Nitecore LR50 Preview/Review (Lantern + Power Bank)

Preface

The Nitecore LR50 is the latest from Nitecore’s L series (Lantern series). This is the first Nitecore lantern model that has the Power Bank feature with multi-directional light source.

Let’s check out the merits and demerits of this new Nitecore LR50 model.

Note: This is a preview/review sample as it is currently available by pre-order only (available very soon) and came without the usual retail packaging.

Packaging & First Impressions

This is what the lantern will come with as shown below.

• The lantern is made of translucent Polycarbonate (PC) diffuser with PC tail section.
• The o-ring is mildly lubricated.
• The 2 side electronic switches require a rather firm and deliberate press to activate and help in preventing any unwanted activation of the lantern.
• D-ring locks in place (when stowed) at the tail section. It has some slight flex and should withstand day-to-day normal usage without issue.
• Magnetic tail (magnets are situated on both the Left & Right sides of the USB & Micro-USB ports) is able to bear the lantern’s weight when attached horizontally and vertically (upside down) to a flat ferrous metallic surface.
• No lanyard or pouch is provided.
• The battery compartment holds the provided non-proprietary Nitecore 18650 3400mAh batteries and/or Keeppower 18650 3400mAh batteries with sufficient room for a slightly thicker battery width. Fatter 18650 3500mAh batteries should be able to fit without issue as well.

Note:

• This is a preview sample only, the lantern will come with the full Nitecore retail packaging.
• Only Button Top 18650 batteries can be used for this lantern.

Preview Sample:

Contents:

Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)

• Body Material: PC (Polycarbonate)
• LEDs: Not Specified (Total of 9 LEDs + 1 Blue LED)
• LEDs Specification: >90CRI 4000-4500K (9 LEDs)
• Battery Formats:
  • 2 x 18650
  • 1 x 18650
  • 4 x CR123A
  • 2 x CR123A
  • 4 x RCR123A/16340
  • 2 x RCR123A/16340
• Output & Runtime (with 2 x Nitecore 18650 3500mAh batteries):
  • Low (6 lumens / 100h)
  • Mid (65 lumens / 22h)
  • High (250 lumens / 10h)
  • Beacon (250 lumens)
  • SOS (250 lumens)
• Max Beam Distance: 24m
• Beam intensity: 37cd
• Waterproofness: IP66
• Impact Resistance: 1m
• Dimension: 57mm (length) x 119.8mm (height) x 30mm (width)
• Weight: 110g (excluding battery)
• Accessories Included:
  • 1*Nitecore Micro-USB Charging Cable
  • 1*Spare O-ring
• MSRP: ~$45

Note:

• As this is a multiple battery-compatible lantern, do NOT mix battery types, brands or models.
• The Blue LED is for the Power, Charging and Location Indicators only.

Other Specifications

The following specifications have been given a separate heading as it is not officially given by Nitecore.

Since the Nitecore LR50 has this new multi-directional light source feature, there is essentially 4 available options and a total of 3 directional light sources that the LR50 provides, in the following order.

1. All 3 Directions (Top & 2 Sides)
2. Top Only
3. 1 Side Only
4. Top & 1 Side Only

As such, this results to varying outputs as what was provided in the above Nitecore’s specifications (All 3 Directions – Top & 2 Sides).
We will provide a rough estimate as to what to expect in output since there are a total of 9 LEDs (3 LEDs each on all 3 sides).

The steps to switch between the above 4 directional options will be covered in the “UI (User Interface)” section.

Note: BEACON & SOS modes output are not affected by the directions selection.

Top Only – Direction

Estimated Output:

• • Low (2 lumens)
  • Mid (21 lumens)
  • High (83 lumens)

1 Side Only – Direction

Estimated Output:

• • Low (2 lumens)
  • Mid (21 lumens)
  • High (83 lumens)

Top & 1 Side Only – Direction

Estimated Output:

• • Low (4 lumens)
  • Mid (43 lumens)
  • High (166 lumens)

UI (User Interface)

UI for this lantern is fairly straightforward to use.

Switching ON and OFF is done by the 2 electronic switches on the 2 sides of the lantern. Hence, there is no momentary activation.

