dc38
Flashlight Enthusiast
You're gonna place it at the TOP of the stinkin tree instead of a star, right?
**NEW** Nitecore EA4 Pioneer (4*AA, 860lm)
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dc38
Flashlight Enthusiast
For all you folks wondering exactly how big this light is, here's a universal frame of reference. It fits snugly into a toilet paper roll. Perfect match height wise too... Don't ask lol
GordoJones88
Flashlight Enthusiast
Pics or it didn't happen!
Timothybil
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've been following this thread and the one about the Nitecore EC25, waiting like a lot of us for selfbuilt's marvelous reviews. I just went over to Surefire.com, because I like to drop in once in a while and see what's new there. I started this whole fun ride with a G2, which now has an MSRP of $59USD. That is so far from the E4 (and the EC25) as to be ridiculous. As my son says, "Back in the day." How far we have come that we can purchase a minature spotlight like the E4 and its competitors for no more that we would pay for a SF G2! Isn't progress amazing!
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Up All Night
Enlightened
- Joined
- May 29, 2012
- Messages
- 487
I won't ask........but thanks for quite possibly the best three dimensional reference for size of light I've heard yet!:thumbsup:
HighlanderNorth
Flashlight Enthusiast
Well, the days of Santa giving lumps of coal to bad kids are over, and now with the worries of carbon dioxide/monoxide emissions, Santa now leaves small canisters of natural gas for the bad kids instead.....
I am surprise/glad to hear that the EA4 has somewhat equal throw and brightness to the TK35, which is what I expected when I saw that the EA4 has almost the same diameter reflector, which may be deeper as well, combined with the same brightness compared to the newer U2 version of the TK35. Thats great considering it is about half the price! I asked for a few Visa and Amazon gift cards as Christmas presents, and now I have an idea what I'll be spending some of that money on....
How do the run times on turbo compare between the TK35 and EA4?
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HighlanderNorth
Flashlight Enthusiast
For those who already received theirs, how durable does the EA4's switch feel? Any issues with it requiring multiple clicks to get it to switch on or anything? Does it feel like it will last a long time and not break?
dc38
Flashlight Enthusiast
InquisitiveInquirer
Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2010
- Messages
- 237
On my sample, it feels pretty sturdy. If i had to say, it feels more like a hard plastic than the soft rubber tailcap of my fenix / quark / itp etc... I don't need to do multiple clicks to get the light on. Once you get used to how much to press for a half click and how much for full click, you should have no problems. Also, i don't think it was yet mentioned in this thread, but as an fyi for those wondering, when one brings the light out of lockout, it goes straight to the second lowest mode of 135 lumens, not the lowest mode of 65 lumens regardless of what mode the light was in prior to going into lockout. Hope that doesn't sound confusing.
Up All Night
Enlightened
- Joined
- May 29, 2012
- Messages
- 487
Ooooh!......and there it is!:bow: .........He speaks the truth Gordo!!
GordoJones88
Flashlight Enthusiast
Note: Not an EA4, but a toilet paper tube.
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It feels much more durable than my Fenix TK41s soft buttons.
Greetings all:
This is my first time posting on this forum, although this forum is no stranger to me as I have benefited in the past from reviews of various lights by many forum members whose knowledge and generosity in sharing their insights have impressed me. In fact, I bought the EA4 due to reviews in this thread.
I am glad to support Nitecore again with this purchase (having bought a couple of their lights in the past). The company strikes me as innovative and bold, so that deserves support. Moreover, they seem to take corporate social responsibility seriously. For example, the company describes on its website its donation of high-end flashlights to the police department and first responders of a town in CT for search and rescue missions necessitated by super storm Sandy. I think that is commendable and also deserving of support.
I have had my cool white EA4 for a few days now and think it is tremendous. The workmanship and anodizing seem excellent (although I will discuss the rattle in a moment), the output and throw are outstanding for a light of this size, and the overall appearance strikes me as elegant.
