Thanks for the tear down. It’s surprising the heatsinking on this light is as bad as it is and I guess the EA4 would be similar. With all there testing though it must do the job it was designed for. I wonder if they use reverse engineering on these things to make these as cheap as possible. Build something big and dumb it down until it stops and then go back to the last step that did not break it. By using the heatsink like they have I assume they can use a thin walled tube instead off solid to make the body. Less machining and waste.
MTG-2 sounds good. I didn’t have a chance to go shopping today. Hopefully tomorrow.
Anyone reading this, I’m interested in another Defiant 3C. PM me if you have anything. Cheers.
Quick question, is the bezel easily removable?If you remove it, can you have then access to the led only for mod?
WOW
When I saw the photos of the thread locker, I was thinking - loctite isn’t cheap, so the only reason to do that is if you’re trying to hide something.
and then I saw the aluminum tape and thought…why would they put that on top of an aluminum plate?!
PLASTIC?!
unless that’s magic plastic - that light has the WORST heatsinking of any light I’ve ever seen.
the cat is out of the bag - I wouldn’t pay $30 for one now…and I love AAs
Thanks OL!
Wow, a very revealing post.
Reminds Me of a Joke
An alien ship lands on earth. They have a device that will solve all the problems mankind has ever encountered or will encounter. The aliens give the device to the first man they encounter. If the man is a real man he will:
A. Share the device with all of mankind.
B. Keep the device for himself.
C. Take apart the device to see how it works.
Obviously the answer is C.
This is just unbelievable. Nitecore are you serious about the heatsink? Such a great designed light and they ruin it like this. I was very close to buy one but not anymore, not for almost $100.
Thanks OL for sharing this, I'm looking forward to your mod!
Nitecore lights never give me a “Wow!” feeling plus they are selling it at a very expensive price point… and now what? Such a “heat sink”!
Unfortunately you will find the same heat-dissipation design in the EA4….
I just bought a EC25 and never felt it warm even on turbo. Not a good sign….
Thank you old-lumen. That explained a lot.
Still wish to see a EC25 tear down sometime in the future.
What Heatsink?? I'm shocked that Nitecore would do that. 
Congrats on getting the rascal apart without dynamite. Congrats as well for not destroying it in the teardown. YOU ARE NOT IN MY SHOP!!! Five minutes after starting what you did, the light would be totally unrecognizable!!!! Acetylene torches and 20 Lb. sledge hammers have that effect somehow! 
I'm anxious to see your IMPROVEMENTS to a hunk of junk! At least we know when "Old-Lumens" gets finished with it that it will be functional.... and not a smoker!
Thanks for sharing!!! Dan.
my vote is for an mtg2 
thanks for the tear down - very informative
what the heck with the heatsink? i am disappointed in nitecore!
I could see it, if the lip inside the body, below the "heat sink" had been thicker, where the "heat sink" actually sat on the shelf. I could also see making the "heat sink" big enough to "really touch" the body at the heat sink's OD, but they didn't score on either one. What their style suggests is that either:
- We know nothing about led technology or electricity and there is no real heat produced, so no heat sinking is really needed.
- They are counting on the fact that the majority of people using the light will not be using it on Turbo or even High, but they will use it on low or medium and not for any sustained periods of time.
- Nitecore does not have a clue.
I would thing that "B" is the real reason for it. I bet that most manufacturers figure on most people using the lower modes and only on shorter times. I can see that to a certain point, but I think it would be better to opt with a thicker heat sink and get it out to the wall of the head/body by making it a tight fit.
They made a thin head with lots of good fins. They also made a thin body. Why? So heat could get out to the open air and also to a person's hand quickly. This alone tells me that they thought it through, but I just don't feel they hit the mark where the "heat sink" comes up to the body, to transfer heat.
No matter what, I just don't think it's a very good method in the EA8.
djozz
One thing I noticed in your mods is that you usually use a lot of heat sink mass. Although that buys you time until that mass is 'filled up' with heat, what matters in the end (I think) is a good thermal connection to the shell of the flashlight (which this Nitecore clearly does not have, shame on Nitecore!). So why not leave most of that mass out but just make sure that there is a good metal 'guidance' for the heat to the outside?
The heat sink will probably be thinner than what is shown and it will be tight (press fit) inside the body. It's just like a Maglite D, there is no room to put a heat sink in the head, it has to go in the body tube.
Rufusbduck
Nice pics. I’m curious about the driver switch combination you will use.
So am I.
If it's an XM-L2, then a DrJones driver. If it's an MT-G2, then whatever the gurus tell me will work, as I have no clue. I just know it has to be able to work with the current switch that is in the light (maybe, for now, possibly). LOL
whokilledJR
It actually seems considering how they’ve isolated the heat sink from the body they are trying to stop heat from transferring to the body.
That does sound like a possibility, doesn't it? Wouldn't that be terrible if it was the reason?
MRsDNF
By using the heat sink like they have I assume they can use a thin walled tube instead off solid to make the body. Less machining and waste.
I will show photos of the body. It was a solid tube and mill work was done, just like the SRK is done.
ergotelis
Quick question, is the bezel easily removable?If you remove it, can you have then access to the led only for mod?
The bezel comes off easily and you can remove lens, O-ring and reflector from the top. Changing the led is possible, but it would be hard to solder down in there.
dthrckt
PLASTIC?!
Yep, isn't that a hoot?! I just could not believe why they would not have used an Aluminum one, (other than weight, which was probably why).
Wow, so I guess all those cuts and fins in the heads are aesthetics…
Can’t wait to see what comes of this build!
Thanks for the tear down, cant wait for the re-build!
Would it be possible to re-flash the 16f616 chip to create a driver with the ramping ui that you prefer?
I would enjoy seeing lumens or lux plotted against time on high and turbo for this light (obviously Justin’s is no longer intact)
I wonder what the risk is for LED overheating damage, since the chip is not supposed to get over 150ºC
Thank you for the teardown.
This light was on my "buy" list, and now seeing what you show... I will be passing on it.
It's a real disappointment that for all the aesthetics, and marketing, inside the light has such a glaring flaw.
Here's a photo of the body tube. I can see why they do not have a shelf in it for the "heat sink". The body was bored for the AA batteries and there wasn't enough meat left to make a shelf. Also, when the final ID was cut for the pill, it was done off center and might have been better if it had been centered.
Seems more hidden flaws are coming out. I was really considering getting one too.
If you go to the other forum selfbuilt has done some graphs and the lux/lumens seem to regulate, so it seems the current setup works. The only time there appears to be a reduction in light due to heat is at the very start before the turbo steps down. If it was properly heatsinked there would probably be no need for a step down on turbo mode.
Man, that really sucks in a huge way! This might be the first light to have worse heat sinking than a P60. Thanks for being so determined in tearing your new light apart to expose nitecores dirty little secrets so the rest of us can avoid them. Im sure you’ll perform your usual magic and come up with something truly amazing. At least they didnt use blue locktite. In practice, Ive found that red seems to release with less heat/torque.