Nicron B70 Flashlight Review
Nicron updated the Nicron B70 flashlight with Osram P9 and USB-C charging, too! This light can switch to a right angle style light!
Official Specs and Features of the Nicron B70 Flashlight
Here’s a link to the Nicron B70 product page.
Versions
Nicron makes many versions of right-angle twisty-head lights. As far as I can tell, there’s just one “B70.” Also exists a B70 Plus, which I have tested.
There are definitely older versions of this light, too. The version in my hands uses an Osram P9 emitter but previous generations have been (for example, but potentially not limited to) Cree XM-L2 and Cree XP-L HI. I’d love to see the XP-L HI version, but I understand the move to P9.
Price
The Nicron B70 flashlight is available on Amazon at around $50 (referral link).
Short Review
This light isn’t my usual fare, but I was still pleasantly surprised by it. There are some nice features – USB-C charging, complete package (ie including cell), useful indicating e-switch… A couple of things that I like a little bit less though – PWM, and overall size. But at around $50, this will hit a certain niche of flashlight needs very well.
Nicron B70 Flashlight Long Review
The Big Table
| Nicron B70 | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Osram P9 (Cool white) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | ~50 |
| Cell: | 1×18650 |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | 0.6μA |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | with cell: no modes without cell: no modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1200 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1133 (94.4% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 7.8 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 200 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 293lux @ 5.97m = 10443cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 204.4 (102.2% of claim)^ |
| All my Nicron 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
- Nicron B70 Flashlight
- Nicron 2600mAh 18650
- Charge cable (USB to USB-C)
- Spare o-ring
- Spare charge port cover
- Manual and papers
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Like the Nicron B70 Plus, this B70 is quite long. The body here is black…. but…. I think it’s really black with a touch of green. Maybe it’s even really dark green. To the point though, the color you probably see in these photos which “isn’t completely black” is accurate. It’s not flat black.
That’s cool of course! Always nice to have colors other than black available.
This light also features the right angle design of the B70 Plus – in fact the only thing I’d say it doesn’t feature that the B70 Plus has is the woodland camo. I am not completely sure what’s the difference in these two lights….
Here’s the top-down view!
This version features an orange band inside this groove on the head. It does not glow, but it is orange so is clearly superior.
Anodizing color between some parts is a little different.
The body has ample knurling.
One item I found strange on the Nicron B70 is the tailcap. It’s very sturdy. And by “very sturdy” I absolutely mean “unusually large.”
Both head and tail have springs. More details about the tailcap below.
Size and Comps
Officially 160mm long and 26mm in diameter, this isn’t a small light, like I said. The weight is 153g without the cell.
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
And here’s the light beside my custom-engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
Retention and Carry
A pocket clip is included. It’s a friction fit pocket clip, and connects only around the head area.
Also included is a tailcap magnet, which is surprisingly strong. I mean it’ll snap things up that you think aren’t even close…. That brings me to the point about the tailcap I mentioned above. You’ll note that there is a retaining ring there. Usually that’d be for switch access in a light like this – but there is no switch. I’d imagine the point is to be able to remove that magnet – and you might want to. It’s strong! Strong enough to hold this light fully extended (ie the most torquey way) horizontally!
Power and Runtime
Nicron provides the appropriate cell with the B70. It’s a lithium-ion cell, and the B70 fits a single one only – an 18650.
The cell is a standard button top.
The cell goes into the Nicron B70 in the usual way – positive terminal toward head.
Below you can see a couple of runtimes. Nothing too exceptional, but let’s appreciate that it’s not bad at all. There’s a big stepdown but we expect that (a light this relatively small couldn’t handle the head of 1200 lumens for long anyway). Then the light exhibits low voltage warnings through the switch (which not only does red and green but also orange!). Then finally shuts off around 3V.
Testing with bench power, the low voltage warnings look about like this:
3.4V Orange switch.
3.1V Red switch.
2.9V Red Flash.
~2.5V off (in practice, the shutoff is much higher!)
All of this is very good.
Charging
USB-C is the way of charging on this Nicron B70. The USB-C port is protected by a press-in rubber cover. While the charge port is a little thin, it seats into the light very well.
It’s nice that USB-C to USB-C charging works!
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 1200 | 4h | 1133 | 5.16 |
| High | 500 | 4.5h | 606 | 1.78 |
| Medium | 80 | 15h | 88 | 0.23 |
| Low | 10 | 100h | 9 | 0.01 |
| Green | – | – | – | 0.04 |
| Red | – | – | – | 0.04 |
Pulse Width Modulation
The real problem with this light is the PWM. This is the same thing I saw on the Nicron H25 Headlamp (which I like anyway). The PWM used for mode management is so slow.
So slow in fact, that (like with the H25), I had broaden my timescale to capture full cycles.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
Nicron uses a nice big e-switch in the B70.
The switch cover is nearly flush with the body, and can be a little hard to find without looking. As with most e-switches, the action is very low.
You can see below the nice indicating feature – not only can the switch light green (as seen), but also red and orange.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Hold (0.5s) | On (Mode memory) |
| On | Hold (0.5s) | Off |
| On | Click | Mode advance (Lower to higher direction) |
| Any | Hold (2s) | Green |
| Green | Click | Red |
| Red | Click | Red “Strobe” (really just a red blinky) |
| Red Strobe | Click | On (Medium) |
| Any | Triple Click | Strobe |
| Strobe | Click | SOS |
| SOS | Click | On (Medium) |
LED and Beam
This version of the Nicron B70 Plus has an Osram P9 emitter.
I was unable to find that in the documentation, but Nicron told me it’s Osram P9. I was also unable to find the Kelvin claimed, but it’s cool white.
Also included on the B70 Plus are four secondary emitters – two of each red and green. The red and green are quite useful actually and have a nice beam profile.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
First are the four white modes, then green, then red.
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.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Hits specs for output
- Good low voltage protection
- Great indicating switch for low voltage warning
- Very strong magnet
- The right-angle head is both fun and useful
- Very consistent USB-C charging
What I don’t like
- Cool white emitter
- Mode memory
- PWM is just so slow!
Notes
- This light was provided by Nicron for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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