Nitecore Smart Piston Drive question

Hello. I'm a newbie that has just started the path to becoming a flashlight junkie. I've read a lot of praise for the Nitecore's smart piston drive. How great it works, quiet operation, and the form factor that it provides (small). I've also read a lot of negative things abut it. How temperemental and unreliable they can be. "They are great if the PD is working" comments is not something I would like to hear.

My question is, "Is this issue limited to the 1st gen piston drive"? Does the new design (SP models) suffer the same fate ??

I would really like to add one of these Nitecores to my stable of lights.

arnold r.

I belece nightcore adressed many of ther issues but as with anyithing thers always a chance.

I have had my (D10R2i.b.s)for some time now and it has worked perfectly since the day i got it despite being abused

In my op they are brilliant and a must have:thumbsup: oh and :welcome:

As far as I can tell, the opposite is actually true; the older models seem to have been more robustly built than the SP-era models. That said, (despite owning an initial release R2 for about a year, and loving it) the current crop of Nitecore products appears to be a mixed bag, with regards to both corporate practice and internal quality control.

Again, it seems to be hit-or-miss nowadays. I have had absolutely no problems with mine, but many others report having received lemons, or having their lights suddenly, inexplicably stop working after a few months after purchase. There appears to be a high lemon rate, but those that receive products that work seem to really like theirs.

A caveat: One thing to remember is that on CPF, there is a bit of a bias to report a product that is not working rather than one that is. So, as a result, it can seem like a certain product has a high lemon rate, when in fact (relative to the number of owners) there is a statistically insignificant number of people who receive flawed lights.

So, take that how you will... and :welcome:

I would recommend buying from a respected dealer with a good DOA policy (i.e. Battery Junction, Lighthound) and purchasing one of the Tribute edition lights.

Hi arnoldr,
I can say I have had my D10 R2 for over 6 months and haven't had any trouble. It's been dropped several times and run hard. I see now that its not available now, just the SP.

I have my d10 sp r2 only for a couple of weeks now but so far no problem at all. Thinking about getting another one.

If you are willing to disassemble your light a bit more often than you would with a clicky, lube it just right and clean the brass-ring and the contact plate, a Nitecore PD light can be a nice companion.

I have a dozen of them by now, one light engine died the other night, it didn't want to light up anymore, the LED just flashed one time. The moment I touched the brass-ring with the tip of the DMM, other tip on the main contact, it lit up again and it works like a charm today. They say many light engines die suddenly (with smoke), I got mine back to life again (but didn't see any smoke).

My conclusion is, that those light can be very capricious, but as long as you cherish them, they work and are fun. If you wan a light that you just stick in your pocket and change the cell, you're better off with a twisty or a clicky!

I have purchased 3 Q5 EX10s, 2 as gifts for family members who are not flashaholics but have jobs that require a decent light on a regular basis. Both of them also go camping or backpacking fairly often. They both use their lights daily, sometimes in fairly rough conditions. I EDC'd mine as well for 5 or 6 months, with the usual drops and abuse that entails.

I have not seen any problems from any of the lights, and that is with minimal maintenance (non-existent in one case--even though he should know better :shakehead).

No problems here either with any of my piston drive lights.

I think people disassemble them for whatever reason, and that increases the chance of failure of a D10. I have seen all the post about tearing them apart, and how easy it is. When I started to remove the contact ring it started bending, and I left it alone. If any part of that switching ring or contacts get damaged even the slightest, your going to have problems. Just my observation. :shrug:

MCFLYFYTER said:

I think people disassemble them for whatever reason, and that increases the chance of failure of a D10. I have seen all the post about tearing them apart, and how easy it is. When I started to remove the contact ring it started bending, and I left it alone. If any part of that switching ring or contacts get damaged even the slightest, your going to have problems. Just my observation. :shrug:

Click to expand...

The contact ring may bend, because it has a "cut". If you remove it, you begin at that cut and carefully take it off piece by piece without using force. It may stick at one moment, push it back and start over. If the ring isn't 100% paralell at the cut after removal, you can bend it carefully back until it is parallel again.

I suggest to leave the ring where it is if the light works as it should, but also on new lights there can be dirt and/or oxydation on it. A drop of Deoxyd may also help without taking the ring off, you can carefully turn the ring around if it sticks or to spread the Deoxyd.

If it ain't broken, don't fix it, that's always true, also for teh Nitecore PD lights, flashaholics (as me) tend to forget that!

Henk_Lu said:

If you are willing to disassemble your light a bit more often than you would with a clicky, lube it just right and clean the brass-ring and the contact plate, a Nitecore PD light can be a nice companion.

My conclusion is, that those light can be very capricious, but as long as you cherish them, they work and are fun. If you wan a light that you just stick in your pocket and change the cell, you're better off with a twisty or a clicky!

Click to expand...

In as much as I hate to admit it, I'm not ready/willing at this point to do all the 'necessary' maintenance that the Nitecore PD light seems to require to keep it running smoothly. My idea of maintenance is changing the battery and maybe the occasional contact clean-up.

Thanks for all the comments. For now, I'll stick with a twisty or a clicky (have them both). But I'm still open to owning one in the near future. Who knows, I might be lucky with a maintenance free unit.

arnoldr

arnoldr said:

In as much as I hate to admit it, I'm not ready/willing at this point to do all the 'necessary' maintenance that the Nitecore PD light seems to require to keep it running smoothly. My idea of maintenance is changing the battery and maybe the occasional contact clean-up.

Thanks for all the comments. For now, I'll stick with a twisty or a clicky (have them both). But I'm still open to owning one in the near future. Who knows, I might be lucky with a maintenance free unit.

arnoldr

Click to expand...

I'm on the tribute, and the only "maintenance" I do regularly is... clean the dust out of the tail area. I did an initial lube, and that has pretty much been it. The contact ring looks fine (no colouring), no switching problems... Of course I check the threads and the piston lube every so often, but there has been no need to change anything.