NICRON N72-UV Flashlight

I purchased of these(the white light only and white light + UV[black] light - the former being 200 lumens brighter than the dual mode version). These are testing at the advertised Lumen rating(unlike $5-$10 lights of "500 lumens" testing at 90~ on a good day. Like Nebo I appreciate the honesty in rating specs. Nothing more lame than buying a "100,000" light and a 2,000 Lumen Nebo Slyde absolutely creams it on a single 18650. That said, these are near perfect. I like the button has three positions(off, high, low). So many new lights in this price range have to be cycled through 4-5 settings(making 6 positions) to turn off. I am a Mag-Lite nutter with dozens, but needed a right angle light for a very specific purpose. When I got the white in and found it to be of outstanding quality I ordered the one with a UV mode shortly after. Very bright, but not too much(like 1,000 lumens lights can impress your eyes by reflecting off of something even like wood). I like the second mode for most times, but the high would be good for hiking. The specific for it was to clip on my coat like the old Fulton's do. If I am hiking far, headlamps, even light weight, start to make my head feel weird. Oh, and it has a 3xAAA cartridge and a sleeve to use basic 18650 lithium cells. Currently both run both on rechargable 18650 2600mAh generic Lithium cells. I put 3x alkaline in the cartridge and it was the same brightness. Then tried 3x Energizer Ultimate Lithiums. The 3x(4.5+V and highest mAh of the battery configurations) Lithiums seemed a hair brighter, but the onboard circuit regulates power well. Worth buying to replace any kind of cheap plastic(or quality plastic like Fulton) on your hiking gear, or I can see these easily replacing some old school incandescent firefighter lights. Weight was exactly as expected and the 90 degree pivot swivel feels "luxurious"(for lack of a better term). Smooth and all areas exposed to rain have seals. Recommended 100% for a 90 degree(but can be a regular shaped light if you like)LED light under $50. Was less expensive when I got mine before the tariffs, but I've adjusted my head math to account for the current runaway inflation that began in March. Last: Between 180 straight and 90 right angle, the light can rest on the side with clip acting as a stop. Then you can rotate the light on the twisting pivot to get a pinpoint. Only con: The lights have no adjustable flood capability, but the spread is sufficient for most uses.

Full disclosure... if there was a group called Flashlights Anonymous I'd probably be forced to join. I like flashlights. I have a LOT of flashlights. Always have. Flashlights have come a long way from the chrome two D cell Rayovac flashlights and free four D sell Radio Shack flashlights I had as a kid. LED are awesome and this is a very nice LED flashlight. It's built like a tank and has a solid belt clip and strong magnet which, combined with the swivel head, makes for a very versatile tool. It's easy to clip it or stick it somewhere and then rotate the head and entire flashlight as needed to provide light wherever required. Seaking of light, this flashlight is BRIGHT. It's a really nice compromise between a spot and flood beam. I'm using the flashlight with an 18650 Li-Ion battery (I don't mess with alkaline batteries in lights any more) which fits perfectly using the included sleeve. I've added this to my easy-access kit in my Jeep and I'm sure it'll get plenty of use. The price was right too. I remember paying 3-4 times more for fairly chintzy Chinese LED flashlights not that many years ago. Things have really come a long way in a short time.

I have used this light for about a month now and it has become my favorite. Its longer than other flashlights but that is because of one of its best features, the swivel light. This is the first light I have owned with the swivel and it actually comes in pretty handy especially when used with the strong magnet in the end of the light. The swivel allows you to point the beam at a more specific spot when the light is stuck to metal like under the hood of your car. The swivel mechanism is really solid, no slop at all. The clip is solid which is better than some of my other flashlights I have used that the clip gets weak pretty fast with use. Strangely enough one of the things I like a lot about this light is that the button programs does not make you go through a strobe mode to turn it off. I bet almost no one used that mode yet most of these type flashlights make it a mandatory mode. This light has strobe and SOS but you have to choose it by holding the button longer. I have switched to all 18650 battery items a long time ago and that is all I tested with this light. I noticed that if your battery is getting low on power you get a slight flash in the light every minute or so to let you know. Great flashlight, I would buy it again.

