Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2⌗

• Specifications
• Introduction
• Torch in use
• Build quality
• LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam
• Size and comparison
• User interface and driver
• Batteries and charging
• Performance
• Beamshots
• Conclusion
• Product page

Specifications⌗

Brand/model	Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2
LED	SFN60.2 6000K
Maximum lumens	7,500 lm
Maximum beam intensity	42,000 cd
Maximum throw	410 m
Battery	1*21700
Onboard charging	Yes (USB-C)
Material	Aluminium
Modes	6
Blinkies	Strobe
Reflector	OP
Waterproof	IPX8
Review date	October 2022

Introduction⌗

I first heard about Nightwatch when I read a review of the Nightwatch NSX4 by Owen. The NSX4 looks like a grenade with a 26800 cell and it produces a powerful floody beam with four SST40 emitters. I traded a torch with Owen in exchange for the NSX4. But enough about the NSX4!

This review is about the Nightwatch Legend NG01 with a single SFN60.2 emitter. I asked Neal for this torch after reading positive reviews.

This torch was sent by Nealsgadgets for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.

Packaging⌗

The NG01 came in a plain white cardboard box with some bubble wrap to protect it.

The following was included in the box:

• Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2

Torch in use⌗

The Nightwatch NG01 SFN60.2 feels like a pocket sized lumen monster in my hand when I wield it around at night.

The NG01 reminds me Emisar D1 Mini but it is slightly larger.

The pocket clip extends half way down the tailcap to allow a deeper carry. This makes it slightly easier to unscrew the tailcap. That said, I find it easier to unscrew the head from the tube to replace the battery.

The tube cannot be reversed. The head of the tube has wider threads compared to the tail.

There is no magnet in the tailcap nor is there a lanyard hole.

Build quality⌗

The Nightwatch NG01 is made of aluminium and has stainless steel bezels. The aluminium is anodised on the outside and inside. This allows you to mechnically lock-out the torch by twisting the tailcap.

Traditional knurling has been used on the tube and tailcap to add grip.

Square cut threads on the tube are smooth but they were not lubricated. Each side of the tube has an o-ring, and there appears to be an o-ring between the bezel and glass lens in the head to help prevent water from getting in.

Fins on the head have been chamfered on one side to avoid sharp edges. I did not notice any sharp edges on the torch.

The side switch has a semi-transparent gray rubber cover with texture to give it grip. The switch cover is held in place by a small bezel with four small notches.

The cover for the USB-C charging port is easy to take out. It take a bit of effort to put back in and feels flimsy.

The spring in the tailcap is a bit underwhelming for this type of torch. A spring bypass would help reduce resistance and allow a higher current.

The driver has a rough metal pill for the battery to connect to. It would be nice if it were smoother.

LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam⌗

The Nightwatch Legend NG01 came with an SFN60.2 emitter. It is the floodier option out of the two options. A Luminus SST40 version is also available.

A stainless steel bezel, with four notches for snap ring pliers to latch onto, is screwed down onto an o-ring, glass lens and an orange peel reflector.

I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements with the torch positioned one metre away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3) for each mode except Turbo. Turbo was measured at two metres.

The CCT is 6300K to 7700K and the CRI is around 71.

The Delta u, v is slightly negative (rosy).

The beam produced has a white hotspot with a hint of green around it, followed by a slightly purple spill.

Mode	CCT (K)	CRI (Ra)	x	y	Duv
Moonlight	6341	70.0	0.3159	0.3276	0.0009
Low	6555	70.5	0.3124	0.3248	0.0012
Medium 1	7156	71.7	0.3052	0.3103	-0.0027
Medium 2	7439	72.2	0.3024	0.3049	-0.0040
High	7517	72.3	0.3017	0.3036	-0.0044
Turbo	7702	73.1	0.3001	0.3002	-0.0053

Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates

Dimensions and size comparison⌗

Dimensions⌗

I took the following measurements using digital callipers.

Measurement	Unit (mm)
Torch length	127.5
Head diameter	38.1
Tube diameter	26.5
Tailcap diameter	27.0

Weight⌗

I took the following measurements using a digital scale.

Weight	Unit (g)
Torch	140.8
Battery	68.6
Torch with battery	209.4

Size comparison with its competition⌗

The head of the NG01 could probably be shorter. It is taller than an Emisar D1 Mini but the size of their reflectors is very similar.

From left to right: Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2, Nightwatch NSX4, Sofirn IF25A

From left to right: Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2, Nightwatch NSX4, Sofirn IF25A

User interface and driver⌗

There are four modes in the main group: Low, Medium 1, Medium 2 and High.

Moonlight, Turbo and Strobe can be accessed using shortcuts.

State	Action	Result
Off	1C	On (mode memory)
Off	3C	Strobe
On	1C	Cycle (Low, Medium 1, Medium 2, High)
On	1H	Off
On	3C	Strobe
Any	1H	Moonlight
Any	2H	Momentary Turbo and then On (mode memory)
Any	4C	Lock-out
Moonlight	1C	Off
Strobe	1C	On (mode memory)
Strobe	1H	Off
Lock-out	4C	Deactivate Lock-out and On (mode memory)

Low voltage protection⌗

There is low voltage protection. The torch turned off at 2.93V. The switch backlight changed to red when the voltage was low.

PWM⌗

I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).

What I like about the UI⌗

• It has all the features that I want in an EDC torch.

