LEDLenser MH5 Grey Headlamp
Ninety four grams. That is the number that matters on the LEDLenser MH5, and it is the reason this particular headlamp gets used far more than heavier lights sitting in the same drawer. A light you forget you are wearing is a light you keep on your head, and a light you keep on your head is one you are not fumbling for when the sun disappears faster than you planned.
Built for people who move
Trail runners, hikers, cyclists, dog walkers, campers and anyone doing evening chores around a property. The MH5 sits in the outdoor half of the LEDLenser range rather than the industrial half, and everything about it is arranged for movement: low mass so it does not bounce, a slim front unit that does not sit heavily on the forehead, and a body in PC and ABS that keeps weight down without becoming fragile. It survives a 2 metre drop, which is more than the height it will fall from when it slips off a tent pole.
400 lumens, or 35 hours, or somewhere in between
Full power gives 400 lumens with a 180 metre beam and roughly 4 hours of runtime. The low setting drops to 20 lumens over 40 metres and stretches to 35 hours. Those two figures bracket almost every way an outdoor headlamp gets used.
The mistake most people make is living on high power. Twenty lumens is genuinely enough for walking a known path, cooking, packing a bag, reading in a tent or finding the ablution block, and it is kinder to everyone around you. Save the 180 metre beam for spotting a route marker, checking eyes at the fence line or finding whatever the dog has run after.
Rapid Focus in one hand
The Advanced Focus System moves the beam from wide flood to tight spot, and Rapid Focus lets you do it with a single hand in one movement. On the move that is the whole point. You are not stopping, you are not putting anything down, you simply push the beam out to see further and pull it back to light your feet. Runners in particular will appreciate that it can be done mid stride.
The red light is not a gimmick
A red rear light preserves dark adaptation. Human night vision takes around twenty minutes to build and about one second of white light to destroy, which is why red is the standard in observatories, on bridges of ships and in any campsite where people are being considerate. Use it inside a tent, at a table after dark, when reading a map or when checking on somebody who is asleep, and nobody has to start their night vision again from scratch.
Magnetic charging
The Magnetic Charge System replaces a fiddly port with a contact that snaps into place. There is no rubber flap to perish, no socket to fill with dust and no alignment to get right in the dark. Charging takes 150 minutes, which fits comfortably into an evening or a drive to the trailhead. Smart Light Technology handles the modes, letting you set the light to behave the way you want rather than cycling through functions you never use.
What IP54 means for you
The MH5 is rated IP54: protected against dust ingress and against water splashing from any direction. Rain, sweat, spray and a wet morning are all fine. Submersion is not, so this is not the headlamp for kayaking or for work that involves standing in water. For hiking, running, camping and general outdoor use, IP54 is the sensible weight to protection trade off, and it is a large part of why the MH5 weighs what it does.
The grey finish on the MH5
Grey keeps the unit looking clean far longer than black, which shows every scuff, or a bright colour, which shows every mark. It also reads as understated rather than technical, so wearing it into a shop or a filling station on the way home does not feel like walking around in expedition costume.
How to get the most out of the battery
Two habits make a large difference. Run the low setting by default and step up only when you need distance, since the gap between 4 hours and 35 hours is entirely a matter of how often you reach for full power. And charge it after a trip rather than before the next one, because the flat headlamp discovered on a Friday afternoon is a story every camper has told at least once.
Fit and comfort
Comfort on a headlamp is mostly a function of mass and where it sits. Because the MH5 keeps everything in one slim front unit rather than adding a rear battery pack, there is nothing pressing on the back of the skull under a hat, a helmet or a hood, and nothing swinging out of phase with your stride when you run. Set the band once and it stays where you put it.
Who should buy it
Anyone who wants a proper headlamp rather than a cheap one, and who values weight over maximum output. It suits hikers, runners, campers, travellers, smallholders and anyone whose evening involves walking somewhere unlit. Working temperature runs from -20 C to 40 C, so it will handle a Drakensberg winter night as easily as a Lowveld summer evening.
Features
- 400 Max Lumens
- Up to 180m Max Beam Distance
- Up to 35h Max Runtime
- IP54 Rating
- Smart Light Technology
- Magnetic Charge System
- Advanced Focus System
- Rapid Focus
- Red Light
Specifications
| Brand |
LEDLenser |
| Beam distance (in m) |
180 |
| Max. Luminous flux (in lm) |
400 |
| CRI |
70 |
| Lightsource color temperature |
6000 - 7500 |
| Power: |
| Luminous flux (in lm) |
400 |
| Beam distance (in m) |
180 |
| Runtime (in h) |
4 |
| Low power: |
| Luminous flux (in lm) |
20 |
| Beam distance (in m) |
40 |
| Runtime (in h) |
35 |
| Power Supply: |
| Runtime (in hours) |
35 |
| Rechargeable |
Yes |
| Charging time (in minutes) |
150 |
| Dimensions |
| Weight (in g) |
94 |
| Material |
| Materials |
PC + ABS |
| Water and dust resistance |
IP54 |
| Drop test height (in m) |
2 |
| Working temperature (in C) |
-20 - 40 |
