Preparedness Equipment Review: Nebo Redline LED Flashlight

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As a prepper I have a serious flashlight fetish. Love ’em – gotta have a gazillion of them – and always want more. Weird? Oh well.

Anyways, I have seen this NEBO Redline flashlight at Gun Shows and Prepper Conferences – and something told me not to buy it. Don’t know why – but I have put it off for some time now. In December while ordering some Christmas stuff I decided to go ahead and buy it.

For the past 3 weeks or so I have been using this light at night when coming downstairs for a midnight snack, taking the dog out, and searching the yard for zombie’s after hearing a few moaning grunts.

The Nebo Redline cosmetically looks like a really nice flashlight. Workmanship seems excellent and right on with any Streamlight, Maglite, or Surefire I have owned or handled. Power switch works just fine. Not sure what was telling me not to buy this light.

Lets take a quick look at the specifications:

  • High output –  220 lumens
  • Beam is adjustable from spot to flood
  • Aggressive self-defense face
  • Magnetic base for easy mounting
  • Push button on-off switch
  • Rear on-off switch glows in the dark
  • Emergency SOS strobe mode
  • Tactical strobe mode
  • 3 levels of brightness – 220 lumens, 110 lumens, and 22 lumens
  • 3 AAA batteries included

So far so good – I love this flashlight. No issues at all.

The aggressive stance of the protective ridges which surround the bulb lens would certainly be useful to hit an attacker with. One drawback is when I placed the Nebo in my front pocket in a pair of baggy jeans the ridges were catching on the fabric in the pocket.

The magnetic base is surprisingly strong and as you can see from the picture above holds the flashlight well. Great idea and I am surprised this feature is not used in other similar flashlights.  I can see many situations where the flashlight could just be “stuck” somewhere so I could become hands-free.

The ability to focus the 220 lumens from spot to flood worked flawlessly. The picture above shows the spot adjustment and the resulting beam is very powerful. Excellent for long distance. Below shows the beam adjustment set to full flood setting. Again – the corresponding beam was bright and covered a wide area. I walked into my garage and the Nebo Redline lit up a large portion of it with no problem.

Is this a good flashlight for survival & preparedness? Absolutely. At almost 4 1/2″ inches long this thing is compact and throws out an incredible amount of light. I think back several years ago when I bought my first LED light. I believe it threw out an impressive 6 lumens. I thought it was great. In absolute darkness it would light my way and the batteries seemed to last forever. The Nebo Redline really shows how technology has improved to such a high level.

If you are in the market for a flashlight – this is one of the brightest for the money. Excellent choice. And if you’re still not sure what to get, this article has some of the best flashlights all in one place.

 


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20 thoughts on “Preparedness Equipment Review: Nebo Redline LED Flashlight”

  1. Rourke, I have several Nebo flashlights and they make a great flashlight for a very small price. I have the nebo CSI 50 and the blueline by Nebo. I like the glow in the dark button on the back of both models.

    Reply
  2. i bought one of those a few months ago. i was reluctant at first never hearing of the company before but my sales buddy at the hardware store told me it was a good one so i bought it, i love this little light! a bit pricey at around 40 bucks but it was worth it, very durable very bright and it only uses 3 aaa batteries, love this little light!!

    Reply
  3. I love mine! Two things. The red ring is annoying. I lost the lens on my first on as it was not very tight and fell off while in my. It’s eyez bolster while mowing the lot. Check yours.

    Tex

    Reply
  4. Based on my personal preferences what was telling you not to buy were those three AAA batteries. Other than that, it seems like an interesting flashlight.

    Reply
    • Hi Ted –

      AAA batteries have slowly become more of a part of my survival system. Used to be 90% AA but through acquisitions of various flashlights and other electronics AAA is becoming a greater part.

      Thanks – Rourke

      Reply
  5. I am an Inova fan, but I’ll see if I can find a Nebo and give it a try.

    Be careful not to place the magnet next to your electronics, data storage, or compass! You’ll be your own personal EMP.

    Reply
  6. I just bought this too and was pleasantly suprised. I don’t like the plastic red ring though, I went to a certain online auction site and bought a milled aluminum replacement ring. Now I don’t have to worry about dropping it and breaking the plastic ring.

    Reply
  7. Flashlights are good.. Mo Flashlights.. Mo better..

    They belong in every ruck, every first aid bag, every vehicle, every nightstand.. every purse and on the hip or in the pocket of every person. They do not have to cost $100… Sam’s Club for example has sold some very decent quality flashlights 2 for around 20.

    Years ago I was in a Federal building attending an Emergency Responders Seminar on the subject of preparedness. Up maybe 5-6 Stories somewhere in the center of the building.. Maybe 10 min into the first presentation the power went out.. The emergency lighting failed and maybe 60 or so of us were sitting in the dark..No one got upset as “Were all Professionals” right? I looked at my watch and waited just at 2 min.. I then then retrieved my flashlight.. Turned it on.. got up and exited the room.

    Power came on a little later of course.. but the point was made without saying a word.

    Yes and the sin of it? I felt great lol.

    Reply
    • Good story Vic –

      When I was 14 years old people thought I was nuts. I actually carried a small OD green bag around with me that had a first aid kit, flashlight, folding knife, emergency blanket, fire starting stuff, etc. Well….my dad and I went to see the movie Blue Thunder and the power went out about 10 minutes into it. Who was the only one in the theater with a flashlight. You guessed it.

      Nowadays many cell phones have flashlight apps that actually work pretty good.

      Thanks – oh, I bought one of those Sam’s deals for 2 flashlights. Neither ne lasted more than two weeks. I was going to review them here but I ended up loosing my pictures and I had tossed them by the time I was ready.

      Rourke

      Reply
  8. Here’s my thinking on AA vs. AAA. I find they both cost the same most of the time but AA has a little more power. If I have devices that use AA but only have AAA batteries, I have adapters that will convert AAA to AA. If I have devices that use D batteries but only have AA batteries, I have adapters that convert AA to D. Generally these adapters are overpriced but if one searches enough, they can be found for a fair price. I do not know of any converter to adapt AA to AAA. 😉
    Additionally, how many batteries of different types can one store and for how long knowing all have an expiration date. Certainly one needs a working supply of different battery types but there are some good rechargeable batteries with long shelf lives that combined with a solar charger can see a person through for a long time.
    Finally, using the converters is not as good as using the proper sized battery but they will work in hard times and something is better than nothing and the AA best fills that role for me.

    PS. I suppose if necessary and one has AAA batteries, it is possible to put an AAA into a AA converter and then put that into a C or D converter. Also I think one could find a converter for a C to D, but I haven’t looked.
    I stay away from devices that use AAA although I do have some AAA batteries for tv remotes and earlier devices I purchased that used those sizes but I won’t make that mistake again and eventually those AAA devices (mostly GMRS radios) will go away.

    Ted

    Reply
    • Hi Ted –

      Great comments and those converters are something I have not looked into – but will soon. Good idea.

      I have quite a few rechargeable batteries – all in AA.

      Thanks – Rourke

      Reply

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