Hands-on: Nitecore Tube Outdoor LED for the keychain for $5.49

It is not easy to find a reliable outdoor light for your key ring as a small orientation aid. Mostly the small flashlights can’t take anything or have too little battery and of course you don’t have a spare battery at hand.  But with the Nitecore Tube this can change for little money, as it is extremely robust and has an internal battery. I got it for myself.

• Nitecore Tube Outdoor-LED
  • at GearBest for $5.49 (Coupon:NITECORE0329) | Fasttech for $7.62 | Banggood for $9.94 | Amazon for $9.95 (Prime)

Even though the 5.6 x 2.1 x 0.8 cm LED key fob doesn’t look like much at first glance, there’s a lot promised here, because it should really be able to survive all situations in life. The small flashlight looks quite good on the key ring and the neon orange certainly is something. As you can see on the back of the packaging (photo below), there are allegedly nine colours to choose from.

The entire operating manual is also printed on the back. Since it has only one button and two brightness levels, there is not too much instruction. Nevertheless, besides the simple switching on and off, the changing of the brightness levels, the direct switching on in the “High Output”, a slow increase of the brightness and last but not least the key lock is explained. It takes a little while to get used to the different settings. Even if there aren’t many, it’s still worth paying attention to the seconds.

On the side of the Nitecore Tube is the Micro-USB connector behind a tiny silicone flap. A cable is not included, but if you have a home, you can charge the flashlight very easily.

As already mentioned, the built-in LED offers two brightness levels: 1 lumen and 45 lumen. Set to 1 lumen, the 150 mAh battery should last for 48 hours. With the clearly stronger 45 lumens only one hour. The difference between the two levels is already very clear. While 1 lumen is just enough to perhaps find a place to sleep in the tent without disturbing other people present, 45 lumens is loosely enough to find its way in the dark. Whether the advertised 24 meters range are true, I have not measured – but should be easily possible from my point of view ?

In order to illustrate the luminosity, I tried out and photographed the two brightness levels in an absolutely dark room.

Besides the really good luminosity for such a small thing, the Nitecore Tube has a very robust exterior, which is dust and water protected with IP 65. You can also drop it from a height of 1.5 meters without damaging it. Extreme tests, like in this video, we didn’t do, but the flashlight is very stable and waterproof. This makes it the perfect little companion for on the road with your key ring.

Good outdoor gadgets are essential, especially when you go camping in the summer months or go to a summer camp. The Nitecore Tube is definitely one of these gadgets, as it is small, handy and extremely practical. And not only in the “wilderness”, but also in everyday life.