Nitefox K3 Flashlight Review

The Nitefox K3 flashlight is a single-AAA cell flashlight with a twisty interface that uses a Cree XP-G2 emitter. Read on for thoughts and testing!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Nitefox K3 flashlight product page.

Versions

Just the one version, I believe! It’s available in two colors: red and black (seen here).

Price

The black version is $10, and the red is $13. Here they are on Amazon (referral link).

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Short Review

Functionally, this light is great. The size is also great. I could do without the strobe altogether, and the tint could probably improve, but this isn’t a bad light at all!

Long Review

The Big Table

Nitefox K3
Emitter:	Cree XP-G2
Price in USD at publication time:	$10/$13 on Amazon(referral link)
Cell:	1xAAA
Turbo Runtime
LVP?	Warning (Strobe)
Switch Type:	Twisty
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	150
Claimed Throw (m)	45
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	77lux @ 2.495m = 479cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	43.8 (97.3% of claim)^
All my Nitefox 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

• Nitefox K3 Keychain flashlight
• Pocket clip
• Keychain and clip
• Split ring
• Spare o-ring
• Lantern cover
• Manual

Package and Manual

The package is a little plastic box that snaps shut. It’s a good package, really. The printing is attached by stickers, which don’t really provide much, if any information.

The manual is probably better than one would expect out of an inexpensive light like this. It’s comprehensive, and that’s all we can ask of it.

Build Quality and Disassembly

Small lights are sometimes hard to evaluate for build quality. This one feels like a nicely built light in hand. The knurling is grippier and has a pointed-top diamond, but on a light this small, it’s not even aggressive at all.

The threads are very smooth, and contact is made before the threads bottom out (one of my main concerns with twisties). Amazingly, on a light this small, these are actually square-cut threads! A very nice touch. The light only disassembles into two parts (head and tail).

Size

Officially, the light is 70mm long. It’s around 12mm in head diameter, too. This is in line with the smallest AAA lights available.

Here it’s between two brass lights. Lumintop AAA Tool (left) and Olight i03 (right). You’ll note the similarities with the Olight.

Retention

The light ships with nothing installed. I immediately added the included pocket clip, of course. It’s a simple friction-fit clip and works very well. It’s reversible, with the tailcap installation providing a much deeper carry.

There’s also a very small split ring, which connects to a small chain and a hook closure.

Power

The K3 is powered by a single AAA-sized cell. It’s made for use with primary cells (alkaline) or NiMH. The manual specifies these two cells, so I don’t believe I’d try a Li-Ion (10440) cell in this light. As is most common, the positive end of the cell is oriented toward the head.

Here’s a runtime on high. Output is surprisingly stable for 45 minutes. Very respectable. There isn’t a proper low voltage protection, but the light does switch over to a very low strobe, so any active user would take note of this.

User Interface and Operation

This is a simple twisty. Twist for on (low, if it’s been a while since you turned it on). Turn off and on for med, and again for high. If you twist off and on very quickly, you’ll get strobe. And you can get strobe from anywhere by twisting off and on twice quickly. Twisting through the modes slowly will still cause the mode cycle to occur normally (LMH). The reset is around 10 seconds. i.e., if you’re in medium and want low, you must wait around 10 seconds for the light to reset to low.

Modes

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Mode Measured Lux	Tailcap Amps
High	150	0.5h	2000	0.50
Medium	15	6.5h	504	0.10
Low	0.1	120	46	–

LED and Beam

Nitefox has put a Cree XP-G2 in this little light. The reflector is deep and very lightly orange peel.

The beam is fairly broad with not much spill at all.

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.

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.

The tint’s probably not as bad as this photo makes it look, but it could certainly be better.

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options

Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com. To be sure, there are a ton of lights in this category. Particularly compelling in my opinion is the Eagtac D25AAA, which has a Nichia emitter. Unfortunately, it’s two or three times the cost (though, if you find the right sale….)

Otherwise, twisty AAA lights are almost a wash. If this one has the emitter and user interface that you like most, it’ll be a great light!

Conclusion

What I like

• Build quality is very good
• square-cut threads!
• Strobe can be avoided if desired
• Output is rock solid for nearly full runtime on High.

What I don’t like

• Mode cycle reset is too long at ~10s.
• No 10440 support
• High output is fairly low

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Notes

• This light was provided by Nitefox for review. I was not paid to write this review.
• This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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