Earlier this year, I purchased a Nitecore NU30. After using sporadically for a few weeks, I noticed that the hinge no longer held the light firmly at the angle I wanted. The way the indexed hinge mechanism works is, on the main body of the light near the hinge, there are two cylindrical gears which mesh with teeth attached to limbs on the strap side of the light. These plastic limbs are supposed to apply pressure, forcing the teeth at the end of the limbs into the teeth of the gears on the main body. Upon close inspection, I discovered that the limbs on the strap side of the light were fatigued, causing them to crack, which then prevented them from properly holding the light at the desired angle.
Here are a few pics:
The middle piece is my original part. The piece on the right is the replacement Nitecore sent to me. In both pieces, the limbs have fatigued during use, causing the limbs to break. The second pic is a closeup of my original piece. If you look closely, you can see where the limbs are starting to crack. This is what caused my original warranty claim to Nitecore. I suspected this was a design flaw or poor choice of materials and when I asked them if this was a common problem, they said it wasn’t and that my problems were caused by improper usage on my part. They were nice enough to ship 2 back pieces, charging me $5 for shipping and since replacing the original piece, I’ve been extremely careful when using the light and have used it sparingly (3 or 4 times at best). This is why I was so surprised to see the same issue occurring with the replacement piece.
My question is: Has anyone else experienced this issue with their NU30? I also own an NU20, which uses a different hinge system and have had zero problems with that light.
Yep, the plastic from mine is also starting to crack. It still keeps it angle but I see a little wear on the teeth. Haven’t used it all that much, kept it in my backback as a spare. Don’t hve much time now but I’ll inspect it a little closer tonight and maybe take some pics.
Oh, I was initially interested in this Nitecore headlamp and fortunately was not able to actually buy it…I just checked my 4-yr old and well-used Fenix HP25 headlamp and is relieved to know that its design (from the adjuster to the hinge) is actually bullet-proof compared to the Nitecore’s:
I own a lot of Nitecore products and for the most part, have been very pleased with what they offer. This one, however, is a dud. Not the light and it’s electronics (which I really like) but the hinge system and the fact that they tried to pass it off as my fault.
I suspect that more and more people will discover this issue with the light. Hopefully Nitecore will wake up and come up with a fix.
Mine also broke today just by checking it. One of the hinges broke, also the plastic around is cracking. Idk if I wanne pay shipping for spare parts that most likely will break again. I’ll send them a mail with pictures anyway.
Nitecore charged me $5 US shipping and sent out 2 strap-side pieces, one of which (as I stated in my OP) has already broken. The idea of having to continually purchase replacement pieces every month or so for $5 is ludicrous. Clearly a flawed design. My NU20 (which I EDC and actually USE everyday) shows no signs of breaking. The hinge on it is more like the Fenix in tatasal’s pic.
You’re very welcome. I really think this is a poor design and that Nitecore is going to experience a lot of issues with it. The question is, what will they do? I’m hoping for a redesign of the strap-side piece to address the breakage.
Hi Mkduffer
Thanks for the heads up on the potential flaw
Like others have mentioned, I only have the NU20 which is used nightly for bed reading and is going great guns
Wow! That’s horrible! At this point, I’m not even using the light for fear of breaking the last piece I have. I hope they step up to the plate and work out a fix! I’m going to try to use some JB Weld or 5 minute epoxy to support the piece, but that will leave an unsightly bump.
No problems with mine so far. I have the green one. Wonder if the plastic is somehow tempered different. So far, the only ones I’ve seen cracked or broken are the black models.
I don’t have an NU10 so can’t say. As for my NU20, the hinge mechanism is different and does not appear to be prone to the fatigue which seems to plague the NU30.
You’re welcome. I love my NU20 as well. Bought the NU30 because of it’s longer run time, more versatility and higher output AND the side mounted USB charge port, which would allow running it while charging. The bottom mounted charge port on the NU20 doesn’t allow you to practically wear and charge the unit. The NU20 hinge seems much more robust and it’s light weight makes it easy to EDC. Been using it every day with no issues, so far.
