EX10 (1xCR123A) and D10 (1xAA) Part 5

[4sevens]

Even after some liberal lubing (is that the name of a segment on Fox News?) the head of my D10 is still a LOT harder to turn than the head of my EX10, which is almost too easy to turn. My D10 exhibited the same sticking and clicking that half-watt described on his EX10 until today when I took it apart and cleaned the bottom of the piston and the inside of the tail repeatedly, until I saw no more blue gunk on the cotton swab. I think the blue gunk (and, ahem...a little too much PTFE on the o-ring) were making the piston stick to the bottom of the tube and making the "clicking" sound when the suction was broken. The piston action on my D10 feels like night and day now. :thumbsup:

Actually I did that last night on my EX10 and it really loosened up the
piston. You're right the lube at the top shoulder of the piston is sticking to the
end of the back of the body. I actually just used a paper towel and a bic pen
and ran it on the inside of the body near the back "corner" :twothumbs

 

[alibaba]

the head is also easier to turn than my EX10 which was a "bear" also (a two-hand job as cp. to this D10 which is oh, so easy with just thumb and forefinger; but NOT too easy so as to accidentally turn ON) which might be o-ring related.
the differences b/t my EX10 and D10 are so great in both head twisting force and the force req'd to initiate the piston travel, that there is definitely something amiss w/my EX10. as stated earlier, it is binding (and i forgot to mention "clicking" when it first starts to move, as well as when it returns to its resting position) where the piston top protrudes through the light's body. FWIW, my NE head is also very, very tight and even after lubing, if the o-ring is left in place, is a two-hand twist operation.

Actually, that is one of the only issues that I have with my D10 is the lack of sufficient threading on the batt. tube. Once in momentary mode, on my unit, it's only one full turn 'till the head comes off! Since I carry mine in momentary nearly all the time, this has caused some lost sleep but I just don't lube the threads much so it's nice and sticky. Still, does anyone else think that the D10 could use one more round of threads?
Did I get a bad body? Are the rest of yours like this?

 

[GregWormald]

Aaaand, still nothing. Third week expires on saturday, so if it doesn't arrive on monday, it's officially MIA.

I hope yours shows up soon. Mine arrived--June 30th to July 16 to Australia.
This is a really nice light despite having only one level. The ramping us easy to initiate and is becoming very useful, rather than trying to remember the click sequence that gets a particular brightness.
Greg

 

[GregWormald]

Re-lubing for easier use.

Here is what I've found works for easing the piston.
I disassembled and cleaned everything, including O-rings, in alcohol to get all the blue grease off. Dried well.
I put ONE-HALF DROP of Militec-1 on my finger and lubed all moving parts, including O-rings with a just a smear, avoiding the bottom of the body and the mating part of the piston/battery tube. Reassembled.
Result--much lighter switch pressure, no binding, and the momentary function now has a distinct 2-stage feel. First stage is current setting, second stage is ramping up, back to first stage and return to second stage ramps down.
This is much better!
Greg

 

[Jarl]

Actually, that is one of the only issues that I have with my D10 is the lack of sufficient threading on the batt. tube. Once in momentary mode, on my unit, it's only one full turn 'till the head comes off! Since I carry mine in momentary nearly all the time, this has caused some lost sleep but I just don't lube the threads much so it's nice and sticky. Still, does anyone else think that the D10 could use one more round of threads?
Did I get a bad body? Are the rest of yours like this?

I quite like the short threads, though don't keep mine in momentary. FWIW, it has just under 2 turns (i.e, complete rotations) from the momentary/constant point, though the last turn is really easy to do because there's no O ring friction.

 

[half-watt]

...Once in momentary mode, on my unit, it's only one full turn 'till the head comes off!...Are the rest of yours like this?

upon JUST ENTERING momentary mode, such that applying a little pressure axially downward on the bezel will cause the LED to light, TWO full turns of the head (totally 720 deg), *PLUS* exactly (or as close as i can tell) ONE-HALF of a full turn (another 180 deg, that is), is what it takes to reach the point that the head on my particular D10 will come off.

just rcv'd mine yesterday (s/n 00626). perhaps a desing change was made after the first nnn (500 or so) units were made??? or, a different run of bodies fr/a diff. machine???

 

[half-watt]

...My D10 exhibited the same sticking and clicking that half-watt described on his EX10 until today when I took it apart and cleaned the bottom of the piston and the inside of the tail repeatedly, until I saw no more blue gunk on the cotton swab. I think the blue gunk (and, ahem...a little too much PTFE on the o-ring) were making the piston stick to the bottom of the tube and making the "clicking" sound when the suction was broken. The piston action on my D10 feels like night and day now.

