NITECORE P12GT TORTURE TEST

Alright, so I have heard people say that Nitecore has cheap build quality and you want to be careful with their lights. I definitely think that has changed. Here is an example:
This is my P12GT. I wrote a review on this fantastic light a while ago. Well, I have dropped several Nitecore lights before and nothing has happened to them so I figured it was time to put some proof out there that a Nitecore flashlight is no fragile object. I decided to do a torture test with my P12GT. This included putting it in water, throwing it around, dropping it many times straight onto tile and concrete, using it as a hammer, and just banging it all around. Of course I sanded it a little bit too just for style points. This thing held up like a beast. Still works like it's brand new. Of course this does not mean go and toss your Nitecore onto asphalt, but hopefully it is some reassurance that when you purchase a Nitecore, you are buying a quality and lasting flashlight.
I plan to freeze it in a block of ice as well. I have seen it done before to the P12 2015 and the light was still on inside the ice block.






















EDIT:
Ice block test was successful. The P12GT survived being frozen in an ice block with the light on.

Tough light. Good thread!

Lights should come standard with that finish

Well judging from your test the small wire that breaks off inside the older P12 when dropped is no longer a problem. I would have liked a short video of the torture too.
Thanks for posting.

Haha love the block of ice. Might try that out with a few of my own lights!

Lou Minescence said:

Well judging from your test the small wire that breaks off inside the older P12 when dropped is no longer a problem. I would have liked a short video of the torture too.
Thanks for posting.

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I might post a video!
What's the small wire I've heard rumors about? Didn't they fix that in the 2015 version?

BugoutBoys said:

I might post a video!
What's the small wire I've heard rumors about? Didn't they fix that in the 2015 version?

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I forget exactly but some P12 owners talked about there light hitting the coffee table or floor and it quit. Others opened up their lights to discover a broken wire was why the light failed after a drop. Thats why I held off buying the P12 until the GT version. I couldn't resist anymore.

Great testing and pictures goes to show they have fixed some major problems!

Still going to take some time for me to be comfortable with Nitecore's but this is reassuring. I too would have like a video but these pics are a good start, thanks for doing this!

Have had one of these since Xmas. Threads seem a bit loose. The clip has sharp edges that contact the body and scratch up the anno (which doesn't seem especially tough). It sometimes gets HOT (threshold of pain) running on high, which makes me wonder about the "T" functionality. The blinking low power indicator is a bit wonky. Projects an artifact that looks like a yellow-hued Froot Loop in the beam center. Seems durable enough, but I'd still give it a B vs a good USA light.

GOOD TEST,GOOD PRODUCT,AND GOOD QUALITY !
THANKS FOR SHARING

Honestly, my p12gt has been sitting around since the mh20gt and SDminiVN made their appearances.

Good to know it can take a beating if I ever fall back on it. Apparently I stumbled on this flashlight phase just around the time nitecore had pulled themselves together because I'm seeing all this hate toward them but all my nitecore lights have been solid to me. Hopefully they keep it up!

Durability testing is impossible and pretty meaningless on a single light. From the photos the side switch appears untouched despite all the damage to the anodising. That rubber switch cover is a weak link, and had the drop test resulted in a sharp corner striking the side switch (or lens) directly the result could be very different, even if you put several lights through the same tests, one or more might fail, but several keep going. It becomes a matter of luck.

LED lights are a bit like other modern digital technology as they tend to either work or not. 'Still working like new' simply means 'still working'.

So your P12GT still works after your stress testing. This does not mean that a NITECORE TM06 would (or any other NITECORE model). Maybe the P12GT is a tough model, or maybe not. Deciding this would need much more testing and an examination of the internals.

Taken in isolation, it is great to see a beaten-up light still going, but there could just as easily be a 'My NITECORE fell of my desk and stopped working' thread.

It is a pity you sanded it for an 'enhanced style' as it disguises the true battle scars.

This is by no means a bash at NITECORE as I have loads of their lights and so far not a single failure (might be tempting fate there). My TUBEs have been carried on keyrings and bashed about a lot, and they still work perfectly.

No one should assume their P12GT will survive the same tests, and for a highly durable light, I would not pick one with an exposed side switch.

Fun to see, and thanks for sharing, but this report must be taken for what it really is - a single report for a single model. If we have several more reports of the P12GT surviving extreme conditions then we can start to build a picture.

subwoofer said:

Durability testing is impossible and pretty meaningless on a single light.

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Exactly what I was going to say. You take 500 people that have a nice car, let's say a BMW. The one person that got a lemon will complain to no end and say it's the biggest POS ever. Waste of $45,000. Stay away from BMW because they suck.

I can probably buy a $2 LED at the checklane at Walgreens and beat it up. Even if it still worked, it wouldn't be saying much.

I own/owned plenty of Nitecores and generally happy with them, but not impressed.

markr6 said:

Exactly what I was going to say. You take 500 people that have a nice car, let's say a BMW. The one person that got a lemon will complain to no end and say it's the biggest POS ever. Waste of $45,000. Stay away from BMW because they suck.

I can probably buy a $2 LED at the checklane at Walgreens and beat it up. Even if it still worked, it wouldn't be saying much.

I own/owned plenty of Nitecores and generally happy with them, but not impressed.

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I did the same torture test with 2 other P12s that I own and they both still passed with flying colors. The outside is all scratched and beat up but the light is still working perfectly. Plenty of concrete and asphalt throws and drops. They still work!

I have examined my P12's closely. The GT actually does seem to have better anodizing, feels better in the hand and with its XP-L emitter and thermal regulation has stouter electronics.