Nitecore P23i Tactical Flashlight Review
The Nitecore P23i tactical flashlight has been released. It’s a long range light that uses a single 21700 cell. And it’s “strobe ready!” Read on for testing!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Nitecore P23i tactical flashlight product page.
Versions
Only one version of the Nitecore P23i tactical flashlight exists.
Price
NitecoreStore.com has the Nitecore P23i Long Range 21700 Tactical flashlight listed at the MSRP of $99.95.
Short Review
Nitecore has made an impressive light in the P23i. While it’s the “only version” of this light, it does have a heritage and a bunch of revisions behind it. So it’s a mature product, and that shows. The switches are great. The modes are great. Output is quite fantastic. Charging works great. Overall it’s just a great light! I do not at all love that Nitecore has moved to a proprietary 21700 cell.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Nitecore P23i Long Range 21700 Tactical Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SFT-70 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $99.95 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Both |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 3000 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 2021 (67.4% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 19.4 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 470 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 1395lux @ 5.673m = 44895cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 423.8 (90.2% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6200-7600 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | NitecoreStore.com |
| 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 P23i long range 21700 tactical flashlight
- Nitecore 5000mAh 21700 (customized, proprietary)
- Pocket clip
- Nylon pouch
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Lanyard
- Spare o-ring
- Manual tec
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The build quality of the P23i tactical flashlight is great. If I had to make one comment, I’d say there’s a general lack of grip surface. Yes, there are a couple of rings of knurling, but that’s it – everything else is fairly slick. Even the anodizing is quite smooth. However, if you’re prepared for this, it’s not really a problem, and definitely not a problem for EDC usage.
Inside the tailcap, you can see part of the result of using a proprietary cell. These fingers contact the negative terminal of the cell – no spring! Or at least no “standard” spring – these fingers are springy.
And the head doesn’t come off. I can report that there’s a spring in there, and also the positive end has connections for both positive and negative terminals. Hence, the use of the proprietary cell (which we’ll see more of below).
The head has a bit of a cooling area, but not too much and not too deep.
Size and Comps
Length 143.5 mm / 5.65 in
Head Size 31.8 mm / 1.25 in
Weight 114.5 g / 4.04 oz
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine is a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light!
Also above on the left is a new feature light!! Laulima Metal Craft sent this Todai in tumbled aluminum for some size comparison photos like the ones above. Laulima has a bunch of incredible items. I’ve tested one (the Laulima Metal Craft Hoku) (the official site for Hoku is here) that was a Friend Fund Friday review. I was impressed enough by that Hoku that I bought a Laulima Metal Craft Diamond Slim (also in tumbled aluminum) (review is upcoming!) These lights by Laulima have impeccable build quality and not only that, they’re quite configurable. There are some (great, actually) default configurations, but Joshua Dawson (of Laulima Metal Craft) is open to ideas and emitter options and the like. I haven’t reviewed this Todai, but I have to say, it feels absolutely fantastic and I love it thus far. (Notably, I love how warm and eggy those emitters look through the TIR.)
Retention and Carry
There are a number of ways to carry the Nitecore P23i tactical flashlight. First, I’ll mention the pocket clip. It’s a fairly standard friction-fit clip.
The clip can attach to either of these smooth spots on the body. And it’ll work in either orientation in either of those grooves. It’s not really a deep carry clip, but the light is so long that the balance is fairly good with the clip in the position shown below.
There are also a couple of lanyard holes in the tailcap. Both are nice, large openings and allow easy attachment of the lanyard.
Finally, there’s a nylon holster. This is a very basic holster, but it gets the job done. The light should not be used while in the pouch.
Power and Runtime
A single lithium-ion cell powers the Nitecore P23i tactical flashlight, and that cell is included. It’s a 5000mAh 21700 cell, with a button top, but it is otherwise proprietary.
Below, you can see why. On the positive end (with the button), there’s also a ring of negative – both terminals are right there on the end. In fact, both ends of the cell have two of something, but the cell is not reversible.
