Nitecore P12GT, P12 2015, or MH12

Hi all,

I have been researching which one to get on here and am torn. From what I've read, the MH12 is the same as the P12 2015 except it has the USB recharge port on the light. The P12GT has a much longer throw than the other 2 according to the specs. The P12 2015 is cheaper than the other 2, but it doesnt have the throw of the GT and the recharge of the MH12. I also read on another post that the P12 2015 clicks on instantly, while the P12GT has a .5 second delay? Is this a huge difference, would it be noticeable in performance? What about the MH12, does it have a delay? Am I missing any other important differences between the 3? Is the throw of the P12GT that much of a difference than the other 2 when veiwing with the nake eye? (367m vs 232m)

Basically:
P12 2015 - no delay when turning on, cheaper
P12GT - has a .5 sec delay, but longer throw
MH12 - rechargeable USB port on the light

Thanks for all your help

check out the other two P12GT threads. I just took apart the switch on my new GT and replaced the NC switch cover with one from a PD35. No more spongy switch and response is better. Another trick people do to lower the switch is to take apart the switch, take the washer that holds the switch cover in place, take it to a hardware store and have it matched except that the new washer(or washers you may want to try different thicknesses to find what works for you)is thicker than stock which will lower the switch and give you more immediate response. Im pretty happy with my PD35 cover.

Out of the lights you mentioned I would get the GT. You may or may not have the delay issue. I really didnt have a delay issue I just didnt like the spongy switch. Now it is nice and crisp as the PD35 cover is just enough shorter to make the difference for me. The performance of the GT is quite impressive. No it doesnt do 33k CD I would put it at 25-27kCD. Still the beams on all modes are excellent and having something that throws like that coming out of a 25.4mm head is amazing.

TA_ls1 said:

Hi all,

I have been researching which one to get on here and am torn. From what I've read, the MH12 is the same as the P12 2015 except it has the USB recharge port on the light. The P12GT has a much longer throw than the other 2 according to the specs. The P12 2015 is cheaper than the other 2, but it doesnt have the throw of the GT and the recharge of the MH12. I also read on another post that the P12 2015 clicks on instantly, while the P12GT has a .5 second delay? Is this a huge difference, would it be noticeable in performance? What about the MH12, does it have a delay? Am I missing any other important differences between the 3? Is the throw of the P12GT that much of a difference than the other 2 when veiwing with the nake eye? (367m vs 232m)

Basically:
P12 2015 - no delay when turning on, cheaper
P12GT - has a .5 sec delay, but longer throw
MH12 - rechargeable USB port on the light

Thanks for all your help

Click to expand...

I personally would recommend the P12 2015. The MH12 is great because it has the built in charger but I have read on several reviews that it has less output than the P12 2015. Even though it is stated to be 1,000 lumens, I have seen it get rated as low as 860 lumens. If that is not a problem for you, than I would definitely go with the MH12. The great thing about the MH12 is that built in charger. If you are on the go, you can just plug it into your laptop or your car to give it a bit of extra juice. I use the P12 2015 because it is actually overall my favorite light out there. I feel it has a perfect balance between throw and flood. I can see a great wide area with it and still see far distances. I live in Virginia so there are a lot of trees; with that being said I don't need an insane throw flashlight.
I would choose the P12GT over both of them in a heartbeat if there was no delay. I use the momentary to quickly illuminate things at night with my P12, so having to wait a half second is a complete deal breaker for me for an EDC light. The P12 2015 also does better on battery life than the P12GT. It may not look like much of a difference, but if you read the fine print you see that it is. The P12 is rated at 1 hour 15 minutes on a 2600 mAh battery, whereas the P12GT is rated at 1 hour with a 3400 mAh battery.

Overall it just comes down to what your use for it will be. Do you need really far throw? P12GT. Do you want a very quick activation when you press the button? P12 2015 or MH12. Do you care about the possibility of having more lumens? P12 2015 or P12GT. Do you want to recharge your light without having to take the battery out? MH12

I choose the P12 2015 just because it is what suits MY needs.

Hopefully this helped somewhat and wasn't all just blabber!

CelticCross74 said:

check out the other two P12GT threads. I just took apart the switch on my new GT and replaced the NC switch cover with one from a PD35. No more spongy switch and response is better. Another trick people do to lower the switch is to take apart the switch, take the washer that holds the switch cover in place, take it to a hardware store and have it matched except that the new washer(or washers you may want to try different thicknesses to find what works for you)is thicker than stock which will lower the switch and give you more immediate response. Im pretty happy with my PD35 cover.

Out of the lights you mentioned I would get the GT. You may or may not have the delay issue. I really didnt have a delay issue I just didnt like the spongy switch. Now it is nice and crisp as the PD35 cover is just enough shorter to make the difference for me. The performance of the GT is quite impressive. No it doesnt do 33k CD I would put it at 25-27kCD. Still the beams on all modes are excellent and having something that throws like that coming out of a 25.4mm head is amazing.

Click to expand...

So if I get the GT and the PD35 switch cover, will it eliminate the delay and make it like the P12 2015 and MH12, or will there still be some sort of delay?

Also, does anyone know the difference in runtimes if you were to put a 3400 mAh battery in the P12 2015/MH12 vs the 2600 mAh battery the specs are based on?

Is the better throw from the P12GT actually 63% better than the other 2 like it says on paper, and is there any difference in spill between the 3?

Lastly, I've read the rubber cover for the charging port on the MH12 pops off too easily, is that true?

Thanks, sorry for all the questions.

a 3400mah cell in the regular P12/MH12 would result in an average of 20% more run time which is really good.

No, the P12GT does not do 33k CD. To my eyes and compared to my ET T25C2 HI which does do 33kCD Id put it at 25-27k CD. Some guy in a German light forum only got 22.5k CD.

