Nitecore Gold Dragon plus?

[bgiddins]

Oh and by the looks of things it seems some are gonna pull out there hair when the EX20 gets announced!

Is the EX20 like an F19? :laughing:

 

[LED-holic]

Daddy ?

Is that you ?

Luke, I am your father! :nana:


Over the weekend while hiking my wife complained that her E01 was too weak. She wanted a bright light like what I use.

So I tried giving a D10 to my wife to use, but she preferred the L1D. So now I carry 2 D10s instead of a D10 and a L1D for my EDC/back up.

I am looking forward to a GDP+ D10 once the clips come in stock, so I can order one to try out.

As things stand, I now have a spare D10 in my travel bag, and carry 2 D10s as my EDC. I will like to have another D10 to keep as a spare in the drawer for friends / family to use as they need.

 

[brucec]

Is the EX20 like an F19? :laughing:

I think it is the version where they upgraded the "1" to a "2".

Or maybe the version where they upgraded the piston.

Or maybe the version where they upgraded the clip.

Or maybe the version where they upgraded the holster.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

Sweet clip!
Probably sold me right there. Now all that's left is a bigger tube that can hold more power. :devil: And a tritium slot of course.

 

[gadgetnerd]

Damn this thread - I just went and preordered a D10. Even if the UI bugs aren't worked out, the improvement in beam will be worth it.

Hmm, that'll be 2 D10's and 3 LF5XT's I'll have to find a productive use for...

 

[BabyDoc]

Does anyone know how the GD LED compares to the R2 in terms of color rendition? I am very happy with my LiteFlux LF5XT's R2 emitter. Even though it is a white beam, it seems to give better better color rendition with a much smoother beam than my warmer Q5 NDI.

Does anyone know what the CRI is of the R2 ? I would love a good excuse to buy the Golden Dragon Plus. Better color rendition than the R2 would make me pull the trigger.

 

[Badbeams3]

Seems to be a lot of confussion...and me too.

Does the lower FV mean a longer run time?

Is more energy put into the spot...less in the spill? More throw?

Is the spill wider?

:thinking::candle:

 

[WadeF]

Does anyone know what the CRI is of the R2 ? I would love a good excuse to buy the Golden Dragon Plus. Better color rendition than the R2 would make me pull the trigger.

A Cree R2 should have no better CRI than a Q5, Q2, P4, etc. However, depending on the tint you have, it may render colors in a way that is more preferrable to you.

The GDP is supposed to have a CRI of 80, the Cree XR-E a CRI of 75.

I have a EX10 GDP on pre-order. I'll post my thoughts when it gets here. I can tell you the Golden Dragon LED's in my little Sylvania under cabinent / closet lights render colors much better and more accurately than my Cree's. It may not be up to the Sun Drop's LED's standards, but hopefully it's a small step in the right direction.

 

[WadeF]

Seems to be a lot of confussion...and me too.

Does the lower FV mean a longer run time?

Is more energy put into the spot...less in the spill? More throw?

Is the spill wider?

:thinking::candle:

Not sure about the Vf, hopefully it will run a little cooler.

As far as the beam, that's mostly up to the reflector. However, it appears to have a cleaner beam. My guess is the hot spot will be slightly weaker with the GDP, when compared to a Cree Q5. The spill might be a little brighter, but the big difference will be the transition from hot spot to spill will be smoother with no obvious dark rings. 4sevens has posted beam shots which show this.

 

[kaichu dento]

Like I said, we have no idea what the real situation was. We can speculate all we want and moan and groan, but we're adults and we should take responsibility for our own actions.

4sevens has proven to be an incredible seller who tries to satisfy even the most critical buyer, so to place rumors of unethical seller practices on him is in poor taste, imho.

We can speculate and diss 4sevens and even nitecore all we want, but in the end we do ourselves a disservice. What if they do release a new light, and then figure out an improvement? Would you want them to withhold that improvement so we can feel better about our selves? I'd want new innovations to come out as soon as possible, than hurt ourselves by denying us access to new technology just to make us feel better.

Like I said, I dove in with 3 purchases of the Q5 D10s, and I have no regrets. To play the "victim" is not fair to ourselves or to the seller.