The cell needs to go into the light with the positive end (in this case, the “button” end) into the light. This is the standard way, but with a non-standard cell.
When in the light, a complete circuit is made (as you can see, the blue light is on below.) However, without the tailcap, you don’t have any switches, so you can’t turn the light on.
Below are a few runtime tests. I didn’t see the claimed 3000 lumens, but because of the strike (ish) bezel, some lumens were undoubtedly lost. Still, performance is good, especially when we’re considering the lower modes (such as “Mid”) where output is steady for three hours or so at around 650 lumens.
At various times during usage, the little blue indicator on the head of the P23i will indicate the battery (or charging) level. The indicator works as follows:
Steady blue: >50% power
Slow blue flash: <50% power
Quick blue flash: <10% power
The indicator also actually blinks out the (approximate) cell voltage, specifically, and when the power is connected (or disconnected from being charged). The indicator blinks the ones of voltage (four blinks mean 4V), then pauses 1.5 seconds and blinks the tenths. So four blinks, then pause, then one blink is equal to 4.1V
Charging
The Nitecore P23i does have built-in charging by way of a USB-C charging port on the head.
Most covers like this are just “ok,” but this one feels very snug. Nitecore includes a charging cable: USB to USB-C.
USB to C and C to C both work just fine on the P23i.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 3000 | 30m | 2561 (0s) 2021 (30s) |
| High | 1500 | 2h30m | 1421 |
| Mid | 800 | 4h | 784 |
| Low | 250 | 10h | 249 |
| Ultralow | 50 | 45h | 56 |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the modes really use PWM, but there’s some ripple. Nothing that’s visible during usage, though.
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
Two switches are used to control the P23i. First (and most prominent below) is the mechanical tail switch. It’s proud and clicky and works in a “forward” way. This is the “Power” button.
Next is the Mode button. It’s flat and an e-switch and sort of mimics a paddle switch, which you’re no doubt familiar with from many tactical lights. In fact, it seems to be a paddle switch, but even when not pressed, it’s completely flush with the edge.
Actuation on both switches is very good.
Note that there are two user modes for the P23i. The light ships in “Daily” but also available is “Tactical.” These differ in the number of output levels, mode order, and likely a few other features. Notably, Tactical drops the “High” output, and also the mode order is decreasing. Anyway, here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click power button | On (Mode memory) |
| Off | Tap power button | Momentary memory |
| Off | Tap or hold mode button | Momentary Strobe |
| On | Click power button | Off |
| On | Tap power button | No change |
| On | Tap mode button | Mode advance: Daily mode: Ultralow > Low > Mid > High^ Tactical mode: Turbo > Mid > Low > Ultralow |
| Off but holding Mode button (will be momentary Strobe or Turbo) | Loosen tailcap | Switch user mode |
| On | Triple click Mode button | Strobe |
| Strobe | Click Mode button | Return to previous level |
| Strobe | Click power button | Memorizes strobe^^ |
^ In Daily mode, Turbo is available only for momentary usage and accessed by the mode button!
^^ This really falls under the “on, click for off”, but I put it in its own row so we can note specifically that it’s possible to memorize strobe. That’s either a great feature or one you can be indifferent to, depending on your needs. But it’s definitely not bad.
LED and Beam
Nitecore has used a Luminus SFT-70 emitter in the P23i. This emitter is coupled with a smooth and fairly deep reflector.
Also on the bezel are three glass-breaking balls.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
CRI and CCT are quite normal for a tactical light. That s to say the output is cool (6200K=7600K) and low CRI (~70).
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
- Reasonable cost
- High output
- Nicely sustained medium mode of around 650 lumens
- Good user interface (with fairly different mode groups)
- Five modes with reasonable output spacing
What I don’t like
- Low is >50 lumens
- Proprietary and customized 21700!
- Specification of 3000 lumens doesn’t seem to be met
- Very smooth sides (particularly for a tactical flashlight)
Notes
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