If you’re looking for a good but not too expensive flashlight to add to your kit, take a look at the Nebo Redline Tactical Flashlight. Although this is not one of the star flashlights on the market, it is hard to find a model better in this budget price range. Despite its low price, it includes some very useful features including a magnetized base, a beam that powers at 220 lumens for bright illumination, and five operating modes that includes strobe and SOS flashing modes.
–> Check the latest prices for discounts of over 30% on the Nebo Redline
Review of the Nebo Redline Tactical Flashlight
If you’re looking for a good, budget LED flashlight then it’s worth considering the Nebo Redline Tactical Flashlight. It has the advantage of a couple of really useful features but it does have a few problems (that have been noted by existing users). For its category and price range, the Nebo has one of the brightest beams on the market at 220 lumens and it can easily momentarily blind someone who is facing you. As such, it’s been described as an ‘aggressive tactical flashlight’.
There are three options for the brightness: 100% (220 lumens) which produces a beam with a potential range of 150 yards; 50% (110 lumens) providing a beam with a potential range of 65 yards, and 10% (22 lumens) which produces a beam with a range of around 30 yards.
As well as these three brightness modes, the flashlight has two other modes: there’s an SOS mode (at 220 lumens) which works well and is called the Defensive Strobe mode; and lastly there’s an Emergency Flashing Strobe mode also at 220 lumens.
The different modes are activated by using the button at the rear of the flashlight: for the SOS mode, press the button four times – if you press the button five times you’ll activate the Flashing Strobe mode. It’s easy the spot the button since it has a very useful glow-in-the-dark feature that lets you find it quickly and easily even in the dark. There’s some subtlety to using the button since it also works with soft touch or click as well as the number of times you press it. However, after a little practice you’ll find it easy to use.
Changing the beam shape and range is via a twist of the bezel to move from short range lighting or a distant spot lighting. Simply twist of the bezel: clockwise for a wide beam providing flood lighting and counter clockwise for a narrow beam working as a spotlight.
The Nebo flashlight has a magnetic base that is really useful and lets you attach it to a car door, metal beam to provide hands-free operation; coupled with this is a decent amount of waterproofing (it won’t go underwater, but will cope with some exposure to water) making it a great torch that you can take with you and use it in most outdoor conditions.
When you power up the flashlight, the front bezel has a red glow around it, which looks rather cool ! Speaking of power, the batteries are regular AAA and the flashlight is sold complete with batteries. The battery life is around 4 hours on high mode (220 lumens) and there’s a guarantee that the LED bulb will last for over 110,000 hours
The main problem is that the design of the power button means it is recessed into the casing so can be awkward to reach and use, but the features (including the magnetic base) and price more than counter this. When using the feature/power button to switch modes, you’ll notice a slight delay but otherwise it works well. If you are looking for a tactical flashlight, there are models available that cost less and have more features but if you want a general purpose flashlight with bright beam, then the Nebo flashlight could be a really good choice.
Summary
The Redline Nebo 5581 Tactical Flashlight is an impressive touch that has seen existing customers rate it at 4.3/5 stars on Amazon. It’sne of the brightest LED flashlights available with a high output of 220 lumens that make it stand out in its category and price range. Buy it as an emergency light with a bunch of features including a magnetized base and you won’t be disappointed.
Top 5 Main Features
- Five different operating modes: high, medium, low, strobe, and SOS emergency strobe
- Bright light output of 220 lumens on high, strobe and emergency strobe; 110 lumens on medium; and 22 lumens on low
- Made from durable material and the base is magnetized
- Uses 3 AAA batteries which are easy to find anywhere
- Weather-proof and waterproof
Physical Features
- Size: 4 3/8 inches in length and 1.5 inches in diameter
- Weight: 3.2 ounces (shipping weight is 6.648 ounces)
- Battery Type: 3 pieces Triple A batteries
- Power/Lumens: 220 lumens on high mode, 110 lumens on medium mode, 22 lumens on low mode
- Body Material: Anodized Aircraft Grade Aluminum
- Mounting: none but does include a magnetic base so can be attached to a metal surface
–> Check the latest prices for discounts of over 30% on the Nebo Redline