review: nitecore MT10A

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AA / 1 x 14500 Flashlights
1

Hey my friends!

Today i have the new nitecore MT10A i want to show you:

the "written part"...

unboxing starts with a box:

within the box - a tray

tearing everything apart reveals all accessories

two O-rings, a pocket-clip, a spare rubber boot, a holster, a nice lanyard and the user manual

the holster is well made

and uses velcro for the flap and to mount on a belt (or somewhere else)

the lanyard is thick and round - not flat, that feels valuable

lets look at the light:

if that is too fast here are some detail shots and closeups...

clear, coated lens

heavy orange peel reflector

but the reflector sits deep

the red (3mm?) LED in its recess

both LEDs in action

the pocet clip in both possible mounting positions

lets open it up!

disassembled tailswitch

the driver

reverse polarity protection

unfortunately i could not open the head (and did not want to destroy the light....

a size comparison:

Manker boney - nitecore EC11 - eneloop AA - nitecore MT10A - trunite Archer 1A - BLF A6 SE - Fenix PD25 TAC - a 18650 cell

the participants for Ampere / Lumen measures:

results (i cannot measure <10 Lm, all other corrected to "Fenixlumens")

cell starting Voltage ultralow low mid high turbo
nitecore IMR14500 4.15 V 0,005 A 0,401 A 0,740 A 1,82 A 3,45 A
- 122 Lm 220 Lm 520 Lm 920 Lm (840 @30sec)
SAFT Li-SOCl2 3.66 V 0,008 A 0,085 A 0,113 A 0,180 A 0,22 A
- 29 Lm 41 Lm 67 Lm 86 Lm
eneloop AA 1.30 V 0,023 A 0,149 A 0,350 A 0,770 A 1,69 A
- 16 Lm 49 Lm 105 Lm 179 Lm
Energizer 1.50 V 0,020 A 0,130 A 0,310 A 0,700 A 1,80 A
- 16 Lm 49 Lm 105 Lm 184 Lm

at turbo with IMR the head gets hot quickly - the manual says there is a 3 minutes stepdown timer...

some beamshots

(Sony NEX3-F - ISO 800 - 1/3 sec)

using nitecore IMR14500

using eneloop AA

beamshape with eneloop

playing in front of a white canvas reveals the problem all lights have where 2 LEDs share a reflector

a look into the garden

conclusion:

i am not sure....

the two sidebuttons are idiot proof, the UI is easy to understand (besides that red is in the order of regular modes)

the tailswitch is great to avoid accidentially activation and can be used for momentary light

build quality is good and i can imagine that light can take a hit

BUT what happened to the anodization ??

chipped after about 10 times i dis/mounted the loose pocketclip

and the tailcap is slightly different in color (which is nitpicking.. nobody will see that in real life)

and the beamshape with the "artifacts" due to the place of the red LED....

hunting white walls is not what this flashlight is meant for.

outside its a good light with enough power when using IMR cells, and with NiMh and primaries there should be supply everywhere.

my rating:

good flashlight with small issues!

2

What is the difference between this and the EA11. Same battery formats and red light as well ? Seems to be some cross over here.
I do however like both lights but now I’m not sure which to get. The EA11 seems to be smaller so maybe better for edc.
Thanks and great review by the way :slight_smile:

3

I was interested also as I already have the EA11. Below is one reviewers take over at Reddit.com

You gain the forward clicky switch, with momentary activation (while still being able to tail stand), which is a definite plus. You also gain a lot better run times on ultra low and low outputs, compared to the EA11. Unfortunately, based on Nitecore's own spec's, you lose 1700 candela, and 20 meters of range (probably because of that orange peel reflector). To me, that's a poor trade-off. That, alone, make me inclined to not even consider this light. I'm pretty happy with the EA11, overall.

The difference between 900 lumens and 920 would be completely imperceptible to the human eye; so no real gain, there.

4

Better perfomance with NiMH with this MT10A over the EA11. :smiley:

Nice review, thanks!!! I prefer this over the EA11, no doubt.

5

G'Day M4D M4X,

Very Good review.

Thank you Very Much,

George

6

I would prefer this with a SMO reflector without the red light.

That is really bad that the ano scratched so easily and does not match. I am amazed nitecore puts out such low quality now. My P12 has really nice nice ano.

7

?????

8

M4D MAX, Nice review

I would call the “halo” the Don King hear do. (a US joke I think :wink:

freeme it looks like the link is gone and thank you for your work and GB thread!

9

Freeme, does your post refer to this?:

10

Was anyone else a little apprehensive scrolling down the review pictures, not sure if we’d see any “moon” shots? :smiley:

11

I have the same question as well!

12

The EA11 has horrible runtimes on an eneloop iirc…

13

What a waste by using eneloop on EA11 in terms of brightness?

14

thanks guys for the nice words!
even if no moon showed up :wink:

tailstand is possible, but not very stable

i think the tailswitch is a big improvement over the EA11

15

today to get to the mail boxes (po boxes) this light i t was worth it to me ,and I felt like a kid at Christmas I live this little light the only problem I have is that my sanyo flat top 840 mah don’t work ,other than that I am happy thanks M4D M4X for the re iew and discount code !

16

Your hard work is appreciated.

Thanks for a good review, both written and video.

17

I’m in the office right now and i can’t see the video or pics (blocked) and i have a question. Are the side switch made of soft or hard rubber or the plastic type like the Olight s15…?

18

after a short trip into the mancave i can say : soft rubber

19

Bummer. MT10A is officially off my wishlist.

20

why?