Nitecore EZ AA review: A Layman's Perspective

AardvarkSagus

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Nitecore EZ AA

NOTICE: On 4/11/2009 Nitecore has announced that they are issuing a recall of all Nitecore EZ AA lights. Please see below for revisions:

The Nitecore EZ AA is the first light in the newly introduced EZ series of lights by Nitecore. This series drops the standard programmable, feature-rich user interfaces that Nitecore is known for in favor of a simple 2 stage light that requires no complex learning curve to operate.


Nitecore EZ AA

Meat and Potatoes

The Nitecore EZ AA is an extremely small AA powered light designed for easy carry and use. The light itself is barely bigger than the cell powering it. Nitecore has also done a fantastic job taking their existing high quality knurling and finish and applying it once again to this new light. The flawless black type III anodizing and the addition of the brass heatsink/threading/accent is a fantastic aesthetic treat that is a beauty to behold.

Nitecore has chosen a 2 stage twisty switch for the EZ AA in an attempt to make a much simpler, easier access light. This is realized in a basic to understand: tighten the head to turn it on and tighten more to switch to high. What really shines about this concept is that there is so little explaining to do if you ever have to hand your light to a friend or family member to use. You don't have to run through any kind of preflight checklist before you are able to let them loose with your light.

The beam of the EZ AA is quite surprising actually. Since their introduction, the Cree XR-E based lights have struggled with a now infamous dark ring surrounding the central spot of light. In the EZ AA this ring seems to have been very drastically minimized. There is still a couple small artifacts in the beam but no where near what I expected with a very lightly textured reflector of this minuscule size. More surprising is the fact that the beam is focused tighter than even my Nitecore EX10 that utilizes a wider reflector. This goes against conventional wisdom saying you need a larger reflector to create a tighter beam. My own personal preferences for an EDC style light are for a wide smooth beam however this is clearly a well designed decision rather than merely accidental.

Nitecore has designated Low power to be 15 lumens and High to be 130 lumens, however I suspect that these numbers are strictly calculated numbers based on the current being provided to the LED rather than measurement of the torch itself. Independent testing has placed suspicion on both the high and low beam brightness'. My own experiences however, though less scientific, have been that both numbers appear mostly accurate at least considering the numbers before optical losses from the reflector and lens. The 130 lumen High mode is extremely close to the similarly rated full power setting on the Nitecore EX10. The low power appears extremely familiar brightness-wise when compared to the Fenix E01, though the drastically different beam profiles do make such comparisons difficult.


Nitecore EZ AA

Constructive Criticism

One of my biggest concerns the last time I had experience with Nitecore is that the EX10 was susceptible to a very high pitch whine on nearly all settings. The EZ AA is not completely immune to this phenomenon in spite of it's far humbler aspirations. On low mode the light the silence of the night remains undisturbed as far as I am able to tell (I have even consulted family members possessing far younger auditory faculties just for certainty). On High mode however, the EZ AA begins to emit a rather disconsolate whistle clearly audible by the unaided ear.

Nitecore's choice of brass for the threading of the light is very likely due to it's inherent smoothness for such applications. I do see potential for improvement here however. I am unsure if it is just the extremely tight tolerances that Nitecore runs their manufacturing to or what, but my EZ AA was not nearly as buttery smooth as I expected in this regard. When I first saw their strategic use of brass here I fully expected it to spin with unparalleled ease. This is not the case. After a thorough thread cleaning and liberal application of lubrication it was marginally improved but remained heavily abrasive. When I looked for the reason I discovered that there was a buildup of what appeared to be aluminum shards accumulating on the brass threading. This has occurred a number of times in just a few days and it makes me believe that something here requires a redesign. Possibly having brass on both halves of the threading would be the best solution.


The source of the rough twisting.

Also concerning the switch, some have expressed concern about the number of twists required to step between Low and High modes. I do not see this as a problem. What I do take issue with is the amount of force required to traverse that last portion of threading before switching occurs. In my light, getting to the High output requires so much effort that it is nearly impossible to activate single-handed. It is definitely not a comfortable prospect to consider. I believe that this is caused by the anti-rattle foam used in the head of the light. When completely tightening, this foam seems to be compressed nearly to it's full extent before High mode kicks in. The obvious solution is to merely wait until the foam looses some of its springiness, but it might be some time before that happens and a light should not have to have a "break in" period before it is useful. Perhaps some form of spring could replace the foam allowing for a more controlled anti-rattle mechanism that doesn't exert quite so much resistance.

The official lumen counts aside, the two levels of the EZ AA are unarguably spaced quite far apart. My opinion is that the distance is a little too great for ideal conditions if someone carries this light solo. Nitecore would probably have been better off closing the gap a little and concentrating more on battery efficiency over the long run than on both minimal output and a hot-rod high end in the same light.


Diminutive size

Conclusions

The Nitecore EZ AA released amid a flurry of hype and high expectations. Unfortunately, when the chips are down it doesn't quite live up to all of those expectations. Its simplicity of operation, diminutive size, and availability of driving energy are its greatest strengths, and those it does well. There may be a few bugs to work out in the long run, but it is still worthy of consideration.

Revisions:


Shortly after the initial release of the EZ AA, Nitecore issued a recall of their entire stock, citing unacceptable electronic efficiency as the underlying reasoning behind their decision. While they were at it, they also seem to have taken steps to revive consumer confidence by correcting some of the other concerns we have expressed as early adopters and reviewers.

