Nitecore D10 / EX10 - Is it what you expected?

[Ritch]

My EX10 arrived yesterday. After cleaning and lubing the relevant parts I was playing with it yesterday night.
Result 1: My thumbs are paining
Result 2: Well machined, good beam characteristics. If you have agile thumbs, the UI is almost excellent. There is only one issue, I can't ramp down from high on momentary mode - why?
Nevertheless the EX10 is my new EDC.

edit: Ramping down from high-problem on momentary mode solved. In this case you need a feelingly thumb
I am very happy with my EX10.

> richard

 

[Paul6ppca]

Result 2: Well machined, good beam characteristics. If you have agile thumbs, the UI is almost excellent. There is only one issue, I can't ramp down from high on momentary mode - why?



> richard

How did you make it work?

 

[lightsandknives]

I didn't vote because there wasn't a "met my expectations" category. Thankfully, I had read enough reviews, comments, gripes, etc. on the two lights, I felt like I knew pretty much what I was going to be getting, and it just just about as I expected.

A permanent memory, a slightly longer time to get your double clicks/click holds done, and for me personally, just a touch more flood, and I'd be one happier camper. Still happy though!!

 

[Ritch]

How did you make it work?

If you are in momentary high, press the piston fully, then release a little bit (the light must not be turned off), press fully and hold. The light will ramp down.

> richard

 

[Oddjob]

The lights were pretty much what I expcted. From what I have read I am lucky to have received lights that have no issues such as the high pitched humming, excessive lube, or afterglow. I'm not as bothered by the lack of a set primary level as I thought I was going to be. Hopefully future versions will have a low voltage warning and a clip. Nice light overall especially for the price.

 

[Paul6ppca]

If you are in momentary high, press the piston fully, then release a little bit (the light must not be turned off), press fully and hold. The light will ramp down.

> richard

cool it works,I was letting up enough for it to turn off,needs steady even pressure.

Thanks

 

[RGB_LED]

I voted 'somewhat better' as there was a lot of posts and information about the light just prior to, and after, its release so my expectations were already set. I purchased both the D10 and EX10 but the following are my thoughts on the EX10 (although most of it - aside from the size comparison - also applies to the D10:

Impressed by:
- Small size (little less than my P2D)
- Knurling is really clean and quite noticeable
- PD function feels very solid and UI is fairly easy to commit to memory
- Versatile UI (I won't repeat the functions as previous threads talk about it in detail)
- Quick access to low and high output levels
- Decent price for such a quality light
- Well-made and great overall quality

Disappointed by:
- If you use momentary, it ramps up to high after a second or so, then user-defined level is lost and light defaults to high when it's turned on the next time
- Hotspot on my P2D-Q5 is slightly brighter then the EX10
- Blinking when double-, triple-pressing
- Runtimes
- No holster

The UI did take some getting used to but, once I committed to memory, it was a piece of cake to figure out how to get to a certain function. I'm not a fan of infinite ramping of output (prefer just a low-mid-high) but it does allow you to customize a level for any given situation. I was a bit disappointed that the hotspot appears just a tad dimmer than my P2D, but this is really nitpicking as I don't expect this light to be a thrower but, I did notice it.

I also liked the momentary functionality and the easy access to the low and high output settings, although I was surprised that, if you have a user-defined light level, then decide that you want to use momentary, once you hold momentary for more than a second, it ramps to high... at which point, your user-defined level is now at high. :duh2: I was hoping that the retaining of the user-defined level was separate from the momentary low / high.

Final little nitpicks... there was no holster which was surprising but not that big a deal. :thinking: Runtimes are a bit lower compared to P2D but I have read in other posts and reviews that the Fenix lights were king of runtimes due to its simplicity and use of resistor for managing light levels.

Overall, I like the heft and feel as well as the PD function and the price is very reasonable for the quality of the light. I will be doing more of a comparision between all my 1AA lights later this weekend but I have decided to replace my P2D with the EX10 starting this weekend to see how it performs as an EDC light.

 

[HKJ]

I also liked the momentary functionality and the easy access to the low and high output settings, although I was surprised that, if you have a user-defined light level, then decide that you want to use momentary, once you hold momentary for more than a second, it ramps to high... at which point, your user-defined level is now at high. :duh2: I was hoping that the retaining of the user-defined level was separate from the momentary low / high.

Do not press so hard in momentary and it will stay at the set level.

 

[4sevens]

Do not press so hard in momentary and it will stay at the set level.

Or if you're hitting the 2nd stage too early, back off the head
some more

 

[MarNav1]

Hey 4sevens, any chance of a Seoul version? Whoops, off topic. My apologies.

 

[4sevens]

Hey 4sevens, any chance of a Seoul version?

