved in individual profiles, each with up to six light levels.

battery & runtime

The empty battery is charged using a USB cable with the in-house connection and the included USB charger (2,4 A). Ledlenser ensures flexibility here with the option of charging the battery on a PC, for example. A charging process takes 5,5 hours for the 4800 mAh battery - compared to other helmet lamps, this is rather slow. The battery life is interesting: Ledlenser promises a whopping 4 hours at full power with 1800 lm. For the second lighting level with 800 lm it is 7 hours and for the lowest level with 200 lm it is 20 hours. So nothing stands in the way of extensive night rides and other activities. If you create individual light levels via app, these values ​​will of course vary. If the battery level falls below 25%, the H19R Signature goes into a dimmed emergency mode - a good indicator if you lose sight of the battery level.

Weight & Trail Use

The lamp head with its 140 g was slightly noticeable on our test tours, but it didn't bother us in the slightest. What was more disturbing was that hanging branches and leaves were able to adjust the brightness level with slight grazing. How this can happen has not been revealed to us. However, most users will not come across such problem areas on their trips. The entire system consisting of lamp, bracket, battery and extension cable weighs around 390 grams. The H19R sits securely on the helmet. No wobbling or rattling, even when things get a little rough on the trail. The light field of the H19R Signature takes some getting used to at first, as we will discuss below.

The light field of the H19R Signature

The light field shows that the balancing act that the H19R wants to do over many purposes is quite challenging. On the trail, the customizability of flood and spot LEDs isn't really an advantage. At medium and high intensity, the light beam from the spot LED creates a spot that is too bright and too sharply defined in the middle of the otherwise good illumination of the flood LED.
We found the best setting for us via the app with Flood LED at 100% and Spot LED at around 40% for fast descents; on slower descents, 10% is more comfortable. In our practical text, the luminosity was still sufficient for higher speeds. For uphill flow on trails, we get along well with 50% of the flood LED and 10% of the spot LED. On faster and slower forest road transfers, the Flood LED proved to be sufficiently bright at 25 - 10%. So you have to be prepared for a little trial and error with the H19R Signature. This is ideally done with the app, as we have already explained under the point of operation.

The light levels in direct comparison

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