Skilhunt H300

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Skilhunt H300 specs

Brand & Model	Skilhunt H300 (Nichia 144 version)
Flashlight category	Headlamp / right-angle
LED	Nichia 144ART 4500K (as tested)
Max. output	1500 lumens
Max. beam distance	134 meters
Max. beam intensity	4500 cd
Battery config.	1*18650 (as tested), 2*CR123A
Onboard charging	Proprietary Magnetic
Main modes	7
Blinkies	Strobe, SOS, Beacon
Waterproof	IPX8
Review publication date	May 2023

We previously reviewed the Skilhunt H300 with the Cree XHP 50.2 emitter, but Skilhunt now has a few other options, including Nichia’s 144ART, which is what I’ll be covering here. Much of the rest of the review should be similar, as this is only a different emitter in the otherwise same host. If you’re interested in the 144ART, read on!

Package quality.

Skilhunt’s packaging always looks shelf-ready, and the H300’s is no different. For the H300, there’s a clear plastic window in the front which shows off the light. It’s a little too small to see the whole light, though. I appreciate that there’s a tab you can use to pull the tray out of the box, and that the light is cradled in a molded plastic insert, while the accessories are kept together in a cardboard tray under that. It looks very professional. 

Inside the box, you’ll find

• Skilhunt H300
• Skilhunt 18650 (BL-135) optional
• Clip
• Lanyard
• Headband and clip
• Plastic zip-top bag with spare o-rings and rubber disk to replace magnet
• Skilhunt MC-20 USB charging cable
• Instruction manual

Not to take anything away from their flashlights, but Skilhunt is especially known for their great headlamps, and one of the key components of a headlamp is its headband. Skilhunt’s headband is regularly recommended for other headlamps (of the same body diameter), and may (subjectively) be the best one out there. It comes in three parts: A headband, a strap which goes over the top of your head, and a plastic clip for the light. You have to attach the top strap and clip to the headband, but it’s not too bad. The band just slips into through small cuts in the clips, then you can tighten it to your liking. Especially with the strap that goes over your head, it holds in place nicely and doesn’t put too much strain on your neck.

Another thing that the H300 has over other headlamps is that the button is on the side of the head, if you’re standing it up, that is. When clipped into the headband, the button is on the top (or bottom, depending on how you insert it) of the light, allowing for easier activation than if it was on the top of the head. It actually works well for holding the light as well, as it places the button right at your thumb, if you’re using your right hand. In the left hand, it gets awkward to try to activate or change modes.

The clip is fairly deep carry, though it’s loose. You can leave it on while putting the light in the headband, if you don’t mind not being able to rotate the light. It only goes on the light one way.

There’s an included lanyard which has a cinch strap with a button to keep it tight against your wrist. Skilhunt twists a small cable onto the loop end of their lanyards to make it easier to thread through the tiny holes in the tail cap. They’re on the side of the tail cap, so you can still tail stand with the lanyard on.

Like some other Skilhunt models, the H300 has a removable magnet in the tailcap. If you take it out, there’s a small rubber disk you can put in its place to keep the spring stable. The magnet holds pretty well, so you can stick it horizontal or even upside down on something magnetic.

All in all, the H300 works best as a headlamp, so anything you need a headlamp for, the H300 will fit the bill, though the floody beam will be best for relatively closer work, as opposed to a thrower-type headlamp.

Skilhunt always has high quality builds. The H300, which comes in gray or black anodized aluminum, is no exception.

The head has the button on one side, as already mentioned, and all the branding on the opposite side. On the top is the magnetic charging port, which seems to be a good place for it, since it can easily be swiveled around to face whichever direction you need. The rear of the head has very, very deep cooling fins. It would be interesting to see how differently the light would perform with or without them, since they’re so big.

The body has thick, rectangular knurling, which helps you hold onto it, though you’ll probably be using it in the headband. The head is glued to the body, so you can’t switch it around, and the only threads you can get to are on the tail. They’re nice, though, and well lubed. 

The tail cap itself is rather smooth, but has a number of shallow cutouts which help with grip. The lanyard holes are also located here, and the bottom is smooth for standing up.

The H300 is covered by Skilhunt’s standard warranty. You can read the full text of it on their Service page.

To summarize:

• Free product replacement due to defect within 15 days of purchase
• Free product repair due to defect within 24 months of purchase
• Paid repair available after 24 months
• Warranty may not be honored if purchased from unauthorized dealer
• Warranty does not cover normal wear or non-defect damage

The H300 differs from the H04 in that the H300 uses a 5050-size (5.0mm x 5.0mm), quad-die, 6V emitters, vs 3535, 3V emitters. There are two versions: The H300R has a reflector as opposed to the H300, which has a TIR. The 144ART is only available with the TIR and the XHP50.3 is only available with the reflector, but the XHP50.2 variants can be had with either TIR or reflector. This review covers the H300 with Nichia 144ART.

