Nitecore TM10K

Fireclaw18

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Yeah that TM10K looks nice. Flat rectangular shape. Fairly small. Looks small enough to easily fit in a pocket actually, though probably still too big for pocket EDC.

And incredible output! 10,000 lumens max from 6x XHP35... from a SINGLE cell light. The cell it comes with is very nice too (Samsung 48g... one of the best 21700 cells). The only other lights that hit that level of output tend to be much larger multi-18650 coke-can lights.

The downsides?
Costs $400! YIKES!!!!
Samsung 48G is built-in and not replaceable (at least not without desoldering the battery).
10,000 lumen turbo only lasts 7 seconds!!! I wonder if you can override the rampdown by holding the button down like you can with the Concept 1?

Even with the 7-seconds of turbo I'd still have been interested in buying this light, but $400 for a single light is way outa my price range.
 

Equitymind

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Well I WAS super interested until you mentioned the price, sheesh. Plus Nitecore cool whites aren't the most pleasing on the eyes. I could probably be swayed if it were to come in a neutral tint around 5000K since I paid almost that for my Olight XR7 with batteries for 9000 lm (in neutral!) but it's considerably larger which is why the TM10K looks so attractive.
 

thermal guy

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Wow very interesting but, the throw is horrible. 90 meters at 1000 lumen setting. Yuck.
 

Zak

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Non-removable battery. $400. Max mode is an overload on said battery. This is a disposable light, and likely to be a pretty short-lived one at that. Just no.

But it only took a year for somebody to beat the Emisar D4's time to thermal throttle. Good work, Nitecore.
 

InvisibleFrodo

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The non removable battery is a deal breaker for me because it severely limits the lifespan of the light. The issues with current seem silly to me at 7 seconds that turbo is pretty much only good for blinding someone or something, showing off, or a last ditch effort at getting attention. (Kinda like an SOS)

Hate to say it but the tint snob in me would only buy this light in V54 form.

Realistically this is a light that has an adjustable high between 400-2000 lumens that can actually run continuously at least for a little bit at those higher settings, with a 10,000 lumens for 7 seconds trick for doing whatever it is you're doing for those 7 seconds.
 

mcfarlie6996

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The cell it comes with is very nice too (Samsung 48g... one of the best 21700 cells).

I disagree. It's only a 10A continuous battery while the light needs 35A to acheive the 10K. Even Mooch rates it at 10A. A Samsung 40T or Sony VTC6A 21700 (both 4000mAh and ~30A cont.) would have been a better choice at the cost of runtime. But then again, Turbo will only turn on for 7 seconds which is why you don't necessarily need a higher drain battery. Personally I would have liked to see 2x18650 (or 21700) format instead for the better performance.
 

Beckler

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There was a post here from 'Sysmax Ind.' today introducing TM10K and I replied to it and now the whole thing is gone? Don't know what happened - maybe because I was somewhat critical?
 

Equitymind

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LOL, I thought it was odd that I was able to get the jump on such a potentially controversial light on the day Nitecore made their announcement. I haven't been following lights lately having been content with my Zebralights over the last year but then I lost my favorite of my 5 so I figured it was time to see what had changed in the past year. OMG, Zebralight Mk IV series, Emisar D4 and D4S and now the TM10K. So much has changed!
 

markr6

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Jul 16, 2012
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Yeah, Nitecore posted a nice thread about it with all the pics. I was dying to reply but like archimedes said, in the wrong location. I didn't want to steal their thunder by posting yesterday, but they're still MIA, so let it roll! Reddit and BLF already had a lot of (entertaining) comments yesterday as well. Most seem to be on the same page with this one.

Looks like a horrible light IMO. Most of the points were already made, so I'll just add that the "10,000 LUMENS!!" on the side of the light has to be a joke! Insane.
 
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Beckler

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Most of the points were already made, so I'll just add that the "10,000 LUMENS!!" on the side of the light has to be a joke! Insane.

