Nitecore D10 vs Akoray Cree Q5 WC

[bansuri]

I've got the 106 and 109, they are not "bad" lights. 25 years ago they'd be worth a million dollars! Good for around the house.
Of course we're all nuts here with the flashlights and all, and so being a nut I've moved on to the Fenix LD10 and that's awesome but I've got a hankerin for a D10 and was just about ready to buy from anyone who had it but jblackwood got me thinkin: If 4sevens is prepared to offer a lifetime warranty on the D10 don't you think they've got a ton of confiedence in that light? So mine's on order.
That's the light I'll be putting in my EDC pack!

I keep the 106 on my nightstand, (my wife's a pretty deep sleeper...CLICK!), and it really comes in handy. Like I said, it's not a bad light. I might get another to take to work, it will be the most technologically advanced item in the whole shop.

 

[funkychateau]

Here's a comparison of beamshots:

Here's a beamshot comparison which shows the D10 R2 and K-106.

Wow, what a great post!

Did you take all of the beamshots at the same camera settings?

Is it possible you might also have a list of battery types that were in the various lights at the time of the comparison?

thanks!

 

[DHart]

Wow, what a great post!

Did you take all of the beamshots at the same camera settings?

Is it possible you might also have a list of battery types that were in the various lights at the time of the comparison?

thanks!

funkychateau... yes, same settings for all the images, so what you see is pretty much how it was. Daylight color balance on all of them. You can easily see which lights were cold or blue, which were warm, and which were close to neutral. Ambient did vary slightly, so the edges can vary a little, but this had no impact on the beam itself. The beam sizes shown are representative as distances and focal lengths were consistent from one shot to another. I generally use li-ions in my lights and every light on this comparison was running on a li-ion except the E1B, which was running on a lithium primary. The smoothest, cleanest, most artifact-free beams (and also fairly neutral) were with the two Liteflux lights (LF3XT XR-E Q5, LF2XT XP-E Q4) and the Quark AA/123 XP-E R2.

 

[bansuri]

dhart,
as a testament to your photographic methods I picked the 106 out instantly just by looking at the beam and color. Looks exactly like that!

 

[nanotech17]

my Akoray 106 is using a different kind of Q5 die i think that contributes the tint of being slightly on the cooler side,i found it here - https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2994168#post2994168

 

[Wiggle]

my Akoray 106 is using a different kind of Q5 die i think that contributes the tint of being slightly on the cooler side,i found it here - https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2994168#post2994168

That's the only real nagging thing about it's performance for me. Trust me, do a Q4 5B or Q3 5A swap and it will make you like it even more.

 

[DHart]

dhart,
as a testament to your photographic methods I picked the 106 out instantly just by looking at the beam and color. Looks exactly like that!

bansuri.... cool! Thanks for the info.

 

[nanotech17]

That's the only real nagging thing about it's performance for me. Trust me, do a Q4 5B or Q3 5A swap and it will make you like it even more.

That's what i plan to do
:thanks:

 

[Neill_Currie]

Well, just to muddy the waters a little, DX has this light
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.28546
listed as a NKOray (says AKOray clearly on the side of the light however). Even has the same P.D.C. lettering on the other side of the housing as the k-106 has.
Cost: a mere $13.99.........our new, low price winner. At least till next week ;-)

This light looks like a clone too
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.28544

 

[OfficerCamp]

One thing that cannot be listed on a spec. sheet, or seen online in a picture, is how fantastic the D10 feels in hand. The light feels Ft. Knox solid, and has an overall superb quality of construction. Absolutely top notch for a small, pocketable EDC light. Oh, and the UI in my opinion is simple and flawless.

Excellent flashlight, no qualms about Nitecore quality after owning this masterpiece, hence my Extreme HA R2 is on its way as we speak.

(Sidenote)
Now if Nitecore REALLY wanted to drain my wallet, they would make a 2x123 version of the Extreme R2, let's say in the 300 lumen (emitter spec.) ballpark. That would be one hell of a great duty light, and I would definately have to leave my beloved E2DL home on some nights

 

[Ozem61]

Well, just to muddy the waters a little, DX has this light
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.28546
listed as a NKOray (says AKOray clearly on the side of the light however). Even has the same P.D.C. lettering on the other side of the housing as the k-106 has.
Cost: a mere $13.99.........our new, low price winner. At least till next week ;-)

This light looks like a clone too
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.28544