Gone now on my sample are both the whine at either output and the shards of demolished aluminum threads. This unit is far smoother to operate, though it still retains much of its former tension while twisting. Nitecore also used this opportunity to revisit their switching mechanism and drastically reduce the distance of travel required for activation of High output mode. While still not able to occur in a single fluid motion all the way from off, the difference is noticable and definitely approved of by this particular user.

The electronic improvements performed by Nitecore manifest themselves in both brightness and efficiency. Without the equipment to accurately measure runtime, I am limited to observational comparisons. The literature included in the revised EZ AA specifies a change from the previous 15 lumen rating on low to a new 10 lumen rating, however the net result is a beam that is noticably brighter than its predicessor. If the high beam has been affected in any way by the alterations, the effect is negligable. I can not see any discernable difference between the high beams of either light.

In all, Nitecore has significantly improved upon the usability of this first light in their EZ series along with solidifying their reputation as a company that is willing to go the extra mile to make things right to their customers. I see the EZ AA as a much improved backup light now, providing adequate illumination for occasional everyday tasks while still having the power to really light things up when needed. I believe that the EZ AA has finally come into its own.

Provided for review by: Nitecore
 
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qip

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Nice review!

This does make me reconsider my pre-order again too.

Perhaps it's best to wait for EZAA 2.0 ...

:sigh:

+1 turn down the high for 2 hours or 100lm and bump up low to real 15 for 24+ hours
 

MarNav1

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Very good review sir. I like the light alot, although I don't know if it will replace my P1D SSC light. I will wait awhile and see how it plays out. I would also like to see a AAA version as well.
 

selfbuilt

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Very nice overview AardvarkSagus. :)

FYI, the screw threads on my sample have been as smooth as butter. Aside from a quick wipe for the pics, I haven't cleaned them - and yet have had absolutely no problems (despite all the battery changes). Mine is also quite easy to get to the Hi mode one-handed. There is some resistance from the foam at this point, but the screw motion is very easy overall (resistance is in fact lower than most other lights).

Also no signs of a hum/whine on Hi on mine. Of course, this is typically highly variable between samples.

Cheers!
 

AardvarkSagus

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Very nice overview AardvarkSagus. :)

FYI, the screw threads on my sample have been as smooth as butter. Aside from a quick wipe for the pics, I haven't cleaned them - and yet have had absolutely no problems (despite all the battery changes). Mine is also quite easy to get to the Hi mode one-handed. There is some resistance from the foam at this point, but the screw motion is very easy overall (resistance is in fact lower than most other lights).

Also no signs of a hum/whine on Hi on mine. Of course, this is typically highly variable between samples.

Cheers!
I was wondering how many of these things were possibly specific to my individual light. All I can do however is call it like I see it.
 

selfbuilt

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I was wondering how many of these things were possibly specific to my individual light. All I can do however is call it like I see it.
Absolutely, agree entirely. If one person is experiencing an issue, it's likely others will as well.

Will be interesting to see what everyone else reports as it gets into wider hands ... :whistle:
 

regulator

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Thank you for the review. Your right, its a very nice looking light and the size is great. Nitecore will definately get back all the orders if they improve the light to be closer to what the specs say. I think at least a true 10-15 lumens first stage needs to be the target. Take the Fenix L1D as an example and that would be great. Bump it closer to true 15 lumens and runtime of 10-12 hours would be good too.

But I agree - the levels are too much to the extreme ends to be practical in a 2 stage only light.
 

VF1Jskull1

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pre-ordered one on impulse because i wanted an ultra compact single AA light but canceled it prior to it shipping after reading some of the reviews... i've got 2 lights on my keychain, Arc AAA-P and Fenix L0P, Nitecore Extreme in my left pocket, Fenix L1P and Fenix P1 and Fenix P3D in my Maxpedition EDC bag. So yeah, I decided I could forego the Nitecore EZ and use that money for the 2 new 600+ lumens lights being hyped around cpf.

when a revised EZ-AA comes to market, i'll consider retiring my Fenix L1P. thanks for the reviews.
 

lrp

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Very good review for those of us who aren't so technical!!
 

WadeF

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"Nitecore has designated Low power to be 15 lumens and High to be 130 lumens, however I suspect that these numbers are strictly calculated numbers based on the current being provided to the LED rather than measurement of the torch itself."

I thought I heard Nitecore has an IS and uses it to rate their lumens by measuring the out the front lumens.
 

AardvarkSagus

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"Nitecore has designated Low power to be 15 lumens and High to be 130 lumens, however I suspect that these numbers are strictly calculated numbers based on the current being provided to the LED rather than measurement of the torch itself."

I thought I heard Nitecore has an IS and uses it to rate their lumens by measuring the out the front lumens.
If that's the case then I imagine I will hear clarification from Nitecore.
 

ruriimasu

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I buy a Q3 5B version of that light @ $60! :twothumbs

as quoted by 47s, the Q3 5B version of that light is 100lumens and 15lumens. he said the runtime will be the same as the normal version. but i am not taking any chances of having another mag solitaire on hand at a low 5 lumens and cancelled the order. :sigh::mecry:
 

holeymoley

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Nice review Aardvark.

That high-pitched whine kills me on my EX10. I almost hesitate to use the light because it annoys me so much. I pre-ordered this EZAA, so I hope selfbuilt is right and I get a good one. Which brings me to my question...do you think 7777s will swap it out if I complain about the whine when I get mine?

Let me also say that I for one like the low-low setting being similar to the EO1. Perfectly useful for me, and since the tint is bound to be better than the purple haze from the Fenix I should be a happy camper.
 
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