Limited Experience with NiteCore D11

Hello all,

I have EDC'ed a D11 V2 for about a week now. I did my homework before I bought the light. In doing my research, of course, I sought information from our group – CPF.

From my findings, I have a few points to address. Those points will be listed immediately below and addressed from my direct experience with my own D11. I'm not going to include links. But know that D11 information and accessories are easily available.

Clip – Yes, there recently is a clip for all D11s.
Shortcuts – Version 2 does have shortcuts to and from Lo/Hi.
Shortcuts – Version 2 also has shortcuts to and from SOS/Strobe.
Ramping – Version 2 also has ramping Up/Down and vice-versa.
Tail Stand – My D11 can be used in candle mode as well, and nearly as stable as my D10.
Anti-roll – The flats on the D11 are not very useful for preventing the light from rolling away.
Switch Cut Out – The switch of the D11 is easier to manipulate when wearing gloves than my D10.
Body Color – The well matched head and battery tube of my D11 are both a very beautiful shiny black; beyond dark brown.
LED Centering – The R5 in my D10 V2 is so poorly centered in the reflector that the hot spot is quite easily noticed to be off center in the beam.
LED Tint – My R5 is only slightly tinted green. The tint is so slight that it is only observable by direct comparison to another LED light, and by use of a stark white wall.
LED Brightness – My D11, R5 has a wider and brighter beam than my D10, R2. Because of the beam qualities of the D11, I do not use the homemade diffuser I had on the D10. But the diffuser fits both little flashlights.
Battery – I used a primary 1.5 V lithium in the D10 and now use the same battery in the D11. However, I experimented with a French made primary 3.6 V lithium in both lights and found decreases light output; as did someone else from our group.

Hope this helps,

The D11.2 has a centering mechanism for the led, maybe it has come loose? If you unscrew the pill and re-assemble you may be able to centre the led again, I've done it many times swapping the led and always been able to re-centre easily, I've settled on a neutral XP-G R5 now and it seems the perfect edc.

I would like to add that efficiency is top of it's class. It appears to output more on high drawing 1.3A from an eneloop than the supposedly more efficient H51/SC51 on H1 when that is drawing around 1.65A. 140 lumens for 1.5hrs seems a genuine claim.

On another note, on both the D11.2 circuits I have tested, using a 3.7v nominal li-ion cell has put it into direct drive, pushing 1.8A to the led and in one case blowing the boost circuit, so I would not recommend this at all.. Interesting that yours showed a different behaviour on high voltage cells though, did you measure current draw?

I think LedTed is referring to the SAFT 3.6V Lithium Primary battery that was developed for long running low voltage applications. It won't have the same effect as a Li-ion rechargeable cell which is why the D11.2 was dimmer with it. However, based on the quark low runtime tests at moonlight level I have considered putting one in my dedicated D11.2 night light because the low would run for literally a year or two plus based on the level of usage I make of it.

Thanks RedForrest UK,

You say that the "D11.2 has a centering mechanism for the led" and that you have "settled on a neutral XP-G R5". Does that mean you have actually switched the original R5 from your own light to a LED that has a neutral tone? If so, this contradicts what others have said about the LED in the newer version of this light being potted. As I don't have an ESD safe lens booth in which to correct the optics of my new and functioning flashlight, I would be hesitant to mess with the light; unless I knew that I absolutely could correct the centering issue.

Harry999 is corrrect about the li-on battery issue. The primary battery I tested was of a more exotic chemistry; namely lithium-thionyl chloride (Li-SOCl2). Before I put the battery in one of my flashlights, I measured the unloaded voltage and found it to be 3.48X Volts. But, I did not measure current draw in use. Instead, I visually verified the lower output in a JetBeam Jet 1 Pro V3; rated for 4.2 Volts. On that note, I wish that I had a source meter (DSM/SMU) and some proper fixtuiring with which to make some correct measurements on such low ohmic devices.

Yes I have switched the led with some reflow soldering onto the original board. My version was definately not potted, but had the led on a board and some thermal paste pushed against the copper pill by the reflector with a black centering mechanism which fitted around the base of the reflector. The design was very similar to the old D10 and EX10 ones. I have seen pictures somewhere of someone else's disassembly of the D11.2 and their pictures showed a very similar build to mine, I can not be sure they haven't changed the design more recently though..

Link to dissasembly thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...nhancements-and-Non-Technical-Features-Review

Regarding the low mode, running on ultra-low is not as efficient as you would expect. The circuit itself uses nearly 50ma of current in overhead so the max runtime on an eneloop is only around 40 hours even on ultra low even though the led is getting probably around 5-10ma only. This current continues for 30 seconds after turn off before the '3 year inactivity' mode kicks in and current drops to almost nothing.

On high is where the efficiency of this light shows, as described in my earlier post.

I am actually about to use a Thrunite Neutron AA with its great beam and very low low as my nightlight combined with a H51c Zebralight for more general use.

I might just keep the D11.2 on max as my go to light at night when I suddenly need lots of light. They might be more efficient based on what you are telling me?

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