Fenix HM65R V2 vs HM65R-T V2 review: the head torch I trust for serious nights

What I actually want from a head torch

What I want from a head torch has nothing to do with anywhere exotic. For real night use on UK ground, a winter hill in the dark, a coastal path after sunset, a forest with no moon, a long training run that runs later than planned, I want four things: enough power and reach to see the hazard before I reach it, a red mode that lets me check a map or a companion without wrecking my night vision, a build that shrugs off rain and knocks, and a battery I can actually rely on when it is cold.

I did have an extreme test in mind while I chose, a winter trip to northern Finland, and that sharpened the cold-weather requirements more than a British winter would. But do not let that put you off if you never plan to leave the UK. The torch that survives a Finnish night is exactly the torch you want on a filthy February hill in Snowdonia or the Cairngorms, and everything below is chosen for performance first. The Arctic was just a good way to stress-test the shortlist.

The winner, for me and in the end for my whole family, was the Fenix HM65R V2. It comes in two versions, and the choice between them is the useful part of this review.

Two versions, one decision

The two share far more than they differ. Both are magnesium, both are IP68 (dust and waterproof), both are rated to operate down to -35C, both carry a whistle on the headband, and, crucially, both run on the exact same removable 18650 battery with a 2x CR123A lithium backup.

The difference is the beam:

• The HM65R V2.0 (non-T) is the performance pick: 2200 lumens, a 230m throw, and a dedicated red night-vision mode. Spotlight, floodlight and red.
• The HM65R-T V2.0 trades some of that raw power for a warm-white beam: 1600 lumens of cool white plus an 800-lumen warm beam. Warm light cuts through falling snow, fog and rain with less glare bouncing back, but it drops the red mode.

The HM65R V2.0 (non-T): the one I chose

For real night navigation, the non-T is the one. It delivers on the whole brief.

• Power and reach. 2200 lumens and a 230m beam. When you're picking a line off-path in the dark, or finding the next marker across a black field, or spotting a cliff edge before you walk onto it, reach is the thing you can't fake.
• A proper red mode. A dedicated red beam, a double-click away, that preserves your night vision instead of wrecking it every time you check a map, and doesn't dazzle anyone with you. It matters more than people expect, on a UK hill or anywhere else.
• Trustworthy when it's cold and wet. IP68, a removable 18650 you can swap for a spare kept warm in a pocket, and the 2x CR123A lithium backup for when hard cold saps a rechargeable.

HM65R V2.0 output

2200 lumens, 230m beam

HM65R-T V2.0 output

1600 lumens cool white + 800 lumens warm white, 170m beam

Battery (both)

Removable 18650 (Fenix ARB-L18-3400), USB-C; 2 x CR123A cold backup

Water and impact (both)

IP68, 2m impact resistance

Cold rating (both)

Operates to -35C

Body (both)

Magnesium alloy, headband whistle, dual-switch control

Weight

144g (non-T) / 140g (-T)

The HM65R-T V2.0: the warm-white alternative

The -T is not a downgrade, it is a different tool. Its warm-white beam throws far less glare back at you in falling snow, fog or heavy rain, which makes it easier to see by in properly bad weather, and it is a touch lighter. It keeps the same IP68 body, the -35C rating, the CR123A backup, the whistle and the same 18650.

The HM65R-T V2.0 in three finishes

Same torch, same performance, three colours. Tap a finish to go to that variant.

Black

Dark Purple

Nebula

What it gives up is the red mode and some raw power. If you spend a lot of your dark hours in thick weather and value a soft, glare-free beam, the -T is worth a serious look. For most people who want maximum reach and a red mode for map work and night vision, the non-T is the better all-round performance torch.

Why I bought the same one for the whole family

For our Finland trip I kitted out the whole family, and I put all four of us on the non-T, the same torch. There is a lesson in that for any group.

The red mode was the decider. Checking on the kids in the dark, moving around a camp or a viewing spot, keeping everyone's night vision intact and not blinding each other, that is exactly what a red beam is for, and the warm-white -T does not have one. Add the fact that all four torches then share one battery type, one whistle-and-lockout system, one set of spare cells and one set of instructions, and identical torches make a group far simpler to run than a mix ever would.

Because the Fenix has no rear light, I added a cheap 4-pack of clip-on flashing LEDs for the backpacks, plus a self-charging spare 18650 each and a CR123A pack as the deep-cold backup. On a dark path with the kids, a bright rear flasher each is worth more than any built-in tail light.

The honest cons

The battery sits in the front housing, so the weight is on your forehead, and there is no rear light. That front weight is real, though a hat cushions it entirely, and the clip-on LEDs cover the rear. It is also more torch than a casual dog-walker needs. If comfort on gentle walks is your priority over outright performance, a lighter, rear-balanced torch like the Silva Trail Runner Free 2 Ultra is the nicer thing to wear. The Fenix is the tougher, more powerful tool, and for serious night use that is the trade I want.

Verdict

The Fenix HM65R V2 is the head torch I trust for real nights out, on the coast, on a winter hill, or deep in a forest, and it is the one I chose to put on my own head and my whole family's. The non-T is the performance pick: power, reach and a red mode. The -T is the warm-white sibling for people who spend their dark hours in snow and fog. Because they share one battery, one system and one cold rating, they are also about the easiest torches to kit a group out with.

I'm writing this as the choice I've made and bought for real reasons, not as a trail report, because the hardest test is still ahead of me. Once these have been through a full winter of night walks, training runs and the trip that guided the choice, I'll come back and add how they actually held up.

The night I learned to take this seriously

If you want the reason I take a head torch this seriously, here it is.

The 2025 Jurassic Coast Ultra was quite a different beast to this year's. That one was all about not cooking: warm, bright late into the evening, and beautiful as my friend and I came through the big climbs beyond Durdle Door into the last few hours. We were well drilled. Our packing lists were down to a fine art, and even with around 1,700m of climbing behind us over the previous twelve hours, we were moving well into the final long stretch toward Weymouth, where the ground eases but the paths narrow and run close to the edge.

Part of the joy of these events is the people you fall in with. Somewhere in there we met a guy who had left his mates at the last aid station. They were unlikely to finish; he was determined to, and fair play to him. The problem was his head torch. He had either forgotten to pack it or forgotten to take it from his friend before setting off alone, and now he had a choice: turn back, or finish the last hours in the dark. He did not seem to know what was ahead of him. We had walked that section several times in training. So we told him we would see him through.

I had a small torch he could hold, but I knew it was only good for reading a map or lighting your own feet, nowhere near enough for that ground at night. As it got properly black, I led on full beam, our new friend went in the middle, and my mate followed on his own head torch, so between us we lit every drop and every edge, front and back. He struggled as the miles wore on, so we slowed and brought him through, leave-no-one-behind style, until we hit the Weymouth promenade a little after midnight.

I will be honest: that late into a hard day, part of me just wanted to be done, and the thought of pushing on without him crossed my mind. For about a second. He was grateful, we got him home, and it was the right call. But it should never have come to that. A head torch is the one thing you check and ready at the last aid station before the light goes, not the thing you find you are missing on a cliff path in the dark. A good light, spare batteries, and ideally a backup ready to go: on that ground, at night, near edges that do not forgive, it is not optional.