Nebo IllumaTrace Blood Tracker

Believing ‘it won’t happen to me’ is an inevitable human attitude. Thinking positively about future events and performance is called ‘optimism bias’. You tend to believe you have control over your life, much more than you actually do.

But when hunting, there are many factors that can lead to a variance in shot placement. Regardless of experience, circumstances on the day may result in wounding a target animal rather than cleanly despatching it. For example, we might inadvertently deviate from the principles of marksmanship, snatch a trigger or suffer ‘buck fever’. The animal may ‘jump the string’ when bowhunting. The nature of the terrain can make the shot distance misleading, or there might be a crosswind. The projectile could hit a twig, leaf or grass blade in flight, making it deviate from its true course. And there are many other variables too.

Much to my irritation, I experienced this type of variation during a recent hunt in South Africa. Try as I might, on the afternoon before the first hunt, I’d not been able to achieve a tighter zero than 50mm with the ammo supplied for the rifle I’d hired from my professional hunting guide. And that is entirely uncharacteristic of me.

What I discovered later the following day was that this deviation was due to a loose screw mount. Compounding the issue, when targeting my first animal, I’d taken a long distance shot across a valley where crosswind and time of flight were an issue. Further, my guide had strongly recommended the use of shooting sticks – something I’m not accustomed to. To top things off, the kudu took a step as I squeezed the trigger.

All of this led to a wounded animal. I was devastated but glad to be carrying a Nebo IllumaTrace Blood Tracker to help ensure that I could achieve a humane despatch shortly thereafter.

Nebo is a respected brand based in the USA with 20 years of experience selling millions of light sources a year. The company prides itself on innovation and durability, ensuring their products are reliable, regardless of the conditions.

Recently, Nebo released the IllumaTrace Blood Tracker Rechargeable Flashlight to the Australian market. This is a torch made from aircraft grade aluminum with an IP67 waterproof rating, impact resistance and a USB-C rechargeable 4000mAh Li-ion battery. While it’s not the brightest white torch in the shed, at 170 lumens with a beam distance of 80m, that’s not the point. Its predominant purpose is to operate in ‘Blood Tracker’ mode. And, having used this clever piece of kit in the field, I can attest to its utility. 

Using it during the daytime, we easily picked up traces of blood in the long dry grass when the quarry we were tracking went into lowlight scrub under canopy. In no time, we were on the animal and things were put to right. Then, heading outside with the torch later that same evening, the torch worked exceptionally well at night. It’s safe to say that Nebo’s revolutionary technology made blood, and other red things for that matter, shine like a neon sign. 

But how does it work?
The human eye has two types of photo receptors: rods and cones. Rods help us see in low-light environments. However, they do not help with colour visualisation. That’s why determining an object’s colour in a dim-lit room is difficult, and why – in the pre-dawn light – everything is a shade of grey. When there is sufficient ambient light, cones make it possible to see multiple colours when looking at surrounding objects.

There are three types of cones named according to their colour: blue (10 per cent), red (60 per cent) and green (30 per cent). Despite these percentages, the human eye is most sensitive to green light. We see green light as far brighter than red light of the same intensity. It’s the difference in luminance or colour that makes an object visible against a background of different colour/s. By dulling the brightness of some colours you can emphasise others.

Rather than detecting the iron within hemoglobin in the blood or applying any other witchcraft, the IllumaTrace Blood Tracker simply applies physics as we know it. Specifically, it capitalises on the eye’s natural sensitivities by contrasting the greens and blues to better highlight the reds. This is achieved in Blood Tracker mode by strobing the eight LEDs in the head of the torch which are set in different light wavelengths. Doing this makes the blood stand out against various backgrounds, such as leaves, grass and dirt. This effect is enhanced by the three strobe settings which each vary in strobing rate. Simply choose the setting that best suits your hunting environment and eyesight.

In all, I am extremely impressed by the Nebo IllumaTrace Blood Tracker. Indeed, my professional hunting guide and his Zulu tracker were in awe of it. And ultimately, while I may get into trouble from the SSAA, I gave it to the two grateful South Africans. After all, given that they hunt nearly 300 days a year, I’m sure that they’ll put it to great use. It’s already the envy of their friends and colleagues, and will no doubt catch the eye of a range of hunters, whether they’re professional marksmen or otherwise. 

But wait there’s more
On the property that hosted our hunting trip, there was a rock overhang with 4000-year-old African Bushmen rock art. I had a thought that if the IllumaTrace Blood Tracker could highlight the colour red in a blood trail, then perhaps it could also highlight the faded ochre and berries used to paint the art. And it did! It was like flicking a switch – literally. Under a dark overhang and faded by literally thousands of years of exposure, we were suddenly able to distinguish frescos of hunting scenes and ceremonial rituals on the rock face that even the property manager himself hadn’t previously been able to see!

Evidently, the Nebo IllumaTrace Blood Tracker has applications broader than the hunting community. In that light, I’m sure that there are a few anthropologists and police investigator friends of mine who will find this torch to be a very useful addition to their professional tools as well!

With a range of other useful inclusions and a RRP of just $189, that’s excellent value for money. Keep an eye out for sales at nebotools.com.au.