Nitefox sent me a sample of their new ES10K AA flashlight so here it is for review.
I get the light for free with no other compensation than keeping it after having reviewed it.
But first, let’s have a look at some glamour shots :
Laying on its side, showing off its knurled body and thinned head
XP-G2 neutral white emitter, OP reflector and AR glass for your pleasure
The diffuser is supplied with the flashlight, nice to have for lantern use
Here it is with its power source : AA battery. It’s a rather compact EDC light as you can see.
Ok, now that we have admired this beautiful body I should give you my opinions :
You might know that I’m looking for a Thrunite T10 2014 edition for months now, because I love my 2017 edition but it misses a few features
(steel button, screwed-on clip). I hoped to find that in this new Nitefox light.
After all, it’s a shameless clone of the best selling T10 so it was a good start. When I saw it on their website, I was sure it had the potential to become my new EDC (after an emitter swap of course), but now there’s some good news :
First, stainless steel is heavy so I better choose the aluminum version for that.
Then, that knurling is so agressive that I could file my nails with it ! I mean, it’s perfectly machined and it gives a really good grip but… I can’t even slide it in my jeans pocket without ripping the fabric tissue ! Once again, I’m sure the aluminum version will solve that…
But what is worse, and I can’t live with that, is the UI. 3 modes : High, Low, Strobe and no memory…
What year is it ?!
Click, HIGH (180lms), half-click, LOW (20lms), half-click, STROBE !
Nobody uses strobe, nobody wants strobe anymore, and flashlight brands still want to give it to us but at least they are hiding it with double or triple clicks… But not Nitefox !
This is a 2008 engine in a 2018 body… and that makes me sad.
Thrunite made a really good job with the T10, the 3 modes are perfectly spaced and there is memory.
Nitefox decided to make a clone but they stopped right after the body design… such a shame !
As a side note, you might have see that my sample is not what you can see on their Website.
Here is what the ES10K (K is for knurling) should look like, along with the slick version :
Mine is a prototype with the knurled body and that strange head.
I don’t like that head, that’s why I asked the knurled version, but I was reassured that this is not a mistake and customers will NOT received what I got.
If you buy the ES10K, it will have the larger head that can be seen on their website and you’ll have a cosmetic clone of the T10T 2014, but with some knurling on the body.
If you buy the ES10, it will have the slimmer head and slick body.
Now shall we make a conclusion of this light ?
The good :
- Perfect machining, not a single burr to find
- Compact form-factor, easy to carry
- Nice steel rear clicky button
- Screwed-on pocket clip, no risk of losing it
- AR glass as a standard
- Neutral white XP-G2 with a good tint
The neutral :
- Quite heavy, but hey it’s steel after all
- Knurling is a bit too agressive
The bad :
- The UI is from the last decade, we’re in 2018 for sake !