FiTORCH EC10 (Review)

First let me thank FiTORCH for their generosity in sending me their EC10 flashlight (and a 14500 battery) for testing and reviewing purposes. The following review is my own opinion of the EC10 flashlight and is not influenced – one way or the other – by the fact that I did not purchase the EC10.

My understanding is that, for the time being, the only way to order a FiTORCH flashlight is directly from the company. That will be changing though, as FiTORCH is in the process of creating their own storefront on Amazon.

There is a new player coming to town, and this player has game. I suspected as much when I first saw their professionally done website, and I knew it for sure once I opened the box, that had been sitting on my doorstep, and saw what was inside.

The packaging itself is nicely done, with excellent graphics and all of the important information printed on the four sides of the display box. I like that because it tells me, as a consumer, that the company put a lot of thought into their product and its packaging. There’s also a clear sticker, with the letters QC stamped in black, fastening one end of the retail packaging down – giving me the distinct impression that FiTORCH is making sure that their customers get a quality product.

In The Box

EC10

Clip

Holster

Lanyard

Spare O-ring and spare switch cap.

Owner’s Manual

With an overall length that is just shy of 4 inches, the EC10 is the perfect size for EDC carry in the pocket. The body itself is finished very nicely in a matte black and anodized for protection against scratches or wear. It features concentric rings over most of the body and all but the first and last ¼ inch (or so) of the tail cap. Intersecting the finer concentric grooves are parallel grooves (tail cap and body) that help provide additional grip. The main body also has two flattened sides; one of which has the company logo, and the other features the model name along with other pertinent information.

The head is detachable and measures approximately 1.5 inches in length and has a diameter of approximately ¾ of an inch. There are deeper concentric grooves on the head (heat dissipation as well as grip). The grooves also feature slightly flattened areas that do a remarkably good job of preventing the flashlight from rolling – even without the clip attached.

The clip is removable from the body, but unfortunately it is not reversible. It allows for head-down pocket carry (my preference) and takes a bit of authority to remove it from the body. The spring part (of the clip) is more flexible – allowing it to be easily attached to your outer pocket. For my tastes, the clip is just about perfect in that aspect – it holds very well, but I don’t have to wrestle with it to attach it to my pocket.

The holster is quite nice. It appears to be made of nylon, but is sturdier than most holsters of this type. It fastens shut with Velcro. The belt loop is generous – allowing for belts up to 2 ½ inches, and there is a loop on the top of the holster that allows the holster to be attached to a clip. The belt must be passed through the belt loop though – as it is sewn to the backing material and does not allow the loop itself to be opened up.

I Like the design of the EC10 very much; it feels great in my hand and is more comfortable than some of the cross-cut grooves found on other brands. The grip is very good – in a variety of positions and conditions.

The switch is a tail switch, covered with a textured rubber cap. The EC10 features cut-out edges on the tail – making it easy to find and use the switch (even with gloves – I tried) but it doesn’t allow the flashlight to tail-stand very well. Some of that is due to the lanyard, but even with that removed tail-standing is a bit wobbly at best.

The tail cap features a robust spring that is well centered in the cap. The threads are cut very well and lubricated; there is no sign of obstructions or other interference. Both ends (head and tail) screw on/off with a smoothness that speaks to the precision cuts of the threads.

Features/Specifications

High strength aluminum body, and (military-spec) hard anodized for strength and durability.

Cree XP-L2 LED

Lens is coated and tempered mineral glass.

Reflector is coated, precisely ground metal.

Thermal protection

Mode Memory

Over discharge protection

IPX-8 – waterproof to 2 meters

Drop resistant to 2 meters

Battery – 1 14500 battery, or 1 AA battery

Length – 3.94 inches

Head diameter - .73 inch

Weight – 1.19 ounces (without battery)

2 year Warranty

Modes

There are 5 modes – high, medium, low, strobe, SOS – and then back to high.

