Nitecore TM26 Reliability Poll

Ok here goes. Guess this may prove to be helpful to all the TM26 owners and anyone looking to buy one soon. Seems there have been some quality issues lately with some of the newer build TM26's and just trying to see which model/build has the most problems. If you want to post what your problems are, that would be helpful. This is my first poll so hopefully it will work properly. Thanks for participating, it will be interesting to see the results. :thumbsup: PS.....I made the first vote with my white OLED model being flawless.....so far.

New TM26 3800lm white OLED with switch problems, purchased from Illumination Supply and received Jan 2014.

Blaze said:

New TM26 3800lm white OLED with switch problems, purchased from Illumination Supply and received Jan 2014.

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Same. Except I received mine earlier in dec13

sent from phone

I've noticed the switch is a bit touchy too. Seems like you have to hit it dead centre for it to work reliably otherwise it will flash off and back on. Daily mode and brightness adjustment works 100% of the time. So I'm not sure if this is an issue or not since I can replicate it.

One, - greenish tint of one LED. I'd spend 5 more seconds on checking the tints if I were the manufacturer...
Also I don't like that the light isn't standing geometrically straight on its 4 basils. Kind of like an old chair...
Other is flawless...
White OLED, 3800lm, waterproof (1 min pot test,) all holds together.
Serial starts with 3112.

Seems like prospective buyers need to view this poll with a critical eye. It may be somewhat representative if current TM26 owners with no problems are willing to take the time to participate. The owners with problem lights will probably be more inclined to take this poll. Could be wrong but it will be interesting, especially if owners specifically describe what the problems are/were. It has been said numerous times that the switch on the TM26 takes some 'learnin' but there have been other problems as well. I LOVE the ability to see the voltage in real time (same with the Nitecore P12) but the TM26 switch protocol is unlike any flashlight in my experience. My vote is flawless 3500 lumens.

just got mine today, blue oled display, not white. But it says 3800 lumens. my switch works fine, so far

3500lm blue oled bought from amazon dec 2013. Works perfectly so far, no issues.

-edit-
Although the voltage reading does not agree with my dmm (tm26 is .05 - .1v higher) . But I don't really know right now which one is accurate.


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I purchased a 3500 lumen TM26 fairly early on...picked up another TM26, 3800 lumen/XM-L2/blue OLED version from Illumination Supply during the Black November sale in 2013.

Both of them were flawless while in my possession...I gave the first one away, and the second one has continued to serve as my favorite night hiking and demonstration light.

I have four other Nitecore lights, and all of them work well. It is disturbing to see so many issues with faulty products, but if you get good ones, the combination of value and unique features is hard to beat. Still one of my favorite brands...I would say that Nitecore is worth trying out...don't let someone else tell you that it is a lousy brand. If you do get a bad light...that's on Nitecore, and if they don't make it right, at least you gave it a shot.

Would it be possible to have a box for " dont own a tm26 at present but looking at buying one in the future" or alike.
I ask this as i am unable to read results unless i vote on having an issue or not.I am not going to vote as i dont own a tm26 so would give false figures..........hope makes sense.Sure others will be interested too who may be future owners

You can always click on "view poll results" without having to vote.

Mine is the 3500 lumen version and absolutely flawless. This poll left me some doubts about its accuracy. Would those who think that they can live with the switch issue, and those who felt that others are being nit-picky when they complained about the switch issue, vote that they actually have a problem, or skew the results by voting they have no problems? I don't mean to imply that they are lying, but we have to understand that everyone has different levels of tolerance and everyone's opinion is different.

The TM26 is my favorite light. Imagine if they got rid of the 2 stage button (it is terrible) and added a magnetic selector ring, like on the Thrunite TN30 series. I bet nobody really likes that button. There's a poll for you!

Roger Ranger said:

The TM26 is my favorite light. Imagine if they got rid of the 2 stage button (it is terrible) and added a magnetic selector ring, like on the Thrunite TN30 series. I bet nobody really likes that button. There's a poll for you!

