My new Nitecore EX10 R2 - it's great, but it's purple!

[gbelleh]

I've been using neutral white lights almost exclusively for the last few months, and there's no turning back now. When I ordered my new Nitecore EX10 R2 (from 4sevens big sale), I knew it was going to be cooler than I'm used to, but I hoped for the best. The light is great! I love the size, piston drive, strong pocket clip and simple, useful UI. But I'm finding the blue, purplish tint unpleasant and distracting (like Smurfs skipping through fields of lavender lilies and lilacs). So I ordered a neutral white Quark 123 tactical while I still can.

I'm not a modder, but is there a simple and easy way to get a nice, warm neutral white beam out of this light? I haven't found any info on how to do this yet.

 

[Crenshaw]

Lucky for you, the Ex10 is a very easy candidate for emitter replacement.

Just unscrew the bezel, and use a pair of tweezers to take out the o-ring. The rest should fall out, maybe with a gentle tap on the side of the head.

The Emitter is Heat-compound-ded to the Pill in the head, but its fairly easy to take out. Just unsolder it, and solder back in another LED with your prefered tint.

The Ex10 will be your favourite light after that...

Crenshaw

 

[sideman7]

The first EX10 R2 I bought (after buying one of Rustang's Ti bodies) had this same awful tint you described. I couldn't stand to look at it! I ended up replacing the emitter with a neutral one. Between that and adding some light diffuser film under the bezel (to remove the nasty rings), it had become my favorite and most used light!

I picked up another EX10 from the sale (for $37, why not) figuring I would use the pill for an emitter upgrade. Turns out this R2 is actually quite nice, so until I find a better emitter, I can go either cool or neutral...

 

[Woods Walker]

I got the same deal from 4/7s. Wanted the D10 for some time but its not on sale and money is tight so took the deal. Good to hear the LED is easy to mod however never did anyting like that. Maybe if I don't like the tint a Q4-5A could be in order. Wonder if the light would take a XP-E. Not sure how to center it. Well will just have to wait and see how it looks. Thinking about rechargeable options but know nothing about this beyond NiMH for AA. Still I got a few boxes of Surefire CR123 that need to be used up. Hope the piston drive works out for me. If so when they upgrade the D10 as thinking is will happen sooner than later may get one too.

 

[Illumination]

The EX-10 Q5 I received had a slightly more lavender tint - but still awful. Just about the only light I ever sent back.

I've heard of seeing life through rose colored glasses but that was rediculous!

 

[jblackwood]

I got the same deal from 4/7s. Wanted the D10 for some time but its not on sale and money is tight so took the deal. Good to hear the LED is easy to mod however never did anyting like that. Maybe if I don't like the tint a Q4-5A could be in order. Wonder if the light would take a XP-E. Not sure how to center it. Well will just have to wait and see how it looks. Thinking about rechargeable options but know nothing about this beyond NiMH for AA. Still I got a few boxes of Surefire CR123 that need to be used up. Hope the piston drive works out for me. If so when they upgrade the D10 as thinking is will happen sooner than later may get one too.

The D10 and EX10 are different in that the D10 doesn't have that cool Stainless steel bezel (I have two D10's). From what I've heard, it's a little bit more work getting a D10's innards out. If you find differently, let me know since my D10 GDP is purple and my D10 Q5 is green :green:.

 

[NutSAK]

The D10 and EX10 are different in that the D10 doesn't have that cool Stainless steel bezel (I have two D10's). From what I've heard, it's a little bit more work getting a D10's innards out. If you find differently, let me know since my D10 GDP is purple and my D10 Q5 is green :green:.

See video here.

 

[jblackwood]

Very informative. Thanks!!!

 

[Woods Walker]

The D10 and EX10 are different in that the D10 doesn't have that cool Stainless steel bezel (I have two D10's). From what I've heard, it's a little bit more work getting a D10's innards out. If you find differently, let me know since my D10 GDP is purple and my D10 Q5 is green :green:.

