NEWS – How many times have you experienced your first blackout of the stormy season and can’t find a flashlight that works either because the batteries are dead or because it needs batteries and you forgot to buy some? I ask this question because I have more than a dozen flashlights around the house and whenever I do experience a blackout during the winter months, I can never find one. And then, of course, I always seem to have an issue with batteries.
Enter the Hydralight 2-in-1 Flashlight and Lantern!! This flashlight runs on just about any type of water even distilled or saltwater. There are no batteries to buy and it also functions as a lantern. According to the manufacturer, you “Just dip the fuel cell for 10 to 12 sec in water, shake it off, and then you are set to go, with up to 100 continuous hours on a single water dip and has a 25-year shelf life”.
You can purchase this handy gadget over at Amazon for $19.88 or $21.99 depending on if you want the one or two cell model.
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CROWDFUNDING NEWS – There is a whole invisible world out there. Some of it is cool, some of it is eewww. If you’re inclined to want to see it all, the Hunt22 UV micro flashlight wants to help bring it all into view.
Billed as the world’s coolest UV flashlight, the Hunt22 is indeed tiny.
If you’re an every day carry (EDC) kind of person, at just over an inch long, this little light will have no problem fitting into even an already stuffed EDC kit. It is waterproof and made of essentially crushproof titanium.
The light should be bright enough to be of practical use. Hunt22 suggests the following:
My thoughts fall back to all the articles about how disgusting hotel rooms are. This little light could help you determine how quickly you want to call housekeeping on your next check-in and ask to have the bedspread, TV remote, cups, or other room accessories replaced with clean ones.
Hunt22 started as a Kickstarter and after funding, moved to Indiegogo for fulfillment. Pricing runs $32, $51, $66, $113, $184 for a 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 pack respectively. Shipping is expected in August 2019. For more info, visit Hunt22’s Indiegogo site.
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REVIEW – If I were browsing the Personal Ads for the perfect flashlight, I’d look for the following qualities: small, rechargeable, bright, rugged and loves long walks on the beach. Well, maybe not that last part. Is NITECORE’s TIP2 Keychain Flashlight a perfect match? Read on!
What is it?
The TIP2 is a small, rechargeable LED flashlight with a surprisingly powerful maximum output of 720 lumens. Its rugged design and diminutive size, along with a magnetic tail and multipurpose clip, makes it highly versatile.
What’s in the box?
NITECORE TIP2
Removable pocket clip
Keychain clasp
User manual
Warranty card
Hardware specs
Max output of 720 lumens with over 100 yards of throw
4 levels of brightness with direct access to turbo
1m impact resistance
L-2.46″xW-1.06″xH-0.53″
1.35oz
Separated magnetic tail cap for hands-free use & quick detachment
USB rechargeable, built-in Li-ion battery
Detachable multipurpose clip ideal for carrying in a pocket, backpack and more
Design and features
I don’t know if it’s just a geek thing, or a guy thing, or just a me thing, but the first thing I always have to do whenever I get a new flashlight is to turn it on, at its highest setting, directly into my face. Most of the time, I think, “Ooh, that’s pretty bright.” And then you pick up a little keychain light like the TIP2, turn it on Turbo brightness, get blinded for a good 60 seconds and think, “Okay, now that’s bright.”
NITECORE’s TIP2, the sequel product to their TIP keychain LED flashlight, is compact, rugged, and all the brightness you’ll likely need out of something this small.
The buttons and the clip.
Sporting a max brightness of 720 lumens, twice as bright as their previous model, the TIP2 provides almost too much brightness for such a small flashlight. What I mean by that is that yes, you can generate that might light, but only for about 15 minutes until the battery straight up dies.
I’ve been carrying this small torch around for a few weeks, now, primarily keeping it attached to the magnetic key ring attachment on my keychain. It’s no larger than the key fob for my Mazda. Having a flashlight within the same proximity as my car keys makes it indispensable.
There is a row of tiny LEDs in between the buttons that acts as a battery power indicator.
Holding the TIP2 in your hand, it does feel about the size and weight of an average modern car key fob, maybe a couple ounces heavier. There are two buttons on the side of the flashlight, a power button and a mode selection button, with a row of 3 tiny LEDs in between. Pressing the mode button quickly flashes the small LEDs, which display the amount of battery power. By holding down the power button for a few seconds, the light turns on at whatever the last setting was: low, medium or high.
