Nitecore EA11 First Impressions

Here's a quick rundown of the Nitecore EA11 after a day of use.

I bought the light due to it being a single AA form factor light with a claimed 900 lumen output. Finally, I thought a mass produced light made to take advantage of IMR cell technology.


So first impressions:
Definitely in the ballpark of 900 lumens. It does well against other lights in that category. :devil:'

Gets hot quickly, which is fairly obvious.
It is a small light pushing a lot of power.
https://mega.co.nz/#!MItW0ZYS!_y1uyFZ9w--DosAoKkI4WufCG2KEOPh72bv_ZfZuJko

I'd say burst mode is useable for a minute or two tops.


Red LED is dim. To be expected from a tiny led being <5mm but important to point out.
https://mega.co.nz/#!hVM3ABwQ!cazhnVY9USP4wDvAyllwmqTWhKOm2DUImjuuPdlgfJM

OP reflector doesn't throw tremendously well. Again AA XM-L2 lights aren't expected to be uberthrowers. Beam is fine and without any major artifacts.
https://mega.co.nz/#!4dNmmDpQ!ERwiuRvOmAchcixfm7oHpi9jykEPgW2_bgqflC0YpoM
LED is a very cool blue-ish LED. :toilet: This gets more apparent output but removes the light from being useful for some tasks. It would be way better with a neutral LED option. Perhaps a future mod is in order.
https://mega.co.nz/#!8Q9X1AIZ!QSICjDVyuReTy82M9Zs3IQooicbqufFK2ZHYxzgzotQ

The UI is decent. The 2-button UI with the ability to access Strobe, High, Low and Red directly is nice. It really is a modern successor to the Photon Proton Pro in many ways.

It has a nice deep carry pocket clip and can tail stand.

The drawbacks:
1)The light uses very obvious PWM for its low, medium, and high modes. Ultra low and turbo are PWM-free by by eyeballs.

2) The switches are fragile. The mode switch broke/ tore off after the first day of use. As I was extracting the light from my pocket the switch rubbed against my knife clip and tore. Here is a picture up close of the damage. I do not know if the switch will be replaceable.
https://mega.co.nz/#!QVdEFBJZ!asktApdthxJ7ncfV1-4lHx3lBH-2HSNUOJ4EvhfD6Ng
I have since moved the orientation of the clip to better guard the switches.


Thanks for reading! I've been around for awhile and have had the privilege and pleasure of playing with most of what is out there. I do not have any nice testing equipment, just experience both recreationally and professionally as a flashlight user. I will answer anything I can!

Thanks for the review mate. Much appreciated. Am interested in this light and will think about it more after reading your review.

LeafSamurai said:

Thanks for the review mate. Much appreciated. Am interested in this light and will think about it more after reading your review.

Click to expand...

It is not a bad light for the price, so although I may sound critical, overall I would recommend it if you have proper expectations. It is a good light for someone who is not as picky as I am.

I can't see the photos.. So the side switches are made of rubber..? I was expecting it to be like the S models of Olight that are made of hard plastic switch. That's a disappointment..

+1 I can't see the photos. It is basically an advertizement for downloading the link you provided.

I would expect the EC11 to be similar if they ever release it!!!

Similar button and burst mode which is a turn off for me,,even though it is expected in so many lights over the last year or so. ALL the manufacturers do it.

Thanks for the review ,it answered one of my questions that will most certainly apply to the one day to be released EC11!!!

Nice review thanks. Your photos weren't that great though, odd way to host them too.

Here is the one of the switch



Looks like the same switch as the EA4. I prefer the switch type from the EA1 etc

Warning WARNING Warning, this flashlight has a lockout mode. It is there for a reason, sadly mine was turned on accidentally in the holster at the turbo level. This flashlight gets Very Very hot. Lesson learned always use the lockout or unscrew. Further testing is on going.