[ad_1]
Nitecore is not the first time they make compact and bright flashlights. And, for the most part, I like the results of their experiments — the same TM10K or Concept2. I propose to see what happens from their attempts to combine a 21700 battery and high brightness. My Nitecore E4K review will hopefully show if this EDC flashlight is interesting or not.
Characteristics
Packaging and appearance
Standard and familiar black and yellow packaging, common for the middle range of Nitecore products.
Inside in the substrate: flashlight, 18650->21700 adapter, case, lanyard, instructions, 21700 battery, type-C charging cable, clip, o-ring. Everything you need is there.
The cover is not bad, but, in general, it is quite ordinary. Given the brightness of the flashlight, it would be justified to make a hole in the case right under the glass, so that a flashlight that accidentally turns on does not burn through the fabric.
The flashlight, despite its high brightness, with its 117mm length is quite comparable with the well-known and radically less bright Convoy S2 +, this new nightcore flashlight is only symbolically wider. This is what I like about 21700 batteries — with a millimeter difference in size, the capacity increase reaches almost half.
The included battery deserves special mention as it has a built-in Type C charger. Super! The charging current reaches 0.9A, the battery is fully charged in about 6 hours. The battery has a standard red-green indication of the charging process.
Well, here is the Nitecore E4K from all angles. Quite good. There is no special design chic here, but the lantern looks quite tolerable.
A magnet would fit under a good thick spring.
But on the side of the head, instead of a spring, there is a spring-loaded platform. The contact does not stick out there, so you will have to use a magnet to use third-party flat-head batteries.
The thread is fine, long and well-oiled. You can block the lantern with a slight lapel of the tailcap.
The knurling on the body is very simple, but extremely embossed and tenacious even without a clip.
Nitecore E4K sits perfectly in the hand, the grip is exceptionally comfortable.
I really liked the button. Due to its size, it is easy to find and it is conveniently pressed. The blue backlight, as usual for nitecore, helps to estimate the remaining charge — unscrew and tighten the cap, the button blinks off the voltage, for example, 3 and 2 flashes mean 3.2v.
The head is quite compact and for this size the cooling fins are quite good. In order to cope with the turbo, in any case, it would take much larger body. And they cope with high as they are.
The head, of course, is non-separable.
4 XPL2-HD LEDs are responsible for the light. The reflectors are very small, so it is clear that the light here will be flooded without any hint of range. I never saw the usual blue of enlightenment.
As a result, the lantern looks attractive and unbanal. It sits comfortably in the hand. At this stage, the impressions are positive.
Control
But here the impressions are completely different. Nitecore could have made some familiar controls, but they decided to experiment here too. And to this management In fact You have to get used to it and it can not be called intuitive.
In general, if you need to turn on the flashlight and shine, this will not cause problems.
The obvious minus here is that from the bookmark in moonlight impossible switch to any mode other than turbo. Therefore, if you turn off the flashlight, then you should do it in LOW. Then, turning it on at night, you will not go blind. And you can choose either this mode (and the ability to go higher brightness) or moonlight (and not go anywhere from it).
The second important point (perhaps the most important) is that when the flashlight is on, you will not be able to switch the mode, if you hold it, you will enter the turbo, if you press it, the flashlight will turn off. I get around this with a simple solution, doing two clicks (off-on) + hold. It’s crooked, peculiar, you have to get used to it, but it works.
Turn on/off
Power On: When the flashlight is off, press and hold the power button for about 1 second to turn it on.
Power off: When the flashlight is on, press the power button to turn it off.
Brightness levels
With the flashlight off, press and hold the power button after turning on the flashlight to cycle through the following brightness levels: ULTRA LOW — LOW — MIDDLE — HIGH — TURBO. Release the button to select the desired brightness level. (This access has a memory mode. When reactivated, the flashlight automatically switches to the brightness level last stored in memory).
Quick transition to SUPER LOW mode
2x clicks from OFF
With the flashlight on, press and hold the power button to immediately activate TURBO mode. Release the button to return to the previous brightness level.
Special modes (STROBE/SOS/LIGHTHOUSE)
With the flashlight on, press the power button three times to activate the STROBE mode.
When the STROBE mode is enabled, press and hold the power button each time to
switch between the following special modes: SOS — LIGHTHOUSE — STROBE.
When one of the special modes is activated, press and release the power button to exit
special modes and turning off the light.
Selecting a user mode
E4K provides 2 user modes, including Casual Mode and Tactical Mode, for different users and situations.
Casual mode (default setting): With the flashlight off, press the power button three times to directly access the TURBO mode.
Tactical mode: With the flashlight off, press the power button three times to directly access the STROBE mode.