It is interesting that these two (Nkoray & Trustfire) are visually identical other than labeling - O-rings, non anodised body threads, big luminous O-ring at the glass and luminous tailcap. Here are the DX images of both units;
Nkoray 5 mode - http://www.dealextreme.com/photogallery.dx/sku.28546 ($13.99)
Trustfire 5 mode - http://www.dealextreme.com/photogallery.dx/sku.28544 ($13.99)
AND for comparison:
Akoray 3 mode - http://www.dealextreme.com/photogallery.dx/sku.16607 ($19.13)

I also note that the Nkoray (sku.28546) has comments re 1.3 amp (in DX comments forums and here) load when put on a fully charged 14500 which puts the LED at risk and stresses the driver while the Akoray (sku.16607) has no problems with this situation and no overheating on high with a Li-ion 14500 (I have just got one and checked this while setting the programming).

The reviews here need to be read with these comments in mind as reviews of the Nkoray (28546) have been incorrectly attributed to the 3 mode Akoray (sku.16607) which I suspect is the 'true' Akoray.

It is also interesting to note that the sku's of the Nkoray (sku.28546) and the Trustfire (sku.28544) suggest that they were added to the DX catalog at the same time - adds to the suspicion of the same source (other than Akoray )

 

[Coaster]

I thought about picking up a k-106 just for a comparison. However I have no idea what I would get if I ordered one.

Do I get the 6 mode with 3 annoying useless modes (as listed), do I get a straight 3 mode (according to some reviews), do I get a programmable one (according to other reviews).

When I bought my D10 I knew what was going to be in the box when it arrived.

 

[Ozem61]

I thought about picking up a k-106 just for a comparison. However I have no idea what I would get if I ordered one.

Do I get the 6 mode with 3 annoying useless modes (as listed), do I get a straight 3 mode (according to some reviews), do I get a programmable one (according to other reviews).

When I bought my D10 I knew what was going to be in the box when it arrived.

Get this one http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16607 which is currently being supplied with the 3 modes, each of which are each fully programmable. The DX description relates to an earlier model of this series.

For program details see https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2970972&postcount=42 which spells out the full procedure.

Note that the driver can be set for protection for unprotected Li-ion (or protected for that matter) or protection can be turned off to allow full draining of primary cells or to allow the use of NiMh cells which are low voltage compared to Li-ion.

The performance is brilliant on Li-ion and excellent with NiMh with some loss in maximum briiliance.

See my comments above re the other clones on DX.

 

[Oink]

Left my K106 (with 14500) in a hotel room. I called and they said nothing was found! I hope it doesn't explode on someone!

I reordered another a day later. I am glad it wasn't the D10 GD+ that I lost.

Between the two lights, I would probably pay the premium for the beam quality of the D10, if I am starring at the wall but most of the time, I just need a reliable work light and the Akoray is definitely good enough and at the price, definitely better than some of the other cheap flashlights that I have. I hate the unpredictable MTE that I paid the same money for.

 

[LeifUK]

"You get what you pay for"

Akoray come straight from China where wage costs are low. Fenix et al may be bought in a Western country, and no doubt the price includes a healthy mark up so that the dealer can pay his staff Western salaries, and pay the Western rent on his business premises, oh and have some left over for himself. And no doubt Akoray has lower QC standards, and no local dealer support.

Anyway, looking at my Fenix L2D, it's a nice light, with a good finish, but the threads are very thin, and could easily be destroyed by someone with clumsy hands, and some of the thread cutting is not ideal.

I buy modest prices Swiss Army Knives rather than expensive multi tools. They are brilliant albeit not quite as well finished. But having lost several I know which I will continue to buy.

If 4sevens is prepared to offer a lifetime warranty on the D10 don't you think they've got a ton of confiedence in that light? So mine's on order.

It could also be that the profit is so high that they can afford to offer that sort of warranty. Not that I don't doubt the better QC on the D10.

Anyway, I have an 'Nkoray' K-106 on the way. At the price it'll make a nice beater torch, and I won't be too concerned if it gets stolen or lost. I tried several times to order a torch from Best Offer Buy but both times the items were not available.

I find the comments here interesting. I would not consider my mini maglite LED particularly well made. Not bad, but it has a plastic lamp window, and a beam with lots of funny rings.

 

[pmoore]

I have had a K-106 for about 6 months now. 3 mode programable, I love this little light. It has never failed to work. Plenty of light for general purpose. I have it set for lowest low and highest high, with a mid point in between. I use an Energizer Lithium battery and it last for a month or better with daily use. What more can you ask for???

Paul