Nitecore P16 TAC Flashlight Review

The Nitecore P16 TAC flashlight offers a single Cree XM-L2 emitter and a dual switch interface. This light has tactical features, too.

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Nitecore P16 TAC flashlight product page.

Versions

There’s just one version of the P16 TAC, but there’s also a P16. The P16 has an indicating side switch, but otherwise, the P16 TAC seems to be a spec bump (higher output).

MSRP

These go for around $69.95.

Short Review

This is a solid, simple light, and the dual switches make a great combo. The light lacks a bit of “wow” factor for me, but is well built and does what it’s intended to do.

Long Review

The Big Table

Nitecore P16 Tac
Emitter:	Cree XM-L2 (U3)
Price in USD at publication time:	$69.95
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime
LVP?	No
Switch Type:	Mechanical Forward Clicky
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	1000
Claimed Throw (m)	300
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	716lux @ 6.033m = 26060cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	322.9 (107.6% of claim)^
All my Nitecore reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

What’s Included

Nitecore P16 TAC
Nylon pouch
Lanyard
Pocket clip
Spare o-ring
Spare rubber boot for tailswitch
Manual

Package and Manual

The package is typical Nitecore – black and orange cardboard, and highly printed. The box really does a good job of describing the light, in fact (down to the fact that it accepts only button top cells!)

A box for the Nitecore P16 TAC flashlight is shown on a wooden surface. The packaging highlights 1000 lumens, up to 300 meters beam distance, four brightness levels, and spring-loaded impact absorption.

A product box side panel lists the following specs: 1000 lumens max output, 300m max distance, 1.5m impact resistance, 60h max runtime, 22000cd max intensity, and 2m waterproof depth.

The back of a Nitecore P16 TAC flashlight box, featuring product information about its features, technical specifications, and the manufacturers details, including website, contact info, and Made in China label.

A product box labeled Precise Series shows two images: one of a person hunting at sunset and another of a person in tactical gear at night. Text reads Hunting, Tactical, and Ultra High Intensity Tactical Flashlight.

A close-up of the top of a yellow box labeled NITECORE with a barcode and the text P16TAC XM-L2 SMO 700617830317. The background is a wooden surface.

The manual is good too. It contains about the same amount of info as the box, however. 😛 Here’s a .pfd link to the manual.

Build Quality and Disassembly

The P16 TAC has typical Nitecore build quality. In my experience, that’s great quality. The threads are anodized and well-lubed. The o-rings are beefy. The anodizing is nice and thick. I haven’t disassembled the light all the way down to the driver, but the parts I can see are good.

A black Nitecore P16 TAC tactical flashlight is standing upright on a wooden surface, with a blurred background. The flashlight features a textured grip and a silver bezel at the base.

A black, tactical LED flashlight stands upright on a wooden surface, featuring a textured grip, manufacturer labels, and a warning symbol on the silver section near the lens. The background is blurred.

A black tactical flashlight stands upright on a wooden surface. The flashlight has a textured grip and a wide base, with a blurred brown background.

The bezel is crenelated, and on a tactical light these might sometimes be very sharp, but I don’t find that to be the case on this light. They’re fairly “soft”. Note also those large cooling fins.

The threads are anodized and there’s plenty of lube. Those aren’t square-cut, but they’re still good enough.

I wasn’t able to separate the cell tube from the head of the light (or the bezel off the head for that matter) but here you can see spring on the tailcap. It’s a small spring but fairly stiff. The driver side of the light, while it can barely be seen here, is just like a previous Nitecore I reviewed, the SRT7GT. It’s a bit of an odd design, with a button at the end of a spring, and around this button, a rubber gasket. This design precludes the use of flat top cells. I tested the light with a Nitecore brand IMR 18650, which is a button top. You’ll have to use button tops in this light.

Size

Officially the light is 151mm long, 40mm at the head and 25.4mm at the tail. Without cell, the lightweight 141g.

This light is probably a little long for what it is. Below you can see it compared to the Klarus XT11GT, which has nearly the same throw rating, and also dual switches, and adds onboard charging too!

Two LED flashlights are placed side by side on a wooden surface, both facing the camera with their lenses and reflectors clearly visible. The image background is softly blurred.

Retention

There are a number of options here. First, the nylon pouch. It’s directional, with the tail of the light going in first. There’s a nice (plastic) D-ring on the back, and a double loop velcro belt loop.

