NiteCore EC1 in the mailbox today

OK, so I didn't realize this light was so small. Apparently it is. Though, there are a lot smaller lights.

I picked this one out for three reasons:
1. Low lumen output on low (4 lumens, less than half that of my Fenix PD35 on low = better low-level lighting, such as reading in camp)
2. Over 200 lumen output on high, almost 300.
3. red LED to preserve night vision.

I am still waiting for my batteries to charge before I fire it up, should be close... they were at 4.15 volts just now.

Observation on battery charging:

I have the Nitecore I2 chargers (2 now, one in this kit also) and the 18650 I use in my PD35 hits 4.2 volts when the top LED is flashing, or very shortly after. The 16340's that came with the EC1 hit 4.15 volts when the top LED was flashing. So far they are still not at 4.2 volts and now all 3 LED's are solid on the charger, I'd assume designating that the charger has completed it's cycle.

Hi there! Looks like your EC1is good to go. Capable small EDC light. The two-way clip is pretty useful.

Yes, 3 solid lights on your i2 means the charging complete.

Selfbuilt measured 400 ANSI Lumens, and 6400 Lux with a 16340 battery. According to an email I seen from Nitecore, they are now shipping EC1's with XP-G2 LED's since late June. (EDIT-Nitecore says not true) Let us know if you got XP-G2 with your new light. Dealers maybe not shipping those yet?? With XP-G2 the EC1 should be around 500 lumens, and I've seen mods with XP-G2 that are around 9600 lux. I had an EC1, but it had battery drain problems. I sent it back, but I'm waiting anxiously for the new XP-G2 model to buy again.

Best I can tell it is the CREE XP-G (R5) LED. It is rated to 280 lumens on turbo. I didn't see anything on their site about another option in that model light. They do have the EC2 that uses 2x CR123A's or 1x 18650. It puts out 550 lumens. I already have a light in that category so I figured the smaller one would better suit my purposes = camping mostly, but I'll carry it too. For low-light the EC1 fits a heck of a lot better than my other light, but at the same time it doesn't have near the light output. I tested the PD35 over the weekend backpacking and it does a fantastic job lighting up the distance to see what critters are out there. I will put the EC1 through the same test when I get a chance to see how it does.

This is fun stuff! And useful... Last night I discovered a skunk browsing past the deck at night. Later I followed it where it went and blasted my light in to the den and found a whole family. Things don't move fast or far when all of the sudden it goes to daylight. Now the hard part - figuring out how to get rid of the critters.

The EC1 and EC2 have nearly identical output on rechargeable batteries. 280 lumens is with a CR123A. Its 400 with a 16340. I just got a reply from Nitecore, and they did not confirm the email someone else posted. They said "we're not sure when new LED model will come out"