Nitecore has recently announced their new line of flashlights called Concept Flashlights. Today, I’ll be looking at the Concept 1, which is their newest product in this Concept Flashlight line. For those who are unfamiliar with Nitecore, Nitecore is a leading manufacturer in LED technology. Nitecore is an incredibly popular and reliable brand that customers go to time and time again. They have a variety of excellent and high-quality products, and once you own a Nitecore flashlight, you will become addicted to this brand.
Don’t have time to read this full review? Check out our TOP 10 BEST TACTICAL FLASHLIGHTS LIST HERE
Back to the Concept 1 Flashlight, this torch is powerful, compact, lightweight, and perfect for any everyday carry collection. If you’re looking to upgrade your everyday carry flashlight, I recommend looking at this Nitecore Concept 1. It’s less than 4-1/2 inches long and weighs approximately 2 ounces, so it’s very easy to slip into your pocket or put it in an EDC bag. A built-in pocket clip, you can clip this flashlight onto your belt, in your pocket, and just you’re good to go.
Let’s get started with this flashlight review. I’ll first be talking about some different features of the flashlight and then I will move on to some pros and cons, things to consider before buying, etc., just little notes that you need to know before making the purchase.
I’m going to start with what everyone is most interested in, the power of the light. The Concept 1 delivers 1,800 lumens of power. This is an incredible amount of power to have in an EDC flashlight. Normally, for this kind of power, you need to go to a handheld flashlight that’s significantly bigger, more difficult to carry around, and altogether more expensive. It also has a maximum beam throw of 220 meters, so you know it’ll definitely illuminate the area around you. This flashlight is equipped with a Cree XHP 35HD LED, and that powerful, tiny LED is responsible for that amazing 1,800 lumens of power.
Moving on to the brightness output, the Concept 1 has five brightness outputs, ranging from 1 lumen to 1,800 lumens. When looking for an EDC, tactical or outdoor flashlight, it’s important to find one that has a variety of different outputs. With five different outputs, the Concept 1 is incredibly versatile, allowing you to use it in many different situations. The turbo output is 1,800 lumens. The high is 810 lumens. The medium is 300 lumens. The low is 80 lumens. The moonlight is 1 lumen. If you’re walking the dog at night, if you’re walking home at night, if it’s dark out, that medium and low mode will really come in handy. You certainly don’t need 1,800 lumens of power when you’re walking down the street. Then you’ll just upset your neighbors. That moonlight mode is excellent for reading a map at night, searching for something you might have dropped in your car, things like that.
Next, we’ll be looking at the two selectable modes. The Concept 1 comes with two selectable modes so you can customize this flashlight to suit your needs. There’s the general mode and there’s the tactical mode. When the general mode is on, all you need to do is tap the side switch three times and it will jump you straight up to turbo, so you can have that bright illumination as quickly as possible. The second mode is the tactical mode, and when you have it in this mode, you can use three clicks of the button and it will access that strobe function. Once you read the instructions and play around with the Concept 1 a little bit, it’ll be really easy to remember the different modes that you can choose from, access them.
I was a little worried when first looking at this flashlight that it did not come with a strobe mode, so I’m glad to see that that tactical mode does give you a strobe mode. If you find yourself walking from work to your car in a dark parking lot, this flashlight will definitely come in handy, and if a stranger is getting a little too close to you, you can always quickly access that strobe mode to disorient them and run away or get help.
Let’s move on to the batteries. The Nitecore Concept 1 can be equipped with a single 18650 lithium ion battery or a pair of CR123A lithium batteries. I always recommend the 18650 for your main battery while using CR123As as backup batteries, but, of course, the preference is yours. However, it’s important to note that if you do use the two CR123 batteries, you won’t have access to that 1,800 lumen turbo mode. You’ll still have access to the high, medium, low, and moonlight, but these run times will also be a little less than if you were to use the 18650 lithium ion battery. I highly recommend using that battery as opposed to the CR123 batteries. The Concept 1 has a unique battery power indicator. When the power’s off and you insert the battery, the LED will report the battery voltage in flashes. If the battery’s at maximum charge, the power indicator will blink four times and then will be followed by a one-second pause and two more blinks before entering the standby status. If you are unaware, that standby status is just the general default mode.
Let’s talk a little bit about the design of the Nitecore Concept 1. The body of this flashlight is very sleek and very smooth. The head is nearly flush with the body, which is great to see. Many flashlights will have a significantly bigger head than body, and this can make it a little more difficult to carry around in your pockets. With a flashlight like the Concept 1, you won’t have to worry about any excess bulk in your pocket. You can carry it around easily. Around the body and tail of the flashlight, you’ll see there’s a gnarled pattern that allows you to grip the flashlight. This texture is often underrated until you purchase a flashlight that doesn’t have it. Then you’ll realize just how important that grip texture is.
A unique feature of this flashlight is that magnetic tail cap that you can attach to surfaces. It seems like this feature is few and far between high-quality flashlights. When you find it, it’s always really exciting. You can affix this flashlight to any metal surface, which helps exponentially when you’re working on, say, a car or working in the house and you just need to attach it to something so you can work hands free.
The flashlight is made from aero grade aluminum alloy with that anodized finish, so it will definitely last. It’s incredibly durable, and it is wear-resistant.
Nitecore always delivers on quality, so when you purchase a Nitecore flashlight, you can be sure you are getting an excellent, high-quality, high-grade flashlight. The Compact 1 is impact-resistant up to 1.5 meters. If it falls out of your hand, it falls out of your car, it’ll still work. It will be fine, even after several accidental drops. That kind of durability is important in an everyday carry flashlight. Since you’ll be carrying it around with you most of the time, you never know what’s going to happen. Something might knock it off of your pocket. Something might knock it off your belt. You may accidentally drop it. It’s excellent to know that out of all of these accidental drops, it’ll still work just fine.
The Nitecore Concept 1 is also waterproof up to IPX8 standards, and what this means is that you can actually submerge this flashlight 2 meters under the water for 30 minutes, pull it out, and it’ll still be working just fine. You don’t need to worry about rainstorms, heavy thunderstorms. You can continue to work using this flashlight if you need to.
Let’s talk about the pros and cons, starting with the pros.
That 1,800 lumens of power is amazing. You definitely won’t be finding that in many everyday carry flashlights. I like the body design. I like the pocket clip. It’s easy to carry around. It’s exactly what I would want out of an everyday carry flashlight. Those five brightness outputs really allow for me to use this flashlight in many different situations. Whether I like using this flashlight around the house, doing housework, working on a car, going outdoors, camping, hiking, fishing, this flashlight will be an excellent choice to always have. The two customizable settings are really great. It does allow you to further adjust the light to your preferences or needs, and, of course, since it’s a Nitecore light, I always need to admire the high-quality design and the thought that Nitecore puts into every one of their products.
As for the cons, I don’t have very many negative things to say about this light, and the few I do are very minuscule. I’m not a big fan of the built-in pocket clip. I prefer the pocket clip to be removed if I want it to be removed. While I’m glad that the Nitecore Concept 1 does come with the strobe mode, I don’t like that it takes three clicks to access it. In an emergency situation, I don’t want to fumble around for three clicks. I would like to get it in one, two at the most, and have that strobe mode ready.
In conclusion, this is one of the most powerful everyday carry flashlights that I have seen on the market. Nitecore really stepped up when they came out with this Concept 1. I’m excited to see what other flashlights come out in their new line of Concept flashlights. If you’re looking for a new everyday carry flashlight, I highly recommend taking a look at the Nitecore Concept 1.