[subwoofer]

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Author's Statement for Transparency and Disclosure
The test sample/s featured in this article have been provided for technical testing and review by the manufacturer. Test samples are retained by the reviewer following publication of the completed review for the purposes of long term testing and product comparisons.

All output figures and test results published in this review are the sole work of the reviewer, and are carried out independently and without bias. Test results are reported as found, with no embellishments or alteration. Though best endeavours are made to maintain the accuracy of test equipment, the accuracy of these results is not guaranteed and is subject to the test equipment functioning correctly.
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NITECORE have left convention behind and instead of machining the EC4’s body from stock material, it features a die-cast body. Use of a die-cast body reduces size and weight and increases strength and heat dissipation. In a extreme test NITECORE applied the weight of a Tesla car to the EC4 (1300Kg), and though it dented, it did not fail.



Note: the various marks visible on the light are due to damage caused by DHL during a ‘security inspection’


Taking a more detailed look:

The EC4 arrived in NITECORE’s standard cardboard packaging.
Note: the EC4 and box were damaged by DHL during a ‘security inspection’ - #DHLSlasher




In the box are the EC4, holster, lanyard and instructions.




The EC4 fits bezel down into the holster. The fit is relatively loose.




There is a fixed belt loop, and a Velcro secured loop.




Surface finish is a matt ‘Stoving Varnish’ coating.




A first view of the dual button control switch.




The grip pattern is relatively smooth to the touch.




A large thumb wheel screw secures the tail-cap onto the body.




The negative spring terminal is long and uses two springs (one within the other)




Large tabs are used to located the tail-cap onto the body.




Here you can see the threads cut into the battery tube, and these are what the tail-cap thumb screw fixes into.




Inside the battery tube, the contacts are similar to the tail-cap except that there is a protective plastic guard over some driver components.




A closer view of the battery tube threads.




As they are tucked away, the view of the tail-cap threads is limited.




Showing the fit of the cells in the battery tube.




The EC4 next to the cells it holds. This is a compact light considering it holds 2x 18650.




The long contact spring prevents the tail-cap being attached the wrong way round. Here it is shown the wrong way roung.




Changing to the correct way round you can see the tail-cap will now fit on.




The EC4 is fitted with a XM-L2 LED.




In the tail-cap screw is a standard camera tripod threaded hole allowing the EC4 to be mounted on a tripod.




It is important to look closely at the effect of the die-casting manufacturing process. A raw casting is sitting next to the finished EC4.




Another view of the raw casting next to the EC4.




Looking into the raw casting you can see how the structure does not rely on any joins. The heatsink surface is directly connected to the body making the thermal path uninterrupted and more efficient.




Through the switch opening the LED mounting plate can be seen as well as the thermal path directly flowing into the body and finned area.




The raw casting next to its unfinished tail-cap.




You can see the evidence of the casting process as well as some sanding marks from the removal of flashing. The threaded holes for fixing the tail-cap contact board to the tail-cap have also been cut into the casting at this stage.




Die-casting quickly creates very complex shapes as a single piece of metal.




A view inside the raw casting of the battery tube.




Looking from the front, all the way through the casting.




More internal details of the casting.




The raw casting is transformed into the final EC4.





The beam

Please be careful not to judge tint based on images you see on a computer screen. Unless properly calibrated, the screen itself will change the perceived tint.
The indoor beamshot is intended to give an idea of the beam shape/quality rather than tint. All beamshots are taken using daylight white balance. The woodwork (stairs and skirting) are painted Farrow & Ball "Off-White", and the walls are a light sandy colour called 'String' again by Farrow & Ball. I don't actually have a 'white wall' in the house to use for this, and the wife won't have one!


Starting indoors, the EC4 has a very clean and crisp beam. The smooth reflector gives a defined hotspot which has a smooth transition into the spill.




Outdoors, that 1000lm output shows it strength. The hotspot blends smoothly into the spill which is bright enough to be useful.





Modes and User Interface:

The EC4 has a total of five constant modes (Turbo, High, Medium, Low, Lower) and three flashing modes (Strobe, Beacon and SOS). Like many other NITECORE lights this is controlled by a dual button.

From OFF, to switch ON to the last used steady white output, briefly press the Power switch. When ON, press the Mode switch to cycle through Turbo -> Lower -> Low -> Mid -> High back to Turbo etc. To switch OFF briefly press the Power switch.

From OFF, for direct access to Lower, press and hold the Power switch for more than 1s.

From OFF, for direct access to Turbo, press and hold the Mode switch for more than 1s.

To access White flashing modes, from ON, press and hold the Mode switch for more than 1s. This will activate strobe. Press and hold the Mode switch for more than 1s again to switch to Beacon mode. Press and hold the Mode switch for more than 1s once more to activate SOS.
Once activated, pressing the mode switch briefly returns the EC4 to the previous steady mode, or a brief press of the Power switch will turn the EC4 OFF.

There is a 'Standby' mode which uses brief low power flashes of the blue switch indicator LED to act as a locator to allow you to find the EC4 in complete darkness. To activate Standby, from ON press and hold the power switch for 3s until the blue switch light comes on. Although low power, the flashes are bright enough to disturb someone's sleep. Exiting standby mode is achieved by switching on the EC4.

