Nitecore MH12GTS Flashlight Review

On this Nitecore MH12GTS flashlight is an indicating e-switch and a forward tail switch, too. The Cree XHP35 HD emitter has great output.

---

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Nitecore MH12GTS Flashlight product page.

Versions

There’s just one version of this light.

Price

This is a $100 flashlight, and the package includes a cell.  Since the light has charging, it can be seen as a complete package light.

---

Short Review

This is a nice light, and the waterproof charge port is very interesting!

Long Review

The Big Table

Nitecore MH12GTS
Emitter:	Cree XHP35 HD
Price in USD at publication time:	$100.00
Cell:	18650
Turbo Runtime	High Runtime
LVP?	Warning
Switch Type:	Both
Quiescent Current (A):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Chargetime
Power off Charge Port with no Cell?	?
Claimed Lumens (lm)	1800
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1750 (97.2% of claim)^
Claimed Throw (m)	226
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	704lux @ 4.45m = 13941cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	236.1 (104.5% 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 MH12GTS Flashlight
• Nitecore NL1835HP 3500mAh 18650 cell
• Charge cable
• Pocket clip
• Lanyard
• Spare o-ring
• Manual and paperwork

Package and Manual

Standard Nitecore box:

Here’s a pdf of the manual.

Build Quality and Disassembly

In my experience, Nitecore has nice quality lights.  This one is no exception.

Here’s a look around the light.  It’s a pretty standard dual-switch tube light.

The tactical ring is removable.  In fact it’s threaded on, and unscrews off easily.

This photo makes the knurling look a little aggressive, but it’s actually not.  It’s grippy enough.  There isn’t all that much knurling on the light, all told.

The threads for the tailcap are square-cut, and unanodized, which means a mechanical lockout on this light isn’t possible.

Because all the charging for this light happens through the tailcap, special concessions must be made.  Those can be seen below, with the dual-wall cell tube.  That tube isn’t removable.  At least it’s not removable without removing the head of the light, which I wasn’t able to do.

Here’s the tailcap and the body.  The head is quite tight on the cell tube, and it wouldn’t budge.  Both ends have nice thick springs.

Size

Officially: Length 144 mm.   Head Size 25.4 mm.  Weight 99.5 g

This light is much longer than the Convoy S2+, but adds a second (and indicating) switch, and onboard charging.  Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+.  Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple.  A very nice 18650 light.

Retention

There’s a pocket clip which allows for only bezel-down carry.  It’s a friction fit clip, but leaves 1.75″ sticking out of a pocket.  Much too much!

There’s also the nylon pouch, in which the light fits ideally bezel down.  (With the tac ring, removed, it’ll fit easily either way.)

The included lanyard can fit in a number of places.  There are two holes in the tailcap perfect for the lanyard.  And there’s a single hole in the tac ring also suited to the lanyard.

Power

The MH12GTS is powered by a single 18650.  Nitecore includes an “8A” 3500mAh 18650.  It’s also possible to use 2xcr123 cells.

Since there are springs on both ends, any type 18650 should work fine.

Here’s a runtime on Turbo.  Output isn’t stable and trends downward expectedly for about 4 minutes.  I measured thirty second output at around 1800 lumens, which is exactly the claim Nitecore makes for this light.  Once the light reaches it’s stepdown of High, it’s very stable.

The output on High is very stable almost from the start.

I wasn’t able to test if the light has LVP, but it does have a switch warning.  The switch has a blue ring around the edge, and blinks blue when voltage is low.

Charging

Nitecore includes a nice USB to micro-USB cable for charging.

The charge port is on the tail, and has a rubber cover that sort of “snaps” into place.  In all honesty, it doesn’t snap in very tightly, and tends to come out.

Even though Nitecore labels this as “fast charging,” they also state it’ll take around 8 hours to fully charge the cell.  That’s not fast, but the 8 hour statement seems to be accurate.

Charging is very consistent (so much so that the graph below has two charge events, and they look exactly alike).  Charging at 0.6A seems a bit anemic for this cell/light.

The micro-USB port is unusually waterproof.  I was curious how that worked, so I pulled back the cover and ran the light for a while in water.

It was uneventful, fortunately, and does support the claim that this is a waterproof port.

After removing the light, I did shake the water out (it was filled with water!).  I didn’t attempt to charge the light immediately (though the manual doesn’t say not to).  I let it dry out overnight and then charged it through this port successfully.

There’s also a battery check that occurs when a cell is installed.  The light blinks the ones then the tenths.  Four blinks pause 2 blinks is 4.2V, for example.

User Interface and Operation

There are two switches on the MH12GTS.  The first is a mechanical tail forward clicky switch.  It’s a nice rubber button, and fairly resistive.

The other switch is a side, indicating, e-switch.

It’s not proud at all, but the light is built so that there’s plenty of reveal for good access to the switch.

When the switch indicates, it’s very noticeable, and even in it’s illumination

The user interface is much like many of Nitecore’s other dual-switch lights but I think adds some features that are interesting.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click Tail Switch (TS)	On (Mode Memory including Strobe)
On	Click Mode Switch (MS)	Mode advance (L>H direction)
Off	Hold MS, Click TS	Ultralow
Off	Depress TS	Momentary Mode Memory
On	Depress TS	Momentary Turbo
On	Double click MS	Strobe
Strobe	Long click MS	Strobe advance (Beacon>SOS>Strobe)
Strobe	Click MS	Return to regular modes (mode memory)
On	Click TS	Off
Off	Press MS	Power Indication on indicating switch

Power indication is as follows (and is typical for Nitecore):
1. 3 Flashes represent battery level above 50%
2. 2 Flashes represent battery level below 50%
3. 1 Flash represents battery level below 10%

Modes

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	1800	30m	1411	–
High	900	2h15m	852	–
Mid	240	5h45m	262	–
Low	70	19h	90	–
Ultralow	1	250h	–	–

Due to the inner sleeve/charging function of this light, I wasn’t able to test the amps.  I tried a bunch of ways, and I could just never get it to work with my setup.

LED and Beam

The emitter used in this light is a Cree XHP35 HD.  It’s a good choice in this tube light, and outputs the claimed 1800 lumens according to my test setup.

The beam has a lot of hotspot, and still some spill.  The reflector is smooth, and deep.

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.

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options

Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com. Included in the competitors for this light include the Klarus XT2CR, which I already reviewed.  That light also has micro-USB charging but it’s in the head.  It’s also dual-switch, but the second switch is a paddle switch on the tail.  It adds dual mode groups, one being tactical.

Conclusion

What I like

• Output hits specification
• Throw hits specification
• Is complete package light
• Micro-USB port is waterproof

What I don’t like

• Charging is slow
• Light is long
• Charge port cover doesn’t like to stay closed

---

Notes

• This light was provided by Nitecore 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!