Night Patrol 350S - small review

[grinsefalle]

This is a small review of the NP350S - a flashlight of the new law enforcement series of PEAK.

I posted the original review in the German flashlight forum and there it is a very little more detailed. I hope, the translation is at least good enough to understand the major part


The NP350S uses a P7-LED with up to 350 lumens in a single mode, it is capable of numerous different battery configurations and protected against cold and hot weather, rain, mud, impact.




size, finish, built quality
The NP has the standard size of 2xCR123 duty flashlights - small enough to carry on your duty belt all the time and big enough to hold it in your hand safely and comfortable.
Compared to Barbolight T04 or Surefire 6P, the NP is just a litlle longer.
The NP is thin and lightweight, but I never have the feeling, that the NP is fragile - in fact, the NP is very sturdy and well built.


On the head there are many cooling fins, these fins are doing a great job. After some minutes constant on, the head is getting very warm. A good thing, because the heat is transferred away from the LED.
The head has an anti-roll design which prevents the flashlight from rolling away.

An optional traffic cone can be screwed into the head.


The battery compartement (standard is 2x(R)CR123 or 1x18650) has no knurling, but grooves (fins?) on it. I was first sceptical about this design, but it does exactly what it should do: even with wet and slippery hands, you have a safe and firm grip, the NP won't slip out of your hands.
the shiny finish looks slippery, but it is absolutely not!

The forward clicky is protected by a delrin-sleeve. You can remove it, if you want. the clicky switch is loud, compared to others, but has a wonderful tactile feeling. It has a rather long travel from momentary-on to constant-on - a good thing, because you can control your momentary light burst, even if you have a lot of stress (room clearing, high risk custody ..)


led
The Night Patrol 350S uses a P7 LED and a small reflector, no optic.
The LED is protected by a unbreakable window (not glas). It is about 1mm thick, this is comparatively thin, a Barbolight or Hellfighter have about 4mm windows.
The front retaining ring can be removed. If unscrewed, a O-ring can be removed to. If so, the window and the reflector will fall out of the head. The reflector is not mounted but it sits loose in the head. It is fixed by the window and the retaining ring.
Good: You can easily change a scratched window.
Not so good: If you loose your retaining ring, you can loose window and reflector, too.

The LED and the head is sealed, so no moisture or dust can neter the electronic components.

Due to the small reflector and quad die LED, the NP produces a flood beam. Used outside, the NP350S reaches its limitations soon. In matter of throw it can't keep up with similar sized duty lights with e.g. Cree Q5 LED.
Used indoors th NP is a real winner. A very bright and wide beam illuminates whole rooms, nothing can hide in the darkness.

The NP350S is best used indoors or from small to medium distances. There you have plenty of light!


power
The NP can be powered by many different battery configurations. Standard is 1x18650 or 2XRCR123. With one 18650 you get about 300 lumen, if you use 2 cells with 6V or more, the NP will run full power with 350+ lumens.


holster
PEAK provides a optional holster for the NP. It is made from nite-ize, has a surdy plastic clip, which fits 50mm duty belts, and you can rotate the holster body for free hand illumination.
The holster holds the NP firmly, but reholstering needs some practice.
According to PEAK, the Surefire V70 holster can be used, too.



conclusion
Peak's Night Patrol 350S was designed for law enforcement use.
It is sturdy and reliable, it will survive the rough use out there.
With the modular system, you can build a flashlight exactly to your needs.
The NP is very bright, but i personally would like just a little more throw.

This is my first PEAK flashlight and for sure not the last one!


Beamshots:
The garage is about 25m. All camera settings are manual.
*control*


*Barbolight T-04, SSC P4, 1x18650*


*Hellfighter X-15, lumensfactory D26 LED 3,7V, 1x17670*


*Surefire/Solarforce lego, Malkoff M30W, 1x18650*


*Barbolight T-15, 4xKLC8, 2x18500*


*Barbolight T09 SE, P7LED, 2xCR123*


*Night Patrol 1x18650*


*Night Patrol 2xRCR123*



Michael

[RyanA]

I wonder how it would do on 2xIMR 16340?

[Curt R]

The electronics in the NP are a buck design and can use any battery voltage up to 14 volts and will not increase the light output over that of 5 volts.

We are looking for a replacement of the reflector in the design for more throw and still have spill for inside room clearing applications. The general requirement for the patrol officer is a combination of both. The SWAT entry requirement is for tight throw only as this is normally a rehearsed team effort where as the fence jumpers require versatility in the output pattern.

The problem with a single power output design is when a search is done in limited areas such as in the interior of a car. Too much light can cause reflections that limit the officers ability to see. That power level is also impossible to use in report writing or ID checking because of night vision destroying reflections. The Night patrol is also available in a fully adjustable output design from zero output to full. That also has its own operational disadvantages. The Combat Patrol uses a tail mounted and operated switch for momentary full on or multiple output constant on operations. That is a user installed 30.00 option that can change the NP into a CP or back again as required.

There are five different battery compartments that the NP can use including one that has a split finger groove in it that can use a single 18650/17670 or two 16350 or two AA batteries or with AA extenders up to 5 AAs.

In all there are five different battery compartments and four different power output heads that interchange with each other. And all can use rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries for cost savings that can be as much as several thousand dollars per year in disposable batteries per officer.

Curt

[grinsefalle]

We are looking for a replacement of the reflector in the design for more throw and still have spill for inside room clearing applications.

Good news. If you have such a reflector or optic, I'm in!

The problem with a single power output design ...

+1
You will never have a flashlight, that is perfect for ALL tasks. Some tasks need a one-level, absolutely KISS flashlights, and other tasks prefer a flashlight with different output levels.
The computer tailcap would be a nice option for my NP, making it very versatile.

But right now I have to sell some flashlights, the intense output of the FR1000A has caught my attention

Michael