IMHO this type of discussion is truly going to hurt us, and our relationship with 4sevens and other manufacturers / sellers. They're placed in a no-win situation. This is a business. Businesses introduce new / improved products as they see fit, according to demand. To denounce these practices is not productive, and will hurt us all. We will have much more limited access to future information, and the sellers / manufacturers will see us like little babies who can't handle the responsibility of making our own buying decisions.

+1

This part of the discussion reminds me of a book I read years ago about differences between Japanese and American marketing practices. To paraphrase it essentially was stated that in both markets research is ongoing and while separate from marketing, the way new product was handled was diametrically opposed.

In America, by and large, new product is set on the shelves until the old product appears to no longer be viable, whereas in Japan the new product was made available once it was ready, regardless of how recently the previous new product had been released.

This is of course a simplified synopsis, but shows some of the basic marketing differences around the world, and I think it applies directly here, thankfully.

I wouldn't want 4 sevens to hold off on new product just because he thought there may be something else new in the close future, or that he may get lynched on CPF either!

 

[BabyDoc]

Well, I had some bad news, and now good news. The bad news was that when I went to my secondary office yesterday, I discovered that my trusted NDI was stolen of my desk. I had locked the office, so I suspect and can't proved that janitorial help took it.

The good news is I have a good excuse to order the Golden Dragon version of the NDI. So I just did. The NDI has served me faithfully for months as my EDC and just can't imagine not having it around, even if some other light like the LiteFlux LF5XT I got last week temporarily becomes my EDC. You don't just disgard old friends when you make new ones, do you?

You might ask, why not wait to get the GOLDEN DRAGON D10 or the EX10 instead? Well, I preordered those also. If the color rendition of GD NDI isn't as great as I hope it to be, I'll cancel the order on the GD D10 and EX10? If the GD LED is great, I won't mind having all of the lights. Which one will win out as my EDC remains to be seen.

 

[selfbuilt]

FYI, NiteCore will be sending me Gold Dragon Plus versions of their SmartPD lights to test.

Not sure of the timeframe as yet, but I will prioritize these for testing when they come in. I'll give you a full throw, output, runtime, etc. comparison, and let you know what I think of the tint and color rendition outdoors.

In the meantime, you can check out my latest review of the competition: the ITP C9. Performance is very similar to EX10, although with even better low mode runtimes (of course, some of that could just be Vf variability ...)

:wave:

 

[Badbeams3]

FYI, NiteCore will be sending me Gold Dragon Plus versions of their SmartPD lights to test.

Not sure of the timeframe as yet, but I will prioritize these for testing when they come in. I'll give you a full throw, output, runtime, etc. comparison, and let you know what I think of the tint and color rendition outdoors.

:wave:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[spgrk]

The GDP LED looks like a Luxeon Rebel, in physical size and beam profile. Rebels are also known for their better colour rendition. Do the GDP's have any advantage over the Rebels?

 

[Jarl]

They're available

 

[Badbeams3]

They're available

What do you mean?

 

[Jarl]

rebels are still having a couple of problems with regard to being mass produced, which is a pity as I'd like to see more lights using them. The golden dragons don't seem to be having such issues (because they're in use in a couple of different lights)

 

[LED-holic]

I see what you mean Jarl. Yes, being available is very important. LOL

I would love to have a rebel 100 light, but alas, I can find none to order easily...

 

[4sevens]

rebels are still having a couple of problems with regard to being mass produced, which is a pity as I'd like to see more lights using them. The golden dragons don't seem to be having such issues (because they're in use in a couple of different lights)

If you look at the rebel's thermal resistance rating, it's inferior to the Cree
and GDP. Less thermal resistance translates to how much harder you can push
the lead because the junction temp will be lower. It also translates to the
longevity of the LED since heat is their nemesis.

 

[juplin]

I see what you mean Jarl. Yes, being available is very important. LOL

I would love to have a rebel 100 light, but alas, I can find none to order easily...

Many of the Rebel flashlights are still available.
http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.919
I own one Knight EVL Rebel 0100 that is among the top list of AAA flashlights.