Niwalker N01 Max Flashlight Review

The Niwalker N01 Max flashlight uses a standard 21700 (included) and has USB-C charging. It has massive throw and an approachable user interface. Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Niwalker N01 Max flashlight product page.

Versions

Niwalker has made a number of similar lights over the years, including the N01 (not Max). The Niwalker N01 Max flashlight specifically is just one version, but available in three colors: Red/black (seen here), pink, and red.

Price

FlashlightGo.com has the Niwalker N01 Max flashlight for sale at $56.99.

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What’s Included

• Niwalker N01 Max flashlight 
• Niwalker 21700 cell (5000mAh)
• Lanyard
• Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
• Spare o-ring
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

First, let’s talk about this body color! I’ve never seen a flashlight like this before, and it’s great! The older N01 I have also has an unusual body color (white). I appreciate Niwalker for this!

The build quality is great. That too is unusual (more on that in a bit). The tail has a spring, and the head has just a button – this isn’t a tactical light. Threads between the body half and head half are unanodized.

I twisted on the bezel just a bit and can confirm it is not glued.

Size and Comps

57mm x 30.5mm x 142mm and 230g

Here’s the light in hand:

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. This is a brass version, which is a good bit heavier than aluminum, but has the same dimensions: 24mm in diameter by 117.5mm in length.

Also in the photo above, my Standard Reference Material (SRM) flashlight is the Hanko Machine Works Trident, an 18350 light. While I have not reviewed or tested the Gunner Grip version seen here, I have tested a Hanko Machine Works Trident Total Tesseract in brass. I love the Trident, and it’s a striking contrast to the inexpensive Convoy S2+, another great SRM.

Retention and Carry

A lanyard is included with the Niwalker N01 Max flashlight package.

The lanyard attaches through a hole in the tailcap.

That’s it! There’s no pocket or belt clip.

Power and Runtime

The Niwalker N01 Max flashlight runs on a single lithium-ion cell. The package includes a 5000mAh button-top 21700. It’s a standard cell!

The cell goes with the button toward the head. The body is a bit unusual in that it has this diamond pattern half and a head “half.”

Below you can see a few runtime tests. The light practically hits the output rating but easily hits the throw rating. I found this light to be incredibly throwy. Massively throwy!

The temperature lines in these charts are included as general context, not precise measurements. The values represent the range (min to max) during testing, but should not be taken as exact readings. A temperature sensor is not always attached to the bezel (or even the hottest spot, assuming that could be defined). Even with ideal placement, too many variables affect temperature to definitively state a specific max value.

Charging

The Niwalker N01 Max flashlight offers USB-C charging via a port opposite the switch. The charging port cover is a fairly standard press-in piece and is fairly easy to differentiate from the switch.

Niwalker includes a USB to USB-C charging cable.

Charging is good and works just fine for this 21700 cell.

While charging, the switch lights in red. When charging is complete, the switch turns blue.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	2000	2h30m	1237 (0s) 1140 (30s)	5.56
High	1000	3h	783 (0s) 739 (30s)	2.58
Medium	500	6h	335	0.82
Low 1	200	12h	134	0.21
Low 2	80	50h	62	0.10
Firefly	10	500h	13	0.03

Pulse Width Modulation

All modes except turbo use fairly fast PWM.

Click here to 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

A single e-switch is used for controlling the N01 Max. The switch is fairly small while still being easy to find without looking. The switch cover is metal and has an indicating ring.

The switch is fairly easy to find without looking at the light.

When the light is on, the switch is blue. I don’t see it in the manual, and I can’t tell otherwise if the switch is just blue all the time or responds to cell voltage.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click	On (Mode Memory)
Off	Hold	Firefly
On	Hold	Mode advance (through 4 modes)
On	Click	Off
Any	Click 2x	Turbo
Turbo	Click	Previous state
Any	Click 3x	Strobe
Off	Click 5x	Lockout (blink 3x to indicate)
Lockout	Click	No change (blink to indicate lockout)
Lockout	Click 5x	Unlock
Off	Click 4x	Battery voltage indicator (repeating). Blinks slowly for the ones position and quickly for the tenths.
Battery Indicator	Click	Exit battery indicator to off

LED and Beam

The Niwalker N01 Max flashlight uses an unstated emitter – possibly an LMP W5050SQ5. This emitter usually offers very good throw, and in this specific light, with the deep, smooth reflector, the throw is particularly good.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

This is a very high CCT emitter. At the warmest, it’s a cold 7300K. When being driven the hardest, it gets well above 8000K – very cold white. CRI is low.

CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) refers to the measurement of the color appearance of light, expressed in Kelvins (K), which indicates whether the light is warm (yellowish) or cool (bluish). A lower CCT (below 3000K) is considered warm light, while a higher CCT (above 5000K) gives cooler, bluish light.

CRI (Color Rendering Index) is a measure of how accurately a light source renders colors in comparison to natural sunlight. Scored on a scale from 0 to 100, higher CRI values indicate that colors appear more true to life and vibrant, similar to how they would look under the sun.

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. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door.

I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Summary and Conclusion

This is a great thrower with a good user interface. I’m glad the included cell is standard (button top) and charging works fine (if slow). The colorway is great!!

The Big Table

Niwalker N01 Max
Emitter:	Luminus SST40
Price in USD at publication time:	$56.99
Cell:	1×21700
Runtime Graphs
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	–
Claimed Lumens (lm)	2000
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1140 (57% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	248.7
Claimed Throw (m)	1300
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	9550lux @ 5.699m = 310171cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	1113.9 (85.7% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	–
Measured CCT Range (K)	7300-8200 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	Flashlightgo.com
All my Niwalker 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 I like

• Body color
• Low cost
• Fantastic throw
• Good user interface
• Standard 21700

What I don’t like

• Switch can be hard to find without looking
• Very cold white

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Notes

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