Please clear up some confusion with the Nitecore Extreme

Can I start by saying that I know I haven't been posting here much for the past few months, because my time is really taken up by the bit-tech community but I still love CPF and all that it has given me since I joined!

I'm a bit confused about the Nitecore Extreme light that I have, which was bought from the marketplace earlier this year. I was told when I bought it that it's a GDP LED version and frankly I love the thing, however the GDP version that is for sale on the flashaholics.couk website has a smooth SS bezel. Mine has the crennelated strike bezel and is the same colour as the rest of the light, so do I have a GDP or not? If it helps any, the beam is a very cool white, with a purpleish tint to it. I know lots of you love warm white tinted LEDs but I'm the opposite and I love the tint of my Extreme!

This thing is second in my collection only to my RA clicky titanium and if I was totally honest would have the Clicky beat in some ways (looks, for example). I'm now in the market for two more Nitecore flashlights - an extreme for a friend of mine who has been cooing over mine since I got it and a SR3 for myself. I wouldn't want to get the Extreme for him with the GDP and a SS bezel though, because in my opinion it doesn't look as nice as the all anodized version. I do, however, want to get him the GDP LED because that's one of the many things he likes about this particular light. Hopefully someone can set me straight and clear this up :shrug:

Thanks in advance,

Matt

All of the ones with ss bezels to the best of my knowledge were Cree Q5's and they cost more.

How about a photo of the LED?

Matt7337 said:

If it helps any, the beam is a very cool white, with a purpleish tint to it.

Click to expand...

I'm almost certain this is a GDP. If your LED looks tinier than Q5/R2, then it's certain.

Matt7337 said:

I do, however, want to get him the GDP LED because that's one of the many things he likes about this particular light. Hopefully someone can set me straight and clear this up :shrug:

Click to expand...

There're quite a few dealers selling them with HA bezel. Google and you shall see.

hi, they do Q5, R2, GDP in black strike bezel

then they do both Q5, GDP in stainless. no stainless R2 though for some reason ?

Depends on where you shop & avaliability

The bezels are interchangeable. I have a Cree Q5 with the plain bezel, for example.

The GDP has a purplish tinge around the outside of the beam, but the best way to tell is to look at the LED itself (don't forget to turn it off first !! ).

The CREE LED looks like the one in the pictures in the first post in Selfbuilt's review:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/198804

The GDP is much a much smaller die in the middle of a white plastic mount (this one is in a Clicky):

http://light-reviews.com/ra_clicky/01.jpg

Whichever one you have, it sounds like you are happy with it, so enjoy your light !

i was told by nitecore the bezels are not interchangable ? i was trying to buy just a stainless bezel but they said it wouldnt work.

You're right, that was perhaps a bit misleading. To clarify - what I meant was that both the GDP and Q5 were at some point available with either bezel.

In other words, that the bezel type isn't necessarily a guide to which emitter you've got.

As you say, Nitecore don't sell them separately, although the bezel does come off fairly easily, so I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be switched over. Haven't tried it myself though !!

Congrets on the NEX it is my favorite light next to my RA 170 tac. Just an all around great light and very usable. I also have the SR3 and IMHO the NEX is better all around and less $. The Sr3 is a cool looking light but so is the NEX and I think the NEX looks More like a hand made light apposed to a production light. I don't think that the SS bezel is avaiable or is it? I would like to get one but I was under the impression that the SS bezel edition was a special run and not avaiable anymore.

Chef

i think it was limited but shops still have em.
i have the NEX - it is awsome, ive been looking at the sr3 aswell, not sure wether i should or not after your coments ? might get another NEX

I have a GDP with a smooth ss bezel. It's a great light, but I had to send it back for a new one as it had flickering issues. The new one works flawlessly.

I also did the mistake to get an SR3 afterwards, I should have bought a second NEX with an R2 and the strike bezel. The SR3 has the strobe issue. That means that the strobe (replacement of the highest level) is activated randomly due to mode changes around level 4 and 5 . Normally you have to turn the selection ring to low, then to high and back to low again in less than 2 seconds to activate the strobe. The issue is that you expect the highest level while turning the ring to high and what you get may be strobe. Going back one level gets you to high though and you have to perform the operation above to turn the strobe off again (or wait until it randomly happens...).

The SR3 feels god in hands though if you like it larger and heavier and the selection ring is very usefull (neat one hand operation) if it doesn't bug. The built quality is great on that light!