Actually I did that last night on my EX10 and it really loosened up the
piston. You're right the lube at the top shoulder of the piston is sticking to the
end of the back of the body. I actually just used a paper towel and a bic pen
and ran it on the inside of the body near the back "corner" :twothumbs

glad that worked for others. wish it had worked for me (tried it b/f first Posting on this subject). the clicking on mine is clearly metal-2-metal contact - not what i would call a fluid "snapping" apart due to shear forces tearing the viscous fluid (i.e., the lube) apart. i'm familiar w/this phenomenon in viscous fluids fr/work.

i may take a Dremel to the opening in the body where the piston top/button protrudes through the body and see if that resolves the matter in my particular EX10.

 

[42]

i've had the D10 for a bit over a week and all my other lights have been knocked down a peg. The Smart PD system is fantastic! From the crisp feel of the piston to the simple UI to the output and runtime (not to mention the price), no other light I own comes close. My P2D and CR2 Ion have been retired as my usual EDCs. Frankly, I can't find a single fault with this little masterpiece.

Did I mention I like this light?

I just hope that there are two cell versions of the D10 and EX10 in the works. 4Sevens?

Mark

 

[Lite_me]

glad that worked for others. wish it had worked for me (tried it b/f first Posting on this subject). the clicking on mine is clearly metal-2-metal contact - not what i would call a fluid "snapping" apart due to shear forces tearing the viscous fluid (i.e., the lube) apart. i'm familiar w/this phenomenon in viscous fluids fr/work.

i may take a Dremel to the opening in the body where the piston top/button protrudes through the body and see if that resolves the matter in my particular EX10.

I doubt if this is necessary or will help. If you're getting a metal clicking sound when the switch 'hangs' a bit when trying to activate it, sounds more like the brass ring in the head is catching on something. Does the brass ring move freely up and down by hand? I'm sure you've seem suggestions to cure this.

I apologize if you've already covered this in another post as I've read your struggles with your EX10, but can't remember everything you've said and tried.

I've had 5 of these pass through my hands and have had to "tweak" every one of them. One, (an EX10) was particularly stubborn to get working smoothly & without issues.

Just to clarify, I feel these are great lights. Once you get the piston working smoothly, they are a delight to use. Now, when I grab one of my clicky lights, they feel sort of cheep & antiquated in comparison.

....Darn it! I'm not sure I can go back! My light collection somehow seems smaller. :mecry:

 

[ruriimasu]

DX carries an 18mm GITD ring but i heard it glows only 80secs. I just got myself some ultra green paint and am painting on my D10. Made quote a mess from white coating, hopefully can i clean it up later. As i am typing, the second coating is drying. I will probably be posting a horrendously done up D10 when the paintwork is completed.

my D10 turned out to be a mess. :sick2: i was told the paint needed a white base, having no white paint, i did a stupid act of using correction fluid as the base. the white fluid ran into the knurlings and i could not remove them. the GITD paint was not exactly very bright and was not uniformed, so i see only speckles of glow in the dark. i am waiting for my ultra green powder from glowinc now, hopefully it will do better with an epoxy mix. does anyone here know whether white base is needed for this powder/epoxy mix?

 

[jupello]

I'we been little tempted to buy D10.. but while I'we been lurking these forums for related posts, I'we seen posts here and there about people struggling to make their Piston Drive to perform well.
So what do you think.. is the PD system on D10 more rugged&reliable than the clicky switches and does it need much maintenance like lubing/adjusting to work properly?

Oh.. and if I decide to get the D10, does the Fenix Store's CPF8 coupon code work in 4sevens.com too? I'm a bit confused on the relationship of those two sites since they seem to be kinda merged together or something..

 

[michelkenny]

Just got my EX10 today in Canada. Shipped June 30, received July 21. This was the longest 3 weeks ever! Next time I will have to get a shipping upgrade. Can't wait to play with it after supper!

 

[Jarl]

I think the PD aspect itself needs a bit more work initially, but is more reliable overall.

 

[mandrake]

I have both an EX10 and a D10. I have played around with the EX10 quite a bit trying to make the switch "feel" better. The thing is, it has never faled to work properly, to turn on and off, which is what the piston is supposed to do. I just have not thought that it "feels" good. Maybe a little too stiff, or having inconsistent travel but it has always functioned to swith the light just fine. I have been carrying the EX10 around in my pocket the last few weeks and it has always worked just fine.My D10 felt fine right out of the box. It has a lighter feel to it and a bit more travel. All I did was clean the old lube off, relubed it, put it back together and am using it. Can't get much simpler than that.

Theoretically the PD should be reliable for lots longer than any clicky. There is nothing much to fail mechanically. Worst case the contact ring may get dirty, but that is easily fixed.

Both of the shops are Four Sevens operations. I think he started the second store to sell non-Fenix lights (Nitecore). I used the CPF8 discount code to buy my D10 from 4sevens.com and it worked.

