Customer Reviews

Bayco NSR-9850 Rechargeable 18-Hour Heavy Duty Flashlight Nightstick

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Expensive, but probably worth it. I never would have spent the money for this light at it's retail price, but Amazon had a smokin' good deal on it. And it's still double the price of most other rechargeable lights. But it throws a lot of light for an LED flashlight. On par with my best maglite,and it runs all day.

Excellent product. Something you can keep for 15 years. Very Pleased.

Even the packaging was first rate.

I bought this light about a year ago (Spring of 2010). I work overnight as a police officer. I have used many different types of lights in my career and here is my honest opinion of this light.

PROS:

The biggest pro is the run-time. I have used this flashlight as long as 1 month of shifts (4 days / wk) between recharges. This will vary depending on use but you can easily get through an entire shift without needing a recharge. The charger is solid and easy to slide the light into. It isn't like some of the Streamlight SL-20 chargers that sometimes don't connect properly. The light is very bright. It is great light when you need to search the ground for dropped items because it has the bottom floodlight. The floodlight is also very handy for when you need to set the light down and illuminate something, such as changing a car tire. Overall it is a good solid light that I would take any day over the Streamlight SL-20 series. I would rate this flashlight 4 of 5.

CONS:

The shape is a bit awkward but is easy to adjust to. You definitely need to invest in the Bayco brand belt loop holder in order to keep the flashlight from falling through. Regular belt loop holder will not hold it properly. Another issue are the buttons. They are located on the side next to each other. The buttons are rather stiff to depress. Prior to using I would sit and click the buttons about 100-200 times to break them before using. Also, because there are two buttons you have to consciously thing about which button you are pressing or you can activate the wrong light. Although it seems to have a triangular shape this flashlight will still roll. Overall, I would rate this flashlight 4 out of 5

Bayco NSR-9850 Rechargeable 18-Hour Heavy Duty Flashlight Nightstick

GOOD FLASHLIGHT, HOWEVER I WAS DISAPPOINTED WHEN AT FULL BEAM, ONLY ONLY 2 OF THE 400 LUMEN LIGHTS LOCATED ON THE UNDERSIDE LIGHTS UP. GOOD BATTERY POWER.

First the pluses:
The Bayco NSR-9850 is a real winner -when used to illuminate a wide area with the four side-mounted LED's. Some possible applications include lighting up car interiors at night, camping/tent light, room searches, and just using the front beam alone, it's quite good for 20-feet and closer work.

Another nifty feature of this innovative light is its ability to run two of the side lights while running the front light on a slightly reduced output.
This is great for walking through uneven terrain while keeping a light ahead of you at the same time. I don't know of any flashlight that can do this.

Using it this way, it's also great for illuminating a building's entrances on the side, while looking straight ahead. A distinctly handy thing for patrol work.

Bayco makes a similar model which features a 2-cycle per second strobe, but this one does not have that feature. There is a little LED on the opposite side of the 4-LED head, which lights up when you are entering the diminished-power phase and warns you that it's time to recharge. A nice thoughtful feature.

Another aspect of this light I liked a lot was its' long runtime. On its' first charge we got an excess of 6 hours of use, and expect that figure to go up as we deep cycle the battery. The unit comes with an AC and DC adapter, both of which plug into the single charging cradle.

The cradle is wall-mountable using a supplied steel plate and two Phillips-head screws. A quick minute with the power drill and you're in business.

There is a distinctly no-nonsense heft to this Nightstick, and as the name implies, it's probably pretty handy as a baton substitute for those people working "unarmed" security jobs. It's not the kind of lightweight that hikers would like, but it's right at home on a duty belt- however, no belt carrier is furnished; and you'll want to get one that'll fit the smaller-than-ordinary head of this NSR-9850.

Construction appears to be fairly robust, with a rubber-sealing end cap. But it is constructed from two halves which are held together with screws. I do wonder how hard you could hit something with it before the screws stripped out. But under normal 'civilian' use it should be just fine. The buttons are sealed, dome-rubber affairs which require quite a bit of pressure to actuate.

OKAY so time for the second shoe to fall? The minus. The one minus.

First we need to preface this section with the reminder that "Lumens" are measured right at the light source, and "Candlepower" is not. So when we say a light emits so-many Lumens, we are perhaps not telling the whole story. What happens to the Lumens once they leave the light can be very important. This has a lot to do with head and reflector geometry.

I took my Bayco NSR-9850 on a job recently and I was disappointed to see that the trees out beyond the perimeter which were handily illuminated with my 5.11 Light For Life--- were barely lit at all using the NSR-9850 on its' highest setting.

How can this be? The NSR-9850 is rated at 300 Lumens out front, and the 5.11 is rated at 270 at its' highest output.

(See my customer-supplied photo above for a graphic) The next day I turned my 5.11 on next to the Bayco Nightstick in our white front room while the sunshine was pouring in from the south. The picture tells the story- the Bayco was diffuse and weak, while the 5.11 just blasted a white circle next to it.

So, meh, it's not an egg-frying UFO-downing blaster on the front beam, but the 400-Lumen 4-LED side beam is really, really, good- in fact, I'd say buy it for the side beam/flood and then use the front beam for up-close work and you'll be happy.

It should be noted that my 5.11 is a replacement for an earlier one which failed after being dropped, so it's not without flaw either! It also must be charged much more frequently, though it charges in 90 seconds vs. the 3 hours for the Bayco.

Bottom line, I like this Bayco for my "car and interior light" and carry the 5.11 for professional work outside where the reach is needed.

I liked this flashlight so much I've purchased a second one.

This flashlight has the brightest LED on the market at 400 Lumens, with rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. Recharges in 3 hours, runtime is 9/18 hours depending on light mode. Comes with a convenient wall charger. The flashlight is well built, solid enough to use as a "billy club" if needed.

I researched all available LED flashlights, most are around 150 lumens and have the cheaper and less reliable Nickel Cadium batteries. No other model comes close to this one in features.

UPDATE 10/23/09: After charging the flashlight once upon purchase, it did not require a recharge for over 3 weeks. We use the flashlight every night rounding up all our cats outside. Long battery life, extreme bright light.

UPDATE 01/10/10: The battery capacity is amazing. I use the light every night on full 400 lumens and have only recharged the device three times since purchase. Maybe once per month ? Other flashlights may do 400 lumens, but only in 'burst mode' which is not only limited but quickly uses up the battery. Another notable is how durable these flashlights are. I've dropped them a couple times from waist level, no problem not a scratch.