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I am a photographer and I find that button very intuitive to use. Having a magnetic selector ring with more moving parts would only compromise reliability. Try dropping that into a pool of mud and see what happens.

pjandyho said:

I am a photographer and I find that button very intuitive to use. Having a magnetic selector ring with more moving parts would only compromise reliability. Try dropping that into a pool of mud and see what happens.

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I agree, I really like the switch on the tm26. On the other hand, the srt7's selector ring doesn't feel right to me. Not solid enough, if you know what I mean.

chrisb said:

I agree, I really like the switch on the tm26. On the other hand, the srt7's selector ring doesn't feel right to me. Not solid enough, if you know what I mean.

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Yes I do. The only three lights which I have that utilizes the selection ring are a couple of HDS rotary and a Surefire T1A Titan. These 3 are the only exception which I will give. Superb well built and made lights. I have dropped my T1A Titan more than 15 times and it still works like a charm with hardly any dings or scratch.

Thank you pjandyho ,did not see that.

ven said:

Would it be possible to have a box for " dont own a tm26 at present but looking at buying one in the future" or alike.
I ask this as i am unable to read results unless i vote on having an issue or not.I am not going to vote as i dont own a tm26 so would give false figures..........hope makes sense.Sure others will be interested too who may be future owners

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Hi Ven, yes that should have been included in my poll topics but I didn't even think of it at the time. I have tried to add another poll topic but I am unable to figure out how to edit my poll. Maybe one of the mods can give me some help on this, maybe it isn't possible to change a poll's topics once it's posted? I looked in the faq and didn't see any instructions on changing a poll. Sorry for not thinking of your topic sooner but I am happy to see this many votes so far.

I bought mine 23rd December from hkequipment, received mid January because it stuck on customs so I had to pay 40$ more for it (I could have payed double the customs fees then I did).
In 3 lumen mode it is most obvious but it can be seen at higher levels too. Two of the LED's are emitting noticeably green tint, third less and fourth is I guess almost white (well at least comparing to these three). Also OLED screen is not 100% centered, letters are a bit off center but as I said in previous thread it's not a deal breaker for me. I have to say though customer service in hkequipment is great, I asked them to test the light before they send it so that I don't have to mess with sending it back. I am sure they did it because everything else is fine but I guess they didn't pay much attention on the color of the tint and at High and Turbo is not noticeable upclose. If I read about that issue earlier I would have said them to check the LED's tints also....
Serial number is 31127815... with white OLED. Someone mentioned voltage problems, I think this one is ok...well I don't know for sure, I don't have meters and stuff. I run it on Keeppower 3400 and it shows runtime of 50 mins on Turbo.
I wrote to Nitecore and send them a picture. This is the reply I just received:

"Since the Color rendering index of LED is not high, it is relatively easy
to appear to be like this for LED.
When at lowest brightness mode, it is easy for eyes to identify it.
It is normal. Please do not worry.
Thank you."


free photo upload

I don't have a great camera so I couldn't focus the image more and the picture doesn't truely shows what I see in person but it is clearly visible that the tint is green. It is a bit frustrating, I feel like I bought some cheaper copy of it and not payed 300$ for it which is almost the third of my salary here in Croatia.
This reply from Nitecore made me change some things I originally wrote so I guess sending it back is not an option.
Should I wait for the new emitters that will appear in the future and then send it to someone in USA who can change them?
Heh, maybe I am just too picky...you tell me.
I apologize for the long post.

Greenish tint on lower output is normal and cannot be avoided if running on constant current. Unless the way LEDs are made improves, greenish tint will always be present when running constant current on lower output. The only way to overcome greenish tints on lower output is to run it on PWM which would then compromise runtime and efficiency. Which do you guys prefer?

I've used my 3800 Blue OLED TM26 (311018151...) for a few hours now without any issues at all. Yes I've had to learn how to use the button properly but now it does what I ask it to do.
On 3 lumens, one of the emitters has a greenish tint but this does not affect the use of the light at all. This is the brightest, smallest and coolest light I've ever owned!