It does take about 4 seconds to power on, preventing from accidental lighting in your pocket or pack. Pressing the power button while it’s on turns the light off immediately. While lit, the mode selection button cycles from low to medium to high and back to low again.
Two CREE XP-G3 S3 LEDs in the front of this flashlight.
While the TIP2 does offer a lighting power of 720 lumens, it’s a limited feature in that the battery will only supply, at most, 15 minutes of juice in this maximum “Turbo” mode. To access this mode, you must hold down the tiny mode select button, the entire time you want it to shine that brightly. So the 720 lumens Turbo mode is really meant for very short bursts when you need a lot of extra light, like a during a quick sweep of a darkened field or trail.
Below is the approximate amount of time you can use each of the levels of lightning per charge:
This is a pretty rudimentary way of showing the brightness settings, since the camera’s own settings — shutter speed, ISO and aperture — changed a bit in between shots.
Turbo • 720 lumens • 15 min High • 200 lumens • 1 hr 15 min Mid • 30 lumens • 8 hr Low • 1 lumen • 55 hr
Mid power is pretty much what you would expect from a typical LED keychain light, and that’s what I’d recommend using in most cases. High is quite bright. I think in most use cases, like a darkened room or parking lot, high would only be needed if you wanted to see far off into the darkness.
I really like the inclusion of a Low power. One lumen sounds paltry compared to the super-bright maximum of 720, but in an absolutely dark room or tent, it’s perfect. Just enough to see where you’re going without ruining your night vision, or to just leave on, clipped to a backpack or hat brim. And since a full batter lasts for around 55 hours at this level, it’s sort of nice to have a light you can stick virtually anywhere for the entire evening, if needed.
The “tail” end of the TIP2 contains a powerful magnet, which keeps it firmly attached to the metal keyring cap, but also detaches with a quick tug. This also allows the TIP2 to be placed on any metal steel surface, such as a car hood. This cap also shields the micro-USB port, keeping out water and dust.
The exposed magnets and micro-USB port.
The TIP2 also comes with a handy pocket clip, which can be attached to, obviously, a pocket, or even something as thick as the brim of a hat. You can essentially turn any ball cap into a mining helmet using this clip… it’s such an easy and useful hack.
Check it out, and instant mining cap.
All in all, NITECORE put a lot of thought into refining their TIP light to create the quintessential keychain flashlight. It’s waterproof, shock-resistant, super-bright, pocketable and rechargeable, which ticks off all the requirements for a truly essential flashlight in my book.
What I like
Very small and very bright
Rechargeable battery
Clip/magnet combo make it extremely versatile
What I’d change
Make the buttons larger
A better way to activate TURBO brightness
Final thoughts
The TIP2 is a great addition to any everyday-carry fan’s arsenal. Not only is it only the size of your car’s key fob, it’s powerful enough to light almost any situation you’d find yourself in, save for needing an extremely bright light for extended periods of time.
Price: $44.99 Where to buy: You can pick up your own NITECORE TIP2 directly from the NITECORE Store website. Source: The sample of this product was provided by NITECORE.
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REVIEW – I have no clue how many flashlights I currently own and how many I have purchased over the years. What I do know is that many of them have advertised as being tough enough to handle daily abuse and to have adequate light settings and options for every need. Any flashlight that hangs out in the gear bag of a photographer/videographer will go through its share of abuse. I need a flashlight that can “take a licking and keep on ticking”. The Nitecore MH12GTS flashlight promises to do just that. Let’s see what first impression it leaves me with.
What is it?
The Nitecore MH12GTS flashlight is an 1800 lumen long throw beam rechargeable flashlight. Its features include 5 brightness levels and 3 special modes, and it is waterproof and submersible to be compatible with both indoor and outdoor applications.