Thanks for all the replies guys! Like I said I have a Ti Clicky 170 as well and didn't even realize that Henry used OSRAM emitters in the RA lights, otherwise I would've been able to spot the type in my NEX

It is indeed a GDP NEX with a black (or should that be charcoal grey? - sexy colour!) strike bezel. The purple tint combined with the small emitter size and comparison to that in my clicky did it. The confusing part was the bezels. I'm actually after another Nitecore for myself at the moment. Had I not bought a new DBS V3 the other day I'd be waiting excitedly on an SR3 and 18650 tube (for occasinoal, not continuous use) arriving because I really love the look of it and if the Extreme is anything to go by it'll be of a very high standard. It's going to have to wait until next month though because the DBS put a large dent in my flashlight fund and I've started christmas shopping too. Thanks for your comments on the SR3 Henk :twothumbs

I have to say I'd love another NEX. If I was getting another one I might go for an R2 for a slightly warmer tint even though I love cold harsh white light One with an SS bezel would be nice just for a cosmetic change. I'm fairly sure the threads on the bezels and heads of the different NEX's would be the same so I might even be able to change them around. I feel almost exactly the same about my current one as chef does. Besides my Clicky Ti 170 tac, it's my favourite light and sees more and more use lately as my EDC. I'd carry the clicky more but I'm still patiently waiting on a clip for it from Henry/ Chip, so I can't clip it to my pocket like I can the NEX :shrug:

I'm really glad to see so much love for this light on CPF. I've been impressed with it since the day I got it and I will definately buy Nitecore lights in the future

The NEX is becoming hard to find due to all of the chat on this and several other forums. I'm still waiting for mine! The anticipation is killing me!!

Hey everyone - sorry to bump an old topic, but I come before you with yet more questions regarding the NEX and some other nitecore lights!

I've been carrying and using my Nitecore Extreme more and more since I posted this thread. I estimate that since the start of this year, I've carried the NEX at least 4 out of 7 days in the week, each week. It's gotten me out of some tight spots in that time as well. I've used it in two emergency situations since the start of December last year and I think it was those uses that made me realize even more what an asset it is to have a flashlight like the Extreme clipped to me at all times. Clipping it to and carrying it on the inside of my right pocket (I'm a leftie but carry lights on my right side) has almost become second nature to me every time I leave the house or workshop, and it's never far away when I am indoors either.

With all this carry, it's really starting to look like a used light with small marks appearing here and there in the usual places. It's never been dropped though, so it's still in what I would call good condition. I don't mind the light looking a little worn at all, but I've been thinking more and more about buying an R2 version as (believe it or not!) I've started to come round to how nice a warmer tinted LED is. This has mainly come about in the past two weeks or so, since I bought my D20 R2 which is yet another Nitecore light that I love to carry and find to be extremely well designed and useful. I always liked the colour of the HAIII on my NEX which is more of a grey than black. Looking at most of the pictures of R2 NEX's on both the Nitecore UK website and ohter retaillers websites, it seems that they have changed to a standard glossy black HAIII coating on the Extreme, like the colouring of the SR3. Can anyone who has purchased an R2 loaded NEX tell me what colour the anodizing is on it? It's not that it'd put me off buying another one if it did turn out to black rather than gunmetal grey (function over form and all that) but I'd still like to know before I pull the trigger

Another query that I have regarding Nitecore is the packaging and bundles with the light. First of all, which came first - the NEX or the D20? I ask this because my NEX came in a beautiful presentation box with spare orings, clip screws, hex wrench and a spare switch. Along with this was a plastic (credit card type) warranty card as well as a really nice glossy colour manual explaining pretty much everything anyone could want to know about the light from manufacturing processes to both basic and advanced functions. The SR3 and D20 R2 that I recently purchased were much different to this, coming in nicer packaging (magnetic lid on the box, foam cutout for light and accessories etc) but with a much different set of documentation. Instead of the plastic warranty card, there's a paper card, and instead of the awesome glossy colour manual, there's a black and white paper one with minimal information and if I'm not mistaken in the case of the D20, an incorrect illustration of how the batteries are to be inserted. I'd love to know why they cut back on these things when they changed to the nicer packaging. I know it's not a big deal - the flashlights they design and manufacture continue to get better and better with time, and the ones that have come before (imo) remain some of the best on the market... but everything makes an impression. I was extremely pleased with how my NEX was presented and what was bundled with it when I first got it. I have to say, I was slightly disappointed to see that they'd cut back on that when I opened my new SR3 and D20 just a few days ago.

What are your thoughts on what should be included with a new flashlight costing at the least £60 and anything above that? Are you like me - is the bundle just as important as the flashlight? Or do you not care at all how it's presented as long as the flashlight is well designed and manufactured?

I like to get spare o-rings and maybe a rubber button cover with more expensive lights, not because of their cost but because it's not always easy to find correct replacements, especially without buying a whole pack of them.

A clip is also nice. I thought my D10 should have included the clip considering the price.

I don't care that much about the presentation, but it's always a nice touch when they push the boat out. The trouble is I end up with nice boxes I don't use, but don't want to throw away.

Bottom line, with any decent flashlight I'm a little dissapointed if they don't throw a couple of spare o-rings in, because it surely can't cost them more than a few cents. I suppose lanyards are a good thing to thow in too (especially if there's no clip), though I rarely use them and have the things coming out my ears now.