Nitecore D20 Every detail of the NiteCore D20 was considered in depth. The result of which is no less than a work of art. The shape and functionality of the NiteCore D20 was considered without compromise and engineered with duty and durability in mind. Every cut angle, the size and shape of the knurling and materials and finish are all the result of uncompromising design decisions. This is inline with NiteCore's philosophy of striving to put the most unique innovative products into the hands of consumers like you!
Featuring a redesigned optical system that maximizes the number of lumens that you get out of the business end while retaining a perfect beam pattern.
The NiteCore D20 is the first 2x AA SmartPD flashlight.Smart PD System Piston Drive
This piston drive design is just cool and pure genius. It's an excellent solution for pure momentary applications yet it also serves as a "twisty" light.
The Smart PD system has two very important features:
1. It takes the current path out of the casing for the light. Electricity travels through the piston instead of the exterior casing. This is advantageous in certain applications.
2. Secondly, it moves the switching mechanism to the front of the light and increases the "contact area" where the circuit is completed, thus increasing it's reliability. Why is increased contact area so important? A little known yet very serious problem with MOST clicky lights is that they are prone to fail due to the design of the clicky switches (this has found to be the case even in high-end expensive $200+ lights!)
Clicky switches were never designed to handle heavy current loads in the first place. They are "signal" switches and not designed to carry current. Most lights using these switches often take over one amp of current. Each time the clicky is cycled, the contacts build up a carbon deposits and the switch begins to build up resistance and will ultimately fail. It is very obvious when you open up one of these switches and study the actual tiny contact points. When a switch handles more current than it is designed to take then it is not a matter of "if" but of "when" the switch will fail AND how lucky you are. We don't want any part of luck when it comes to your light turning on - thus the Smart PD system was designed.
Switching is usually not a problem with consumer-grade flashlights that are not designed for daily duty. However, in mission critical situations, the last thing you want is a failed switch. The PD design solves this problem.
The Smart PD system actually switches on electronically, so the actual contact between the piston and the head is even more reliable. The higher current is applied microseconds AFTER the piston has made contact.
So what's so special about the "Smart" PD?
It's very simple. Twist the head tight, it turns on. Loosen the head, it turns off. You don't even have to touch the piston. It doesn't get any simpler than that - it's a basic twisty. While the head is loosened, you can depress the piston in the tail to turn the light on. Release it and it turns off. Pure tactical momentary. Beautiful. We could just stop there since this is probably what 90% of people will use to turn their lights on.
But, there's more. You can have the light operate as if it has a clicky tail. Tighten the head and the light turns on. "Click" the piston and it turns off (a "click" is defined as a quick push-and-release within 0.3 seconds). "Click" again and it turns on. It's beautifully simple. The action is quiet compared to traditional clickies. There is no latching mechanism like in a clicky switch - it's all handled by the microprocessor in the head of the light.
Ready for a little more? While the light is on, "press" and hold the piston and it ramps the brightness up to maximum (a "press" is defined as pushing the piston longer than 0.3 seconds). Now release it and "press" again to ramp the brightness down to minimum. The ramping action stops when you release the piston.
There are 100 levels of output to choose from - more than ample to suit ANY task. The Smart PD will save your last output setting into its memory. So if you click off and click back on, it will come on at your last setting. Genius. Say you want instant access to minimum or maximum output. It's a piece of cake. If you want minimum, while the light is on, do a "click-click" and it jumps to the minimum output. If you want maximum, do a "click-press" and it jumps to maximum. Simple!
Ok for you expert clickers, you can get to those extreme outputs while the light is off: Three clicks (click-click-click) jumps right to minimum and "click-click-press" jumps right to maximum. That's it. It's simple and utilitarian.
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