No more nitecore for me.

Both my ea4 and ea8 stopped working and this is not the first time. Both lights I had to send back once already, they are nice lights but the quality is not good. I just ordered a fenix tk41 and fenix e41 to replace the nitecores.

dontfearthereaper_20 said:

Both my ea4 and ea8 stopped working and this is not the first time. Both lights I had to send back once already, they are nice lights but the quality is not good. I just ordered a fenix tk41 and fenix e41 to replace the nitecores.

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I don't blame you. I had my SC600 quit with only light use (pun intended). Giving Zebralight one more chance with my SC5...but if that fails, no more.

For some reason I don't completely trust Nitecore. I don't know why. I have an EA4, EA4w and most recently a TM16. No problems yet, so we'll see.

markr6 said:

For some reason I don't completely trust Nitecore. I don't know why. I have an EA4, EA4w and most recently a TM16. No problems yet, so we'll see.

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I don't have any Nitecores, but it seems to be the #1 brand that people complain about on these forums.

Perhaps only some models have reliability problems ?
I have donated many MT21A/MT2A (and are used very frequently) none of these lights had still problems



Now I have purchased 3 Nitecore P12 (different tints) time will tell if they are reliable

WalkIntoTheLight said:

I don't have any Nitecores, but it seems to be the #1 brand that people complain about on these forums.

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They are probably also one of the brands that are most bought by members of these forums. Additionally, they are thriving on the notion of always having the latest and greatest in light technology. This means that they constantly bringing novel stuff on the market that excites people without having really the time to improve on the mistakes. Once the lessons from the first generation is in there is already a new development in the pipeline and a second improved generation is cold coffee. No wonder we are hearing about a lot of issues - this is the price to pay for this innovation game that we all so excited about. And frankly - it can not be too bad as many people seem to be happy about their product.

dontfearthereaper_20 said:

Both my ea4 and ea8 stopped working and this is not the first time. Both lights I had to send back once already, they are nice lights but the quality is not good. I just ordered a fenix tk41 and fenix e41 to replace the nitecores.

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What symptoms did you have? Press the power switch and the LED only glows at a firefly level while voltage indicator starts flashing?

Stefano said:

Perhaps only some models have reliability problems ?
I have donated many MT21A/MT2A (and are used very frequently) none of these lights had still problems



Now I have purchased 3 Nitecore P12 (different tints) time will tell if they are reliable

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Funny you said that. When I was looking at flatscreen tv's Consumer Reports said it mattered what size you got even if it was the same model.


Like the Sony VX1 in 54" would be fine but 56" would have reliability issues. Strange.

None for me, either! My EC20 died last week. Not replaced it yet.... Not looking at Nitecore. That flashlight got very little use....

HEDP said:

Funny you said that. When I was looking at flatscreen tv's Consumer Reports said it mattered what size you got even if it was the same model.


Like the Sony VX1 in 54" would be fine but 56" would have reliability issues. Strange.

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The lights are not all equal.
Same brand but different projects (even different components)
There are models more reliable, some not.
This can also happen in the automotive industry

I have had one Nitecore light fail on me and they replaced it with a brand new light within two weeks. They seem to be the most popular and most talked about brands on most flashlight-related forums so it's not a surprise to hear that there are more stories about their light failing or not working. I will still buy Nitecore as they have proven themselves with their CS when dealing with me, but YMMV. It's your money so it's up to you if you still want to buy from them or not.

Oh, sure, I have my fourth piece of Nitecore gear coming in tomorrow and now you tell me. I am soooooooo hosed.

I probably own 15 Nitecore lights and about the same number of lights from Fenix. I don't purchase the entry level lights, so I think that the manufacturers take more care in building a $100 light than a $40 light. I'm not making excuses for the manufacturers, but the build process on low cost lights isn't conductive to the highest of quality.

The only light that I have that failed was a Surefire M952TVN, but that was my fault when the hand guard that it was mounted to went splat onto the concrete.

I think the majority of problems with any of the name branded lights is cold solder joints. One low level drop is usually enough to break the connection, and it don't work anymore.

HotWire said:

None for me, either! My EC20 died last week. Not replaced it yet.... Not looking at Nitecore. That flashlight got very little use....

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Sad to hear... My mom has used her EC20 about 20 - 30 minutes every day (sometimes more) since January & no sign of problems so far. I've owned the SRT7 for more than a year & also use daily, sometimes draining two 3400mAh Panasonic's in a single day. I've dropped it in dirt, dropped it in a puddle of watter, stepped on it, froze it, & its still going like a champ.

Even Surefire has lemons...

They have a long history of spotty reliability.

Their parent company Sysmax is flaky as well.

Stick with Fenix.

I know when i was considering an EA8 the nail in the coffin was seeing a very thin piece of metal that the emitter sits on which brought up proper heat sinking concerns. Though i believe it was found to be sufficient. Still, i went with tk41 and have been very happy. I also had an orginal ea4 that i replaced with a sunwayman D40a after the whole ballooning switch problems. Been happy with the D40a as well. I only have a mt21 now which seems like an ok light overall.

ah the older Nitecore problems still rear their ugly heads! Ive had a love hate relationship with their gear. Ive had it with their BS marketing claims which they are notorious for and do my research here before I buy. I do admit I have not had one fail on me. Ive had the SRT7 since it first came out and have used the hell out of it and its still fine. I like how using 2xRCR in my 6 and 7 adds 100 lumens each and changes the dynamics of the beams. The only thing that has changed is that the smart ring on my 7 has actually gotten smoother with use. If anything at all Nitecore needs to revamp the entire SRT line with the latest HI and HD or U3 emitters...a SRT7 XP-L HI sounds like itd slay...Id buy it

Well, I've had 100% of the Nitecores I purchased die. Two even after being 'fixed' by Nitecore. I own 26 Fenix products and only had one fail on me. It was an EO5 that got dropped so many times I don't know how it lasted so long. The final blow was a 12 foot drop onto concrete. It actually still worked, but only put out a few lumens.

I don't even look at Nitecore anymore.

Nitecore has been pretty crappy for me. Many of my purchases died just a few times of using it and I don't even drive my lights on max all the time. My EA8w which was less than a year old died for no reasons too and would only come on in firefly mode no matter what I did to it. Nitecore said they will charge me for shipping and handling since I had purchased it from the U.S. and not through my local distribution channel. What a piece of BS! It is a product made by them and they should honor it. I don't care if I purchased it from Mars or Venus, as long as it is branded Nitecore then they fix it free. It is now a paperweight sitting at home. I just purchased a TM16 and I hope this model will not undergo cheap quality standards just like all their other cheapies. The TM series IHMO has been pretty well made across the board and we shall see about the TM16.

T-roc87 said:

I know when i was considering an EA8 the nail in the coffin was seeing a very thing piece of metal that the emitter sits on which brought up proper heat sinking concerns. Though i believe it was found to be sufficient

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It was the tear down that had me concerned too. It made the decision between that and the D40A easy. Sure it worked but you never know how much damage it was doing in the long run. Lazy was my thought on the matter.

That said, haven't given up on them