Almost immediately after receiving my replacement hinges, the first one broke. Afraid to use the second one, my NU30 has sat idle for nearly the past year. Sad.
I get that this is my fault for not following up, so Iāve reached out to Nitecore again, to see if they have done anything to resolve the issue. Iām hoping they have started using different materials, but Iām not holding my breath. Taking RobertBās advice (liked your old avatar better, FWIW), Iāve asked that in lieu of a materials/design change, if they could possibly provide me with hinges of a different color, as RobertB has reported no issues with his green unit.
In the interim, it pains me to see the NU30 just sitting on my desk, unusable so Iāve come up with a possible fix. Parts needed are a tube of superglue, a pair of scissors and an old credit card. It turns out that if you cut a strip from your typical credit card, then cut it in half, itās just about the perfect length for the fix I have in mind. Itās not terribly technical so Iām just posting a pic of the āfixā. Note: This is just a short term fix. It appears that the black hinges are made of particularly brittle plastic and if that is the case, it is just a matter of time before the rest of the hinge unit begins to crack as well. Come on, Nitecore, please step up to the plate!
Some basic advice: If your piece is already broken, Iād glue the tab back on first, then do the credit card thing later. Also, when doing the credit card, I found it useful to put some curvature into the card before gluing it. It allows the credit card to better fit the shape of the bracket. After fixing my tab, I laid down a thin line of super glue on the bracket, then attached the credit card strip. Iām letting the glue dry completely so havenāt tested it yet. Iāll post as to the success/failure once Iāve used the light.
On a personal note, Iāll never purchase another NU30 again. Also, while Iām a big fan of Nitecore products, their lack of action regarding this issue concerns me greatly and makes me think I might need to start looking at other manufacturers, people who have better design ideas, listen to their customers and stand behind their product. As an example, take the NU25. Looks to me like they stuck with the hinge design of the NU20, which makes sense, but is almost a tacit admittance that the hinge of the NU30 is flawed. That being the case, why did they not follow the request of many users and place the USB charge port to the side, where it could be used WHILE wearing the headlamp? It seems quite half-assed to me that they didnāt address this issue.
Oh well. Stepping off my soap box now.