Surprisingly the spill actually is the same from the 3.

MH12 USB port cover youve gotta keep an eye on to make sure it stays in place.

I just did the PD35 switch cover switch this morning. The PD35 switch cover is shorter enough to take up the spongy response I had from the stock cover. It quite honestly is now more responsive than my PD35 lol. The only delay I got out of the stock switch was due to slack/soft switch. Other than that as long as I pressed hard there was no delay issue. Now it is crisp and tight and very responsive.

TA_ls1 said:

Also, does anyone know the difference in runtimes if you were to put a 3400 mAh battery in the P12 2015/MH12 vs the 2600 mAh battery the specs are based on?

Is the better throw from the P12GT actually 63% better than the other 2 like it says on paper, and is there any difference in spill between the 3?

Lastly, I've read the rubber cover for the charging port on the MH12 pops off too easily, is that true?

Thanks, sorry for all the questions.

Click to expand...

supposedly it isn't too much of a problem if the MH12 cover comes off. It is said to still be waterproof; however I would not test that personally!

TA_ls1 said:

Also, does anyone know the difference in runtimes if you were to put a 3400 mAh battery in the P12 2015/MH12 vs the 2600 mAh battery the specs are based on?

Is the better throw from the P12GT actually 63% better than the other 2 like it says on paper, and is there any difference in spill between the 3?

Lastly, I've read the rubber cover for the charging port on the MH12 pops off too easily, is that true?

Thanks, sorry for all the questions.

Click to expand...

also, even though Nitecore rated the lights as lasting "1 hour 15 minutes" on high, most reviewers have shown the P12 2015 to last around 5-5 1/2 hours on highs the output drops, but the battery lasts that long

So now my girlfriend was watching as I have been researching, and she decided to buy the MH12. Now I can compare either the P12 or P12gt to it once I decide. The only thing I'm now hung up on is the trade off between throw and runtimes. Is the runtime between the P12 and GT really that noticeable? I'm leaning towards the GT if the runtime isn't too bad. My concern is the 3400 mAh (GT) vs the 2600 mAh (P12) and the fact that the P12 could have 20% more runtime if using 3400 mAh.

It also doesn't help that I saw a post for the MH27 and am now interested in that too, it may be a little big, but looks really nice and beats the P12GT by 100m throw while offering similar runtimes and is rechargeable. Can that light be pocketed comfortably? Should I also consider this with the other 2? Argh, I'm too indecisive and there's too many cool lights out there!

twentysixtwo said:

I have posted a video showing the delay on the P12GT. I'd say it's barely noticeable until you compare side to side with an incandescent or something like the Surefire U2... In my opinion it's definitely shorter than half a second. I tried to see if it was a longer delay if the flashlight had sat for a while (as though there was some sort of capacitor or other circuit that had to energize) and did not observe any difference.

In a perfect world it would come on as quickly as the Surefire U2, but if that's the price of hitting 1000 lumens, so be it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO4B_gJiopw

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TA_ls1 said:

So now my girlfriend was watching as I have been researching, and she decided to buy the MH12. Now I can compare either the P12 or P12gt to it once I decide. The only thing I'm now hung up on is the trade off between throw and runtimes. Is the runtime between the P12 and GT really that noticeable? I'm leaning towards the GT if the runtime isn't too bad. My concern is the 3400 mAh (GT) vs the 2600 mAh (P12) and the fact that the P12 could have 20% more runtime if using 3400 mAh.

It also doesn't help that I saw a post for the MH27 and am now interested in that too, it may be a little big, but looks really nice and beats the P12GT by 100m throw while offering similar runtimes and is rechargeable. Can that light be pocketed comfortably? Should I also consider this with the other 2? Argh, I'm too indecisive and there's too many cool lights out there!

Click to expand...

I think whichever light you pick, you will probably be happy with it. The P12 and P12GT are both really great lights. Ask yourself this question, do you NEED the throw? That was something I struggled with. I always wanted to have a little pocket size light that had crazy throw so that I could show off to my friends and be like "Look at my light!" But do I NEED it? No. I am pretty much never in a situation where I need 367 meters of throw. The P12 2015 has been more than enough for any real-world use I have needed it in. Sure, it's awesome to say your 1"x5.5" light can throw crazy distances, but is it really NEEDED?
It depends on where you live and how you will be using it. But for me, The P12 2015 is a better choice because of price and what I realistically use it for. Plus the throw on the P12 is still really great.

Thanks for all your help, I appreciate it. I will order this weekend once I make a decision.

my P12GT is my 3rd P12. Im still very happy with the concentrated beam on my GT but the 2015 P12 is still a great light and better than the original P12. Beam profile out of all 3 P12's is the same width so you get plenty of spill regardless. Hot spot on the GT is of course a bit smaller and much more well defined. The GT does not do 33k CD more like 25k but still is impressive as hell coming out of such a small reflector. I wish I knew why runtimes are so much shorter on the GT I guess the XP-L HI V3 really is just driven that much harder. My last advice to you would be to invest in either Orbtronic or Keeppower 3500mah 10 amp 18650's for whatever you get. The 3500mah 10 amp cell feeds whatever amperage the light wants to pull without breaking a sweat and they hold their charge better than my 3600mah Orbs.

How do the nitecore 3400 mah batteries match up?

TA_ls1 said:

How do the nitecore 3400 mah batteries match up?

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I have heard that Nitecore batteries are good, but the most common response I read for the "best" 18650's are the Panasonic 3400 mAh 18650's.
just always make sure to get button top cells! If they are flat top, they won't work in a lot of lights without modifying the light! I.E. The P12 and P12GT because of the physical reverse polarity protection.