Nitecore quality issues?

[JS_IN_KY]

In the last week I've bought my first two Nitecore lights and after only a few days of use both are having issues. Is this typical of their quality recently or did I just have bad luck on my purchases? One is a MH20GT and the other is a P30. Both are having switch issues, the worst being the light level selector on the P30. I hope I can get a good copy of the P30 though when I return this one, it's got some serious throw for it's size.

 

[Timothybil]

Over the years I have owned almost a dozen Nitecore lights, starting with the TM11 when it first came out. I have had no problems with any of them so far. I will say though that while I have had no problems, I am disappointed with the parasitic drain on the EA11 and the EA45S. The EA11 I can physically lock out so that is handled, but there is nothing I can do for the EA45S except checking periodically to make sure the cells don't get drained too low.

In the past there have been periods where there were complaints. Most notably the ballooning switch cover on the EA41. But Nitecore fixed that one, and I don't recall seeing any unusual numbers of complaints since then. It sounds like you just got bit by the law of averages. Hope everything gets taken care of soon.

In case no one else has said it yet, :welcome:

 

[bdogps]

As long you bought your torches from their authorised vendors, they will honour your warranty. I know that I am taking a huge risk buying from Banggood and GearBest, but the three Nitecores that I bought are fine. I bought a MH25GT, MT10C, and the EA45S. They have worked fine for me. I bought two late last year.

I hope it works out for you mate.

 

[bennettvonbennett]

FWIW I purchased a P10 and within a month it stopped working altogether. It was used at work but not abused and was occasionally carried in a bag with my other tools but almost always in a sheath. In all likelihood it is the tailcap that has stopped working but honestly I don't really care what the issue is, I find it most disappointing.
I did purchase it through Amazon and will warranty when time permits, but I'm not too happy about it and am not super confident about replacing it with the same model.

Perhaps my experience is also out of the ordinary. I hope so as I really like the features of the light so it'd be nice to have one that works for longer than 3 weeks.

 

[Tachead]

Here is the tailcap off of a Nitecore LA10 CRI that I received when it came out last year...

It was a huge hassle to get Nitecore to replace it and took several emails, pictures, and being bounced back and forth between the dealer and Nitecore China. Even though the light was brand new and clearly had a factory defect(spring way off center and 2 of the 3 solder joints were cold soldered), they wanted me to ship it back to China at my expense and only then would they send me a replacement. After many emails, pictures, and far too much argument, they finally sent me a new tailcap. The new tail cap wasn't perfectly centered either but, at least it was soldered right.

There have been other posts of poor quality hand soldering inside Nitecore lights too. One was posted of a headlamp in the headlamp forum recently. A few people had some issues with the EC4SW recently as well. I personally think Nitecore is one of the lower quality Chinese made brands. YMMV of course. They look good on the outside and have some nice features but, I don't have a lot of faith in them anymore.

 

[Impossible lumens]

I've had a slightly higher rate of issue when it comes to Nitecore lights. But others will say they have slightly lower issues with Nitecore lights. I'm pretty sure that Nitecore sells the most lights of any of the manufacturers, so the likelihood of running across people who have had issues is higher by way of sheer volume. Two in a row just sounds like really bad luck. It happens though. I just today got my XHP35 Preditor Pro back from Armytek. Had to pay to ship it back to Canada. $15. to send the light by itself but they sent a brand new one so I now have double accessories. Good luck.

 

[Bugdozer]

I have quite a few NiteCore lights and the only issue I had was with my TM26GT. When I would turn it off with a full press, it would go into low mode. The power switch seemed to be 'bouncing' a half press after the full press. Email to NiteCore and I had a new light in two days.

 

[d88]

I have 5 Nitecore lights bought over the last few years. The only one I had a real issue with was an EC11, however to be fair the vendor and Nitecore (UK) dealt with it brillaintly. Within a week of me raising the issue, posting it back I received my light back , fixed and still going.

I agree with others saying about the parasitic drain, however that's easily remeded by twisting the tail cap till it locks out.

 

[david57strat]

I have eleven of their lights (Well, ten, now. I actually gave away the MT21a, to a friend that was in need of it, more than I was), and haven't experienced any quality issues. I actually lost, both, the EA11, and the HC50, but ended up replacing both of them, I liked them so much.


Left to Right: EA11, SRT3, EA4, EC20, P12, CB6 (x2), MT21a, and P25 (the EA4 was my very first Nitecore, and the P25 was my very first in-light recharge-able light.
Foreground: Tube, HC50 headlamp

I just wish with they made more models with a neutral tint. I ended up replacing the EA11 (which was one of my EDC lights), with a Zebralight SC600w Mk III, which had far better run times. Hard to compare the two, since they're so different.

I'm still considering getting one of their P36 models, which has an MT-G2 emitter.

 

[david57strat]

Over the years I have owned almost a dozen Nitecore lights, starting with the TM11 when it first came out. I have had no problems with any of them so far. I will say though that while I have had no problems, I am disappointed with the parasitic drain on the EA11 and the EA45S. The EA11 I can physically lock out so that is handled, but there is nothing I can do for the EA45S except checking periodically to make sure the cells don't get drained too low.

In the past there have been periods where there were complaints. Most notably the ballooning switch cover on the EA41. But Nitecore fixed that one, and I don't recall seeing any unusual numbers of complaints since then. It sounds like you just got bit by the law of averages. Hope everything gets taken care of soon.

In case no one else has said it yet, :welcome:

I had the original EA4, but never had an issue with the ballooning switch cover, on mine. I guess I've been fortunate, with that model. I had also read that there was a problem with it, but was thankful, not to have experienced that problem with my unit.

 

[carl]

I had a Fenix with the same problem - the rubber side switch cover blew out - I assume due to outgassing of the primary alkaline batteries. I tried to re-insert it into place but no success.