The CW tint on mine is almost pure white, although the spill on a white wall can give a slight hint of bluish purple when contrasted with a warmer tint (such as the one from my old Nitecore Extreme with the Q5 LED). This is not an issue in actual use, and overall I think that the tint is very pleasant to the eye. On a related note, as one member noted, the lens on the EA4, when looked at from an angle under lighting, does show a purplish hue, but I've observed a similar hue on the lens of many quality cameras and binoculars, so I am not sure that the hue itself is cause for concern (or indicative of the lens having been installed backwards). The hue seems to simply be a result of the AR coating.
There seems to be a slight clover-like artifact in the hotspot (as another member had mentioned) when projected on a wall a short distance away while the light is in the lowest mode. However, at the two highest modes the artifact seems to disappear, or it may be that my eyes start to shift out of focus due to the intensity of the beam.
Again, this is not an issue in real-life use as whatever artifact there might be is simply not noticeable when the beam is projected onto objects in the distance. Also, I don't expect the beam pattern of a deep, smooth reflector designed to maximize throw as in the case of the EA4 to be the same as that of an orange peel reflector designed to balance throw and flood.
The UI of the EA4 took a little getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it seems brilliant. The switch seems to provide a good balance between tautness (for distinguishing the two stages) and responsiveness. I also love the blue ring of light around the switch. Not only does it allow me to quickly spot the switch in total darkness, it also counts out the remaining voltage in the batteries when those are installed or when the light is put into lock-out mode. For example, when I inserted a fresh batch of eneloop batteries into the flashlight, the blue light first shone 5 times in quick succession and then, after a one-second pause, shone twice more in quick succession, which indicates a combined remaining voltage of 5.2 volts in the batteries.
Like many others, I wish the light had a lower low (say about 10-20 lumens). I also wish that the lock-out can be undone by 3 quick presses, as opposed to one long hard press. However, those are really minor points.
I had been blissfully unaware of the rattling sound inside my light until I read about it in this thread.:huh: Upon shaking the light, the rattling occurs regardless of whether or how I am holding down the switch, as several forum members also noted. In that respect, our experience is not consistent with the reply by Sysmax earlier in the thread. I am glad that the switch is not the source of the noise, as the former is already being asked to do a lot, and I would be concerned if it is not built nice and tight to handle the job. I also don't think that a loose reflector is to blame for the noise as, upon close scrutiny, the rattle seems to emanate from a location inside the light just beneath the emitter.
Sysmax, if you come upon this post, I hope that you can shed some further light on the rattling noise. Since some members have experienced it in their lights but others have not, I imagine that the rattling sound is not a function of a design feature of this light. If Sysmax can assure us that the rattle is not a sign of some issue that might develop down the road, then us flashaholics can put our minds at ease, and concentrate on enjoying this light. If, on the other hand, the rattle is indicative of a manufacturing defect, then I imagine that Sysmax would want to make things right for its customers. The company has invested way too much work in cultivating an excellent reputation and loyal international following to not fully address this issue once it has been made aware of such issue. Thanks.
This is my first time posting on this forum, although this forum is no stranger to me as I have benefited in the past from reviews of various lights by many forum members whose knowledge and generosity in sharing their insights have impressed me. In fact, I bought the EA4 due to reviews in this thread.
I am glad to support Nitecore again with this purchase (having bought a couple of their lights in the past). The company strikes me as innovative and bold, so that deserves support. Moreover, they seem to take corporate social responsibility seriously. For example, the company describes on its website its donation of high-end flashlights to the police department and first responders of a town in CT for search and rescue missions necessitated by super storm Sandy. I think that is commendable and also deserving of support.
I have had my cool white EA4 for a few days now and think it is tremendous. The workmanship and anodizing seem excellent (although I will discuss the rattle in a moment), the output and throw are outstanding for a light of this size, and the overall appearance strikes me as elegant.
