Nitecore announces its first original LED

Flashlight manufacturers typically all draw from the same pool of commercially-available LEDs. On occasion, particularly daring manufacturers remove domes from LEDs for increased intensity and different tint. Even company trademarks like "C4 LED" are rebranding of LEDs any company can use. Nitecore has announced a bespoke design called the UHi. There appear to be two models, named UHi 20 and UHi 40.

Nitecore claims 876 lumens per square millimeter for its UHi 20 LED compared to 611 from a "conventional LED" that appears to be a Cree XP-L HI when tested in the same flashlight. Drive current is not stated, but at 3A the famously throwy Osram White Flat 1mm (CSLNM1.TG) makes about 750, suggesting the UHi 20 is indeed a capable of very focused hotspots. The light emitting area of the UHi 20 is more than twice as large, suggesting the potential for higher drive curent and output.

The UHi uses a round light emitting surface, which should produce higher intensity than square or rectangular surfaces in typical flashlight optics. This has been seen before; the Luminus SBT70 was popular in thrower flashlights about a decade ago, including the Nitecore TM36.

The last panel compares the UHi 40 to a "conventional LED" producing 580m throw in an unspecified flashlight. Nitecore's only flashlight advertising exactly that number is the SRT7i, which uses a Luminus SFT70 LED and advertises 3000 lumens. That flashlight has a 40mm bezel, and Nitecore's claimed 705m throw with the UHi 40 would be near the top for throw in that size. If it also makes 3000 lumens like the SFT70, it will be a substantial advance over competitors.

Disclaimer

Nitecore asked me to post this in exchange for a review sample of a light using the new LED. The images are theirs, but the rest of the text is mine.