Nitecore

Since 2013 our household has purchased a number of Nitecore flashlights for use in both our house and vehicle. During this time we thought we were paying a premium price for sturdy, well-made products that would last. But after a recent experience with one of their products failing due to poor quality, we've changed our minds about this brand, especially after their disappointing response.

One of the lights we purchased in late 2019 (which was delivered in January of 2020) began failing late last year. It had seen only careful, intermittent use in a kitchen drawer. If the light had had a total runtime of an hour by that point we'd be surprised. And yet the light was suddenly flickering on the highest setting. We did a bit of research online and found some other accounts of this occurring, including YouTube videos about it. It was suggested that these "Made in China" products are perhaps sloppy in the way their internal electronics are manufactured and assembled.

At the beginning of this year, we contacted Nitecore about what could be done about this issue. And we were disappointed that the response was "Sorry, but our warranty is only two years and you're beyond that." The fact that we've patronized the brand for a decade, purchased a slew of their products, and that in our state (Washington) there is an implied warranty of merchantability that suggests that a product should not malfunction within four years of purchase, didn't matter to Nitecore.

Nitecore's solution was to offer us a coupon off the purchase of a new $160 flashlight. Or, we could pay more than a third of the original cost to send the flashlight off to China for 12 weeks to have it repaired. Neither of those options sounded very good to us. How could we now purchase another new product with the new knowledge that it might similarly fail, and that Nitecore would be stand by it?

So our solution will be to sell the (working) Nitecore lights we have on eBay and to permanently depart the brand, never to return. We regret buying from Nitecore in that they do not stand by their products or value their customers. We've also filed complaints with the state's Attorney General and the BBB and will be posting online reviews so that other customers may be warned that while Nitecore sells at a premium price, they do not seem to make premium products that last. Nor will they be that concerned when their products fail after a relatively short time.

We take meticulous care of the things we have. And we're confident that there is nothing we did to this light to cause it to malfunction in this way. And yet Nitecore is not standing by the quality of their product.

Our money didn't break after we gave it to Nitecore. Their products shouldn't break after they give them to us.