The CW tint on mine is almost pure white, although the spill on a white wall can give a slight hint of bluish purple when contrasted with a warmer tint (such as the one from my old Nitecore Extreme with the Q5 LED). This is not an issue in actual use, and overall I think that the tint is very pleasant to the eye. On a related note, as one member noted, the lens on the EA4, when looked at from an angle under lighting, does show a purplish hue, but I've observed a similar hue on the lens of many quality cameras and binoculars, so I am not sure that the hue itself is cause for concern (or indicative of the lens having been installed backwards). The hue seems to simply be a result of the AR coating.
There seems to be a slight clover-like artifact in the hotspot (as another member had mentioned) when projected on a wall a short distance away while the light is in the lowest mode. However, at the two highest modes the artifact seems to disappear, or it may be that my eyes start to shift out of focus due to the intensity of the beam.
Again, this is not an issue in real-life use as whatever artifact there might be is simply not noticeable when the beam is projected onto objects in the distance. Also, I don't expect the beam pattern of a deep, smooth reflector designed to maximize throw as in the case of the EA4 to be the same as that of an orange peel reflector designed to balance throw and flood.The UI of the EA4 took a little getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, it seems brilliant. The switch seems to provide a good balance between tautness (for distinguishing the two stages) and responsiveness. I also love the blue ring of light around the switch. Not only does it allow me to quickly spot the switch in total darkness, it also counts out the remaining voltage in the batteries when those are installed or when the light is put into lock-out mode. For example, when I inserted a fresh batch of eneloop batteries into the flashlight, the blue light first shone 5 times in quick succession and then, after a one-second pause, shone twice more in quick succession, which indicates a combined remaining voltage of 5.2 volts in the batteries.
Like many others, I wish the light had a lower low (say about 10-20 lumens). I also wish that the lock-out can be undone by 3 quick presses, as opposed to one long hard press. However, those are really minor points.
I had been blissfully unaware of the rattling sound inside my light until I read about it in this thread.:huh: Upon shaking the light, the rattling occurs regardless of whether or how I am holding down the switch, as several forum members also noted. In that respect, our experience is not consistent with the reply by Sysmax earlier in the thread. I am glad that the switch is not the source of the noise, as the former is already being asked to do a lot, and I would be concerned if it is not built nice and tight to handle the job. I also don't think that a loose reflector is to blame for the noise as, upon close scrutiny, the rattle seems to emanate from a location inside the light just beneath the emitter.
Sysmax, if you come upon this post, I hope that you can shed some further light on the rattling noise. Since some members have experienced it in their lights but others have not, I imagine that the rattling sound is not a function of a design feature of this light. If Sysmax can assure us that the rattle is not a sign of some issue that might develop down the road, then us flashaholics can put our minds at ease, and concentrate on enjoying this light. If, on the other hand, the rattle is indicative of a manufacturing defect, then I imagine that Sysmax would want to make things right for its customers. The company has invested way too much work in cultivating an excellent reputation and loyal international following to not fully address this issue once it has been made aware of such issue. Thanks.
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Sarlix
Enlightened
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2009
- Messages
- 211
Gordo's toilet roll seems huge...I've never seen anything like. And dc38's ain't much better.. It would be nice to get some size comparisons with a standard EU sized toilet roll.
In fact, I demand that all further light/roll comparisons should conform to EU toilet rolling standards!
In fact, I demand that all further light/roll comparisons should conform to EU toilet rolling standards!
I just received mine. This thing is absolutely awsome for size and weight compared to output. I thought my TK 35 was size efficient but this is definitely more user friendly especially with the switch modes. And, almost half the price of what I paid for the TK 35.
damaster698
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2012
- Messages
- 13
I saw this new light the day after I ordered a protac HL.... although this isn't really a tactical light by any means, the sheer lumens and 4aa was my selling point. I might be ordering one to sit next to the new protac hl. DO you guys think the 860 lumens is an accurate measurement thats alot of light! I'm excited to see a review for this bad boy, they are selling for $79.99 on amazon already!
Sarlix
Enlightened
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2009
- Messages
- 211
Checkout this real world usage review - I think it'll answer you questions!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbFF1kf7OoA
