Nitecore Flashlights, Headlamps and Lanterns

What Nitecore makes for hunters and campers

Nitecore makes portable light and power. Its site lists flashlights, headlamps, power banks, mosquito protection gear and fans. The about page dates the company to 2007.

On this site, Nitecore shows up in three types: flashlights, headlamps and lanterns. That's what the grid above holds, with a filter for each. It changes as listings come and go, so I'll write about the lines and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed this week.

Most of the numbers in the grid come from Amazon listings, and the grid marks those. Where Nitecore's own page states something, like a weight or a water rating, I've used the maker's number here. Where nobody states it, the grid shows a dash. A dash is not a zero. It's a blank.

Lineup notes: Nitecore flashlights

Flashlights are the biggest part of Nitecore's catalog. The maker sorts them into series with short names: EDC, P, E, MH, MT, NPL, T, SRT, TM, NWL, CL, L and TrailSight. The grid holds lights from several of them. Every one lists a rechargeable battery, and the values come from Amazon listings, which the grid marks.

MH: the everyday rechargeables

The MH11, MH12 v2, MH12 Pro, MH25 Pro and MH40 Pro charge over USB-C, and most have a tail switch. Output runs from about a thousand lumens on the MH11 to a few thousand on the Pro lights. The MH12 v2 lists a low-mode runtime of about two months, which is a number I'd frame and hang in the cabin. The MH40 Pro is the long-throw one, at about four-fifths of a mile. The MH12 listings call them tactical.

P and EDC: the tactical-labeled and the pocket lights

The P10i and P23i list USB-C charging and a strobe mode, and their listings call them tactical. The P23i adds a tail switch and a beam past a quarter mile. The EDC29 and EDC35 list several thousand lumens and USB-C charging. The EDC29 listing calls it tactical too, and the EDC35 lists a low-mode runtime of a few days. The tactical flashlight guide explains what the label covers.

TM: the high-output lights

The TM9K Pro and TM20K are the brightest Nitecore lights in the grid. The TM9K Pro lists close to ten thousand lumens in a body about five inches long. The TM20K lists tens of thousands of lumens on a built-in battery pack. Those are truck and searching lights, not walk-in lights.

MT: penlights and small throwers

The MT1A Pro and MT2A Pro are penlights, slim pen-shaped lights, with USB-C charging, and the MT2A Pro adds a tail switch. The MT2C Pro is a regular-shaped light with a beam of about a third of a mile for a small body.

Two products outside the flashlight filter also work in the hand: the LR70 lantern, which Nitecore says doubles as a flashlight, and the NWL30 work light. Flashlights from every brand are on the handheld spotlight page, with ranked lists for rechargeable flashlights and the brightest flashlights.

Lineup notes: Nitecore headlamps by family

Nitecore names its headlamps with letters plus a number. The letters tell you the family. Inside a family, a bigger number mostly lists more output in the grid, the way truck model numbers work, except nobody's arguing about towing.

NU: light lamps with built-in batteries

The NU lamps are the small ones. The battery is sealed inside, and you charge the whole lamp over USB-C. The grid's NU lamps run from a few hundred lumens to well over a thousand, per their listings, and most list a red light.

Nitecore's own weights, with bracket and headband:

• NU25 MCT: 1.76 oz, 700mAh built-in battery, IP66
• NU25 UL: 1.66 oz, same 400-lumen maximum
• NU33: 3.37 oz, 2,000mAh battery, a high-CRI auxiliary white (CRI = how true colors look, 100 is best) and red
• NU43: 4.09 oz, 3,400mAh battery, IP68, 1,400 lumens

The NU20 Classic, NU27, NU30, NU45 and NU53 fill in around those, with specs from their listings. Quick pattern: a bigger built-in battery means more runtime and more weight on your forehead. The NU33 lists up to 147 hours on its lowest setting. The NU25 MCT lists up to 45.

The maker gives the NU lamps a lockout: hold the mode and power buttons together. That matters more than it sounds. (A pack, a long drive, a lamp that turned itself on somewhere around the Delaware Water Gap.)

The Nitecore NU25 versions

The NU25 is the lamp people search for by name, and the grid has three versions:

• NU25 (2017): the older one, 360 lumens and a red light per its listing
• NU25 MCT: 400 lumens, with three white color temperatures (3,000K warm, 4,500K neutral, 6,500K cool) and a two-level red light, per Nitecore
• NU25 UL: the maker calls it the lightest and longest-lasting NU25 generation

MCT stands for the multiple color temperatures. Warm or cool is partly taste, and partly about color: on the HC65 MCT below, Nitecore lists its warm setting at CRI 98 and its cool setting at CRI 73. Having all three on a 1.7-ounce lamp is the point of the newer NU25s.

HC: removable cells, more output

The HC lamps step up in size. They take a removable lithium-ion cell, so you can carry a charged spare and swap it in the dark. Per Nitecore:

• HC60 UHE: one 18650 cell (4,000mAh, included), 1,600 lumens, 157 m beam, IP68, 4.94 oz with battery
• HC65 MCT: magnesium alloy body, one 18650 cell, 2,000 lumens, 258 m beam, three color temperatures, 5.15 oz with battery
• HC75 UHE: one 21700 cell (5,500mAh), 3,000 lumens, 192 m beam, 7.37 oz with battery

The HC75 adds what Nitecore calls E-focus: an electronic blend between spot and flood instead of a twisting zoom head. The HC35, HC65 UHE, HC65M and HC70 sit in the same family, with specs from their listings.

