Nebo Davinci 18000 Lumen Flashlight Review

Following on from my opinions of the Nitecore flashlights, together with the EDC27 Slim and MH12 Professional, I’ve been trying out some merchandise from Nebo.

Neba is a well-established LED lighting model courting again 20 years, with merchandise designed within the USA.

I’ve been despatched three merchandise from Neba, together with:

• Massive Larry 3 Work Gentle with an modern design combining a flashlight and work mild with a magnetic base.
• Nebo Final Multi Voltage Energy Pack: An extremely helpful accent in your automobile, combining a 26,000mAh Li-ion energy pack with a 1500A Leap begin port, 120psi Air compressor, USB Ports, an AC outlet and three mode mild.
• Nebo Davinci 18000 Lumen Flashlight: Essentially the most highly effective flashlight Neba has launched and what I’m reviewing at present.

The Nebo Davinci 18000-lumen flashlight was launched again in August and is probably the most highly effective flashlight Nebo has made, eclipsing the 12000-lumen flashlight that preceded it.

Boasting a luminosity of as much as 18,000 lumens, this torch provides 5 distinct mild modes alongside a 2X zoom function, permitting for a tailor-made stability between illumination and energy conservation, thus prolonging battery longevity. The comfort of USB-C recharging is paired with a strong physique crafted from aircraft-grade aluminium, guaranteeing sturdiness with out compromising on lightness. Due to its IP67 score, even torrential rain received’t hinder your explorations.

Nebo Davinci 18000 Specification

• Gentle Modes
  • Turbo (18,000 lumens) – 30 second intervals / 253 meters
  • Excessive (10,000 lumens) – 2 hours / 189 meters
  • Medium (5,000 lumens) – 3 hours / 133 meters
  • Low (800 lumens) – 12 hours / 53 meters
  • Strobe (18,000 lumens) – 2 hours / 253 meters
• Design
  • Good Energy Management (SPC)
  • Battery charging indicator
  • Closed-Loop Temperature Management
  • Anodised aircraft-grade aluminium
  • Waterproof (IP67) and impact-resistant
• Operation
  • Facet-positioned, ON/OFF button
  • Magnetic Mode Choose Dial
• Equipment
  • USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• Battery
  • Powered by 5000mAh Li-ion 266500 10.8v battery
• Dimensions
  • (L) 35.0cm X (W) 6.50cm X (H) 6.50cm
  • Color Temperature (Kelvin) / Wavelength: 6500-7500 Ok

Design and Construct High quality

My earlier Nitecore opinions have been all smaller pocket-friendly flashlights, and the Nebo Davinci 18000 is gigantic compared.

Nebo has opted to go for a protracted, slim physique, whereas some competing high-lumen flashlights have a stubby, chunky design. I’d say aesthetically, this appears nicer than others, and additionally it is a bit extra pleasant to carry in your hand. There’s a rubber grip that covers round a 3rd of the size of the sunshine, stopping the flashlight from getting slippery in moist circumstances.  

On the tail finish of the sunshine is a screw cap which provides you entry to the 5000mAh Li-ion 266500 10.8v battery. It’s price noting that the official spec sheet states a 5000mAh Li-ion 21700 7.4v battery, however that’s not what was in my mild. The battery is replaceable, however I couldn’t discover a precise alternative on-line. The battery is greater than half the size of the flashlight, which explains the elongated design.

Shifting up the sunshine, you will have the ability button and an orange dial to manage the three brightness settings.  

Then, the primary head of the sunshine may be rotated round, which extends the reflector outwards and focuses the sunshine right into a narrower beam. This may also expose the USB-C port, which is protected by a rubber tab. The USB-C port can be used to cost different units.

The sunshine itself is a really giant COB (chip on board) which has a big convex lens. The smaller flashlights I’ve reviewed use a comparably tiny LED.

The general construct high quality feels excellent with the flashlight utilizing plane grade aluminium, and also you get an IP67 ingress score, which implies it’s technically rated to work for at the very least half-hour whereas underneath 15cm to 1m of water, not that I’d suggest testing that.

Nebo states that this has impact-resistant building however don’t make any claims of drop peak.

Efficiency and Run Time

The flashlight has a number of modes, with some choices requiring a bit extra than simply urgent the ability button.

