Jedi laser LEP-LED for throw and bright flood light in one flashlight? This is experiment exactly in Nitecore style, as brand already made many unusual models. Well, let’s see if Nitecore screwed up or not.
You can buy Nitecore P35i at:
➤ AMAZON
Specification
Maximum brightness: for flood 3000lum \ for throw 410lum
Maximum range: for flood 200m \ for long range 1650m
Power supply 1*21700
Built-in Type-C charging
Dimensions: Length 189.6 Diameter: Head 65mm Body 25.4mm Tail 28mm Weight 296.6g
Package and appearance
The flashlight was sent to me as soon as it left the assembly line, so it didn’t even have a box.
However, the promotional photo makes it clear that it will be luxurious, like all similar senior models. Good gift potential.
In addition to a flashlight and a 5000mah 21700 battery, the kit includes almost everything you need: a charging cable, a holster, o-rings, and you don’t even need a quick-release remote button and a mount.
Why did I say almost? The kit includes adapter for 2 * CR123 batteries, but not for 1 * 18650. 2*C123 for 3000lums turbo? Are you kidding? Ok, I will return to this later.
The flashlight looks unusually to the extreme, reminding me either of a plunger or bell, or spaceship. However, the more I look at this design, the less I dislike it. It’s not normal. But in a good way, I think. And in general, this is not a model where design plays an equally important role in comparison with functionality. Thisis not EDSH is play with it and admire the knurling and the backlight of the LEDs. Nitecore P35i is not that kind of flashlight.
And in general, you use a flashlight in the dark, when the issue of appearance is not important at all
Let`s compare size. I`ve got one more novelty by Nitecore, a very long 2 * 21700 long-range flashlight Nitecore MH40S
The tail cap contains a button and a type-c charging connector.
The cover gets opened with the slightest movement of a finger, not cool.
There is also a small blue indicator light for the charging process. But there is real use of it, once we have much more convenient screeen.
But! You can also plug a remote button into this charging connector. The button is good: instant turbo, strobe, mode switching. And all this without having to remove the tailcap.
charge itself is pretty fast, it takes only 3 hours to charge 5000mah battery of Nitecore P35i
Well…65mm of head diameter is a lot, not everyone dares gun mount such a flashlight.
There are spring-loaded pads at the side of the tail and head.
The knurling on the battery compartment is classical and simple. Nevertheless, grip is good.
The flashlight is powered only by an expensive proprietary 21700 battery with ± on both sides. Again - no 18650 adaptor. I was, am and will be categorically against any propietaty batteries and chargers.
However, I think that with the help of wire cutters, the adapter from kit will be able to accommodate 18650. -)
The head of the flashlight is quite large, in fact it is half the total length of the flashlight.
The button is small and it would be difficult to find it if there was no flat panel with the screen. But the panel saves the situation, the fingers unmistakably find the button.
The screen is small, but everything you need is visible on it: the type of light (flood\spot\mixed), the brightness level, the declared range. But for me, there are other two main indicators: the declared operating time and battery voltage
Cooling fins are numerous and quite deep. However, I would rely more on the abundance of metal in head.
Towards the end, the most interesting part is optics. Nitecore P35i had 6 * XP-G3 LEDs for flood light. Ordinary LEDs, nothing interesting here. Interesting is another source of light. A complex construction that uses a laser-pumped LEP phosphor LED. There are really, really few LEP flashlight on the market, as they are expensive, have specific light and not easy to product. And Nitecore dared to combine it with
usual LEDs.
The warning on the bezel is not just a useless print. A flashlight can really blind and damage eye-vision. 678kd is a monstrous figure especially when you realize that it’s only for 400lumens!
Agree, it all looks impressive. Ah, btw, this is not easy-to-scratch plastic, like in case of another throw+flood model Olight Marauder II (it almost literally collected scratches when you took a look on this plastic)
UI
Quite good.
ON-OFF by pressing the tail button. Supports half press.
Switching brightness by pressing the side button.
TURBO - hold side button. Starts both types of light at once
Setting the type of light: from OFF, holding both buttons.
Preset: From off, hold the side button for 5 sec. Then, by clicking on it, select the desired throw mode brightness. Hold the button to go to the setting of the flood light.
Press to select the desired brightness. Hold the side button to save the settings. In mixed light mode, the flashlight will start from the mode you preset.
Nitecore P35i performance and stabilization
everything is certainly cool. when i decided to run extra tests with some fan cooling, i was pleasantly surprised to see that when flashlight reacts on this in a good way. i`ll add chart for Spot MID-LOW soon, decided to re-check MID mode.
this is what surprised me - fan cooling really makes a good effect on turbo flood.
