New Nitecore P30 (XP-L HI V3): Review & Beamshots (BONUS: A Retarded Cat)

I am hard on lights I review, but hopefully, people understand why. This is a great light!

I liked the review, thanks. But I am not going to lie, the cat in the title made me click :wink:

Nice review, IMHO, the Fenix lights are more well thought out.

C’mon, he’s not “retarded” or “moronic” or any of those names. He’s cuddly.

One of mine has a gouged-out ear like that, too, not just a little straight slice.

And yeah, NC generally uses questionable emitters, almost always CW vs NW which they call “warm”, and sometimes a generation behind.

Eh, I’m good with my regular P30s. Doubt I’d “trade up”.

If you think that cat is in bad shape, you gotta see what the pitbull looks like.

I have to politely disagree about the statements on HI emitters producing intrinsically bad/ugly beams. In most cases, it’s the opposite as they produce less angular tint shift and less pee-stain coronas. The P30 definitely does not have a properly shaped and/or positioned reflector. If they didn’t use a gallon of red loctite on the bezel threads I’d recommend playing with the centering ring thickness to see if that is the issue.

Thanks for the review though. This light has been on my radar for a while as it’s the right size and form factor to fill a gap in my lineup, but the stories of bad reflectors (not just yours) have kept me away.

Oh he is. He plays in the toilet and makes little contortions while running around the house and he spots people looking at him. Twitchiest cat I’ve had.

Well, not sure why, but HI emitters leave what looks to be a “mess” in the beam profile to me. My domed emitters somehow look more pleasant.

I mean that when the SPCA or whoever does the catch’n’release to spay/neuter/whatever a cat, they lop off part of the ear for easier ID (to avoid having to catch one that’s already been gotten).

Most times it’s a clean razor swipe to just flatten the tip of an ear, but lately it’s like some crazed train conductor used his giant ticket-puncher to rip out a whole section of ear like that.

Hmm, just goggled it. It’s called “ear-tipping”.

https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/ear-tipping-cats-what-it-and-why-its-done

Sounds like what you give an ear for good service…

Seconded. My P30s, EC4GTs, other Nitecores, are spot-on perfect beams. In fact, my P30s have the slightly darker spot in the center showing it’s perfectly focussed. Way out, the spot disappears but it maintains that nice tight focus.

Hey, I’ll take him… :laughing:

Mine with the same gouged-out ear looooooves plastic. He’ll chew on those clear PE envelopes stuff comes in, etc.

Hasn’t done it in a while, but he’d grab plastic supermarket bags, make a “nest” (which I’d contribute to, let him have his fun), grab one bag in his mouth while “kneading” the pile he’d scrunch up underneath him. Starts dry-humping them, too, on occasion.

Still wouldn’t trade him for the world.

How retarded is your cat? i have a cat that always has appetite, and therefore half of the times he pukes on places he chooses (i.m.o. not so) wisely
nice review btw

To some extent, I’ve noticed this, too. The bigger the reflector and the smaller the chip, the more critical the focus.

At the corners especially, the chip’s “out of focus” vs the dead center. That “out-of-focusness” is probably what leads to the hazy corona.

A dome makes the emitter as a whole look more “roundy” vs more “squarey”.

Mine, too. It’s like living with the Cheddar Goblin × 2.

I found the secret, though. Dole out food by the spoonful. One of mine especially engorges himself, and sure enough, a few minutes later I hear that percussive coff, and end up seeing the pile of hardly-digested food on the carpet or other nasty places to find vomitus.

It’s usually a huge pile, too. So when I get bothered incessantly, I’ll dole out a half or third of a can, and let him eat. A while later, once I’m sure it’s down and staying, if he bugs me again, another portion. Rinse, repeat.

Yeah, thats not gonna land…

[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNjlVy_ljlQ]