To select the desired user mode:
Make sure the flashlight is off.
- Loosen the back cover.
- Keep holding the power button while tightening the back cover.
- Once the back cover is tightened, the LEDs will display the selected user mode, flashing once for Casual Mode or flashing twice for Tactical Mode.
Power indication
When the battery is inserted, the power indicator light under the switch will flash to indicate battery voltage (±0.1V). For example, if the battery voltage is 4.2V, the power indicator light will flash 4 times, followed by a pause of one second, and then the light will flash 2 more times.
How Nitecore E4K shines
Wide fill and bright light. Cold of course. In general, the selection of modes will fit, although I would do something like 50-200-500. But this is purely a matter of taste and as it is, it can be completely used.
Of course, the declared 4400 lumens at such dimensions raise a reasonable question — «how long». Not for long, and this is expected and logical. The 30 minutes in the spec is simple arithmetic without heat triggering. As a result, no longer than I have seen in other compact bright lights of this size. But 20 seconds is enough to give a good bright light that will highlight all the details. Interestingly, it is clearly seen that thermoregulation is working. At the same time, you can restart the turbo at the same brightness. Those. in case of acute need, you can actually squeeze out 40-60 seconds Very high brightness. It is quite possible that it can be longer, but the inside of the lantern may suffer. So here it is necessary to understand both the plus and minus of such a scheme.
Cooling, of course, at this size does not have the slightest effect on the duration of the turbo.
Unfortunately, the flashlight copes with High not so confidently. I expected that with this size it would be possible at least when cooling (that is, in most situations of outdoor use) to get fully stabilized brightness at this level. But no, you can only count on a minute and a half before the thermal cutoff is triggered. Then, depending on the presence or absence of cooling, you end up with somewhere around 500 or 700 lumens. Which is also, in general, a good brightness, and more than sufficient for use in a room such as an apartment.
With MID, not surprisingly, there are no problems at all. In this mode, the flashlight will illuminate the whole night. Let 350 lum seem unimpressive, especially against the backdrop of a turbo, but this is quite a normal setting for the footlight, as can be clearly seen in the photo below. I often get by on walks and lower brightness.
As for the light itself, there are no complaints about it, except that we would like a warmer light. For normal movement, the same MID as a past light is quite enough. All other modes above, High and Turbo are not exactly redundant, but are optional for everyday purposes. If necessary, they will illuminate brightly and widely, the same High completely illuminates a standard suburban area.
Range, of course, no, it is naive to expect it in a flashlight of this type. Due to the high brightness, the flashlight can somehow illuminate at a distance of one and a half hundred meters, but no more than somehow. To work at this distance, you need lights with a completely different combination of optics and LEDs. I talked more about what affects what in my article about how to choose led flashlight.
Of course, the Nitecore E4K video review contains many more examples of how this flashlight shines.
General impressions
Indistinct and very experimental controls aside, the Nitecore E4K may be a suitable option for the average user who is looking for a relatively compact and very bright branded flashlight with flood light on a modern 21700 power supply. Or maybe not — it all comes down to management
Such a user will receive an unexpectedly not the shortest turbo for such brightness, which is actually very, very bright for a flashlight of this size. High, albeit after the thermal cutoff has been triggered, is also quite bright, although this level does not stand out among the mass of other flashlights.
By itself, the light is filler and comfortable for close work. The lantern is attractive in appearance and because of this it will fit as a gift. Built-in battery charger allows you to charge it anywhere without the need for a separate external charger. The light is stabilized, in the complete battery there is a built-in charger.
Of the minuses, I repeat, very specific in a bad sense control and operation of the thermostepdown even at High. In fact, the latter makes the Nitecore E4K a 700 lum constant brightness flashlight that has two spare powerful (and short-lived) brightness levels — 1050 High and 4400 in turbo. Not that it was even a minus, all this is quite expected. Here, the perception of numbers rather works, 700lum is somehow not impressive against the background of 4400, although in reality this is a good brightness. If, like 2-3 years ago, the maximum brightness was 1050, and dropped to 700, it would look completely acceptable.
And, of course, the price tag is high. For this, it is worth saying thanks to both the course and the very fact that this is a novelty.
I am sure that this model will not impress sophisticated lamplighters in any way, you will not surprise anyone here with high brightness — such people are looking for a different light and control. The simple user accustomed to controlI think that I will be satisfied with receiving a pocket-sized flashlight with the brightness of a real headlight.
Where to buy and how to save
you can buy Nitecore E4K on aliexpress BANGGOOD or Yandex-Market
Save on the purchase of this or any other product, you can use coupons and promotional codes from the discount channel in telegram, see the link to it below in the block «about the author».
[ad_2]