Normal Operation

From OFF:

• HOLD (2 Switches) [~1 sec] – Lantern will switch ON to LOW mode.
• HOLD (2 Switches) – Lantern will switch ON to LOW mode, followed by BEACON & SOS (LOW, BEACON, SOS -> LOW, BEACON, SOS). Release switches to select Mode; HOLD (2 Switches) [~0.5 sec] to switch OFF the lantern.

From ON:

• HOLD (2 Switches) [~0.5 sec] – Lantern will switch OFF.
• 1 Click (1 Switch – either switch will do) – Mode change (light cycles through LOW, MID & HIGH -> LOW, MID & HIGH).

Switching Direction Light Source

To switch between the 3 Direction Light Source, there are a total of 4 options available.

1. All 3 Directions (Top & 2 Sides)
2. Top Only
3. 1 Side Only
4. Top & 1 Side Only

From ON:

1. HOLD (1 Switch – either switch will do) [~1 sec] – Direction Light Source change (cycles through Option 1, 2, 3, 4 -> Option 1, 2, 3, 4), release to select desired Direction Light Source.

Note: There is memory for the above selections, it will not reset to the default “All 3 Directions (Top & 2 Sides)” option.

Location Indicator

The following steps will activate the Location Indicator, the Blue LED will start flashing once activated.

From ON:

• HOLD (2 Switches) [>~2 sec] – Lantern will switch OFF and activating the Location Indicator.

Notes:

• Switching ON the Lantern after activating the Location Indicator will automatically switch OFF the Location Indicator function.
• The standby time is said to last 6 months (with 2 x 18650 batteries) with the Location Indicator activated.

Power Indicator

There are 2 types of Power Indicator for this lantern.

1. After replacing the battery, the Battery Capacity Indicator function will be activated (Blue LED will flash in the following sequence).
   • For 1 x 18650 Battery
     • Each BLUE LED blink signifies 1V
     • After a ~1 sec pause, the next BLUE LED blink signifies 0.1V.
     • Hence, 4 BLUE LED blinks, followed by a ~1.5 sec pause and another 1 BLUE LED blink – signifies 4.1V.
       • If 2 x 18650 batteries are used, the battery reading will be the average voltage of the 2 batteries.
   •  For 2 x CR123A / RCR1213A (16340) Batteries
     • Each BLUE LED blink signifies 1V
     • After a ~1 sec pause, the next BLUE LED blink signifies 0.1V.
     • Hence, 5 BLUE LED blinks, followed by a ~1.5 sec pause and another 8 BLUE LED blinks – signifies 5.8V.
       •  If 4 x CR123A / RCR123A (16340) batteries are used, the battery reading will be the average voltage of the 2 pairs of batteries.
2. From OFF: 1 Click (1 Switch – either switch will do) – Battery Capacity Indicator is activated (BLUE LED will flash in the following sequence).
   • 3 Flashes – Power is >50%.
   • 2 Flashes – Power is <50%.
   • 1 Flash – Power is <10%.

Form Factor

For lanterns that are intended to be carried around and used for possibly an extended period of time, form factor is extremely important.

This lantern is rather compact and its weight is reasonably acceptable especially considering it is both a Lantern and Power Bank, at the same time.

Combination of both the D-ring (at the tail section) and magnetic tail allows it to either hang or attach to a flat ferrous metallic surface.

The grooves on the sides and tail of the lantern ensures that it remains “grippy”, even with wet hands/gloves.

The lantern is able to tail-stand perfectly without the slightest wobble.

Note: The 2*Nitecore 18650 3400mAh batteries shown in the photos below are an optional add-on, the Nitecore LR50 does not come with batteries.

Charging Process

With the provided Nitecore-branded Micro-USB Cable, the battery was charging at ~1.50A.

The lantern is capable of operating on all modes even when charging (at the expense of a slower charging rate). However, it is recommended to limit the usage to “LOW” mode only, to ensure that the battery does get charged.

The slow blinking BLUE indicator depicts charging in progress and solid BLUE (no blinking) indicator depicts charging has completed.

Note:

• Charging only works when 1 x 18650 OR 2 x 18650 batteries are used.
• The flap that covers the USB and Micro-USB ports tend to slightly open occasionally. Do ensure that the flap is properly seated to ensure best water-resistance capability.

Discharging – Power Bank Function

This is probably one of the key specialty of this lantern – the ability to use it as a backup Power Bank with the USB port.

