Nitecore MH12 Pro First Impressions

[nate j]

There’s a lot to unpack with this Nitcore MH12 Pro, so here we go…


I was concerned about its size, but as shown in the pic it is only slightly longer than the MH10S.  It’s also slightly heavier, weighing in at 5.7 oz fully loaded (i.e. with battery, pocket clip, and lanyard) vs. 5.4 oz for the MH10S.  Not bad.



The tail switch turns the light on and off with an authoritative click, and also has a momentary on function.

Overall, however, I hate the design of the tail cap.  The main reason is that it features two “legs”, which serve as lanyard attachment points and also allow the light to tail stand.  While it will tail stand, it requires a particularly flat, stable, even, and level surface to do so because of the limited contact surface area.

Even worse, these “legs” can make it difficult to access/activate the tail switch, unless one deliberately positions one’s thumb to miss the “legs”.  IMO, this tail cap design is a good example of trying to please everyone, i.e. both the crowd that wants a tail switch and the crowd that wants a light to be able to tail stand, and ending up with something that doesn’t really work well for anyone.  Nitecore should have made a choice one way or the other:  either put all the switch functions into the side switch, eliminate the tail switch and design a tail cap that is good for tail standing; or make sure the tail switch is easily accessible from all angles, and don’t worry about the fact that the light won’t tail stand.



There are two mounting position options for the pocket clip, one nearer the tail and one nearer the head, which is a nice feature.  It can also be rotated to any desired position around the light, which is also nice.  It seems to have more resistance to rotating than on the MH10S; whether it has enough resistance to keep from rotating on its own in my pocket (one of my complaints about the MH10S) remains to be seen.

 It is also a two-way pocket clip, which I think is a mistake.  When trying use the outer loop of the clip, the edge of my pocket kept getting snagged on the loop of the inside clip, making the outer clip more trouble than it’s worth to get engaged.  I’ve also heard people claim that this outer clip is so the light can be attached to a hat and used as a headlamp.  While this is clever in theory, it doesn’t work with this light in practice; I tried it with a standard ball cap, and the tail of the light ended up pressing painfully into my forehead.  It is also borderline uncomfortable in the hand.  Nitecore should have gone with a one-way pocket clip, and focused on making the design comfortable, secure, and easy to use.


Much ado has been made by some reviewers about the aggressive texturing on the body of the MH12 Pro.  It is noticeably more aggressive than the texturing on the MH10S.  However, it doesn’t approach the obnoxious pocket-shredding texture of some knife handles.  I also didn’t have trouble holding on to the MH10S, so I’m pretty ambivalent about this change.


The rubber side switch provides both auditory and tactile feedback, and is a good size with nice texturing.  The fact that this switch doesn’t control any on/off functions means there are no concerns with accidental in pocket activation, at least from this switch.  I would have preferred a metal side switch, but as rubber ones go, this one seems decent enough.  The main function of the side switch is, with the light on, switching between different output modes.


I really like the battery and output level indicators.  They’re clear, intuitive, and stay on as long as the light is on.  Having two different colors (blue for output and green for battery) helps minimize the chance of confusion.



I’ve long held that battery level indication should be standard on any modern light.  I was less sold on output level indication.   However, with multi-mode lights, it is sometimes easy to forget what mode you’re on, and end up flipping through all the modes a couple of times before landing where you want.  The output level indication eliminates this, allowing quick identification of the current mode.  One negative is that a single blue LED is used for both low (50 Lumen) and ultralow (1 Lumen) modes.


Overall, the brightness levels seem well thought out and spaced at 3300, 1200, 300, 50, and 1 Lumens nominal.

I may change my mind when I get it into a wide open field, but so far the beam seems to have a nice hotspot with adequate spill, and is free from artifacts as far as I can tell.  Some reviewers have complained of a greenish tint, especially at lower output levels, but either my example doesn’t have this, or my eyes are just not that sensitive to it.

I like that the 1-lumen mode can be accessed directly (by pressing the tail switch while holding the side switch).  I also like that the light has mode memory (another feature that should be standard IMO), but I’m a bit inconvenienced by the fact that the 1-Lumen mode can’t be stored in the mode memory.

