Wohoo! Nitecore D10 arrived today

[balou]

And of course I did look in the beam. And of course I now see bright spots . Yes, my first light since joining CPF. I guess I have to stop that non-flashaholic habit, especially if I buy a HID someday

And of course had to put it in a glass of water to test that it really is waterproof. By the way, my flatmates have bright spots too now . And yeah, they're pretty impressed. Me too, I don't think I saw a flashlight before with a beam that was clearly visible at 4 in the afternoon in a brightly lit room.

First impressions:

• Small!
• The button at the end of the piston is smaller than expected, and quite hard to press. Both thumbs are already sore now... will buy silicone lube tomorrow and re-lube it, hope it gets better.
• Ramping up doesn't seem to work sometimes. But, have to get used to it first, and relube it, might very well be a sticky lube problem.
• It has one small speck on the knurling. I tried to scratch it off with my fingernail. Result? More specks on it, because the only thing I scratched off was my fingernail Yes, this light also doubles as a nailfile
• Definitely to bright to read anything with it at max brightness, even in Daylight. Good thing it's adjustable
• The lowest low is still plenty bright. Maybe even to bright for my purpose. I wonder what the Fenix 'low' is like, among other things I chose the D10 because of its lower low. Have to look for a red filter. Oh and a diffuser would be nice too... I have to look out for suitable water bottle caps, as mentioned elsewhere on CPF
• The ramping seems to be a bit abrupt - it's very low, then quite suddenly gets brighter, and then you hardly see a difference between maybe half bright and max. But I have to test it when it's dark, not when the sun's still shining
• Just noticed that the o-ring in the front lens has a bulge in it. Will take a pic of it, I hope it doesn't affect waterproofness. Well, it can't be all to serious, the light was already underwater today for a couple of minutes

So, so much for first expressions. Overall: what a great light!

 

[Cosmo7809]

And of course I did look in the beam. And of course I now see bright spots

Ya know after all the lights I have gotten I still do the same thing....

Congrats on your new light, I had the EX10 but traded it... I think I will pull the trigger on the D10 with its hype in the last months. As far as ramping and etc have to get used to it. Also try cleaning the threads and contacts... Sometimes comes over lubed.

 

[balou]

Just measured the force required to turn the D10 on...
1.5 kilogram or 3.3 pounds
That is quite a bit, and I understand now why both my thumbs are sore.
I expected it to be more like a light switch.
Is it a lubing problem... or is it really that hard to press the switch?

 

[Zatoichi]

Is it a lubing problem... or is it really that hard to press the switch?

Mine seemed stiff before I cleaned and re-lubricated it. It's quite easy to press now.

 

[Cosmo7809]

Quoted from selfbuilt
"The piston has an o-ring near the protruding button end, to insure a good seal for water-proofness. This also adds a little resistance to the motion (although the springs in the base of the piston and the head are providing most of that). Note that currently-shipping lights are using an overly viscous lube on this o-ring that is causing the piston to seize or stick for some users, leading to inconsistent switching. This is easily fixed by simply wiping off the excess lube upon receipt (and ideally re-applying a lower viscosity lube). David (4sevens) recommends Deoxit, but I find my radio shack Teflon lube works just as well (the one that comes in their "precision oiler"). Again, as usual, less is more when it comes to lubing."

I just did a simple search of "D10 lube" and quite a few threads came up. This should be the cure.

 

[Art Vandelay]

You can adjust how far you have to press the piston. Try turning the bezel.

 

[balou]

Went to the hardware store to get some silicone lube, but they seem to close before eight o'clock - well, have to wait until tomorrow then.

About the lubing problem, I somehow thought that only older batches were affected. But I would've needed silicone lube sooner or later anyways, so no problem. To much lube is better than a rusted flashlight.

A question about scratch-resistance: I heard that HAIII is pretty tough... so... any chance of scratches if I have my D10 24/7 in my pocket with keys and a swiss army knife? I'm still in the treat-it-like-raw-eggs phase... I don't dare yet to throw my D10 into my pocket

 

[BabyDoc]

Quoted from selfbuilt
"The piston has an o-ring near the protruding button end, to insure a good seal for water-proofness. This also adds a little resistance to the motion (although the springs in the base of the piston and the head are providing most of that). Note that currently-shipping lights are using an overly viscous lube on this o-ring that is causing the piston to seize or stick for some users, leading to inconsistent switching. This is easily fixed by simply wiping off the excess lube upon receipt (and ideally re-applying a lower viscosity lube). David (4sevens) recommends Deoxit, but I find my radio shack Teflon lube works just as well (the one that comes in their "precision oiler"). Again, as usual, less is more when it comes to lubing."

I just did a simple search of "D10 lube" and quite a few threads came up. This should be the cure.

+1. Try the PFTE Oiler from Radio Shack on that outer O-ring. It works great on tight O-rings.

 

[Peter Atwood]

The ano will wear over time if it is constantly getting scratched by other objects in your pocket. I would get the pocket clip for this light. It really is a nice addition and gets the piece up and away from the bottom of your pocket.

 

[bp044]

+1. Try the PFTE Oiler from Radio Shack on that outer O-ring. It works great on tight O-rings.

Doesn' this product have petroleum in it ?

 

[deranged_coder]

Doesn' this product have petroleum in it ?

My understanding is that PolyTetraFluoroEthylene (a.k.a. Teflon) is a compound of carbon and fluorine. I do not think it is chemically similar to petroleum.

I am not a chemist though, and chemistry was never my favorite subject. :shrug:

 

[Jarl]

I just did an experiment with my D10. Mine turns on if I balance a 1kg water bottle on my E01 which is on the switch (else the water bottle cap hits the edge of the light), so yes, yours is a bit stiffer than normal.

As for how tough is it, it sustained noticeable, but not horrendous scratching after spending a week sharing the same pocket as a large SAK. Now, having come off my bike at over 30mph as well as a couple of other incidents, it's got a couple more marks of affection.... still going strong though

 

[balou]

BabyDoc: only problem is, the next Radioshack is probably about 5000km away

Peter: Would probably be a good idea. The downward spiral begins... pocket clip, diffuser, maybe an E01 as backup....

deranged_coder: PTFE is inert, it doesn't react with anything. Well, at least if you don't heat it over 260°C

Jarl: thanks for the test. Oh well, seems HAIII isn't so tough after all...


By the way: I inserted an alkaline battery with just 1.1v open loop voltage. Looks as bright as with a newly charged NiMH cell. Maybe I can continue my habit of stealing 'used' batteries from the recycling station at my university