The lantern is said to be able to discharge at a max of 2.1A. We were able to get a discharge rate of ~2.21A, when trying to charge an Apple iPad PRO 9.7in.

There is no Battery Discharging Indicator available, the only option is to use the “Power Indicator” function No. 2.

Beam Style/Beamshots

For this lantern, the beam pattern (spill, corona and hotspot) for the Lantern is fairly predictable due to the translucent Polycarbonate (PC) diffuser used. The LEDs are mostly covered under the translucent PC cover, producing a soft flood beam for recognizing items in the up-close and near distance only.

All 3 Directions (Top & 2 Sides):

Top Only:

1 Side Only:

Top & 1 Side Only:

The above beam profiles are a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting.

The beam has a wide 360-degree [depending on Direction Light Source(s) selection] “wall of light” diffused spill with no visible hotspot or corona. There are no beam artifacts in the beam when whitewall hunting and in real world usage.

All 3 Directions (Top & 2 Sides) – Beamshots

All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (LOW: 2 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 0.8 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and HIGH: 0.4 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the lantern from the door is 4.6m.

Control shot:

LOW (6 lumens):

MID (65 lumens):

HIGH (250 lumens):

Top Only – Beamshots

All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (LOW: 3.2 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 1 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and HIGH: 0.5 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the lantern from the door is 4.6m.

Control shot:

LOW (~2 lumens):

MID (~21 lumens):

HIGH (~83 lumens):

1 Side Only – Beamshots

All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (LOW: 3.2 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 1 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and HIGH: 0.5 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the lantern from the door is 4.6m.

Control shot:

LOW (~2 lumens):

MID (~21 lumens):

HIGH (~83 lumens):

Top & 1 Side Only – Beamshots

All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (LOW: 2 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: o.8 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and HIGH: 0.4 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the lantern from the door is 4.6m.

Control shot:

LOW (~4 lumens):

MID (~43 lumens):

HIGH (~166 lumens):

Mode (Output) Spacing

Mode spacing appears to be progressively brighter to the eye and the modes are well spaced enough to be able to know which mode one is currently in. With that in mind, TLR tend to view mode spacing as battery life indicators (amount of runtime left) rather than the specific output (lumens).

There is no moonlight mode available but selecting either the Top Only OR 1 Side Only Direction Light Source will have the LOW mode is ~2 lumens (rough estimation). That is still fairly acceptable for night-adjusted eyes and midnight snack runs (might need to squint slightly at first).

It would be nice if Nitecore included an auxiliary Red LED option for night/low light usage.

Tint & CRI

Nitecore did mentioned the tint (color temperature) to be in the range of 4000K to 4500K and the CRI (Color Rendering Index) to be more than 90CRI for the 9 LEDs used.

There are no tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The floody spill is a slightly warmer-neutral white tint.

Waterproofness

As the lantern is IP66 rated only, it was subjected to being left under room temperature running water at full blast whilst running on HIGH.

No signs of water intrusion in the body, side switches or USB/Micro-USB port was seen.

Lockout Capability

No mechanical lockout or electronic lockout is possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.

This is probably why Nitecore had the User Interface (UI) configured to only switch ON when 2 switches are held onto and that it will always start on LOW mode.

Scale Comparison (Ruler)

Summary

To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same lantern for our own usage or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this lantern, it is a definite YES, if the lack of a true moonlight mode is not an issue for your usage.

The direct access to LOW mode from OFF, 3 Direction Light Sources with 4 options to choose from, slightly warm-neutral white tint with High CRI (Color Rendering Index), Power Bank feature with rather fast discharging capability, multiple types of battery compatibility, fairly compact form factor and magnetic tail are all plus points for this lantern.

That said, it would be nice if Nitecore included an auxiliary Red LED option as found in the Nitecore LR30 model.

Here is a bonus size comparison picture with other Nitecore flashlights/headlamps/lanterns.
From Left to Right: Nitecore TUP, Nitecore HC33, Nitecore LR50, Nitecore LR12, Nitecore MH12GTS, Nitecore MH25GTS and Nitecore EC4GTS.

As with all gears, two is one and one is none.

Stay safe,
The Lite Review

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Disclaimer: Lantern was provided for by Nitecore (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.

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