With both lower CCT and higher CRI, the Nichia 144ART will have the lowest output in terms of lumens and throw of the various emitter options, but has some nice quality light.

The TIR in the H300 has a very pleasing to look at circular pattern of dimples for diffusion. It reminds me of a flower, like a chrysanthemum or something like that. I believe, but don’t have confirmation, that it’s a Ledil lens. It produces a smooth, floody beam pattern, though still has a hotspot, even if it’s not strongly defined.

The bezel on the H300 screws in, so you could access the emitter to swap it if you wanted, but with four emitter options, you can probably just buy one with the type of emitter you need.

The measurements from my Opple Light Master Pro were very consistent across modes. DUV is slightly above BBL on the lower half of the modes and negative in the higher modes. The TIR seems to balance the light out nicely, as the DUV is much lower than on the M300 v2 with the 144ART, and the tint is nicer, too. It’s very white without much, if any, shift in color.

Mode	CCT	CRI	DUV	Flicker
L2	4447K	95.1	0.0016	760 Hz
L1	4477K	95.5	0.0010	6192 Hz
M2	4497K	95.5	0.0010	30037 Hz
M1	4527K	95.1	0.0013	30118 Hz
H1	4563K	95.1	0.0003	22548 Hz
T2	4538K	94.2	-0.0009	21815 Hz
T1	4710K	93.8	-0.0006	18846 Hz

Dimensions: 

Skilhunt H300	Millimeters	Inches
Length	105 mm	4.1 in
Head diameter (widest point)	30 mm	1.2 in
Body diameter	22 mm	0.8 in

Dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter, and to the nearest tenth of an Inch.

Weight: 

Skilhunt H300	Weight in grams	Weight in oz
Without battery:	60 g	3.9 oz
With battery	111 g	2.1 oz

Weight is rounded to the nearest gram, and to the nearest tenth of an Oz.

Flashlight size comparison with its competition:

Group 1: Emisar DW4, Skilhunt H300, ThruNite Thrower

Group 2: Emisar D4V2, Skilhunt H300, Convoy S2+

The H300 uses Skilhunt’s standard UI.

Available modes: 

• L2, L1, M2, M1, H1, T2, T1

Available blinky modes: 

• Strobe, SOS, beacon
  

From OFF:

• Press and hold: Memorized low mode: L2 or L1
• Single click: Memorized regular mode: M2, M1, or H1
• Double click: Memorized turbo mode: T2 or T1
• 3 clicks: Memorized strobe mode
• 4 clicks: Lockout 

From ON:

• Press and hold: Cycle next level within the same mode (except strobe)
• 1 click: Off 
• Double click: Memorized turbo level (except from low mode)
• 3 clicks: Memorized strobe mode 

Mode memory:

• Each of the modes retains its level 

Shortcuts:

• To Low: Hold from off
• To Turbo: Double-click from off or regular mode
• To Strobe: Triple-click from off or regular mode

Low voltage warning:

• When the battery is getting low, the indicator light on the switch blinks red, and the emitter will blink twice every two seconds

Strobe/blinkies

• Triple-click to get into strobe mode
• Double click to cycle through strobes 
• Strobes
  • Strobe
  • SOS
  • Beacon

Lock-out mode: 

• Electronic lockout is possible with 4 clicks from off
• When in electronic lockout, you can hold for momentary moonlight (L2)
• Physical lockout is also possible by unscrewing the tail cap 
• Double-click in lockout to enable the locator beacon in the indicator light

PWM

• Not visible to me by eye or on my phone’s camera.

Skilhunt offers a choice of two batteries with this light: The BL-131 or the BL-135. Mine came with the BL-135. Both are protected, button top, and 69mm by 18.6mm. The differences are that the BL-131 is 3100mAh, with 15A continuous discharge and apparently 30A burst, while the BL-135 has 3500mAh capacity with 8A continuous discharge and 17A burst. Unprotected flat-top batteries should also work.

Skilhunt includes their MC-20 with the H300. This 2A magnetic charger sticks to the port on the top of the head and includes a tiny indicator light which is red while charging and turns blue when complete.

Of course, this is a proprietary connector, which some people dislike, but it works fine. Even better would be if you had multiple Skilhunt lights, since you get a charger with each and you’ll have spares. If you lose your charger or it breaks, you’ll either have to buy another cable or charge your batteries externally.

