Nitecore P15 too good to be true?

King_Mustard · 2019-10-28T20:50:45.000Z

I am looking for a cheap (roughly £30), rechargeable flashlight with a battery indicator.

There isn't as much choice in the UK as there is in the USA but the following are the cheapest on Flashaholic's website:

Nitecore TIP CRI Neutral White (£20 delivered)
Nichia NVSL219B
240lm for 30 minutes
74 meters

Nitecore P15 (£28 delivered)
Cree XP-G2
430lm for 2.25 hours
278 meters

Nitecore TIP XP-G2 (£30 delivered)
Cree XP-G2 S3
360lm for 30 minutes
74 meters

Nitecore TIP 2017 (£32 delivered)
Cree XP-G2
360lm for 30 minutes
Unknown distance

Nitecore TINI (£33 delivered)
Cree XP-G2 S3
380lm for 15 minutes
64 meters

RovyVon Aurora A1 (£33 delivered)
Cree XP-G3
550lm for 38 minutes
80 meters

I will only be using the flashlight at maximum brightness, so I've only listed those running times above.

As you can see, specification-wise, the Nitecore P15 appears to blow the others out of the water.

Am I missing something obvious?

zak.wilson · 2019-10-28T21:03:54.000Z

The other lights have a sealed, non-removable battery and built-in charging. The P15 is designed to use a standard-size (18650) rechargeable battery, but neither it nor a charger are included.

The P15 is an older model, hence the low price. The 18650 battery is physically much larger, and holds much more energy than the built-in batteries of the other lights. Expect another £15-25 for a battery and charger, depending on where you get them. Note that batteries sold on Amazon and Ebay may be fraudulent and dangerous.

Sirius9 · 2019-10-28T21:04:21.000Z

Actually P15 is nice everiday light, I have 2 of them, going to modifie one for more lumens.

fluke · 2019-10-28T21:13:23.000Z

Nice Ad lol,

withoutink · 2019-10-28T21:18:05.000Z

fluke:

Nice Ad lol,

Right?

Th558 · 2019-10-28T21:31:19.000Z

What about the Astrolux EC01…it has 9 times the output of the P15. The XHP50.2 LED is very efficient so it should be able to run at 1000lm continuous.

fluke · 2019-10-28T21:43:43.000Z

withoutink:

fluke:

Nice Ad lol,

Right?

Funny they are both the same company with the same phone number?

And first post.

King_Mustard · 2019-10-28T21:49:23.000Z

zak.wilson:

The other lights have a sealed, non-removable battery and built-in charging. The P15 is designed to use a standard-size (18650) rechargeable battery, but neither it nor a charger are included. The P15 is an older model, hence the low price. The 18650 battery is physically much larger, and holds much more energy than the built-in batteries of the other lights. Expect another £15-25 for a battery and charger, depending on where you get them. Note that batteries sold on Amazon and Ebay may be fraudulent and dangerous.

I didn't realise the other five were sealed.

Whilst I'd prefer non-sealed, if it's realistically closer to £50 or so with a battery and charger to gain that, I will have to drop back to the others if I want to pay around £30.

In that case, do you recommend any of the others?

Th558:

What about the Astrolux EC01…it has 9 times the output of the P15. The XHP50.2 LED is very efficient so it should be able to run at 1000lm continuous.

I can't find it for sale from a UK retailer (I'd want the proper UK warranty).

zak.wilson · 2019-10-28T22:03:29.000Z

Amazon has the Sofirn SC31B for £20.

King_Mustard · 2019-10-28T22:11:06.000Z

zak.wilson:

Amazon has the “Sofirn SC31B”:Amazon.co.uk for £20.

That looks perfect! Purchased for £19.99 :)

Lightbringer · 2019-10-28T22:25:05.000Z

Beat me to it… Yeah, seconded, the SC31 (original or ’B) is quite nice.

Firelight2 · 2019-10-28T22:35:58.000Z

The Nitecore P15 looks to be in an entirely different class of lights from all others listed in the original post.

The P15 is an 18650 size utility light. It’s fairly large… too big for EDC, and not the latest model so the price is relatively low. It has a comparatively large reflector and a lot of mass so gives more throw and can probably sustain it longer.

All the other lights are keychain size with sealed internal batteries. It’s not surprising they have less output and less throw. They’re meant for an entirely different purpose… keychain EDC.

It’s not a fair comparison at all. If you’re going to compare lights to see which is the best value, at least compare to lights in the same class (1x18650 with recharging).