NiteCore Extreme (NEX) Comparison Review

[UnknownVT]

This is slightly out of the usual comparisons.......

Through the kind courtesy of 4sevens (http://4sevens.com) I have these NiteCore Extremes on loan to look at -

yes there are 4 samples of the Extreme (NEX) -
with variations on the bezels, and including a head on a SureFire body.......

Heads -

they should basically be the same (except of course the EX10) - only the bezels are different on 2.

Comparisons using primary CR123 ion Max -
NEX vs. NEX stainless steel bezel scalloped -

close enough to say probably a little sample variation - but not much - they kind of look the same.....

NEX vs. NEX ss bezel plain

these two look real close.........

vs. EX10 also Max on primary CR123A

close but the EX10 might just be a tiny bit brighter - again probably well within LED (Q5) sample variation.

vs. NEX standard head on SureFire body Max using primary CR123A

this is the biggest variation between the NiteCores - tint difference and this one is maybe not quite as bright - but again easily within LED sample variations. It is not the body difference - swapping the bodies show the same - the difference is due to the heads only.

NiteCores seem to vary very little in this sampling of 4 heads.

But although LED bins probably can be specified - there is still bound to be some sample variations....... nonetheless, it is nice to see these so close.

Index -

Standardized stairway beamshots - Post #5
Distance/throw explanation - Post #11
Minimum output level - Post #12

 

[JKL]

Thanks for the comparison UnknownVT, great job as usual. :thumbsup:
IMHO very interesting also the beamshot comparison of the NEX vs EX10.

 

[I came to the light...]

Thanks for the comparison, although it does seem like a lot of money donated for a small difference.

Will you be selling the Extreme SS crennalated?

 

[flash99dark]

Unknown VT ... are You going to post some of your nice stairway beamshots of the EX10 VS. the Extreme? I have an EX10 and love it. I was going to get an Extreme, but if the stairway shots of yours look the same as this group I might be best served by getting a D10 instead?

What might be your thoughts on this? Money wise getting both the Extreme and D10 are out for a while....William

 

[UnknownVT]

are You going to post some of your nice stairway beamshots of the EX10 VS. the Extreme?

Your wish is my command.......

Note: on rechargeable 3.7V Li-Ion RCR123

The Fenix L1D-Q5 on Li-Ion 14500 would be the equivalent/same as the Fenix P2D-Q5 on Li-Ion RCR123 (my comparison beamshots on primary CR123 above were just of the same head on a P2D body)

 

[I came to the light...]

thanks for the beamshots unknownVT

btw, I was serious with my question...

flash99dark, I don't think either set of beamshots show the difference between the two lights. Only longer range shots would show how the extreme throws better.

 

[tsask]

Thanks for such an excellent, important post!:thumbsup:
You have examined the next 2 lights I was already planning on ordering from 4 Sevens!

 

[UnknownVT]

Will you be selling the Extreme SS crennalated?

btw, I was serious with my question...

Sorry, these are on loan from 4sevens.

 

[I came to the light...]

Sorry, these are on loan from 4sevens.

OK, thanks for the reply.

 

[flash99dark]

Ahh! Great..Thank You Vincent....William

The very first one battery R123 light I bought a few years ago was a sliver no-name Version #3 light from Lighthound, based on a series of your "Stairs" comparison shots. I still have that light and It still works. AFAIK I think you may be the first [or at least one of the first] that uses this type of comparison to help us make a choice.

P.S. Thanks to all of the reviewers who contribute their time, money and effort that make CPF
so enjoyable and "light the path" to the best lights.

 

[UnknownVT]

I don't think either set of beamshots show the difference between the two lights. Only longer range shots would show how the extreme throws better.

Although this may sometimes be true for the side-by-side beamshots as the distance involved is short and the hotspots tend to be over-exposed even on the -2 stops underexposed shots.

Mostly, when the two beams are close enough that it is hard to tell a difference, or the difference appears to be little - in practice even at much longer distances one is not going to out-throw the other by much - otherwise there would be some hint of the more concentrated hotspot - especially in the -2 stops underexposed shot -
besides I would mention this difference - even if the beamshots did not show it.

Afterall I do these reviews using photos merely to illustrate any difference I can see -
so if I can see a difference and the beamshots do not show it -
I definitely would mention this.

OK, so much for the short distance side-by-side beamshots.

However, the standardized stairway beamshots (same camera settings) are at a distance of 15 feet - this is not a trivial distance, typical of indoor usage - if these stairway beamshots - especially if the hotspots don't show that much difference - then I can say with a good degree of confidence that there would not be much difference outdoors at longer distances.

Just to be sure I took the Extreme and EX10 with Li-Ion RCR123, along with the D10 (Li-Ion 14500) and the Fenix P3D-RB100 (2x primary CR123A's) as a control, outdoors and shone these at tree tops with an est. distance of 140 feet.

To be fair the Extreme did seem to have very slightly better throw - which was only barely detectable - but that was only when I compared a pair side-by-side, crossed over and shone one after the other - however, there was little difference between of any of these lights - I could not see better with any - so in practice in real-life there would be very little to no difference in use.

This stands to reason since although the Extreme's reflector is larger - it is only very slight and the LED outputs on the lights are very close.

note: this issue of distance also came up in NiteCore D10 Comparison Review in posts #26 , #32 & #35

 

[UnknownVT]

Minimum levels - the NiteCore Extreme is pretty easy to set the user-defined mode to minimum output with confidence. As the setting ramping stops at each end Max/Min - so there is no doubt when one reaches minimum.

Minimum still using primary CR123A -

NEX vs. NEX stainless steel bezel scalloped -

there may well be an absoluted measurable difference but these are close enough to be within sample variation.