:D Yup that's what I had commented also, asking them please delete that since it's totally ridiculous. Embarassaing, actually! Also I suggested next variation, a TM11K with 2 cells (side by side) which doesn't even change pocketability but with half the current, might allow replaceable cells. More mass or cooling too, for longer 10k runtime since 7sec is almost useless. Lastly the customizable High feature is excellent and should be available for all levels.
 

markr6

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:D Yup that's what I had commented also, asking them please delete that since it's totally ridiculous. Embarassaing, actually!


Or at least go all out while you're at it...

TM10K_kitty.jpg


Not to defend it, but we're obviously beyond the point of trying to justify the "burst" mode here. 7 seconds is clearly not practical on any planet. Anyone that thinks otherwise is just lying to themselves. It's the clearest form of marketing lumen wars of all time. And we thought the 5-10 minutes with stepdown on other lights was cheating!
 
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Beckler

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:D!

On the 10K turbo you're right about marketing but the way to look at it is it's just a 2000-lumen light with a bonus mode for fun and could still be useful. So it's a "might as well" feature, better than not having it.

In fact one use I just realized is as a camera flash. :) It's actually just right, gives you time to compose a shot then take the picture.
 

markr6

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But if they didn't have the 10,000 mode, maybe they could have been able to use a replaceable 21700 cell. But I could be wrong about that.

$400, even $200, is too much for me to invest in a light with a "sealed" battery.
 

Beckler

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Do we have a link to confirm $400? USD400?! That's flippin' crazy and to hell with this light then... :D

Then again, the delusional crowds over at the surefire threads are thinking, "That's all? Wow..."
 
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markr6

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I think the $400 came from some guessing around the web. I don't know of anything confirmed yet. I like my $200 guess...but not betting anything on that.

p.s. Actually, if the Concept 2 is $199, maybe $299+ would be more in line for this. Either way, it's out of my budget!
 
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markr6

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Drop the 10K mode, swap CW for NW or even Nichia, and of course no Hello Kitty on the side :)

Still an interesting light and I look forward to some reviews!
 

Ocelot808

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Aug 17, 2018
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Greetings All !

I've been a Nitecore fan for years and owned several models, with the MH23 and SR7GT my favorites.

Initially excited by a new release, out of the box (away from the tube light) thinking appeared to be really appealing, until reading the details, the waters got quite muddy.

Foremost, the unusual rectangular form factor and "non-removable" cell design made me think it had a proprietary high-current rectangular LiPoly or some such. In fact using the excellent Samsung 48G 4800mAH 21700 cylinder cell is a fantastic choice for high current (35A continuous) and long runtime, but I thought there would be 2 cells, not just one...

Nitecore claims 100mOhm was the best contact spring resistance they could achieve with a design allowing replaceable cells, so they opted to build in the excellent 48G Samsung with welded contacts to lower the resistance by a factor of 5 to 20 mOhm, maximizing current delivery.

A nice evolutionary step forward, It also features a USB-C charging port at 18W and rapid charge circuit with a charge time of 30 minutes, eliminating the 2.1A bottleneck of conventional micro USB charge ports.

The design is meant to optimize current capacity match to the driver array, providing a stable 100W of power. Alas, the SEVEN SECOND fixed timer for (10,000 LUMENS !!!) is a crushing disappointment. In fact, the default high level is just 1000 lumens with a max 2 hour runtime AT THAT OUTPUT. Only a bit more than most single 18650 XPL designs.

The high level can be programmed between 400 and 2000 lumens in 100 lumen increments. It has a nifty OLED status display. Not confirmed, but it has a (nosebleed) $400 MSRP price tag, NOT for the faint of heart. Last, color options, Henry Ford Black HA-III, that's IT (sigh)

Most alarmingly, really disappointing lackluster candela measurements. Only 2,050cd (!!!) at the default High output setting of 1,000 lumens (for 2 hrs). 25,000cd for the Seven Seconds of 10k lumen TURBO!!

Overall, a radical departure from the tube light norm, likely a midrange "wall of light" Uber flood design, with a very high price tag given its limitations. Regrettably I think it's Nitecore's response to the misleading Lumen Wars marketing trend, despite several innovations.



Cheers!
 
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