Nebo Flashlight Review

I don’t talk about my job that much (I have my reasons for that) but today I’m going to a little just to give some backdrop to this product.  The people I work with are constantly breaking things on a day to day basis and its my job to find the parts and pieces they need in order to fix and maintain everything.

One thing we go through quite often are flashlights.  Just about every employee has one and sometimes they get lost, dropped, run over, etc.  They break and its my job to find replacements without spending a fortune.  I’ve been doing this job since July and the only flashlights we’ve found to be extremely reliable are those that are made by NEBO.

I’m not authorized to purchase a flashlight for myself though.  I don’t really need one because I sit behind a desk and do computer/paper work most of the day.  But a few months ago I managed to repair one that had broken inside using pieces from several different broken flashlights I had in my desk drawer.  Its an older REDLINE model and its not in the best shape, but it cost the company nothing and I now have a flashlight when I need one.  I keep it secured on my belt using one of the NEBO flashlight holsters that I bought with my own money.

The REDLINE flashlights that we purchase use 3 AAA batteries.  They have 4 settings:  100%, 50%, 10%, and Strobe.  Mine only utilizes 100%, 50%, and strobe because some aspect of it is still broken.  Being able to change the light mode is helpful for battery life because you don’t always need 100% brightness to see what you’re doing.  Even though my light is partially broken, it doesn’t seem to suffer any loss of battery life compared to the others we have.

As far as durability is concerned, these things are beast.  They’ve been run over, left out in the weather, and dropped more times than I can count.  I’ve seen them fall violently to the concrete and suffer only scratches.  The only one that has ever broken was the one I have now and that was an internal component.

These flashlights are also really easy to work.  You could argue that all flashlights should be easy to operate, but I would respond that most don’t have 4 different modes that are activated with only one button.  To change the mode you’re using, all you need to do is cycle the light on an off within a second or two; half-pressing the button also seems to work for me.  If you like to use your flashlight in a certain mode you can leave it on that setting and then when you turn it on next time (provided its been off at least 5 or 6 seconds) it will still be there.

Another useful feature these flashlights offer is a magnetic base.  Many times you can let the metal hold the light for you, freeing up both hands.  Its also useful on occasion to reach into relatively small holes in order retrieve metal objects such as screws or bolts.  Its not an incredibly powerful magnet but its strong enough to hold the flashlight up.

The number of lumens these lights provide change between each version.  The one I have is 220 lumens at 100% but I think some of the newer ones we bought were 230 or 240.  I suggest you check the website if you’re interested in what the current models provide.  In addition to the flashlight I covered in this post, NEBO offers many others including some that mount to firearms.  Definitely give the website a look if you’re in the market for a new flashlight.  They’re well worth it.