Ok I got the EX10 R2 from 4/7s. That guy sure mails stuff out fast. :twothumbs Anyways the tint is kinda good. Not going to mess with it. It is cool but a good cool as not purple or angry blue. Also not squid **** green that I hate. There is no hum or other sounds from the light that I read about. Only a hum for a spit second during fast ramping and even then I often miss it. I got good ears. I wish the ramping was slower. It can't be more than 2 seconds. The light seems easier for me to adjust when going from high to low than the other way around. Not much lube on the piston however cleaned this and the contacts so its not all that hard to work. I like a little resistance in a switch for the back pack and as it can't be locked out 100% this is a good thing. I use a little silicon grease. I like the low but set it on about 5-8 lumens (hard to tell). This seems about right amount for my EDC. Thinking about just using it as a single mode twisty. Anyone else here do that? No disco junk like SOS etc so a single mode twisty is kinda nice. The beam is good, one of the better XR-E (did I get the LED right?) beams I have. So maybe I got lucky. I am still not 100% sold on the piston drive but the day is young so to speak.

 

[hyperloop]

Received my EX10 R2 when i got back from Bali on 5th December, was not very easy to install the clip but after 30 minutes i got it in and put some clear nail varnish to lock the screws in.

Tintwise, no complaints whatsoever, a very nice cool white with a great centred beam.

For the piston, i cleaned off the piston and applied a few drops of Break Free lubricant and spread it evenly across the piston and removed the excess, works like a charm.

My other EX10 GDP is on its way to Nitecore for repair, the threads broke off the head (there's a separate thread by me on that somewhere on the LED sub-forum). Let's see how they fix it.

Nitecore's customer service is great, they have sent me a replacement lens for when i broke one doing a torture test of my EX10 and now they have kindly volunteered to fix my EX10 GDP for me.

 

[fyrstormer]

It's not purple, your eyes are orange. You'll get used to the cool-white light after a while, and if you ever point it at a tree, you'll appreciate how much nicer foliage looks in cool light.

 

[Moonshadow]

Well I wish mine were purple.

I've got no idea what colour it is, since it's still sitting in customs somewhere.

Come on guys, get your fingers out !!

 

[skyfire]

wow, i had no idea that they were purple.

i have a D10 r2, and the tint is very nice. it has a slight yellowish tint on max.

sorry i dont mean to rub it in:shrug:

 

[Zeruel]

Not everyone wins in lottery.

Do an emitter swap to XP-G. No wait, it might go green instead. oo:

 

[phosphor]

I received one from 4Sevens last week....it was cool white with not a hint of purple. However, I "fiddled" with it for an afternoon to get the piston working reliably. Monday evening I slipped that neat little light into my coat pocket as I went out for a night walk, and when I returned home I discovered it had fallen out of my pocket and was lost. Very disappointing. I'll save my pennies and replace it when I can....the EX10 is a very nice little light ! I'm heartbroken to have lost mine.

- regards

 

[gbelleh]

I'm giving my purple EX10 to a friend for x-mas. I already replaced it with another EX10 with a 5A Q3 installed. It's much better!

I have some cool white lights with nice, non-purple tints, but I see colors so much better with warmer tints.

Sorry to hear about your lost light, phosphor. I almost lost my LF2XT because of the flimsy paper clip pocket clip.

 

[Moonshadow]

Woo - hooo ! Mine arrived yesterday - thanks 4Sevens !

The beam is a very cool white. I do like 'em cool, and it is a pure white without any purple at all, but I don't think I'd want it any cooler.

So the beam's great - but man, the piston is stiff. Not just a little bit harder than my D10: more like "let me wait until I can get a herd of elephants to stand on the piston"

I've cleaned all the lube off, flattened the spring and backed it off a quarter of a turn and I can actually press the piston now but it's still as stiff as a board. I'm hoping it will break in before I end up with thumbs the size of tree-trunks !

phosphor - sorry to hear about your light. What a bummer, especially after all that effort getting it working right. Hope you can pick up a replacement while they are still on offer.

 

[Norm]

So the beam's great - but man, the piston is stiff. Not just a little bit harder than my D10: more like "let me wait until I can get a herd of elephants to stand on the piston"

I've cleaned all the lube off, flattened the spring and backed it off a quarter of a turn and I can actually press the piston now but it's still as stiff as a board. I'm hoping it will break in before I end up with thumbs the size of tree-trunks !

My EX10 Q5 was the same cleaned a lubed not much better, replaced the O ring with a slightly smaller one and it's perfect.

The tint was atrocious luckily I had a Q3 5A on hand, I'm very happy with the light now.

Just waiting on my tritium piston to arrive in the mail and it will be the perfect EDC.
Norm

 

[Moonshadow]

OK, thanks - I might try that. Unfortunately the spare one in the box is the same size as the one that's already fitted, so it's a trip to the plumbers' merchants I guess.