Pros and why I bought it: 1) swivel head, tho using it now 7 mos as a mechanic, sometimes wish it could bend 180degrees. lol Maybe it's just luck but I've not had any issues with the swivel mechanism. And I grab the light out of my holster by the light end 99% of the time. 2) magnet base - very strong as advertised. Wish they were all like this. 3) use of removable (18650 and I thought, 21700) rechargeable batteries. 4) UV capability. This is a real plus for a mechanic and probably others. 5) quality of materials - great body and crosshatch for non-slip grip. Unfortunately, there are some cons: 1) 18650 battery life - it just isn't very long. Even with an hour or so a day the battery just doesn't last long enough. Which is why I decided to go with a 21700 battery. 2) doesn't play well with 21700 battery - It fits like it was made for it and totally fixes the run time issue. However, Nicron does not advertise using it in the light. probably due to the issues I'm now having. The battery cap has to be tightened down quite hard to get reliable operation. And even then I've found myself tightening it every time I use it to keep it turned on. Very annoying. 3) Tho I like its heft, it is quite heavy. And large. Not a pocket light at all. I use a holster but it's a PITA to take out and put back in. 4) I'll lose the UV capability if I dump this light altogether - I've already purchased another brand swivel light that is half the weight and 1/3 the length. But it does not have UV. So I'll probably switch this light back to 18650s for UV use as its runtime wouldn't need to be as much as the white light. Overall a good light if runtime isn't an issue and size/weight doesn't matter.

The Nicron N72-UV light is very solidly built. It stands about 6.5" high and is about 1 1/8" in diameter. The rubber coated button clicks easily and it could be activated by an item packed close to it, but for my purposes, that's not an issue, and the button as it is is a pleasure to use. The light is very bright and the UV led is useful. The UV is not as powerful as a multi UV LED light that I have that (also 18650), but that light has no white light. This light's UV easily caused an Arizona scorpion specimen to glow. The 90 degree head is adjustable to any angle between straight vertical to horizontal. The base magnet is quite strong and won't fall off of a car body even when fully horizontal. A 3 cell AA adapter is included, as is a plastic cylinder that an 18650 battery fits into so you don't need to make a DIY cardboard spacer to keep the battery from rattling. The "pocket" clip appears to be powder coated and is strong enough and measures 1 6/8" before it begins to taper. A thin 2" web belt would fit. The UV version has 2 positions of white light and one UV setting. No flashing. Read the instructions on this for details. Works great. I picked up the non UV version also which is marginally brighter.

Have only had the light for a little over a month but so far, appears to be a very good quality, solidly built. The user interface is very simple, press the power button once to have it come on in high white mode, press a second time for low white mode, then press and hold to switch to UV mode. Double pressing from UV will take it back to high white mode. There is a memory, I.E. if you turn it off in UV mode, it will come back on in UV mode when the power button is pressed. Light output is very good considering it's a single emitter. I would say it's more flood than throw but still puts the light out a good distance. The UV mode is very good, much better than other lights I own which cost much more. Battery life also seems to be very good.

It can swivel to 90 degree and it's pretty bright. It have a nice selection low high and blacklight. The white light have a center yellow spot which is a little annoying but it can be overlooked if this was cheaper. The blacklight is bright enough. Is it worth it? If it cost 30 bucks or less, then worth it. The quality is pretty good. There are limited 90 degree dial lights that are this good. Clip and magnetic is on point. Grip is very good and so is the finish. Color of light is around 3700k to 4000k which is really nice, though the color is not as even and the spread is meh. You don't want a blue light especially if your fixing cars. Seems like the main issue is the led yellow spot, light spread is meh, uneven light color.

I've owned TWO of these for over FIVE YEARS NOW!! STILL AWESOME and worth EVERY PENNY "STILL"!!!! GONE up a few dollars since, but....?? "SUPER" STRONG MAGNET!! Smooth, "tight" rotate mechanism!! "THE" MOST POWERFUL UV light I've seen!! I just got through using it and was checking to see if they were still around, even though I've STILL got my 2nd SPARE light!! lol?? NEVER WANT TO GO WITHOUT!! TB