Phil

I'we been little tempted to buy D10.. but while I'we been lurking these forums for related posts, I'we seen posts here and there about people struggling to make their Piston Drive to perform well.
So what do you think.. is the PD system on D10 more rugged&reliable than the clicky switches and does it need much maintenance like lubing/adjusting to work properly?

Oh.. and if I decide to get the D10, does the Fenix Store's CPF8 coupon code work in 4sevens.com too? I'm a bit confused on the relationship of those two sites since they seem to be kinda merged together or something..

 

[itch808]

I received my EX10, here are my thoughts:

After hearing all the rave reviews I was thinking about purchasing both a D10 and EX10. But instead took a wait and see approach once I had received my EX10.

First off, I thought the PD design would offer a MUCH smoother feel/push. YES, I did clean off all the excess lube from BOTH the inner piston and the tailcap end. It did smoothen out a bit, but still not quite how I imagined it.

Second, this light sucks as a twisty. The twisty motion is horribly tight and stiff. I own twisty lights, and this has got to be the stiffest one I've ever felt. I'd describe the action as just slightly better than what a cross-threaded bolt feels like (if you've ever felt one before). And NO, the head/body are not cross-threaded.

Lastly, the UI seems buggy at times to me. It's not quite as simple as 4-7's made it out to be on youtube. I will try to ramp, and sometimes it does nothing. Other times I try to shortcut to MAX brightness and then the light turns off after. It seems finicky. This is all using a AW RCR straight from 4-7's himself, so battery length isn't an issue either.

Would I buy it again? Maybe.
Is it perfect? Definitely not!

I can easily say I will not be purchasing any more D10/EX10s. If the light was as good as everyone made it out to be I was planning on purchasing another D10 for myself and one for my girlfriend. Instead, I will be waiting for something else I know she'll be happy with in a AA format (the Lightflux LF5XT would confuse the hell out of her).

My $0.02

 

[lightsandknives]

I received my EX10, here are my thoughts:

After hearing all the rave reviews I was thinking about purchasing both a D10 and EX10. But instead took a wait and see approach once I had received my EX10.

First off, I thought the PD design would offer a MUCH smoother feel/push. YES, I did clean off all the excess lube from BOTH the inner piston and the tailcap end. It did smoothen out a bit, but still not quite how I imagined it.

Second, this light sucks as a twisty. The twisty motion is horribly tight and stiff. I own twisty lights, and this has got to be the stiffest one I've ever felt. I'd describe the action as just slightly better than what a cross-threaded bolt feels like (if you've ever felt one before). And NO, the head/body are not cross-threaded.

Lastly, the UI seems buggy at times to me. It's not quite as simple as 4-7's made it out to be on youtube. I will try to ramp, and sometimes it does nothing. Other times I try to shortcut to MAX brightness and then the light turns off after. It seems finicky. This is all using a AW RCR straight from 4-7's himself, so battery length isn't an issue either.

Would I buy it again? Maybe.
Is it perfect? Definitely not!

I can easily say I will not be purchasing any more D10/EX10s. If the light was as good as everyone made it out to be I was planning on purchasing another D10 for myself and one for my girlfriend. Instead, I will be waiting for something else I know she'll be happy with in a AA format (the Lightflux LF5XT would confuse the hell out of her).

My $0.02

The light will switch ramping directions each time you ramp. So, if you last ramped up, then double click to go to low and try to ramp, the ramping will be trying to go from high to low since you last ramped from low to high. Consequently, nothing will happen. You'll have to pursh and hold a second time to reverse the direction again. This has been discussed multiple times in the threads. I wish it was different, but I'm used to it now. That would be one of the first fixes if I was redesiging the light.

Don't give up on it yet. The first day I got mine, I had trouble hitting all the double clicks, click holds, etc. Now, I'm right on every time. Just keep practicing and it will come!

 

[LED-holic]

I received my EX10, here are my thoughts:

After hearing all the rave reviews I was thinking about purchasing both a D10 and EX10. But instead took a wait and see approach once I had received my EX10.

First off, I thought the PD design would offer a MUCH smoother feel/push. YES, I did clean off all the excess lube from BOTH the inner piston and the tailcap end. It did smoothen out a bit, but still not quite how I imagined it.

The clicky will get easier over time. The spring gets a bit looser, and the button a bit easier to push. Like wearing in a new pair of shoes.

Second, this light sucks as a twisty. The twisty motion is horribly tight and stiff. I own twisty lights, and this has got to be the stiffest one I've ever felt. I'd describe the action as just slightly better than what a cross-threaded bolt feels like (if you've ever felt one before). And NO, the head/body are not cross-threaded.

Again, this will get easier over time. If it's too stiff, you can take the O-ring out and sand it down a bit, which will make it easier to twist as some have noted. It's better that this is too tight than too lose, as it's easier to sand down the O-ring, since you can't build it back up.