Seven ounces on your head is a lot of ounces. Fine for a long night of tracking. Heavy for a quick trip to the outhouse.

HA: AA and AAA lamps

The HA lamps run on batteries you can buy at any gas station, which is my favorite feature in any light. Per Nitecore:

• HA23 UHE: three AAA alkaline cells or a Nitecore HLB1500 pack, 600 lumens, IP68, 1.98 oz with headband
• HA19: two AA alkaline cells or Nitecore NH2400 rechargeables, 600 lumens, IP68, red, green and blue LEDs, 2.15 oz with headband

The HA23 lists up to 97 hours on AAA alkalines at its lowest setting.

Lineup notes: Nitecore lanterns

LR40: small lantern, small power bank

The LR40 is a USB-C rechargeable lantern with a built-in 4,000mAh battery and a USB-A port to charge a phone. Nitecore lists 100 lumens with stepless dimming, three light colors (white, warm white and warm), up to 65 hours and 7.83 oz without accessories. It has a handle on top. It shows up in the grid in several listings, some of them bundles.

LR70: lantern, flashlight, power bank

The LR70 is the three-in-one. Nitecore lists 400 lumens as a lantern and 3,000 as a flashlight, a 10,000mAh battery that can charge other gear at up to 18W, high-CRI white and red light, IP67 and 9.56 oz. The grid lists it alone and as a combo.

LR60, Bubble and NWL30

The LR60 lists 280 lumens and rechargeable power in its listing.

The Bubble is a small lantern that takes three AAA cells or a Nitecore HLB1300 pack. The maker lists 100 lumens of warm 2,700K light, a candle mode, IPX4 and a magnetic loop, at 3.74 oz with batteries. Nitecore's page now marks it discontinued, so the grid may lose it.

The NWL30 is the big one: an 18,000mAh battery, 3,000 lumens, stepless color temperature from 2,700K to 6,500K, a red light, a magnetic base and a 1/4-inch screw hole, IP66, and 18.17 oz without accessories. The maker says it also repels mosquitoes. Walt asked if it repels me. It does not. He checked.

How to choose within the Nitecore lineup

Pick the power source first

This is the deciding spec, and the families sort themselves by it:

• Built-in battery (NU): lightest, charge the whole lamp, no spare cell to carry
• Removable Li-ion (HC): swap a charged cell in the field, heavier
• AA or AAA (HA): buy batteries anywhere, swap in the cold, rechargeable packs optional

Every Nitecore flashlight in the grid is rechargeable, so the same choice applies to the light in your pocket.

If you hunt a week at a time with no outlet, a lamp that takes a spare cell or store-bought batteries saves your week. If you charge in the truck every day, a built-in battery is fine.

Then output and beam distance

A walk to the stand needs far less than the top number on the box. The grid shows max lumens and beam distance from listings. The lower settings are the ones you'll live on, so read the maker's runtime for the low modes too.

Then red light and color temperature

Most Nitecore lamps in the grid list a red light. The National Park Service explains why that matters: night vision builds over roughly 20 to 40 minutes in the dark, a few seconds of bright light can undo it, and dim red light largely doesn't. On a walk-in, red keeps your eyes ready for first light. When you need to see color, like reading a blood trail on leaves, a warm high-CRI setting is the one the maker's numbers favor. The red light headlamp page covers it across brands.

Then weight and lockout

The maker's weights above run from under 2 oz to over 7 oz. My one opinion on this page: whatever Nitecore lamp you pick, lock it out every time it goes in a pack. The maker's FAQ recommends lockout mode to prevent accidental activation, and a lamp that switches on in your pack is a dead lamp by the time you reach the stand. Two buttons, one second.

Matching a Nitecore light to the job at camp

• Walk in and out: a small NU or HA lamp with red light
• Tracking or a long night: an HC lamp with a spare cell
• Camp table: an LR40 or Bubble hung from the cabin beam
• Truck bed or a gutting job at dark: the NWL30 on its magnetic base
• Coat pocket backup: a small MH or MT light
• Searching a field edge: a TM light or the MH40 Pro

Never run a fuel-burning lantern inside a closed tent; an LED lantern is the one for inside. The camping lantern page and the headlamps page cover more brands.

Charging and battery care

Nitecore's FAQ notes that cold slows lithium-ion cells and lowers output for a while, and that long storage in low temperatures may damage them. It also warns against leaving a light in a car in direct sunlight, and it suggests removing the battery in storage to avoid accidental activation.

The U.S. Fire Administration adds plain rules: don't charge lithium-ion batteries below 32°F or above 105°F, store spares away from anything that can burn, keep them out of hot cars, and stop using any battery that smells, swells, leaks or gets too hot. Charge in the cabin, not in a frozen truck.

Nitecore facts

Nitecore's about page states 2007 as the company's start and describes its gear as outdoor lighting and power products.

Battery first, red light second, lumens last. Renee says that's the first time I've put lumens last at anything.