There is a lockout mode included. With the EC4 ON, press and hold both buttons simultaneously for 1s to enter lockout. When entering Lockout, the EC4 will turn off and give a brief flash of the main beam as you release the buttons. Like this the buttons will not turn the EC4 on. Thanks to the button design this can be done easily with the thumb. To exit Lockout press and hold both buttons simultaneously for 1s and the EC4 will turn ON in the last used mode.

Lastly when first inserting cell/s into the EC4 or briefly pressing the mode switch when OFF, the blue switch light will flash to indicate the battery charge level. It flashes once, twice, or three times. Three flashes indicates full power.



Batteries and output:

The EC4 runs on 2x18650, 4x CR123 or 4x RCR123.

To measure actual output, I built an integrating sphere. See here for more detail. The sensor registers visible light only (so Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet will not be measured).

Please note, all quoted lumen figures are from a DIY integrating sphere, and according to ANSI standards. Although every effort is made to give as accurate a result as possible, they should be taken as an estimate only. The results can be used to compare outputs in this review and others I have published.

___________________________________________	________________________________	________________________________
NITECORE EC4 using 2x NL189 3400mAh 18650	I.S. measured ANSI output Lumens	PWM frequency or Strobe frequency (Hz)
___________________________________________	________________________________	________________________________
Turbo	979	0
High	529	0
Medium	236	0
Low	84	0
Lower	2	0
Strobe	493	16.6
Beacon	Not measured	0.5

* Beacon and Strobe output measurements are only estimates as the brief flashes make it difficult to capture the actual output value.

Peak Beam intensity measured 28400lx @1m giving a beam range of 337m.

There is parasitic drain at 315uA which will fully deplete 3400mAh cells in 1.23 years.

Output on Turbo is never stepped down (partly due to the enhanced heatsinking provided by the die-cast body) and is well regulated for the entire runtime.





Troubleshooting

This is a new section I am adding to mention any minor niggles I came across during testing, in case the information helps anyone else.

No issues were encountered during testing.

As per the description of this section, this information is provided in case anyone else finds a similar 'issue' that might be fixed in the same way.



The EC4 in use

Immediately on picking up the EC4 you find the ergonomics excellent. The slightly flattened tube feels better in the hand than a round tube (to me anyway) and your thumb falls onto the control switches. The raised ridge between the power and mode switch provides great tactile feedback to tell you which button you are over.

In the few weeks I’ve been using the EC4, its surface finish has already started to shine up, so the EC4 will quite quickly develop a worn look.

A lot of my own use is at close range and indoors, and ideally I would have preferred a floodier beam, but the EC4 has been aimed at providing a good general purpose beam with some reach. Having some throw certainly works well peering into deep spaces.

Using the two 18650 format means the EC4 effortlessly holds the 1000lm output strong throughout the runtime. Heat was never an issue, and as NITECORE say in its promotional wording, the die-cast body certainly keeps the heat flowing away from the LED.

The switch pattern used is one of my favourites with the direct access to both Lower and Turbo modes. You know that if you press and hold the power button from OFF you will always get the lowest mode. In fact access to ‘Lower’ like this is more important to me than direct access to Turbo.

As it is unlikely I will need to use the EC4 to hold up a Tesla Car, the super strength provided by the die-cast body is not of real importance, but rather the smooth flowing lines and compact form it allows the EC4 to have that are the real benefits.

Two 18650s provide the EC4 with a great power reserve to draw on and (when OFF) with a quick tap of the mode button you get one to three flashes to tell you how much power there is. Two flashes would lead me to consider how long I’m likely to need it for, and one flash will have me recharging the cells. Nice and simple for most users without needing to know the actual battery voltage.

A minor disappointment is the parasitic drain. Not the worst I’ve tested by a long way, but with the drain fully depleting the cells in 1.23 years, this gives what I would consider its ‘standby life’ of half that time (so you have at least 50% charge left). In reality if left in a drawer it is easy for 6 months to fly by without thinking about it and for the EC4 it would then have just over half the charge remaining (which is even worse for you if loaded with CR123s). For a regular use light this is no problem at all, but for standby purposes, I’d leave the tail-cap off in storage.

Despite all its good points, the EC4 is quietly reserved and doesn’t really stand out. Everything about it works really well and feels great. It is the quiet dependable one. Maybe it is only because everything is just right that it doesn’t seem to stand out, I haven’t quite figured that out yet.

As the ‘First ever die-cast flashlight’ I think the EC4 has hit the nail on the head, and I’m looking forward to seeing the next two die-cast NITECOREs, the EC4S and EC45.


Review Summary

_______________________________________________	_______________________________________________
Things I like	What doesn't work so well for me
_______________________________________________	_______________________________________________
Solid 1000lm output	Surface finish already marking
Excellent ergonomics an ‘feel’	Relatively high parasitic drain
2x18650 power reserve	Lacks grip
Compact
Great Dual-button interface
Very good heat dissipation
Useful tripod thread

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