Lastly, the UI seems buggy at times to me. It's not quite as simple as 4-7's made it out to be on youtube. I will try to ramp, and sometimes it does nothing. Other times I try to shortcut to MAX brightness and then the light turns off after. It seems finicky. This is all using a AW RCR straight from 4-7's himself, so battery length isn't an issue either.

As noted above in the excellent post by lightsandknives it gets easier over time as you learn how the clicky responds to your control. The ramping is very simple logic - if you're in low already, and it tries to ramp lower, the light will do nothing. You need to release and press again to ramp up. A minor annoyance but not a big deal imho.

Would I buy it again? Maybe.
Is it perfect? Definitely not!

I can easily say I will not be purchasing any more D10/EX10s. If the light was as good as everyone made it out to be I was planning on purchasing another D10 for myself and one for my girlfriend. Instead, I will be waiting for something else I know she'll be happy with in a AA format (the Lightflux LF5XT would confuse the hell out of her).

My $0.02

I think the light will grow on you in a big way over time. There is no other similar light I can think of at this price I'd rather have. Heck, there are no other lights at double the price that I'd rather have. These lights are simply awesome.

I've been using my D10 a lot since I got it, and I carry it everywhere I go. Tonight I took a flight and was so glad when I landed that I had my D10 with me. It's definitely the best light I've ever used, and I've had some pretty nice lights, relatively speaking.

I am very thankful 4sevens and NiteCore gave us these brilliant lights. Enjoy them!! :thumbsup:

 

[Taboot]

I really like my EX10 and would recommend one. However, it definitely has some quirks beyond getting used to the UI. Mine has problems staying on or off. I have cleaned, lubed, etc. The piston feels fine. My main troubles are:

Sometimes, not always, I can shake it and it will turn on (or off).
Sometimes, I will turn it off and set it down, and it will turn back on. Sometimes, I will turn it on and aim it at something then it blinks off. Sometimes, I have to perform commands more than once to get them to "take". (not just ramping)

Some will say "You'll get used to the UI" I get it, but I am 100% sure I'm doing it right.

It seems to help somewhat if I take it apart and put it back together.

With all this said, I still really like the light, especially for the price and my uses don't require it to be perfect. I'll probably even get a D10.

I'll bet version 2.0 will be even better.

Regards,

Mike

 

[itch808]

The clicky will get easier over time. The spring gets a bit looser, and the button a bit easier to push. Like wearing in a new pair of shoes.

I hope so, but at the sametime I'd like to think a little closer look at machining and size choice of o-rings wouldn't be that hard. I never need to break in my traditional clickies.

Again, this will get easier over time. If it's too stiff, you can take the O-ring out and sand it down a bit, which will make it easier to twist as some have noted. It's better that this is too tight than too lose, as it's easier to sand down the O-ring, since you can't build it back up.

I've bought cheaper twisties that didn't require me to sand down the o-ring. I'd like to think this shouldn't be an issue. 4-7's called it designed to be a "tool", how many tools do you own that require another tool to fix it? Why not choose the proper size o-ring in the 1st place???

As noted above in the excellent post by lightsandknives it gets easier over time as you learn how the clicky responds to your control. The ramping is very simple logic - if you're in low already, and it tries to ramp lower, the light will do nothing. You need to release and press again to ramp up. A minor annoyance but not a big deal imho.

Ok, while he might've covered the ramping issue, the UI is still buggy. I wouldn't exactly place myself below average in manual dexterity. But I specifically tried to shortcut to max brightness three times in a row. 3x it didn't do it despite doing the click-click/hold easily within the <~0.5s. Then on the 4th try it started ramping up (was on min brightness), then the light blinked and shutoff all the while holding the button and not letting go. Buggy UI? Yes.

I think the light will grow on you in a big way over time. There is no other similar light I can think of at this price I'd rather have. Heck, there are no other lights at double the price that I'd rather have. These lights are simply awesome.

I wouldn't call it awesome. I used it tonight to go looking for some punk kids that ran away after kicking something into my car. Thankfully I already had it set to max brightness or I would've spent more time trying to set it while they ran away.

I REALLY hope my EX10 doesn't remain this tight to twist and hard to push on. At this point I will be avoiding NC's offering in the future. IMO, too much HYPE. I will however say that the knurling is perfect. Too bad there are so many other flaws.

 

[Kilovolt]

I received my EX10 one hour ago. The operation of both the switch and the head is smoother than what I expected after reading several posts here. For the time being I don't see any reason for changing the factory lube.
The beam is sufficiently clean even if typically CREE and rather powerful. I could easily perform all the functions without any glitch.

There is one problem though: the light has a terrible smell which became apparent upon opening the box. I think it could be a fluid used in machining the parts. I have washed the outside with warm water and soap and the inside with alcohol but some smell still remains. :sigh:

Any thought? :thinking: