It could have been a batch with different printing. The charger of my TM26GT was slightly different than what all the pictures on the internet showed. I contacted Nitecore, and they verified my light was authentic. So I’d contact Nitecore if I were you to find out whether it’s authentic or not.
I have to agree, that isn’t a true Nitecore light…. this company makes an excellent product and the chance you’d get a clip that didn’t fit, new in box, is just like totally nil. And that light itself, yes, fake. Nitecore is a class act, that light is not.
Banggood may have taken a return and got scammed, may be completely unaware of it and think it is YOU trying to scam them. I honestly don’t believe Banggood would send that out as a real Nitecore intentionally.
Also pretty positive Nitecore uses Type III Hardcoat Anodization, if you bake it you won’t get bronze but an olive drab green sort of color. The bronze when baked is typically from Type II. And yes, that light does look baked…
Still can’t believe, that BG intentionally sells fake Nitecore flashlights. But checking the different knurling and not that fine machining, I’m in doubts now…
I took a look at what I’m thinking is the Nitecore site flashlight.nitecore.com and there is one picture in the MT10A section that has a longer clip like yours. It’s the one where the flashlight is sitting on a rock. That flashlight has different lettering than yours. Maybe Nitecore recently switched manufacturers? Back when they were having problems with counterfeit chargers they had a site where you could enter the serial number (or was it the number in the hologram on the outside of the package?) and it would tell you if the charger was legit.
It’s Sysmax I don’t trust. I bought a factory sealed D2 charger with the authenticity sticker that checked out correct. Inside the box was a plastic battery case that said “Xtar” on it. I think these companies who do machining, driver boards, packaging, etc… are intermingled quite a bit. Probably not hard to buy a few hundred nitecore driver boards from the electronics company who made them. Especially if Nitecore didn’t claim all that were made, and the company wanted to dump them.
I’d bet the hosts were Nitecore rejects, and someone assembled them to dump off on the gray market. Who better to dump them off to than Banggood, Gearbest, & Fastech. Nitecore doesn’t recognize BG, GB, or FT as authorized sellers anyway, and will not warrant if purchased from those sellers.
The clip looks like my clip that comes with the EC11. This one as far as I know is authentic. Came from Longhorntactical, a US based seller.
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The lighting makes the color of your first pic look off (brownish). I noticed the black lanyard string also looks sort of brownish.
Me taking a close look at mine, the machining looks spot on, at least the head.
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The bezel doesn’t come polished, I gave it the Caustic soda treatment and polished. I just had to add some bling to the light.
I also bought an MT10A in December 2017. I bought it from Battery Junction, a reputable retailer, I think? The clip and the lettering are identical to yours. The clip is slightly too long, and the writing only says MT10A. I examined my box for spelling or printing errors and it looks fine. It has worked perfectly and I’ve had no problems at all. Maybe we both got fakes, or we both got genuine. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. (except the tint, now that I know better) I can upload a pic later if you like.
It isn’t a fake, this just seems like they decided to use the same clip from other flashlights on this flashlight and it doesn’t fit well.
The images all say that the actual product may vary from the renders, so technically they are right and have no reason to give you a refund or replacement.
I would suggest contacting nitecore directly and explaining your issue to them.
There may be a reason why Nitecore changed it to a clip that doesn’t fit. The head looks quite a bit thicker than the body tube, and if the original clip rested on the body tube just below the head, it could be difficult to use. Trying to work a pocket into that clip, if it required you going around the head first, might have caused too many issues.
Maybe they used a longer clip that stuck out on the head, so that it would be easier to shove into a pocket.
It might work better, but I agree it looks a lot more ugly.