NEX vs. NEX ss bezel plain

this pair was the closest on Max - here the difference is really minimal.

NEX vs. NEX standard head on SureFire body Minimum using primary CR123A

just like on Max above this NEX standard head (on SureFire body) is just a bit lower.

NEX vs. EX10 also Min on primary CR123A

here one can see the NireCore EX10 can be set to a noticably lower level.

How about some known lights -

vs. classic Arc-AAA (~2003) NiMH

in a very similar ballpark - the different characteristics make the call harder - but these are about in the same league.

vs. Fenix E01 - single 5mm LED (Nichia GS) NiMH

the Fenix E01 is quite noticable brighter than the NEX on minimum......
this is a good thing - for both lights!

Again on minimum level the NiteCore Extreme shows pretty good consistency in sample variations - 3 lights basically "identical" other than the obvious bezel differences - one slightly dimmer - but not by much, with a slight leaning toward warmer tint (the two things may be related).

 

[RGB_LED]

UnknownVT, thanks for the comparison shots - they are very helpful.

I was surprised that the Extreme is so close to the EX10 as the lumen ratings were advertised as 190 vs. 130 - I know that the human eye will only detect a noticeable difference only on a logarithmic basis so 190 vs. 130 would not appear to be a big difference but it's somewhat disappointing that there really is no apparent distance except in throw.

My initial thought was that, since they both use Q5's, that perhaps the Extreme pushed the LED a little harder, perhaps at 1A. Now that I know the output is about the same, I think I should have gotten the Extreme instead of the EX10 as the heads are compatible with my SF E-series bodies...

Thanks again for the comparison shots! :thumbsup:

 

[UnknownVT]

I was surprised that the Extreme is so close to the EX10 as the lumen ratings were advertised as 190 vs. 130 - I know that the human eye will only detect a noticeable difference only on a logarithmic basis so 190 vs. 130 would not appear to be a big difference but it's somewhat disappointing that there really is no apparent distance except in throw.

There may be some issues with NiteCore's lumens ratings.

They are supposed to be rating torch/"out of the front" lumens, as opposed to the usual LED bulb/potential lumens.

However if we look at the NDI - (NiteCore Defender Infinity ) -
from the NiteCore page on the NDI (also NDI at 4sevens.com) -
it is rated 130 lumens Max for both AA and Li-Ion batteries

Whereas in its own users manual (pdf) it was rated -
180 lumens Max on AA battery
190 lumens Max on Li-Ion.

You will note that the higher ratings seem pretty close to 190-200 lumens rating for the Extreme.

Because of this "discreprency" in the ratings for the NDI -
I actually directly compared the NDI to the Extreme, both on Li-Ion -
and found they were comparable -
please see Post #6 in
NiteCore Defender Infinity Comparison Review

I really don't know what to say about NiteCore's ratings -
the Extreme does seem very comparable to other flashlights claiming around 200 lumens -
but the NDI (Defender Infinity) also seems pretty close to other lights in the 180-190 lumens level
- and much brighter on Li-Ion than other flashlights rated around 130 lumens

So I would say a 130 lumens rating probably is doing themselves a big DISservice -
as most people just reading the specs, will think these lights just are not as bright as they actually are.

 

[guiri]

I was just about to ask about that.

Isn't the EX10 awful bright for something that should be quite a bit less? I mean, i can't see the difference in the pics.

George

 

[UnknownVT]

Isn't the EX10 awful bright for something that should be quite a bit less? I mean, i can't see the difference in the pics.

Yes....

Thanks for the comment.

Usually the pics tend to help emphasize the difference in brightness - often better than the eye.

There are obviously a few exceptions when the eye can see a difference while the side-by-side comparison beamshot does not show it - if that was the case - as I said in Post #11 - I use photos to help illustrate what I see - so if I see a difference that the photos do not show, I would mention it.

This is a case where I had been aware of the "lower" 130 lumens rating in the EX10, NiteCore D10 and NDI (NiteCore Defender Infinity ) - that I have not only been paying attention to, but I have tried to highlight in my reviews.

Here I am very fortunate of actually having 4 samples of the Extreme (rated by NiteCore at 190 lumens on primary CR123) - of which 3 are close enough that I cannot see any real difference - and the photos show that too.

I have used that same standard Extreme and compared it to the EX10, D10 and NDI (latter 2 on Li-Ion 14500) - and those also show no real difference in brightness - certainly within that same magnitude as the 3 close samples of the Extreme.

So which rating is it 190 lumens or 130 lumens?
- like you say - they seem to look the same -
and I would have thought a difference of 60 lumens should be relatively easy to see?

 

[guiri]

Well, it should be at least noticeable but that's good news for D10 owners like me

 

[Rat6P]

Have you been outside and compared the lights at a distance of more than
~20~30 m?
Or just inside comparisons?

 

[UnknownVT]

Have you been outside and compared the lights at a distance of more than ~20~30 m?

Only by eye at an estimated 140 feet = ~42 metres.
In Post #11 above:

Just to be sure I took the Extreme and EX10 with Li-Ion RCR123, along with the D10 (Li-Ion 14500) and the Fenix P3D-RB100 (2x primary CR123A's) as a control, outdoors and shone these at tree tops with an est. distance of 140 feet.

To be fair the Extreme did seem to have very slightly better throw - which was only barely detectable - but that was only when I compared a pair side-by-side, crossed over and shone one after the other - however, there was little difference between of any of these lights - I could not see better with any - so in practice in real-life there would be very little to no difference in use.

This stands to reason since although the Extreme's reflector is larger - it is only very slight and the LED outputs on the lights are very close.

 

[Rat6P]

Thanks!