Your opinion? PD20 or Nitecore Extreme?

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euroken

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 26, 2008
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Hello all!

I'm quite new to the forum and I must say thanks for providing such an informative and enthusiastic community!

After few weeks of looking and browsing, I came down to two torches using 1xCR123 that attracts my attention.

I just wanted to open a thread to see what your opinion was towards these lights (putting the cost aside, as I'm finding the Extreme to be $25~30 more than PD20 in general). Didn't want the cost to be the main deciding piont when considering quality products.

Both seem to be well constructed with overall positive reviews in terms of brightness and runtime.

Let me know your thoughts! Thanks in advance.
 
I think the user interface of the Nitecore Extreme is a bit better than the one on the Fenix PD20.
 
Thank you for the quick responses!

Wow, so far, all for Nitecore? I'm surprised since I've noticed a LOT of Fenix fans out there...

Sounds like the UI on Nitecore is preferred? PD20 UI seems quite intuituve also with only one turn of bezel required for two different 'sets' of modes.

Just out of curiosity, can PD30 head used with PD20 body (i.e. single CR123)? I've seen a thread that said no PD20 head with PD30 body that can damage the LED.
 
I think they are both fantastic. Very tough to pick a favorite between these two but in my opinion the PD20 wins out. Fortunately they are small enough that I usually just carry both! A couple of random things about my experience:

- My PD20 seems to be an overachiever - maybe they are all this way? It seems just as bright as my two cell PD30. Amazing for such a small light.

- Oddly my Extreme and PD20 seem to throw fairly equally. The PD20 even seems to be ever so slightly brighter. This amazes me given the much larger reflector of the Extreme. When white wall hunting, the overall beam pattern of the Extreme seems less ringy though and also shows a little more sidespill.

- I think both user interfaces are great!

- The switch on my Extreme sucks. It is hard to push in, mushy and just not treating me very well. I am thinking about changing it out with one of the provided spares (2 of them) and see if it helps. The switch on my PD20 is crisp and works as expected.

- My Nitecore Extreme is probably the first flashlight to have a perfectly clean lens and reflector as delivered! Very good AR lens so really looks like a work of art when just admiring. The emitter is also perfectly centered. It looks like some real care went into making this flashlight - overall build quality strikes me as better then the Fenix too.

- The Extreme deals with the heat much better (as one would expect). Both of these heat up fairly quickly on high, but my PD20 is a real burner. I definitely wouldn't want to run this longer then 5 minutes continously on turbo. The Extreme gets warm but never seems to get alarming, even when run continously on max.

I certainly haven't regretted buying either one! :grin2:
 
I think they are both fantastic. Very tough to pick a favorite between these two but in my opinion the PD20 wins out. Fortunately they are small enough that I usually just carry both! A couple of random things about my experience:

- My PD20 seems to be an overachiever - maybe they are all this way? It seems just as bright as my two cell PD30. Amazing for such a small light.

- Oddly my Extreme and PD20 seem to throw fairly equally. The PD20 even seems to be ever so slightly brighter. This amazes me given the much larger reflector of the Extreme. When white wall hunting, the overall beam pattern of the Extreme seems less ringy though and also shows a little more sidespill.

- I think both user interfaces are great!

- The switch on my Extreme sucks. It is hard to push in, mushy and just not treating me very well. I am thinking about changing it out with one of the provided spares (2 of them) and see if it helps. The switch on my PD20 is crisp and works as expected.

- My Nitecore Extreme is probably the first flashlight to have a perfectly clean lens and reflector as delivered! Very good AR lens so really looks like a work of art when just admiring. The emitter is also perfectly centered. It looks like some real care went into making this flashlight - overall build quality strikes me as better then the Fenix too.

- The Extreme deals with the heat much better (as one would expect). Both of these heat up fairly quickly on high, but my PD20 is a real burner. I definitely wouldn't want to run this longer then 5 minutes continously on turbo. The Extreme gets warm but never seems to get alarming, even when run continously on max.

I certainly haven't regretted buying either one! :grin2:
 
Nitecore

euroken said:
...I just wanted to open a thread to see what your opinion was towards these lights (putting the cost aside, as I'm finding the Extreme to be $25~30 more than PD20 in general). Didn't want the cost to be the main deciding piont when considering quality products...
Click to expand...
 
NEX. Better construction, better interface, no problems running on max for prolonged periods, and can take normal RCR123s without any issues.
 
First off, the NiteCore is digitally regulated. I would suggest people read the reviews and check out the output graphs before making statements to the contrary...

Let me start off by stating that both are nice lights(I have an NEI and although I don't own that finix, I have a few others). I would go with the NiteCore for a few reasons though...

*The threads are deeper and have a higher quality feel to them. In addition, they are also compatible with Surefire threads which is a great feature.

*Forward clickies are better than rear clickies- I know this is a personal choice, however, having momentary is a good feature to have.

*As someone mentioned, the lens is incredibly clear on the Nitecore... clearer than any other light I have actually.

*The NiteCore has much better/ more substantial heatsinking for the LED, which is a good thing when you are running it at over an amp in such a small body.



The tactile feedback on the fenix is nicer though (The NiteCore switch works great but doesn't feel amazing)and if you order from Fenix-store, you get a lifetime warranty
 
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