Controls:

• Press & launch Energy Button to show the unit On and Off.
• Strobe: Double-tap button
• Turbo: From ON, press and maintain button
• Direct-to-Low: From OFF, press and maintain button
• Press & Launch Energy Button from Strobe, Turbo or Direct-to-Low to show the unit off.

You can too rotate the primary head of the sunshine, which extends the reflector and narrows the beam. Nebo calls this 2x zoom.

I don’t dwell someplace the place I can totally admire the advantages of such a vibrant mild. Switching this on in a darkish room comfortably lights up the entire room.

Outdoors in the dead of night, it’s extremely vibrant on excessive with a really vast beam unfold. This could be supreme for strolling by way of fields or forests in the dead of night. The vast beam unfold means you simply illuminate the whole lot in your path and to the edges.

2x zoom doesn’t equal two instances the throw distance

Rotating the top for the 2x zoom operate dials within the beam, however it’s nonetheless a comparatively vast beam. I don’t dwell someplace with 250+ meters of open darkish house, so I wasn’t capable of admire how a lot distinction this makes to the throw distance or the general efficiency.

Regardless that the beam is narrowed, you continue to get a large illumination in your discipline of view.

Contemplating the 2x zoom declare, you’d assume this may double the throw distance. However, this doesn’t seem like true.

As I didn’t have the means to check this precisely, I regarded for on-line references. 1lumen reviewed the 12K Davinci mannequin, they usually indicated there was solely a partial enchancment within the throw distance, with a 13.5% enchancment when utilizing the flashlight on excessive.

The zoom will increase the candela output however not by two-fold, it’s 30% on the excessive setting, and also you’d want 4 instances the candela to achieve double the gap.

I suppose the 2x zoom would possibly imply that the reflector extends out twice as far in comparison with the default setting.

Whereas this can be barely deceptive, Nebo make no claims of this flashlight extending additional than the specs above, and I’d assume there are usually not many situations the place you could illuminate over 200 meters in entrance of you.

Battery & Charging

On excessive, the sunshine is rated to run for as much as 2 hours, then 3 for medium and 12 for low.

With the turbo, the sunshine is proscribed to a 30-second run time earlier than reviewing again to excessive. The sunshine may also run for two hours when utilizing the strobe operate.

One situation with lights like that is that charging is sluggish. Plugging this into my Bluetti AC180 transportable energy station, the USB-C output signifies a cost of simply 10W. Assuming the sunshine took a constant 10W cost, then from flat to full, it will take nearly 6 hours to totally cost the 54Wh battery.

Value and Various Choices

The Nebo Davinci 18000 has an RRP of £200, and the Davinci vary is available in many smaller fashions. The mannequin under it is a 12000 lumen model for £140, or there’s an 8000 lumen model for £100.

Olight has the X9R Marauder, which is an enormous 25000 Lumen output for a staggering £550.

The Olight Marauder 2 is probably the closest flashlight I can discover. This has a 14000-lumen output with a formidable 450m throw distance when used within the floodlight mode or 850 lumens and 800m in highlight mode. That is priced at round £210. This weighs fairly a bit extra at 750g making it 43% extra.

Imalent has a number of lights brighter than this, however these are all very giant and fairly a unique design. The SR32 is £560 and has 120K lumens and a throw distance of 2km, however it weighs over 2 kg.

Total

I’ve completely no want for the Nebo Davinci 18000-lumen flashlight the place I dwell, however it’s exhausting to not be extraordinarily impressed with it. This mild is clearly designed for rural environments and issues like mountaineering or tenting, and I believe it will excel in these situations.

I could not have probably the most expertise with flashlights, however the general construct high quality and look are excellent.

The 18k output is unimaginable, and searching on the competitors, there isn’t a lot on the market at this worth level with the identical kind of lumen output. You definitely wouldn’t describe this flashlight as compact, however compared to different high-output lights, it’s fairly light-weight, the Olight Marauder 2 weighs 43% extra.

The battery cost velocity is sluggish, however this appears to be the case for many of those lights. The battery is detachable, so you may at all times preserve a spare for prolonged use.

The one situation price contemplating when this flashlight is the comparatively quick throw distance. In its default mode, you’re looking at a most distance of 253 meters in turbo or 189m in peak. The 2x zoom possible received’t add a lot distance. The Marauder 2 is 450m or 800m, relying on whether it is in floodlight or highlight mode.

Final replace on 2023-10-24 / Affiliate hyperlinks / Pictures from Amazon Product Promoting API