Fake Nitecore Tube flashlight: how to tell it from the original

A counterfeit Nitecore Tube has appeared in Chinese stores. I’ll show you what it’s like, how to spot it so you don’t get fooled, and do a brief comparison with the original.

The review is available in text and video versions.


BACKGROUND
Lately, a flashlight that looks almost exactly like the Nitecore Tube, but costs two or even three times less than the original, has been popping up in Chinese stores. Some listings call it the Nitecore Tube, while others leave it unbranded. My friend decided to order a couple of these flashlights to see what they were like. It wasn't easy to place the order: listings would appear and disappear, and a couple of orders he placed were canceled.
Eventually, he managed to order one and it arrived. I borrowed it from him for a couple of days to take a trip down memory lane and write a review..

INSPECTION AND HOW TO SPOT A COUNTERFEIT
At a glance, the original and the counterfeit look very similar. But it's not too hard to tell them apart (the original is blue).



First, the packaging is different. I still had the opened packaging from my original Nitecore Tube, and if you play “spot the 10 differences,” they're easy to find.


I won't list them all, because there's one key difference. As you can see, the counterfeit packaging doesn't say Nitecore anywhere.

Second, the flashlight itself is different. There are three obvious differences. The original has the Nitecore name on the top cap, while the counterfeit doesn't.

The original has “Tube” on the bottom cap, while the counterfeit doesn't.

Also, the original has black screws, while the counterfeit has bare metal ones. That said, I'm not sure whether the screw difference holds true for bodies in different colors.

Also, notice the gap near the button on the counterfeit flashlight. You can forget about water resistance.

CHARGING AND CONTROLS

Both charge via USB. Charging reveals another difference: the original Nitecore Tube glows brightly while charging, including at the bottom cap.

The counterfeit, on the other hand, has a dim little light near the button.

When charging is complete, the light goes out on both flashlights.

Then I found that the counterfeit's controls are very different from the original's. It has primitive controls, like any cheap no-name flashlight. There are two brightness levels—low and high—which cycle continuously. It does, however, have smooth brightness adjustment, also known as ramping.

The Nitecore Tube's controls are much more convenient. A single press always activates the low mode. A double-click turns on high mode. Press and hold the button to turn on high mode; the flashlight stays on as long as you hold the button down. It also has smooth brightness adjustment, controlled by holding the button.
The difference in controls might seem insignificant, but as a Nitecore Tube owner, I find the counterfeit's controls very inconvenient, even downright stupid. Here's a simple, everyday example. My child is asleep, and I need a little light to find something in the room or take their temperature while they're sleeping. With the original, I just press the button once, and that's it—the low mode comes on. With the counterfeit, I don't know which mode will come on. So first I have to point the flashlight away so I don't disturb the sleeper, then turn it on, and if it comes on in high mode, turn it off, then turn it on again, and only then use it. These may seem like minor things, but after using a decent flashlight, all this button-dancing gets annoying.

HOW BRIGHT IS IT?
I have to admit, the counterfeit flashlight puts out a pretty decent beam.

Compared with the original, the beam has a different shape and the light has a distinctly bluish tint, but it's bright.

What's more, it is brighter than the original in both low and high modes. You can see that from the lux meter readings.
And even without a lux meter, it's immediately obvious in normal use that the counterfeit is brighter.

1. Original

2. Counterfeit

3. Original, low mode

4. Counterfeit, low mode

5. Original, high mode

6. Counterfeit, high mode

So, what's the verdict? Here are my conclusions:
1. The counterfeit looks very much like the original. They're easy to confuse, so pay attention to the differences to avoid being sold a fake as an original.
2. If you decide to knowingly buy a fake flashlight, it actually shines pretty well, but its controls are awkward and nowhere near as good as the original's. To each their own, of course, but in my opinion, that's a critical drawback.


THE MUSIC DIDN'T LAST LONG....
The fake flashlight failed right in the middle of testing, and the moment it broke was caught on video. I was just switching modes while measuring brightness when the strobe suddenly came on. At first I thought it was a hidden strobe mode, and off camera I say in the video, "Oh! It has a strobe! Looks like you turn it on with a triple click." Then I spent a long time trying to get out of this "hidden mode," trying all sorts of things: double clicks, triple clicks and other clicks, holding the button, and so on. But it turned out this wasn't a hidden mode—it had simply broken.
Now the flashlight stays on steadily in its lowest mode and strobes in its highest.
In all the time I had it, the flashlight worked for a total of maybe five minutes. I turned it on and off a couple dozen times, never dropped it, and didn't even take it outside.
I can't claim that all fakes like this will fail the same way. Original products—and, for that matter, any products—can break, and defects happen everywhere, so it wouldn't be right to draw sweeping conclusions from a single unit. But it would also be dishonest to say nothing about this failure.
In any case, my old Nitecore Tube is still alive despite dozens of drops. It's covered in scratches, the button is worn down, but it still works.
The fake, on the other hand, didn't even last a day. Maybe I just got a bad one? That's certainly possible. If you have one, please let me know how it's working for you.
Anyway, don't let yourself be fooled—stay alert