Nebo Einstein

The Nebo Einstein flex 1500 on paper looks like a bit of a head torch weapon. In real world use though it gives a rather average performance.

The high lumen rating of this head torch is a definite selling point. That 750 lumen main beam with the 1500 lumen boost would surely be enough to send morse signals to astronauts passing over us in the space station, but sadly this isn’t quite the reality.

The style of LED strip in this head torch has a less focused beam and more of an all over flood light which means this is great for lighting up your near proximity very brightly but you can’t really see very far with it.

Toggling through the light modes is also a little fraught with night blindness danger as it is very easy to accidentally put this thing on full white beam when switching modes.

It is primary white first. Starting with the brightest light (750 lumens), then gradually dimming with each press until you reach red and then off. Press again and you start with the 750 white and gradually decreasing light.

You can access red directly with a slightly longer single press from off. But beware, if you try to turn the torch off by pressing it again it goes to white. If you hold down the button while on red it goes to boost white 1500 lumen mode! Invariably I end up dazzled by this torch and several times while writing this test and review I’ve had to work through purple spots in my eyes as I’ve accidentally blinded myself with it multiple times.

The large battery though does give this head torch a decent battery life, but charging it is a faff. To USB charge the battery we must unscrew and at least partially remove the battery in order to plug the USB C cable in it.

The plastic cap isn’t retained so beware of this going walkabout in the dark.

Where this torch excels, certainly when I’ve been using it, isn’t for sailing but for doing maintenance in the engine hole or in dark places onboard. It doesn’t throw its main beam very far so it’s not useful for picking out a buoy in the dark but it is useful for full illuminating a dark and pokey engine room.

It’s relatively comfortable to wear, despite my odd arrangement with my hair but the head strap is not user replaceable. The cable from the battery pack is sewn in. I find this remarkable in this day and age where an item can be designed to have such an obvious flaw and environmentally unconscious manufacturer. Do they really expect you to throw this away after a season or two simply because the elastic has gone saggy?

If it didn’t have such a bright flood light I would have scored this lower. This head torch suits a marine engineer or someone working in dark spaces where the white light is required. It is the brightest of the bunch that I’ve tested.

I’m disappointed about the strap situation though.

Light Modes

Mode one: Turbo (1500 lumens): 30 seconds / 64 meters

Mode two: High (750 lumens): 2 hours / 35 meters

Mode three: Medium (250 lumens): 6 hours / 25 meters

Mode four: Low (10 lumens): 18 hours / 8 meters

Mode five: Red COB (5 lumens): 12 hours / 1 meters

*Runtime is reduced by about 20% when using 2 x CR123A batteries

Specifications

• 750 Lumen head torch (with 1500 turbo)
• Water resistant IPX4 (Protects from splashing water, no matter the direction)
• Powered by 1x Li-ion 18650 2200mAh 3.7v or 2xCR123A batteries
• weight 165g

Results of testing:

Battery life and recharging time 4/5

Full beam illumination 4/5

Low level light for reading 2/5

Red light 3/5

Water proofing 3/5

Eco (recyclable packaging and ability to replace head strap) 1/5

Weight and comfort 2/5

Buy Nebo Einstien flex from Cotswold Outdoors

If you are looking for a head torch with a more powerful beam then consider the ForclazHL900
If you are looking for a head torch with more red light options then consider the USE Raw Pro
If you want something with more of a spot beam, then consider the LedLenser MH5

click here to have a look at other head torches in our group test