old4570
Flashlight Enthusiast
For review : Nitecore EC22
Product Page @ Nitecore
Nitecore EC22 provided for review by Nitecore
I was looking at flashlights one night ( as I some times do ) and I spied the Nitecore EC22 . Two things grabbed my attention right away , the first being the infinitely variable output and the second was the rotary dial . Never mind the 1000 lumen output or the fact that it it's all put in a very handy package powered by a 18650 or two CR123 . The very first thing I did on receiving the EC22 for review was to take it for a walk . Nope ! , I did not measure current or put it in the light box or anything else . I wanted to experience the EC22 first and then see what the numbers were . When I went for my walk I swung past a friends place and let him and his wife have a play with the EC22 . Now my friend took to the EC22 like a duck takes to water , without any prompts from me he had turned on the light and was adjusting the output . For a non flashaholic to simply use the light so easily tells me that the user interface is universally simple , kind of reminds me of a transistor radio with its rotary dial for on and of and volume control .
After visiting my friend I swung past the local park ( its a big park ) and the great thing is that the road / foot path is raised several meters above the park allowing some one with a flashlight a nice elevated position for shinning a light . For a light with small head and short reflector the EC22 did not disappoint , lighting up an awful lot of ground in front of me ( close to 200 meters ) . At that distance we are talking mostly flood and it is a very pleasant beam profile for those that appreciate flood . Up close ( 3 meters ) the light is more like a thrower , and produces a nice hotspot for detecting dog poop as you walk along at night . Maybe around 20 to 30 meters the hotspot blends into flood really showing you more of what's ahead , again I found this very pleasant especially with a light you would use for walking at night .
Performance :
Nitecore has put one Thousand Lumens on the box and after playing with my light box , I would comfortably suggest that you can take that output figure to the bank . Unfortunately when trying to get a current draw result all the light would do for my Multi Meter was 1.5 Amp . Now the cree XP-L HD V6 is rated at something like 535L - 1050mA , so I had to take out my light box again and recalibrate it to see what was what . With the MM reading current I got some 1.5A current draw and 738 Lumens output . ( If you do the math = that should be rather good ) Apparently what is happening is that the light ( EC22 ) has a safety mode that the MM activates and so only gives 50% performance . Well if 738 Lumens is 50% performance ? I got over 1000 Lumens in the light box and no I am not going to say exactly what I got but rest assured that Nitecore may have under claimed performance for the EC22 . Now I will tell you that the lowest reading I got was 1 Lumen ( not sure I can read lower than that ) , so what you get is a very broad range of light to chose from . I got some crazy low current draw figure @ 1 lumen of around 3.2mA . ( ? )
Nitecore EC22 :
So what we have is a compact 18650 light that is easy to carry in the hand / pocket ( actually rode in my pants pockets real easy ) , has a user interface that is universally easy to understand and performs really well . The only thing I can possibly complain about is that the rotary switch is addictive , as I was walking I was constantly adjusting the light output for every conceivable circumstance I came across . I just could not stop fiddling and adjusting the output as the surface ( concrete / grass / bitumen ) changed and lighting changed . By the time I got home I was a little angry with myself for not just picking a light level and sticking with it .
It was a cool night so I wore my padded leather gloves and from time to time I found myself taking the gloves off to make fine adjustments , the rotary dial is a little fine for getting a really good tactile response through medium heavy gloves . But then you would expect no less to be honest and while you can use the gloves , making fine adjustments is some what tricky .
Do I like the EC22 ? = Hell Yes ! , PWM = None detected , Parasitic drain = Yes 0.25mA measured
If you are going to store the EC22 with a battery in it I would suggest unscrewing the tail cap a little to break the circuit . The Nitecore EC22 does EDC rather easily and I could barely notice it in the pocket of my pants and if you were to utilize the included holster then the EC22 would be very easy to live with . I really like the EC22 and I would like to see a Tail switch made available for it to make it just that much more .
Superb Build quality .
Anodizing is excellent and durable .
Comes with lanyard / holster / spare O rings - and a battery if you option it .
Clip is firm and strong .
Infinitely variable output from 1 Lumen to 1000 Lumens .
Smooth reflector .
Rotary switch is universally easy to understand and use .
No detectable PWM .
Parasitic Drain 0.25A ( Unscrew the tailcap for lock out )
EDC capable .
Single 18650 or dual CR123 ( 8.4v max ) .
Fits protected 18650 .
Well lubed O rings .
Threads well cut .
Light assembles drum tight .
Bottom line , the Nitecore EC22 is a fantastic little light and everyone I show it to simply loves it . ( Hell I love it ) The only improvement I would suggest for the EC22 is a tail switch . Now I did also get the MT22C for review and I could not help playing LEGO with the two lights . So I used the lower half of the MT22C on the EC22 and ................... OMG ! Really , Nitecore should offer the EC22 with a tail switch . ( At least as an optional extra ) . The tail switch would achieve two things ... First bye pass the parasitic drain and second allow you to set the light level and not mess with the rotary switch after doing so . As delivered the Nitecore EC22 is a fantastic light , do I recommend it = YES I do . And if you insist on a score out of 10 it would be 9.5 .
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