Immediately after close contact with an activated Nextorch ND30B, you feel a little like one of the neutralized eyewitnesses from "Men in Black", because you are clearly disoriented and could almost lose your memory. Jokes aside! Conventional pyrotechnic flashbangs were already used by the British SAS (Special Air Service) in the late 1970s and have been part of the standard repertoire of the military and law enforcement ever since. Due to the extremely loud bang of up to 170/180 dB and the bright light, people in the vicinity of the explosion are briefly impaired in their visual and auditory perception and are therefore disorientated. But where there is light in the truest sense of the word, there is also shadow: in the past, particularly powerful bangers for riot control have led to serious injuries among demonstrators or irreparable blast trauma ("tinnitus") due to a chain of unfortunate circumstances. Pyrotechnic flashbangs in a tactical environment are also fraught with risk. Due to the pyrotechnic explosive device, open fire and smoke development, their use is prohibited in chemical and gas industry plants or at petrol stations and on ships, for example. This also applies to scenarios in which an aggressor handles flammable liquids. Last but not least, the smoke produced also activates sprinkler systems, which can make deployment not only more difficult but also more expensive.
Nextorch ND30B: the electronic flashbang in detail
The electronic alternative to the pyrotechnic flashbang does not go off in the conventional way, but flashes brightly with an 11,000 lumen stroboscopic flash and provides deterrence with a shrill 130 dB audio output. All the aforementioned disadvantages in tactical use have been eliminated by design. However, the Nextorch ND30B, which weighs 265 grams and measures 128x40 mm, is identical to a classic flashbang grenade in terms of operation: unlock the safety ring, pull out the safety pin and hurl the device into the desired target area! The cylindrical housing made of a mix of special aluminum and polycarbonate is extremely robust and designed for the toughest applications. The 18 high-power LEDs integrated all round and protected by clear polycarbonate dazzle in a radius of almost 360 degrees. A transport safey is positioned above the USB-C port, which can be activated and deactivated using the locking ring.
The Nextorch ND30B distraction device has the following adjustment options:
- Activation delay of 0.5/1.0/1.5 and 3.0 seconds
- Mode I = single strobe + sound
- Mode II = double strobe + sound
- Mode III = nine strobes + sound
- Mode IV = 12-second continous strobe + sound
Incidentally, there is also a slimmer ND30 law enforcement model, which differs only in appearance but not in performance, from the model shown here for the commercial civilian market. At a price of 489 euro, the LE model is also significantly more expensive than the civilian model. Nextorch also offers a "Spare Part and Repair Kit" especially for the ND30 with 10 safety pins, 10 pull rings, 5 safety lever joints, 5 fixing blocks, 5 limit blocks, 15 Torx screws and a Torx screwdriver for 129.90 euro.
Nextorch ND30B – Our brief summary of the modern distraction device: professional equipment, also for airsoft
The Nextorch ND30B distraction device impresses with its robustness, versatility and economical reuse and should be an asset to the toolbox of the large community of MILSIM air soft players, for example, especially as pyrotechnics are not permitted on all playing fields. The price of 329 euros for this tactical surprise effect of a special kind is perfectly acceptable.
