Preface
The Nitecore NM01 is from a brand new series of Nitecore flashlights. Its closest “siblings” are probably from the T Series (e.g. Nitecore TUP, Nitecore TINI, Nitecore TIP2 and etc.) with the built-in battery.
Let’s check out the merits and demerits of the Nitecore NM01 model.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- The flashlight is sealed from factory – disassembly is not recommended.
- The tail electronic switch requires a rather firm and deliberate press to activate and helps in preventing any unwanted activation of the light.
- Anodizing of the light is uniform without any missing specs.
- The provided clip is not reversible.
- The clip has sufficient tension to ensure that the light will stay clipped to any material to prevent the light from falling out.
- The provided lanyard is able to support the full weight of the light and should hold up to the test of time.
- The lanyard can be attached to either the clip or either sides of the tail cap.
- Holster provided is of decent quality and should withstand day-to-day abuse without issue.
- There is no QR code to scan with your phone/tablet on the box’s back/side to bring up the Nitecore NM01’s product page.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Top:
Bottom:
Contents:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Black HAIII Aluminium
- LED: Cree XP-L HD V6 Bin
- Battery Format: Built-in 2600mAh (1 x 18650) battery
- Output & Runtime (with Built-in 2600mAh [1 x 18650] battery):
- Low (5 lumens / 10days 5h)
- Mid (200 lumens / 6h 15min)
- High (1000 lumens / 1h 45min) – there is a temperature-based output step down
- Max Beam Distance: 178m
- Beam intensity: 8,000cd
- Waterproofness: IPX-8 (2m)
- Impact Resistance: 1m
- Dimension: 118.6mm (length) x 24mm (head & tail diameter)
- Weight: 99g (including batteries)
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Built-in 2600mAh (1 x 18650) battery
- 1*Clip
- 1*Lanyard
- 1*Holster
- 1*Micro-USB Cable
- MSRP: ~$40
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is good for Every Day Carry (EDC) as it is extremely straightforward to use.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the electronic switch on the TAIL of the flashlight, so no momentary activation is possible.
Normal Operation
From OFF:
- HOLD – Direct access to LOW.
From ON:
- HOLD – Light will switch OFF.
- 1 Click – Mode change with every click (light cycles through LOW, MID, HIGH → LOW, MID, HIGH).
Power Indicator
There is 1 type of Power Indicator for this flashlight only.
From OFF: 1 Click – Battery Capacity Indicator is activated (LED near the switch will flash BLUE in the following sequence).
- 3 Flashes – Power is >50%.
- 2 Flashes – Power is <50%.
- 1 Flash – Power is <10%, do recharge the battery immediately.
Note: When the battery level is close to 50%, the power indicator will flash 1 time every 2 seconds.
Form Factor
For flashlights that are intended to use on a daily basis (EDC) and for possibly a long period of time, form factor is extremely important.
This light feels well balanced and rather compact in a medium sized hand (not head/tail-heavy). Switching between overhand and underhand holding method is easy with its form factor. The knurling and clip on the light enables the light to be sufficiently “grippy”, even with wet hands/gloves.
The Micro-USB charging port’s rubber cover could use a slightly better fit as a slight brush on it when reaching for the tail switch, will cause it to open and expose the charging port. However, Nitecore has applied waterproofing into the charging port as well so it is still IPX8-rated to 2 meters, even when the charging port is exposed. Due diligence of drying the charging port must still be carried out before recharging with the Micro-USB charging port, if it has been exposed to/submerged in water.
It is able to tail-stand perfectly, even with the lanyard attached.
Without Clip:
With Clip:
Charging Process
With the provided Micro-USB Cable, the battery was charging at ~0.92A.
The light can operate on LOW and MID modes only when charging, at the expense of a slower charging rate. Hence, it is recommended to limit the usage to “LOW” mode only, to ensure that the battery does get charged.
The blinking BLUE indicator on the tailcap area depicts charging in progress and Solid BLUE indicator depicts charging has completed.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the relatively shallow Smooth Reflector. With the LED used, the beam is still “throwy” for recognising items in the near to mid-range distance.
The above beam profile is a rough interpretation of what is seen when white wall hunting.
The beam has a rather distinct hotspot with some slight corona and a fairly wide usable (circular) spill. It also helps that the LED is perfectly centred in this sample. There are some rings in the beam when white wall hunting but not visible in real world usage.
All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (LOW: 2sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 1/4 sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and HIGH: 1/8 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 light from the door is 4.6m.
Control shot:
LOW (5 lumens):
MID (200 lumens):
HIGH (1000 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).
The LOW mode of 5 lumens is too bright for bedtime night snack runs or with night-adjusted eyes but is suited for other up-close tasks in day-to-day usage.
On a side note, the HIGH mode (1000 lumens) could use a slightly lower output of say ~900 lumens to ensure a longer runtime – as the difference in output is almost imperceptible to most human eyes.
Tint & CRI
Nitecore did not disclose the tint (color temperature) and/or the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the LEDs used in their light. For this light, a guesstimate would be in the 6500K and 70CRI ballpark.
There are tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is cool white whilst the corona possess a slight yellowish tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint.
This is however, not as noticeable in real life.
Waterproofness
The light was subjected to warm water submersion, followed by cold water submersion and left under room temperature running water tap whilst running on HIGH (with & without the charging port’s rubber cover in place).
No signs of water intrusion in the head, body, switch or charging port was seen.
Lockout Capability
No electronic lockout or mechanical lockout is possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
Hence, we do not recommend transporting this flashlight in an enclosed area (bag, purse, etc.).
That said, the TAIL switch has to be held down (long press) in order for the light to be switched ON. Thus, the likelihood of accidental activation does diminish substantially.
Whilst a mechanical lockout and/or electronic lockout would have been ideal, it is somewhat understandable why Nitecore chose to remove all lockout options for a flashlight that is marketed as an entry level one that can be used by anyone (especially for those that just need a flashlight with 3 straightforward modes that will simply switch ON when required).
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 light for our own usage or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this light, it is a YES, if the inability to switch out the built-in 18650 battery is not an issue for your usage.
The rather compact form factor, Micro-USB charging capability, included built-in 18650, battery capacity indicator, waterproofing of the charging port, extremely straightforward UI with direct access to LOW from OFF and Tactical Ring to allow additional ways to hold the flashlight are all plus points for this flashlight. The built-in battery might seem as a major disadvantage to some but it helps decreases the overall size of the flashlight and makes it a good gift option for family and friends with the complete package (flashlight + battery + Micro-USB cable).
It would be nice if Nitecore will provide an option to remove the built-in 18650 battery and/or provide a higher capacity 18650 (e.g. 3400mAh) battery to be able to get the most amount of runtime in the same form factor.
Here is a bonus size comparison picture with other Nitecore 1 x 18650-sized flashlights.
From Left to Right: Nitecore HC33, Nitecore P18, Nitecore NM01, Nitecore P12GTS, Nitecore MH12GTS and Nitecore MH25GTS.
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Light was provided for by Nitecore (manufacturer) for this review. No other compensation was provided.
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Nitecore NM01
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