Nitecore MH25 Review

Nitecore MH25 – 4 1/2 stars

Summary

The Nitecore MH25 really is as tough as it looks and feels when you first pick it up. The stainless steel and hard-anodized aluminium alloy body of the Nitecore MH25 has impressive waterproofing and impact resistance. Even the clip is titanium coated steel. With tight, solid seals on the battery compartment and USB charging socket cover, it doesn’t care if the mud’s from a pig farm or Glastonbury, it’ll just work. With it’s industrial/military look, people often give it a second look. It’s comfortable, has a firm grip and is an excellent all-rounder.

Brightness

The brightness of the Nitecore MH25 is 960 lumens, a level it can sustain for 1 hour 45 minutes on a single battery charge. This is reasonable for a torch with a single 18650 battery. The first photo below, taken on Datchworth Green, is with no torch. The second shows the MH25 with it’s fixed setting predominantly spot but with a useful partial flood. The village sign on the right about 10 metres away is clearly visible and the white building about 100 metres away (The Plough pub) is also clearly visible. With lower brightness settings as well, this torch is as bright as you need for most applications.

Useful for

With durability being a major feature, this torch is good for anything outdoor, professional or where it just needs to put up with some abuse in the form of an occasional knock or damp muddy conditions. It won’t mind banging around on a tractor shelf. I’d take this caving as a backup to my head torch.

You can also buy this torch as a kit for rifle mounting, complete with a remote switch, red & green filters, weapon mount and a holster.

Not too heavy for it’s durability, it’s also an attractive allrounder. For a while I kept the MH25 in my laptop backpack that I use for commuting in to London. It’s not in my top 3 choices for camping due to the capacity of it’s single 18650 rechargeable battery.

Notable features

The on/off button is in the tail, and is partially protected by some protruding lanyard attachment points, making it less likely to turn on accidentally.

The beam is not adjustable, permanently set to a narrow’ish spot with a small but useful amount of flood.

There is a micro USB charging socket on the MH25, covered by a metal cover that screws on and off with a reassuringly tight fit, it’s seal good for 2m depth. You get that same reassurance from the battery compartment seal.

Tip: When charging the MH25 using the USB socket, the torch needs to be turned on!

The MH25 has 5 functions: turbo, high, low, Eco, strobe & SOS. The default function set is turbo when you turn it on.

• Turbo: 1 hour 45m on 960 lumens

Twist the head to the right a quarter turn to access the other 3 brightness setting plus strobe and SOS:

• High: 3 hours 15m on 350 lumens
• Mid: 8 hours 30m on 143 lumens
• Low: 28 hours on 44 lumens

You choose between the other functions by turning the torch on and off with the head twisted to the right.

Design

Nitecore have gone for an industrial/military look with the MH25. It definitely looks different from a lot of other torches. It’s an attractive, functional design. People notice it sat on the table in the pub and want to pick it up and have a look. It’s comfortable in the hand and easy to use.

In terms of usability, accessing all the 6 features of the MH25 is simpler than many torches. From first looking at the instructions to figuring it out is less effort than some other torches.