A black flashlight in a fabric holder lies on a wooden surface. The flashlight is partially covered by the case, which is open on one side, revealing the lens and part of the handle.

A black flashlight in a nylon carrying case is placed vertically on a weathered wooden surface with visible knots and grain patterns.

A black textured nylon flashlight holster with a flashlight partially visible at the bottom, resting vertically on a weathered wooden surface with visible knots and grain.

A black flashlight in a nylon holster is attached to a weathered wooden surface. The holster is partially open, showing the flashlight head and textured grip.

There is a pocket clip, which does not come installed. It’s reversible, for bezel up or down carry.

There’s a tactical ring, which also has a cutout for the lanyard. This tac ring spins relatively freely on the light, even when the parts are tightened down.

Close-up of the top section of a black metal flashlight with textured grip and a slot near the top, against a blurry neutral background. The words ZEROAIR @ R/FLASHLIGHT are faintly visible on the left side.

A black flashlight lies on its side on a wooden surface, with the focus on the tail switch. The background is blurred.

The pocket clip and the tac ring can be installed concurrently, but in this case, the pocket clip must be in one of the grooves of the tactical ring. Since this ring floats, that’s not a problem.

Power

The P16 TAC is powered by a single 18650, or two 18350 cells. These must be button top cells, but length is not important. I used a Nitecore 3100mAh IMR 18650, and I didn’t do any testing with 2×18350 cells.

Below is the runtime. I ran two tests on turbo. For the blue test, I stopped at about 80 minutes, with a concern for cell voltage. It was ok, so for the next test, I let the light go longer. There is no LVP on this light, and when I finally stopped the test, the cell was at 2.57V. So be aware of no LVP. Not that one would really want LVP in a tactical light, right?

Here’s a blow-up of the first 10 minutes. I’m going to try to do this more because I think it provides as much useful information as the WHOLE runtime seen above. The light is only on 100% for a matter of seconds but holds around 90% for 5 minutes. That is a timed stepdown at 5 minutes.

User Interface and Operation

There are two switches on this Nitecore. One mechanical forward clicky tail switch (the “Power switch”, and one side e-switch (the “Mode switch”).

The user interface is as follows:

State	Action	Result
Off	Half press Tail	Momentary (Of memorized mode)
Off	Click Tail	On (Mode memory)
On	Click Tail	Off
On	Click Side	Advance mode (ULow>L>M>H)
On	Hold Side	Strobe
Strobe	Hold Side	Advance strobe group (Strobe>SOS>Beacon)
Strobe	Click Side	Previous main mode

Modes

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime
High	1000	1h 15m
Mid	240	7h
Low	60	33h
Ultra-Low	1	600h

LED and Beam

There’s a Cree XM-L2 U3 in this light. It sits at the base of a deep, smooth reflector. It’s a bit of a surprise that there isn’t a domeless emitter in here, since this light is meant to have a bit of throw. Of course, everyone knows my love of the XP-L HI….

The beam does have a tight hotspot, but the spill is also well defined. It’s not normally very noticeable, but if one rotates the light, the bezel crenelations can be seen easily, in the beam profile.

Beamshots

These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.

A mostly black image with a very faint, dim circular spot of light in the center. The text ZEROAIR @ R/FLASHLIGHT appears vertically along the left side.

A bright circular white light is centered against a dark background, with a gradient halo effect. The text ZEROAIR @ R/FLASHLIGHT is vertically aligned on the left side of the image.

A bright white light beam with a central hotspot gradually fading into a dark background, with the text ZEROAIR @ R/FLASHLIGHT along the left side.

A bright white flashlight beam forms a circular pattern on a dark wall, with a concentrated center and faded edges. The text ZEROAIR @ R/FLASHLIGHT appears vertically on the left side.

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options

This seems to me to be a bit of a saturated market that this light slots into. I can see a lot of people buying it on name recognition. I’m satisfied with Nitecore’s quality. There are other lights that offer as much or more (like the light shown above, the Klarus XT11GT, or the XT12GT as well), but also cost more.

Conclusion

What I like

Nice throw
Good build quality
Runtime is good
Cell versatility

What I don’t like

Button top only cells
A bit of a generic light
Cree XM-L2, when another emitter makes more sense

Notes

This light was provided by NitecoreStore.com for review. I was not paid to write this review.
This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks.com!
Use my amazon.com referral link if you’re willing to help support making more reviews like this one!
Please support me on Patreon! I deeply appreciate your support!