The MH12 Pro has a safety feature that, if the light gets too close to an obstruction while in 3300- or 1200-lumen mode, drops the output to 300 lumens until the obstruction is removed.  I was initially concerned that this feature would activate at inopportune times and be an annoyance.  However, after playing around with it for a bit, I’m sold on its value.  Unsurprisingly, the reflectivity of the surface affects the distance at which the protection activates.  In my crude investigation, distances varied from about 10” - 11” for a mirror, to about 1” for a white painted wall, to roughly 1/4” for a dark stained piece of wood.


The bezel features subtle crenellations.  Not aggressive enough to get the light flagged as a weapon, but more than enough to see if the light is still on when placed head down on a table.


There are definitely some things I would have done differently were I a designer at Nitecore, but overall the MH12 Pro has enough going for it that I’m going to give it a try as an EDC light and see how it goes.

[nate j]

A few things I should have mentioned in my previous post:

- The light is water and impact resistant.  These are hard requirements for any modern flashlight IMO.

- I’m a fan of the built-in USB-C charging port.  I don’t have to open the light to charge it, or worry about having a special charger.

[nate j]

I was able to field test the MH12 Pro a bit over five nights spent camping recently.

Over the course of those five nights, my usage (including leaving the light on all night every night as a nightlight in 1-Lumen mode) only dropped the battery from the 75%-100% level (four green LEDs) to the 50%-75% level (three green LEDs); pretty good in my view.  I appreciated the battery level indicators letting me know that the light had plenty of energy left and wasn’t close to needing recharged.

I liked how the blue output LEDs took the guesswork out of knowing which output setting the light was on.

I was able to confirm my initial impressions regarding the beam profile.  It has a nice hotspot with adequate spill.

Perhaps my only major use of the pocket clip on a flashlight is clipping it to the outside of one of the front pockets of my pants at an angle.  This allows the light to shine hands-free on the ground out in front me, and is useful for just walking around camp as well as tasks like tending the campfire.  But between the poorly designed pocket clip and the aggressive texturing of the barrel, it is more difficult to get the pocket clip engaged with the edge of a pocket than it ought to be.  This is one of those things that makes me wonder if anyone actually field-tested a prototype before the light was put into production; it should have been an easy issue to identify and correct at that stage.


I discovered that the light only operates at the 3300-Lumen output for about 20 seconds before the thermal regulation knocks the output down to 1200 Lumens. 

Conceptually, I like the idea of setting the high output of a light to the maximum continuous brightness it can sustain, and then providing a turbo output that gives a significantly higher brightness that is only thermally sustainable for a relatively short period of time.  (And I have several other lights that also operate this way.)  However, 20 seconds is almost too short to be useful IMO.

I also noticed that the head of the flashlight doesn’t really seem that hot when the thermal regulation kicks in.

I would prefer that a flashlight be able to operate in true turbo mode for perhaps 60 seconds before downshifting.  I believe this could have been achieved by increasing the allowable operating temperature, and perhaps an incremental decrease in maximum/turbo brightness if needed.


The woods are a bit thick there at camp, but here are a few beam shots.

[Farmer X]

I liked how the blue output LEDs took the guesswork out of knowing which output setting the light was on.

Me, too. And that thing is bright...it's capable of much more output than I could ever see myself needing. Still, looks like it would be a worthwhile addition to a camping or emergency kit. Thanks for the review!

[nate j]

Me, too. And that thing is bright...it's capable of much more output than I could ever see myself needing. Still, looks like it would be a worthwhile addition to a camping or emergency kit. Thanks for the review!

FX

Most people do not fully appreciate their need for a 3000-Lumen flashlight until they have one in their hand on a dark night.
;-)

Also, one of the reasons I like these lights with ~5 output levels is that they give one the flexibility to dial up the right amount of light for almost any situation.

[Farmer X]

Most people do not fully appreciate their need for a 3000-Lumen flashlight until they have one in their hand on a dark night.

True enough. I live in the city, so there is a lot of light pollution. I could well be singing a different tune on a camping trip.

[nate j]

More beam shots…

[Farmer X]

Man oh man, that thing is bright. I could see it being useful on a camping trip!

[nate j]

Man oh man, that thing is bright.

For a light of its size, it really is.

[Charliewashburn]

Good looking flashlight and pretty bright as well.