NEBO Davinci 18000 Lumen Flashlight Review

Following on from my reviews of the Nitecore flashlights, including the EDC27 Slim and MH12 Pro, I have been checking out some products from Nebo.

Nebo is a well-established LED lighting brand dating back 20 years, with products designed in the USA.

I have been sent three products from Nebo, including:

• Big Larry 3 Work Light with an innovative design combining a flashlight and work light with a magnetic base.
• Nebo Ultimate Multi Voltage Power Pack: An incredibly useful accessory for your car, combining a 26,000mAh Li-ion power pack with a 1500A Jump start port, 120psi Air compressor, USB Ports, an AC outlet and 3 mode light.
• Nebo Davinci 18000 Lumen Flashlight: The most powerful flashlight Nebo has launched and what I am reviewing today.

The Nebo Davinci 18000-lumen flashlight was launched back in August and is the most powerful flashlight Nebo has made, eclipsing the 12000-lumen flashlight that preceded it.

Boasting a luminosity of up to 18,000 lumens, this torch offers five distinct light modes alongside a 2X zoom feature, allowing for a tailored balance between illumination and power conservation, thus prolonging battery longevity. The convenience of USB-C recharging is paired with a robust body crafted from aircraft-grade aluminium, ensuring durability without compromising on lightness. Thanks to its IP67 rating, even torrential rain won’t hinder your explorations.

Nebo 20% Discount & Free Shipping

Mighty Gadget readers can get a 20% discount at www.nebotools.co.uk using the code: mightygadget20

From Friday, 27th October, until Monday, 30th October, Nebo is also offering free shipping.

Nebo Davinci 18000 Specification

• Light Modes
  • Turbo (18,000 lumens) – 30 second intervals / 253 meters
  • High (10,000 lumens) – 2 hours / 189 meters
  • Medium (5,000 lumens) – 3 hours / 133 meters
  • Low (800 lumens) – 12 hours / 53 meters
  • Strobe (18,000 lumens) – 2 hours / 253 meters
• Design
  • USB-C rechargeable
  • USB power bank
  • 2x adjustable zoom
  • Smart Power Control (SPC)
  • Direct-to-Low
  • Power indicator
  • Battery charging indicator
  • Closed-Loop Temperature Control
  • Anodised aircraft-grade aluminium
  • Waterproof (IP67) and impact-resistant
• Operation
  • Side-positioned, ON/OFF button
  • Magnetic Mode Select Dial
• Accessories
  • USB-A to USB-C charging cable
  • Detachable lanyard
  • Rechargeable battery
• Battery
  • Powered by 5000mAh Li-ion 266500 10.8v battery
• Dimensions
  • Weight: 527g
  • (L) 35.0cm X (W) 6.50cm X (H) 6.50cm
  • Colour Temperature (Kelvin) / Wavelength: 6500-7500 K

Design and Build Quality

My previous Nitecore reviews were all smaller pocket-friendly flashlights, and the Nebo Davinci 18000 is gigantic in comparison.

Nebo has opted to go for a long, slim body, whereas some competing high-lumen flashlights have a stubby, chunky design. I’d say aesthetically, this looks nicer than others, and it is also a bit more friendly to hold in your hand. There is a rubber grip that covers around a third of the length of the light, preventing the flashlight from getting slippery in wet conditions.  

On the tail end of the light is a screw cap which gives you access to the 5000mAh Li-ion 266500 10.8v battery. It is worth noting that the official spec sheet states a 5000mAh Li-ion 21700 7.4v battery, but that’s not what was in my light. The battery is replaceable, but I could not find an exact replacement online. The battery is more than half the length of the flashlight, which explains the elongated design.

Moving up the light, you have the power button and an orange dial to control the three brightness settings.  

Then, the main head of the light can be rotated around, which extends the reflector outwards and focuses the light into a narrower beam. This will also expose the USB-C port, which is protected by a rubber tab. The USB-C port can also be used to charge other devices.

The light itself is a very large COB (chip on board) which has a large convex lens. The smaller flashlights I have reviewed use a comparably tiny LED.

The overall build quality feels superb with the flashlight using aircraft grade aluminium, and you get an IP67 ingress rating, which means it is technically rated to work for at least 30 minutes while under 15cm to 1m of water, not that I would recommend testing that.

