Nitecore T4K flashlight review

REVIEW – What features do you like your EDC flashlight to have? Do you want it to be rechargeable? Want a display that tells you how long the battery will last at each brightness level? Want it to be brighter than the sun? The Nitecore T4K might not be quite as bright as the sun, but it has all the other bases covered. Let's put on our shades and take a look.

The Nitecore T4K is a quad LED 4000 lumens flashlight with a built-in OLED display.

LED: 4 x CREE XP-L2 V6 LEDsMaximum Brightness: 4000 lumenPeak Beam Distance: 228 yardsPeak Beam Intensity: 10900 cdIP Rating: IP54Impact Resistance: 1mDimensions: L-3.24″xW-1.15″xH-1.15″Weight: 2.72oz

The T4K is similar to the Nitecore TUP flashlight that I reviewed a couple of years ago, except that the T4K is 4000 lumens vs. 1000 lumens on the TUP.

The T4K is pocket-sized at 3.24″ x 1.18″ x 1.15″ (82.3mm x 30mm x 29.2mm) and has a black brushed hard-anodized case with a small white on black OLED real-time multi-functional display. Below the display are two control buttons. The top button is the brightness mode button and the other button is the power button.

A strong metal clip is attached to the bottom of the flashlight and a quick-release lanyard attachment clip is connected to the tail of the TK4 flashlight.

There's also a USB-C charging port on the tail which you use to charge the flashlight's built-in 1000mAh Li-ion battery.

While charging, the two buttons on the top of the flashlight will blink blue and for a few seconds, the display will show the battery level. When charging has completed, the buttons will stay lit up in blue.

It's important to realize that the built-in 1000mAh battery in the Nitecore T4K is not user replaceable. This is disappointing because it essentially means that the flashlight because trashcan fodder once the battery no longer holds a charge.

The Nitecore TK4 flashlight has 4 CREE XP-L2 V6 LEDs with a max output of 4000 lumens, a max peak beam intensity of 10,900cd, and a max throw of 682 feet/209 meters.

The slightly textured shell of the flashlight provides enough grip on the light to keep it from sliding out of your hand.

The OLED display is a fantastic feature because you’ll never be left wondering how much time is left before the battery dies. For each brightness level, the display shows a real-time countdown of the minutes left on that level.

Turbo, 4000 lumens, 10 second burstsHigh, 200 lumens, 2 hr 45 minMid, 65 lumens, 7 hrLow, 15 lumens, 21 hrUltralow, 1 lumen, 67 hr

Using the flashlight is easy. Pressing the power button will power the TK4 on in the ultralow mode (or the last used level) and then continued pressing the mode button will cycle to the next brightness levels of low, medium, and high. To use turbo, you hold down the mode button with the flashlight on or off. The flashlight will only remain on for 10 seconds in this mode and the OLED display will show a progress bar counts down the time limit.

Like turbo mode, you can also immediately activate ultralow mode by holding down the power button with the light off.

Most of my flashlight reviews use the same location for my brightness test shots, so this review is no different. The image above is in my basement at night with the lights off. You can see a few little light blips in the image above from some of my electronics, but otherwise, it's pretty dark.

From left to right, the brightness modes are: ultralow, low, mid, high, and turbo.

Let's take the light party outdoors now. I took the picture above around 9:30pm at night and the light through the trees was not noticed by my naked eyes.

And here we see the Nitecore T4K on turbo mode directed at the same area.

I turned around and took a picture of the opposite side of the yard. Sorry about the inside lights…

And again, here's the Nitecore T4K shining 4000 lumens in the same direction.

Although it is crazy bright, you aren't going to be using turbo mode very often because it's designed to only shine for 10 seconds at a time before it turns off automatically.

I have reviewed several Nitecore flashlights and I like that they are well made and easy to use. The Nitecore T4K is a powerful flashlight that comes in a pocket-size. It's perfect for EDC. The only downside to this flashlight is that the battery isn't replaceable. That means that once it degrades and no longer holds a charge, that your flashlight becomes unusable. If you’re ok with that eventuality, then definitely check out the Nitecore T4K and all of Nitecore's other flashlights.

Price: $89.95Where to buy: Nitecore Store and AmazonSource: The sample for this review was provided by Nitecore.