The H300 has low voltage protection on the driver, and it kicks in around 2.9V. Charging took on average 2.5 hours, which seems a bit long for 2A and a 3500mAh battery, and terminated around 4.13V. Incidentally, you can use the light on any mode while charging. Plugged in without the battery, you can use any mode but turbo.

When I did a 250mA capacity test with my Vapcell S4+ charger, it finished at 3389mAh. Short of the BL-135’s specs, but not by too much.

Skilhunt also advertises that the H300 can be powered by two CR123A batteries. I did not test this configuration, but remember that these are not rechargeable and never mix new and old CR123As.

On that note, the product page says that the driver is rated for 2.7V – 8.4V and half of 8.4 is 4.2, which is the max voltage of a standard Lithium Ion battery, which would also mean that you could use two 16340/RCR123 batteries or possibly two 18350s. My flat-top 18350s did not make contact, though.

Lumen measurements

How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards How Lumens are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards: The ANSI FL1 standards specify that output in lumens should be measured 30 seconds after turning on, as this is the standardized time for measuring brightness according to the industry standard. This is why we focus on this part in our measurements. The ANSI FL1 standards require an ambient temperature of 22 ± 3°C. We record the ambient the ambient temperature to identify potential reasons for any observed discrepancies.

To obtain these numbers, I used a very rudimentary integrated shoebox and ceilingbounce on my Samsung Galaxy S10. Measurements have been calibrated using a standardized calibration light provided by 1Lumen.

Mode	Amps at turn on	Specified	turn on	30 sec	10 minutes
L2	0.01	0.5	0 lm	0 lm	0 lm
L1	0.02	4	4 lm	4 lm	4 lm
M2	0.06	25	27 lm	27 lm	27 lm
M1	0.27	115	113 lm	110 lm	110 lm
H1	0.89	330/210	327 lm	316 lm	319 lm
T2	*	860/430/280	825 lm	792 lm	404 lm
T1	*	1500/590/400	1328 lm	1264 lm	453 lm
Turbo at 3.6V	*	–	11247	590 lm	529 lm

Parasitic drain:

• None measured.

Amps were measured with a Cen-Tech digital multimeter to the best of my ability since my Klein Tools MM300 blew a fuse.

While the 144ART is the lowest performing emitter option for the H300, it still puts out a respectable amount of light and is fairly close to spec, which is a trait of Skilhunt lights, in my experience.

Skilhunt H300 Battery Life: Runtime graphs

How Runtimes are Measured: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About ANSI FL1 runtime standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turning on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries.

Mode	Specified runtime	Measured runtime ANSI	Time till shut off
L2	–	–	–
L1	350h	–	–
M2	55h	–	–
M1	12h	11h 23min	11h 23min
H1	4h 10min	4h 42min	4h 42min
T2	2h 53min	3h 30min	3h 30min
T1	2h 21min	2h 22min	2h 22min

Given that most of my measurements were slightly above spec, I’m guessing their specs may have used the BL-131, which is 400mAh smaller than the BL-135 that I have. It’s always good to see a light outperform its specs, though. These are some respectable numbers!

Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements

About Peak beam intensity: Understanding ANSI FL1 Standards About peak beam intensity The calculated value of distance in meters at which the flashlight produces a light intensity of 0.25 lux. (0.25 lux is about the brightness of a full moon shining on an object). This means that the intensity has decreased so much, it becomes difficult to see darker objects, or objects that don’t reflect light. The columns ‘Meters’ and ‘Yards’ use rounded numbers.

The numbers for candela were obtained with a UNI-T UT383S luxmeter at 5 and 15 meters, then averaged. 

Mode	Specified	Candela measured	Meters	Yards
L2	–	–	–	–
L1	–	–	–	–
M2	–	141 cd	24 m	26 yd
M1	–	376 cd	39 m	43 yd
H1	–	799 cd	57 m	62 yd
T2	–	2703 cd	104 m	114 yd
T1	4500 cd	4841 cd	139 m	152 yd

Candela came out just above spec in my testing, which is nice to see, but keep in mind this is using an amateur setup. The H300 144ART has about half the spec throw of the H300R with the XHP50.3 HI, but that’s to be expected with their different power profiles, optics, and use cases.

These were taken with a Samsung Galaxy S22+ using pro mode and the following settings: 

• WB 5000K
• ISO 200
• Speed 0.5

Distance to the other end of the playing field is 100 meters.

You can see how the 144ART’s TIR lens creates a nice, floody beam, though it lacks in the throw department.

Beamshots of the following flashlights compared:

• Skilhunt H300 (Nichia 144ART)
• Skilhunt M300 v2
• ThruNite Thrower

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to me for review at no cost by Skilhunt. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.