Nebo states that this has impact-resistant construction but don’t make any claims of drop height.

Performance and Run Time

The flashlight has multiple modes, with some options requiring a bit more than just pressing the power button.

Controls:

• Press & release Power Button to turn the unit On and Off.
• Strobe: Double-tap button
• Turbo: From ON, press and hold button
• Direct-to-Low: From OFF, press and hold button
• Press & Release Power Button from Strobe, Turbo or Direct-to-Low to turn the unit off.

You can also rotate the main head of the light, which extends the reflector and narrows the beam. Nebo calls this 2x zoom.

I don’t live somewhere where I can fully appreciate the benefits of such a bright light. Switching this on in a dark room comfortably lights up the whole room.

Outside in the dark, it is incredibly bright on high with a very wide beam spread. This would be ideal for walking through fields or forests in the dark. The wide beam spread means you easily illuminate everything in your path and to the sides.

2x zoom doesn’t equal two times the throw distance

Rotating the head for the 2x zoom function dials in the beam, but it is still a relatively wide beam. I don’t live somewhere with 250+ meters of open dark space, so I wasn’t able to appreciate how much difference this makes to the throw distance or the overall performance.

Even though the beam is narrowed, you still get a wide illumination for your field of view.

Considering the 2x zoom claim, you’d think this would double the throw distance. But, this doesn’t appear to be true.

As I didn’t have the means to test this accurately, I looked for online references. 1lumen reviewed the 12K Davinci model, and they indicated there was only a partial improvement in the throw distance, with a 13.5% improvement when using the flashlight on high.

The zoom increases the candela output but not by two-fold, it is 30% on the high setting, and you’d need four times the candela to reach double the distance.

I guess the 2x zoom might mean that the reflector extends out twice as far compared to the default setting.

While this may be slightly misleading, Nebo make no claims of this flashlight extending further than the specs above, and I would think there are not many scenarios where you need to illuminate over 200 meters in front of you.

Battery & Charging

On high, the light is rated to run for up to 2 hours, then 3 for medium and 12 for low.

With the turbo, the light is limited to a 30-second run time before reviewing back to high. The light can also run for 2 hours when using the strobe function.

One issue with lights like this is that charging is slow. Plugging this into my Bluetti AC180 portable power station, the USB-C output indicates a charge of just 10W. Assuming the light took a consistent 10W charge, then from flat to full, it would take almost 6 hours to fully charge the 54Wh battery.

Price and Alternative Options

The Nebo Davinci 18000 has an RRP of £200, and the Davinci range comes in many smaller models. The model below this is a 12000 lumen model for £140, or there is an 8000 lumen model for £100.

Mighty Gadget readers can get a 20% discount at www.nebotools.co.uk using the code: mightygadget20

From Friday, 27th October, until Monday, 30th October, Nebo is also offering free shipping.

Olight has the X9R Marauder, which is a massive 25000 Lumen output for a staggering £550.

The Olight Marauder 2 is perhaps the closest flashlight I can find. This has a 14000-lumen output with an impressive 450m throw distance when used in the floodlight mode or 850 lumens and 800m in spotlight mode. This is priced at around £210. This weighs quite a bit more at 750g making it 43% more.

Imalent has several lights brighter than this, but these are all very large and quite a different design. The SR32 is £560 and has 120K lumens and a throw distance of 2km, but it weighs over 2 kg.

Overall

I have absolutely no need for the Nebo Davinci 18000-lumen flashlight where I live, but it is hard not to be extremely impressed with it. This light is clearly designed for rural environments and things like hiking or camping, and I think it would excel in these scenarios.

I may not have the most experience with flashlights, but the overall build quality and appearance are superb.

The 18k output is incredible, and looking at the competition, there isn’t much out there at this price point with the same sort of lumen output. You certainly wouldn’t describe this flashlight as compact, but in comparison to other high-output lights, it is quite lightweight, the Olight Marauder 2 weighs 43% more.

The battery charge speed is slow, but this seems to be the case for most of these lights. The battery is removable, so you could always keep a spare for extended use.

The one issue worth considering when looking at this flashlight is the relatively short throw distance. In its default mode, you are looking at a maximum distance of 253 meters in turbo or 189m in height. The 2x zoom likely won’t add much distance. The Marauder 2 is 450m or 800m, depending on if it is in floodlight or spotlight mode.