Nitecore EC11: An Ideal Compromise?

For submission in the Reviews section please.

I've been out of the CPF loop for a while now, which has been quite nice in a way because the technology has come on leaps and bounds. The limit for a single emitter die was about 300 lumens last time I was seriously involved, now we have four-figures. Crazy :duh2:

Having realised that such powerful emitters were available, the prospect of owning an EDC of comparable output to my Roar of the Pelican hotwire was too tempting, and after some research, I purchased the Nitecore EC11, an i2 charger and a couple of 18350 IMR cells. On paper, this seemed to do it all, with the high output, keychain size and red LED all in one package.


Clipped in Trouser Pocket


Size in Hand


Red LED


Main Beam

Pros
Tiny.
Decent Pocket Clip.
Huge 900 Lumen Output in Turbo (more than Roar of the Pelican Hotwire).
Red LED.
Strobe, Beacon and SOS modes well hidden.
Orange-Peel Reflector gives excellent main beam.
Battery Voltage Meter.
Ultra-low has no visible PWM effects.
Direct access to Ultra-Low.
Direct access to Turbo.
Direct access to Strobe.
Direct access to Red LED.
Guilt-free lumens when used with IMR 18350 cells.
Rectangular cut threads.

Cons
User Interface takes some getting used to.
Easily activated when carried loose in pocket, either lockout tailcap or clip in pocket.

Niggles
CR123 primary use requires the use of a sleeve. Chances are, if you need to use CR123s in an emergency, you won't have that sleeve.
To ensure main beam quality, red LED is heavily recessed, giving a poor beam.
Low, Medium and High are achieved through PWM.


Verdict
Of course, there are some obvious compromises, and specific needs would be better served with dedicated torch. However, if I were to have the choice of just one "Do It All" torch on my person, this would be the one :thumbsup:

I have one of these. Its tiny!!! I keep it in a backpack for emergencies. I unscrew the tailcap as there's a small parasitic drain.

I agree with your opinion on the EC11, it is an impressive light. I like it so much that a just got a Nitecore MT10c, it is almost the same but it has a tail cap button for on/off function. I found the EC11 hard to operate when wearing winter gloves. Most of my lights with side switches are hard to use when wearing thick gloves.

chumley said:

I agree with your opinion on the EC11, it is an impressive light. I like it so much that a just got a Nitecore MT10c

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:thumbsup:

I wasn't aware of the MT10c, it seems like a good choice with the tactical thumb switch, and the UI looks more intuitive. As far as I can tell, the only disadvantages compared to the EC11 are the extra length and the loss of the battery multimeter. Since I will be using rechargeables exclusively, the voltmeter is actually really useful to me.

The MT10c the way to go if you don't want to worry about parasitic drain and like the up/down UI instead of cycle (low-thru-turbo) when changing brightness levels.

One of the best EDC ever created.

MT10c has battery meter.

Have to agree the EC11 is an awesome little light. Hopefully in future iterations Nitecore/Cree can eek out more efficiency making the run time last longer but that's a minor thing if you're using rechargeables. Do agree though with the comment regarding the size of the buttons which are it's only real design flaw, hopefully these will be made bigger in the future so it can be used with gloves.

With regards to using CR123's, I've been able to use Surefire primaries without the sleeve, it may rattle around slightly but they do work.

The EC11 currently has a very serious contender for my pocket time: a McGizmo Haiku Hi-CRI. However, its flexibility means I stand by my 'Ideal Compromise' opinion of this great little light. We were on a Paranormal Investigation at the weekend where the hosts kept blowing out our night-adapted vision by using a ~100 lumen torch that seemed to jump to a strobe mode way too easily. I let her borrow the EC11 in red-light mode instead, and this was absolutely ideal. Fast-forward to later in the night, and it's obvious that something has been thrown, but we didn't know what. I point the EC11 to the ceiling, ramp through the modes to give folk time to adjust, then we could see everything, and found the projectile we were looking for (protection stone apparently).

Ive had its sibling, the EA11, for a little less than a year now and I still love it to this day. Excellent power for its diminutive size.

Chose the EA over the EC since AA's are easier to come across in my part of the world. CR123's are a bit pricey here and the only other things that use that type of battery around my house are my other torches. Both the EA and the EC are great torches. True pocket rockets 👍

MT10C for the win.

I am considering buying an EC11, but i wondered if there was a better alternative?

If it came in neutral white, I would buy one. I am really liking my new MH20-NW.

I like this little powerhouse SOOO much that I bought 2, and then an EC21 for the sole purpose of using its body tube on one of my EC11s so that I had the option to use an 18650 cell when I wanted/needed the longer run time (yes, it's a perfect fit).

All in all a GREAT light!

Cheers,
-John C.

chadvone said:

MT10c has battery meter.

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As does the EC11.

That's an interesting idea. I dunno why Nitecore doesn't upgrade the EC21 to have similar specs to the EC11 if they just need to combine the EC11 head with the EC21 body.

Flight_Deck said:

I like this little powerhouse SOOO much that I bought 2, and then an EC21 for the sole purpose of using its body tube on one of my EC11s so that I had the option to use an 18650 cell when I wanted/needed the longer run time (yes, it's a perfect fit).

All in all a GREAT light!

Cheers,
-John C.

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