Inova has started off a new line of flashlights specifically designed for military use. The Inforce line is the first production flashlight to be made of carbon fiber which introduced a number of benefits which will be covered later through this review. The Inforce line currently comes in a variety of feature configurations, all in the same form factor and design style. The version reviewed here is the Color version in Desert Sand body. Right up the front is a crenellated bezel which is made of a very hard and stiff rubber which almost feels like plastic. The crenellations serve to allow light from the primary LED to shine through in case the flashlight is left in an upright position. They also serve to protect the four color LED's which are inlaid and recessed along the bezel. The reflector used is smooth along its top half and textured along the bottom closer to the LED. Unlike common textured reflectors used in flashlights which are either dimpled or orange peel textures, the Inforce has a facetted texture similar to typical MR16 lighting fixtures used in display cases and such. The exterior of the head has exposed slots running along its length exposing the aluminum cooling fins which provides heat sinking for the primary LED. There's a chance of sand and dirt getting caught within the exposed cooling fins, and because it sits recessed, cleaning might be difficult. The head is molded from the same solid piece of carbon fiber as the main body and is not removable.

The main structure of the body, aside from some electrical components, is made of carbon fiber which makes the entire light quite light compared to an aluminum one of similar size. The exterior of the battery tube has deep strips running along its length. These were designed to work with optional weapon mounts which are also available from Inova-Mil. They also provide very good grip when held in hand. There's a removable stainless steel clip which is attached by hex screws, a hex key is included in the package if you decide to remove it. The clip is very tight and provides a secure grip for head-down carry. The hex screws are quite small and repeated screwing and unscrewing will probably result in stripping of the hex slot on the screw heads. It would have probably been better to have used slotted, phillips head or at least larger hex screws. Lanyard slot is incorporate within the clip and is only usable when the clip is attached. The lanyard slot sits below the clip, between the two hex screws. The position of the clip also serves as a marker for the tail cap position for the different modes. The wall of the battery tube is quite thick and should provide very good structural strength which is further enhanced by the use of carbon fiber material. There are three metal strips running along the inner wall of the battery tube which provide electrical contact for controlling the various output options. The tail cap houses a toggle push button switch which has very minimal travel, tactile feedback is rather soft as well. The tail cap unscrews very quickly requiring only about two turns. Threads between the tail cap and battery tube are made of carbon fiber and very thick, I really like the thick threads as they effectively illuminate cross threading. They mate very well and very secure when fully tightened. This allows the tail cap to be twisted for mode changes without accidentally unscrewing the tail cap. There are three metal contact points running along the threads which are the electrical contacts to the metal strips within the battery tube. There is a red gasket which seems to be made of silicone which sits just above the threads on the tail cap. It's slightly tapered so it fits between the tail cap and battery tube when fully tightened. Do take note that the manual states not to lubricated any seal on the flashlight with any form of grease or oil lubricant. Externally, the tail cap maintains the similar striped design as the main body and battery tube. There a single stripe which is slightly raised compared to the others which serves as a alignment indicator for mode changes. The rubber switch cap protrudes slightly from the tail end which allows for easy activation but doesn't allow the light to tail stand.

If you're unfamiliar with any of the terms used in this review, click here for explanations on common flashlight related vocabulary.

The Inforce Color has a wide variation of output colors and brightness levels. A summary this is shown below, taken straight from the Inova-Mil website.

The primary, high output LED produced a tight and very clean beam profile thanks to it's unique hybrid reflector. The hotspot is well focused and useful for long-distance illumination. There's also a bright corona just outside the hotspot which provides adequate peripheral illumination. The intensity of the spill beam is relatively dim compared to the main hot spot but is still usable indoors. Color temperature leans very slightly towards the cool side.

The secondary LED's provide blue, green, red and white light. The beam profile produced by these are very different from the primary LED. In fact it's pretty much the opposite, providing a totally flood-type beam good for closer, wide area illumination. As such, only single lux measurements for the secondary LED's were taken from their center regions because there is no defined spot/spill area. I did notice that the color LED's are noticeably brighter than those on other flashlights, and on High mode, is sufficient to illuminate a mid-sized room.

Output modes are controlled by twisting the tail cap to various positions. Each twist has a precise "notch" and provides a tactile feel when switching to each mode's position. Output levels can be memorized as long as the tail cap is not twisted back to the neutral position or clicked off, and twisting the tail cap from the constant-on position to the momentary-on position without switching off. This effectively keeps the light in momentary activation mode when using the switch, and twist-activation for constant-on. Detailed instructions can be viewed from the scanned manual available here. The lower brightness levels are controlled via PWM for both primary and secondary LED's, PWM effect is noticeable on the Medium and Low levels, but the PWM frequency slightly is higher than others.

As you can see from the runtime graphs below, the Inforce Color regulates very well on all output levels and modes. Runtime performance is average relative to its output. When the battery in no longer able to sustain regulation, output drops gradually providing enough warning to either switch to a lower level or battery change.

Note: The following graph shows output relative to each secondary LED's maximum output.

The Good - Excellent build quality. Lighter than other metal flashlights. Regulation is maintained well. Convenient case for storage, foam can be cut to place additional spare batteries.

The Bad - Nothing significant.

The Relative - Primary LED has a slightly cool hue. User interface may not suite everyone. Not able to tail stand. Uses a toggle push button switch.

Head (front view).

Body (side view).

Battery tube (rear view).

Tail cap (front view).

Tail cap (side view).

Tail cap (rear view).