What’s in the box
1 x Nitecore MH12GTS Flashlight
1 x NL1835HP 3500mAh Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
1 x Micro USB Charging Cable
1 x Belt Holster
1 x Pocket Clip
1 x Tactical Ring
1 x Lanyard
1 x Spare O-ring
1 x Instruction Manual
1 x Warranty Card
Design and features
Features:
Maximum output of 1800 lumens with 247 yards of throw
5 brightness levels and 3 special modes (strobe, SOS, Beacon)
Direct access to Turbo and Ultralow mode
Tactical tail switch and metal side switch allow for easy one-hand operation
Built-in charging via micro-USB port
NL 1835HP 3500mAh 18650 rechargeable battery included
Specifications: LED: CREE XHP35 HD Maximum Brightness: 1800 lumens Peak Beam Distance: 247 yards Peak Beam Intensity: 12760 cd IP Rating: IPX8 – 2m waterproof and submersible Impact Resistance: 1m Weight: 3.51oz
Brightness Outputs
MODE
OUTPUT
RUNTIME
Turbo
1800 lumens
30 min
High
900 lumens
2 hr 15 min
Mid
240 lumens
5 hr 45 min
Low
70 lumens
19 hr
Ultralow
1 lumen
250 hr
This Nitecore flashlight is all metal and ruggedly built. On the side, there is a selector switch that is used to select the light intensity and modes.
Also around the side of the flashlight, there is the brand and model number. In the photo below above the brand, you can see the installed tactical ring.
The photo below shows the pocket clip attached to the flashlight.
On the bottom of the flashlight, there is the micro USB charging port with a waterproof cover. The is also the on/off switch next to the charging port.
For recharging, you simply plug the micro USB cable into the charging port and the other end of the cable to a compatible power supply.
The flashlight fits neatly and securely into the belt holster so that you can include it with your EDC devices.
Performance
Right out of the box, this flashlight feels well built and of good quality. Charging it is very easy by simply removing the waterproof charging port cover and plugging the micro USB charging cable in and the other end of the cable to a power source. There is a blue LED on the back that blinks until the flashlight it charged and then it stays solid blue once fully charged. It is that simple and then it is ready for use. The light intensity selection is great and at the highest intensity, the light throw is incredible. Having the option to choose from multiple levels of intensity is great. For example, double pressing the selection button puts it in strobe mode and results in a blinding strobe light. Here is a quick demo fo the light intensity levels and the strobe:
What I like
The built quality
The light selection options
The rechargeable option
The included belt holder/case
What can be improved
So far it does exactly what it is supposed to do
Final thoughts
The Nitecore MH12GTS flashlight is well built, and so far I am very pleased with it. It provides more than enough light for various applications and seems like it will withstand the abuse that is an inherent part of being a resident of my gear bag. The belt pouch is strong and will serve that purpose well, albeit not the way I will carry the flashlight. I give Nitecore two thumbs up for this one!!
Price: $99.95 Where to buy:Nitecore Sample: The sample for his review was provided by Nitecore
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NEWS – SureFire has added to their already impressive lineup of tactical and rugged use flashlights with the Fury Intellibeam flashlight.
The Fury IntelliBeam builds upon the automatically adjusting light output of the previous Fury models and increases the maximum output to 1500 lumens. The IntelliBeam system automatically adjusts the light output to the needs of your surroundings and can vary the output from 15 – 1500 lumens. The automatic adjustments free you from needing to fumble around to manually adjust the light intensity. For emergency use, the IntelliBeam system may be overridden to bring the full Fury of the flashlight.
The “dual fuel” aspect means that this light can use either two lithium 123a disposable batteries or a single rechargeable 18650 lithium ion battery. The kit includes a 18650 battery and charging cable.
Additional 18650 batteries are available for purchase for those who worry about running out of power in the middle of an operation / adventure.
The Fury IntelliBeam flashlight is constructed on aerospace aluminum which has been anodized to military specification to resist corrosion and abrasions.
Specifications:
Bezel Diameter: 1.39 inches
Length: 5.6 inches
Weight w/Batteries: 6.5 ounces
123A Output: 15-1,100 Lumens
18650 Output: 15-1,500 Lumens
Runtime: up to 40 hours
The Fury IntelliBeam is available directly from SureFire and from authorized retail outlets. The Fury Intellibeam has a retail price of $219.00. Additional 18650 batteries are available for $16. You can find this flashlight with 4 extra CR123A batteries for $199.00 on Amazon.
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