No way. If you've followed my posts in the past you've read my opinion on Seoul.
Seoul's only advantage is the easily focusable beam. Seoul gets their die's
from Cree anyway. If you read the specs, they are inferior to Cree XRE's
(high thermal resistance - the litmus test of power led's). This mean you can't
drive them as hard and they will not last as long compared to comparable LED's
given the same parameters.

The phenomen of those Seoul's turning blue when driven hard or improperly
heatsinked indicates permanent damage! Anyways why buy a repacked cree
when you can get original cree's?

Anyway, short answer is no. However, just a little hint. Something is in the
works that is neither Cree nor Seoul that performs on par or better than the
Cree XR-E yet has better CRI and has a perfect beam - even better than
seoul lights. I've never seen a smoother beam yet with a tight spot. I have
a pre-production unit as we speak. That is all I will say for now

 

[yekim]

Dangit 7777's, you are going to cause permanent damage to my wallet.

 

[HKJ]

Anyway, short answer is no. However, just a little hint. Something is in the
works that is neither Cree nor Seoul that performs on par or better than the
Cree XR-E yet has better CRI and has a perfect beam - even better than
seoul lights. I've never seen a smoother beam yet with a tight spot. I have
a pre-production unit as we speak. That is all I will say for now

It sound like I need another flashlight :devil:.

I hope it is a cheap one, but probably not!

 

[Lite_me]

Anyway, short answer is no. However, just a little hint. Something is in the
works that is neither Cree nor Seoul that performs on par or better than the
Cree XR-E yet has better CRI and has a perfect beam - even better than
seoul lights. I've never seen a smoother beam yet with a tight spot. I have
a pre-production unit as we speak. That is all I will say for now

Cancel my order for the NiteCores!!


....Just kidding.

 

[Daniel_sk]

Something is in the
works that is neither Cree nor Seoul that performs on par or better than the
Cree XR-E yet has better CRI and has a perfect beam - even better than
seoul lights. I've never seen a smoother beam yet with a tight spot. I have
a pre-production unit as we speak. That is all I will say for now

Osram Dragon LED? (tight spot, good CRI).
More info please ...

 

[digitaleos]

4-Sevens, your getting better at getting in my wallet than my daughter.

Chris

P.S. Spill the beans already would ya.

 

[NetGod3Com]

I love this EX10... I have been playing with it for over a week now and have found nothing to improve about it, especially after all the reading I have done on the board about the idea behind the design.

I do ask one thing though.... 4Sevens, would you consider adding a 2 cell version to the family?

 

[marschw]

Osram Dragon LED? (tight spot, good CRI).
More info please ...

Maybe the 183- or 136-series Nichias?

 

[raz-0]

Ok, I don't post often, because I don't take flashlights quite as seriously/obsessively as most of the crowd here.

I got my EX10, and a D10 is on backorder.

The build quality of the light is great, one of the few lights where the build quality doesn't let the pretty product shots down.

The light output is a compromise with it's size, but that isn't unexpected. What was is that it is bested (slightly) by my fenix P1D CE. The refelector is actually smaller, and although smoother due to the OP finish, it's not quite as goof.

The UI is quite nice with a couple of caveats. I do appreciate that you can set it up in a dead simple click it and go mode multiple ways. It's jsut grab it and use it. The ramping makes it very usable for tasks where bright would be too bright. The only thing I DON'T like about it is the tolerance on double clicking. It's a bit too short, and it'd likely work well with some eased timings. However, I don't know if it would exacerbate the one thing I found wrong with it that I consider genuinely wrong. Which is that depending on how far it is unscrewed, manually strobing the light in momentary mode can confuse the crap out of the light and cuased it to go to minimum lgihting and start flickering weirdly.

I never expected it to be perfect, and it definitely isn't, but I'm fairly impressed with it.

 

[alibaba]

Anyway, short answer is no. However, just a little hint. Something is in the
works that is neither Cree nor Seoul that performs on par or better than the
Cree XR-E yet has better CRI and has a perfect beam - even better than
seoul lights. I've never seen a smoother beam yet with a tight spot. I have
a pre-production unit as we speak. That is all I will say for now

Hmmmm, this is why I (usually) never buy the "light that everybody's talking about"! I broke my rule for the 1st time with the D10, which I'm mostly happy with, but then here we go...............................TWO WEEKS after they shipped here is a "hint" about a NEW AND IMPROVED version. I'm just sure that they'll fix the little quirks so that we'll all want to buy the new one. 4-7's, I love my D10 and you've always given me great service but it's just wrong to play us like that man. Already the posts are starting "I'm sold, I need this new one, I'm going broke". LOL, a finely tuned fiddle indeed........................................