Olight T25 & Nitecore D20 : Reliability, maintenance?

How do the Olight T25 & Nitecore D20 compare on reliability? Especially say if one were dropped.

Also - I've read about people needing to periodically lubricate the D20 - seriously?

I ask because I like the Nitecore D20 a lot from what I read, but if it requires maintenance that's a major drawback for me. It seemed that in the initial reviews many people were having many small problems. Additionally, being unfamiliar with it's mechanism I'm a bit nervous about it's durability.

Thanks

mmace1 said:

How do the Olight T25 & Nitecore D20 compare on reliability? Especially say if one were dropped.

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I haven't used the Nitecore, but I own the Olight T25 and have dropped it a few times. It was a hard drop on pavement—in fact one of the times it was raining and it rolled into a puddle before I could pick it up. Still works like a charm each time I turn it on, and aside a few outer scuffs it is unchanged.

It's hard to judge. Do a test to both of the two.
1.Drop them from the same height
2.Dip them into the water
3. Scratch the body surface with something hard(a knife will do):devil:

Well, if the torch is tough enough, it'll perform well in rugged environment.

mmace1 said:

How do the Olight T25 & Nitecore D20 compare on reliability? Especially say if one were dropped.

Also - I've read about people needing to periodically lubricate the D20 - seriously?

I ask because I like the Nitecore D20 a lot from what I read, but if it requires maintenance that's a major drawback for me. It seemed that in the initial reviews many people were having many small problems. Additionally, being unfamiliar with it's mechanism I'm a bit nervous about it's durability.

Thanks

Click to expand...

We carry the D20 at work for promotional purposes. After purchasing around 30 of the D20's, I can attest to their reliability. Most D20's have a nice feeling clicky with just the right amount of resistance to the button. We do get the odd one that is a bit stiff due to excessive amounts of lube in the piston.

This is easily rectified by cleaning off the excess lube by removing the piston if you have the correct tools to achieve the pull down. They are an excellent light. I have sold many to mechanics etc and have not had a failure to date.

James....

Interesting - with any product there's bound to be some variation and most of us only have one example to base an opinion on, so your experiences with 30 or so are going to be much more representative.

Do you notice much of a variation in tint ? My R2 is quite a bit warmer than my D10 Q5.

Unfortunately, my D20 went up in smoke this weekend. It was working fine, had it off for about 5 minutes and when I went to turn it back on, suddendly the light goes out a smell of smoke is coming from the head and no more light (the batteries had about 20 minutes of usage on them and I tried them in another light to make sure and everything was fine). I used this light pretty much everyday so I'm missing it dearly right now. Oh well, at least I've got my D10's to keep me company for now while it goes back to the shop

(I just realized how sad it it is that I've been here over 7 years as a member and I haven't broken a hundred posts yet)

Moonshadow said:

Interesting - with any product there's bound to be some variation and most of us only have one example to base an opinion on, so your experiences with 30 or so are going to be much more representative.

Do you notice much of a variation in tint ? My R2 is quite a bit warmer than my D10 Q5.

Click to expand...

To date, we have only carried the cheaper Q5 model. The tint variation between units is almost non-existant to my eyes. We did however receive 2 D20's that have a perfect smooth even coloured beam with absolutely no cree rings what so ever - very similar beam to my Novatac 120P beam but obviously with more power - this is my demo unit!

People seem to love the UI of this light. The mechanics/electricians love the metal piston button. Mechanics seem wary of rubber clicky covers that might be affected by exposure to oil/grease etc.

Great light and very good value IMHO.

James....

Thanks - that is interesting, more variation in the ringiness than in the tint.

Mine is like the two good 'uns you describe - completely smooth beam with no rings at all. Piston works flawlessly too. I'm still not so keen on the yellow beam for indoors, but it's OK outside. Definitely a keeper.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/202966

I did a test last year with the T-20Q5.. I should be the same with T-25

i have nitecore and olight lights. the olights have been trouble free. not so the nitecore. i'll stick with olight in the future.

I've got a d-20 and am disappointed with the reliability.

Out of the box there were on/off issues, where the light would come on with a slight flick of the wrist. Wasn't that annoying, I just kept it in 'momentary' mode to avoid battery drain.

After trying all the DIY fixes I could find, the light now only works in momentary mode.

IMO, not at all impressed.
We'll see if they make good on their warrantee before I say anything else.



*Update.
After deciding I wasn't giving up that easily I put some batteries back into the d-20 to see if I noticed any quirks.
Sure enough, the light performs normally, however, it's as if the body tube is 1mm too long.
After making a 'spacer' and putting it between the top of the piston ('button' side) and the retaining ring. The light works normally. I can still activate it with a strong flick of the wrist (from off to on) but it requires significantly more effort.

I cut the inner piece out of a water bottle top (zephyrhills) then cut out the center as to fit the 'button' on the piston.

This took up the space that seemed to keep the light in 'momentary mode' even while the head was tightly secured.

I work on a shipyard with the D20. I gotta say it's really nice. The only thing that is even close to an annoyance is the flicker when the base of the light strikes something. The build is great: it's often between my hand and a sharp metal edge (I work in QC so I am crawling through tight, dusty, and dangerous [to me and the D20] places every day). I use it everyday on a pair of eneloop on medium-ish.