What could be improved⌗

• Hold for off is annoying. It would be simpler if a single click could be used to turn the torch on and off.
• Use hold to cycle the modes instead.
• You can access Moonlight and Turbo while the torch is locked out. It would be better if Turbo was disabled during lock-out.
• Replace Momentary Turbo with Turbo. It would be better if Turbo remained on without holding the button down.

Batteries and charging⌗

Battery⌗

The Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2 takes one 21700 3.7V Li-ion cell (either button top or flat top).

Charging⌗

I discharged a Samsung 40T 21700 cell to 2.86V to test the built-in charger.

I lifted the charging cover, rotated it around, and connected a USB-C to USB-C cable between it and a PinePower Desktop power supply.

The LED in the side switch changed to red to indicate that the torch was charging. I measured maximum of 5V 3A while charging. After 1 hour 16 minutes, the LED changed to blue to indicate that charging was complete. The final voltage of the cell was 4.16V.

Power supply compatibility⌗

I tried the following power supplies with the built-in USB-C charger:

Power supply	USB Type	Protocol	Does it charge?
Apple 61W Power Adapter	USB-C	PD	Yes
Google Pixel Power Adapter	USB-C	PD	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-C	PD	Yes
PinePower Desktop	USB-A	QC	Yes
Generic 5V 2.4A Power Adapter	USB-A		Yes

USB-C to USB-C works.

Performance⌗

Specifications:

	Turbo	High	Medium 2	Medium 1	Low	Moonlight
Current (A)	32.0	6.5	3.0	1.4	0.2	0.002
Light Output (lm)	7,500	2,250	1,250	600	110	1
Beam Intensity (cd)	42,000	-	-	-	-	-
Beam Distance (m)	410	-	-	-	-
Runtime	-	60min	2h20min	4h20min	-	-

The manufacturer tested with a Lishen LR2170LA 21700 4000mAh cell.

Lumen measurements⌗

I used a UNI-T UT210E clamp meter to measure the current at turn on.

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 min
Moonlight	0.01 A	1	3	3	3
Low	0.24 A	110	106	104	104
Medium 1	1.35 A	600	698	677	653
Medium 2	3.07 A	1,250	1,434	1,387	1,121
High	5.07 A	2,250	2,149	2,010	666
Turbo	27.60 A	7,500	7,253	5,947

Turbo was measured by holding the button down for one minute.

The lumen measurement for High is abnormally low at ten minutes because the regulation of the driver caused the light output to decrease and increase by about a thousand lumens every minute.

Standby drain⌗

280.2 µA

Runtime graphs⌗

I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.

Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.

Momentary Turbo was tested by holding the button down momentarily. High, Medium 2 and Medium 1 were tested until the torch turned off. Low and Moonlight were tested for 10 minutes each to get lumen measurements.

Turbo only reached 5,544 lm when I tested the runtime using a Samsung 40T 21700 4000mAh cell.

I performed each test again using a Lishen LR2170HP 21700 3000mAh cell and Turbo reached 7,253 lm! This is much closer to the 7,500 lm specification.

The temperature reached 50C at 40 seconds and quickly rose to 70C by one minute. I released the button to turn momentary Turbo off after one minute because the torch was too hot to hold.

Mode	Specs	40T	LR2170HP
High	60min	1h20min	56min
Medium 2	2h20min	1h28min	1h
Medium 1	4h20min	2h46min	1h52min

The runtimes for Medium 2 and Medium 1 were shorter than expected by an hour or two.

Thermal regulation could be improved. The light output went down and up every minute for High and Medium 2.

Throw⌗

I took lux measurements with a UT383BT at 30 seconds for each mode. Moonlight was measured at one metre. All other modes were measured at five metres.

A Lishen LR2170HP 21700 3000mAh cell was used.

Mode	Specs (cd)	Specs (m)	Candela measured (cd)	Distance (m)
Moonlight			19	8
Low			650	50
Medium 1			5,000	141
Medium 2			9,925	199
High			15,275	247
Turbo	42,000	410	45,075	424

Beamshots⌗

I went to a local park and aimed the Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2 at a tree 70 metres away while using High. I did not take a beamshot of Turbo because this torch has a momentary Turbo and requires the button to be held down.

Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 3.2", f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.

Nightwatch Legend NG01 SFN60.2⌗

SPERAS EST⌗

Brinyte E18 Pheme⌗

Olight Warrior Mini 2⌗

Conclusion⌗

I am glad that I chose the SFN60.2 version of the Nightwatch NG01. It produces a beam with a fairly neutral tint and it exceeds 7,000 lumens when supplied with a decent 21700 cell (e.g. a Lishen LR2170HP 21700 3000mAh cell). The orange peel reflector helps mix the beam produced by the SFN60.2 but it still has a hint of green around the hot spot and a bit of purple in the spill.

Thermal regulation and the user interface let the NG01 down. Light output goes up and down every minute on Medium 2 and High modes. While the user interface has all the features that I want in a Nightwatch torch, the clicks and presses required are not as intuitive as I would have liked.

I like how Nightwatch have their own simple user interfaces. I would love to see them take on community feedback and make small changes to improve the user experience.

I consider this torch to be more for enthusiasts who want a pocket lumen monster and like to modify their torches. The build quality is good and both the driver and emitter are easy to access.

Pros:⌗

• Pocket sized lumen monster
• Good build quality
• Neutral tint
• Good for modding (no glue)

Cons:⌗

• Thermal regulation
• User interface

Product page⌗

Promo code: TimMcAU
Promo code: TIMMC

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