As for the light, idea besides P35i has something in common with Wurkkos TS32. The long-range light of P35i is as crazy as the brightness of Flood light of the second. So, if Wurkkos TS32 is more of a short-range flashlight with good long-range potential, while Nitecore P35i is just a crazy “awl” with the ability to work well at close range. And, of course, you don’t need a handle to use P35i, unlike TS32. This is a classic handheld flashlight with an exaggeratedly long head.
The flood light beam is quite sufficient in brightness. Yeah, 3000 lumens is mediocre brightness by modern standards. But if you do not look at the numbers, then this is a wonderful brightness in reality, which is more than enough for you to fully illuminate both your own and your neighbor’s gardens at once.
As it often happens, the maximum brightness here is rather even redundant. For everyday use, High or even 300 luns Mid is enough for you to illuminate the path under your feet.
Here, by the way, I can not help but note the possibility of combining light. Even 300lum MID + 65 LOW high will give you an interesting combination of light. You will have a moderately bright background light and at the same time the ability to reach the beam for 200-300 meters.
In this regard, a flashlight can become interesting from the position of a search light.
Flood light, by the way, is bright enough to somehow penetrate even one and a half hundred meters. The picture was much clearer if it were not for the stray city light
Okay, flood light is not impressive at this range. What’s really impressive is spot light.
This is my first LEP flashlight and I knew that you can’t expect much sideside from a laser-pumped LED. OMG, NO side light at all. At the same fime a flashlight is certainly not like a laser pointer where there is no beam divergence at all. Here it is, but very small compared to classic long-range flashlights.
I estimate the exposure at a distance of 150m somewhere around 5-6m.
At the same time pay attention. The intensity of the light flux is so crazy that you can even see a spot of light even in Ultralow mode, which is negligible in terms of brightness! I wasn’t ready for this at all.
From a distance of 350-450m, the beam already diverges widely enough so that there is no obvious need to “prowl” the beam.
650m is a serious distance. Nitecore P35i copes with it with a bang. And here the beam is already quite wide, reminiscent of a classic long-range light.
The maximum declared range is 1650m. The high-rise building is 300m closer than the maximum declared range of 1650m. A flashlight definitely closes this distance. Okay, I showed how powerful long-range ones also coped with this in turbo mode. But Nitecore P30i is not a powerful flashlight. High beam turbo for him is negligible, in general, 400 lumens.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Nitecore P35i is not compact, it is not handsome. It is expensive and tied to expensive i-series batteries. But, if you answer the main question - did Nitecore succeed in combining flood and super-throw spot lights, my answer is “hell, yeah!”
Crazy, outrageous throw here is not be limited to a short turbo, the flashlight will work in this mode for a really long time, much longer than when using a long-range flashlight with a classic LED.
Of course, negligible sidelight will force you to move the beam when working at a distance closer than 300-400m. But at further distances you will be able to work for a long time and work comfortably, because you have a beam good in terms of brightness and size of spot.
UI and mode spacing are reasonable here. Nitecore has example of unsuccessful experiment with UI. And here they, fortunately, they were able to make the UI convenient - I only lack instant access to the minimum brightness here.
By the way, control via the remote button is also quite convenient. It does not allow you to only switch the types of light, and everything else is yours.
To connect the button, you do not need to remove the tail cap, just open the type-c connector. And here is the first CON - the lid opens at the slightest movement of the finger. In terms of waterproofness this is not good.
Runtime os long thanks to a capacious 21700 battery. And here is the second CON - Nitecore P35i works only with expensive proprietary 21700 i-series batteries, and Nitecore removed 18650-21700i adapter from the kit a long time ago. I am categorically and with all my heart against any form of using proprietary batteries or chargers.
In short, if you do not take into account the battery and the flimsy cover of the charging connector, then I think that from a functional point of view, Nitecore didnt screw up with P35i. This is an unusual flashlight. Very unusual. Not the one with which you will walk the dog near the house, or which you will admire on shelf. Nitecore P35i will be good when you have a need to illuminate something at distance maximum for modern flashlights, but you do not want to lose the opportunity to work at close range as well.
I do not presume to judge how justified its use as an gun mounted light, I have already seen discussions about the convenience of LEP flashlights for hunting and shooting in comments at my utube channel, and I will leave the discussion to those who actually understand this as my experience of Dendy Duck Hunt is certainly not enough. If you are one of them - feel free to comment.
The flashlight is odd, but cool. I believe that if you buy it, you will not be disappointed. The main thing is to sensibly assess your needs in the light before making a purchase decision. And i hope this review helped.
