REVIEW – HAOYISHU DH06 diving light is made for use in, or out of the water. It has 3 steady lighting modes plus SOS and strobe. The tail cap seals with double O rings and there is no charging port, so water cannot enter this light. Whether the DH06 is used on or under terra firma for diving, camping, running, hiking or caving, it tosses some bright light to guide your steps or strokes.
What is it?
HAOYISHU DH06 diving headlamp is a bright, LED, rechargeable headlamp that can be used for diving, snorkeling or on-land uses.
What’s in the box?
- HAOYISHU DH06 Scuba Diving Headlamp
- Two, 3.7V, 4800 mAh Lithium ion batteries
- Rubber head strap and rubber light holder
- USB charger cradle with built-in cord
- Two spare O rings
- Lightweight carry box
Hardware specs
-
- 2000 lumens claimed at Amazon
- Lumen levels per instruction sheet: 2oo Minimum, 900 Medium, 1700 maximum.
- Lighting modes: Low, medium, high, SOS, strobe
- Weight, Light only: 6.1 oz.
- Weight, Light plus headband: 9 oz
- Dimensions: 3.74″L x 2″W x 1.37″H
- Aluminum alloy construction
- Glass lens
- IPX8 water resistance
- Dual O rings at end cap
- 60 meter depth acceptable
Design and features
The HAOYISHU diving light (DH06 hereafter) is designed to be a headlamp. While it removes easily from the all-rubber head band there is no great way to hold it as a handheld flashlight, and it isn’t comfortably pocketable.
There are discrepancies in some of the product claims in areas of the Amazon listing for the DH06. The battery capacity is claimed to be 4800 mAh and 5000 mAh. The maximum operating depth is shown to be 60 meters, and 70 meters. But what’s a few milliamps and meters among friends?
The DH06 is at first, a bit heavy feeling on the noggin but that sensation would be decreased with underwater use, and became a non-factor for me in my night walks and chore duties. The head band has an ‘over the head’ strap that helps dissipate the weight. The rubber pad that touches the forehead is comfortable and left no embarrassing mark after 30 minutes of continuous use, over multiple times.
The overall light beam spread is indicated to be 55 degrees, and the bright center of the beam is listed as 8 degrees.
Setup
The direction sheet claims charging time is “5-8 hours” but is sparse on detail.
There is a red LED on the charger that turns green when I remove the battery from it. The charger LED didn’t turn green after 5 hours of charging either of the two batteries. But with a 5 hour charge I got many, many uses of the light, and I did not need to recharge the battery in the course of my testing.
I eventually charged the battery overnight and after 10 hours the green charger light was on. Plan to charge these batteries for a long time and / or plug the charger into a USB-A source with higher power throughput.
Performance
There is an embedded LED in the light switch of the DH06. It glowed green when the light was on, so I interpreted that as the battery having full power. During my testing that LED never changed color. The instruction sheet suggested with an unclear sentence that the light turns red at 50% battery power and flashes when the power is really low.
The batteries are stamped with a bar code and ‘5.0 Ah’, and there is no voltage indication on them. That’s 5000 mAh so it is a very good capacity battery. And two are included.
Buyers should have information in a flashlight’s package specifying details of the operation of the light, the various lighting modes, battery capacity, run time, charge time and charging procedure. With the HAOYISHU diving light you’re left to figure some of that out yourself.
With a single, full button press this HAOYISHU diving light produces its low light beam. Subsequent button presses invoke the medium, high and SOS light modes in rotation, with each button press once the light is on. A two second press turns the light off. A quick double button press from off, activates a high flash rate strobe. This strobe is pretty irritating so it might work in a pinch to disorient someone, if that’s a need. If I were signaling a rescuer I’d use the SOS mode on this light, just because it would be less annoying to their eyes.
The DH06 is a dive light but I don’t dive. Instead of trying to make a point in the murky river and lake waters in my area, I decided water-proofness would be the best test of this light. Since lithium plus water make ‘boom’ and fire, I left it overnight in a bucket of water at a distance from my house. Sure, that doesn’t test the pressures of 60 feet underwater, but see again all the land-based uses listed for this light. This should at least verify the water-tightness of the device if you’re a caver, hiker or camper.
After 12 hours in a 5 gallon bucket, the big news is the light was still on, and quite bright. The LED at the button was still green. It must only be an ‘on’ indicator. The battery voltage read 3.5 V! I’ve used this light for probably a dozen, twenty minute dog walks at night plus assorted tasks fixing, finding and working on things. I’m amazed at the capacity of this very bright light. I never needed a light mode beyond the ‘low’ mode, which is not really that low.
I removed the DH06 from the water and dried it completely. I carefully examined the exterior to make sure no water droplets were on the exterior of the light. I unscrewed the DH06 and used a flashlight to inspect the battery compartment of the light and found no discernable moisture. There was also no water inside the light lens assembly.
I tried but never found the DH06 easy or comfortable to use as a hand-held light. To me, there was no good, secure way to carry and use it in my hand.
The Amazon description indicates the DH06 can be strapped to the hand. Without directions I got it figured out. I removed the longer ‘around the head’ strap and attached the shorter, ‘over the head’ strap into the side strap holes, then tightened it to loosely fit my wrist. This was an ok way to use the light as my hands were still free vs. trying to hand-carry the light.
This method might work for a snorkeler or diver who has a face mask or goggles that don’t allow enough forehead space for a light to fit.
I put the ‘around the head’ strap back in place, left the ‘over the head’ strap off, and I discovered the DH06 was quite comfortable and very stable in this configuration. Voila, my most favorite way to use the DH06. This position was perfect for slipping on the light for quick chores or for long dog walks in the night. Thanks to the rubber strap and the rubber of the forehead piece the light never slipped from its position. The only adjusting you’d have to do is to rotate the light in its mount to tilt it, and choose brightness settings to suit the task.
The DH06 also worked on a hat worn traditionally or backward.
The DH06 casts a bright central beam but the outer, wider beam was also substantial. That outer beam lit up street signs and reflective parts of parked cars two blocks ahead when I walked in light traffic at night. I think it would be unnecessary and probably irritating to oncoming traffic to shine the bright center beam at it. Traffic seemed to notice me fine as I kept the center beam 45 degrees downwards and 15-20 feet ahead of me.
That bright center beam was an advantage when a car approached me with its bright headlights on. That tends to blind me if I’m walking with a weak light. The DH06 illuminated my steps even when cars approached me with their brights on. And I could signal an oncoming car by lifting my head to aim my beam at the car then down a couple of times. Most drivers got the idea that I was signaling that their brights were on.
What I like
-
-
- Solid professional construction
- Bright lighting modes
- Flawless tailcap seal
- Single headband use without the overhead strap is perfect.
-
What I’d change
-
-
- The light needs more complete, detailed directions.
-
Final thoughts
The HAOYISHU DH06 Diving Light has become my favorite headlamp among my four headlamps of various designs. It’s the heaviest headlamp I have but is quite comfortable to use. The DH06 battery will not need to spend much time in a charger since it offers many uses before the battery depletes. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, or a long diving session will be a challenge for the HAOUYISHU Diving Light.
Price: $58.98
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by HAOYISHU.