All changes are made via the tail switch.

Fully press and release the switch to turn the flashlight on. Fully press and release the switch to turn the flashlight off.

The EC10 does have a temporary ON function – half-press and hold the switch and the flashlight comes on in the last mode used.

To switch modes while in the ON position: fully press and release the switch (turns flashlight off). Immediately fully press and release switch again (turns light back on, in the next mode).

To switch modes while in the OFF position: half-press and release (turning flashlight on and then back off). Immediately half-press again to go into the next mode.

When the EC10 is shut off (and left off for a bit) it will turn on in that same mode (including strobe and SOS modes).

Low Mode – 30 lumens and runs for 8 hours

Medium Mode – 100 lumens and runs for 2.5 hours

High Mode – 700 lumens and runs for 54 minutes (.9 hours). (165 meters distance)

To prevent heat damage, the EC10’s thermal protection ramps the output (on high) down to 350 lumens (50%) after 3 minutes. However, if high mode is needed; simply turn the light off and then back on.

I have to admit that I didn’t know about the thermal protection until I re-read the owner’s manual (as I was writing my thoughts about the EC10). In my use, I’ve had the flashlight on high for longer than 3 minutes and didn’t notice a ramp-down in lumens. That could be due to the fact that the cooler temperatures kept the flashlight from getting warm, or it could be that I just didn’t notice the ramp-down. The EC10 never once became warm while I was using it.

I did test the EC10 with both types of batteries (14500 and AA). The EC10 is clearly brighter with the 14500, but still does quite well with regular alkaline AA batteries. (It also worked just fine with Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries)

Beam

The EC10 has a hot-spot, but it transitions into spill light so smoothly that I don’t really notice the hot-spot if I’m not paying attention. There’s a lot to really like about the EC10 – and the beam is one of the primary reasons; it’s an excellent beam that covers a lot of area. More than one person was absolutely amazed once they saw what the little EC10 could do. I can’t blame them either, because it really is rather amazing.

I shot the beam shots on a seldom-used road. From where I was standing, to a noticeable curve in the road is 251 meters (according to Google Maps). I can only guess as to the distance that the EC10 could illuminate objects, but I would certainly believe 100 meters is within its range. Still, I don’t consider the EC10 to be a “throw” flashlight; in my mind it is closer to being a flood type beam, albeit not quite flood either.

I would call the light (put out by the EC10) more of a neutral light than it is a cool light (or warm). Perhaps it is best to call it a cool neutral?

Conclusions

I’ll tackle the changes I’d make first.

I’d like to see the clip capable of being reversed; that way it can easily be attached to the brim of a cap when that is necessary. To me, this size of light is perfect for those instances and I think that change would be a good one.

If I’m being really picky, I’d say the belt loop needs to be made so the belt can be attached without pushing the belt through the loop. Velcro would do the job nicely, and it would make things easier for people. Granted – this isn’t an issue that bothers me in the slightest, because I don’t use the holster in the first place. I keep it in my front pocket, secured via the clip.

I really like the size of the EC10, how it fits in my pocket, and how it feels in my hand. I love the beam, the build-quality, and the simplicity of the user-interface. It all works together to make an EDC flashlight that the user can depend upon and the option of using readily available AA batteries just sweetens this already great flashlight.

While I don’t know the retail price of the EC10, I’m still going to highly recommend it. Assuming it comes in at a price that is competitive (with it’s competitors) I’d say the EC10 should be at the top of the list when it comes to considering a new EDC flashlight.

Can you tell us if it fits Protected 14500 batteries?

Yes, the 14500 battery used is a protected battery.

its a XPL LED, you wrote XPL2

Both the website - Link - and the owner’s manual - Link - list the LED as Cree XP-L2

Looking forward to seeing what Fitoch headlamp are like

Thanks for that, I was a bit let down when I bought my last flashlight to find out I had to start putting unwound paper clips in it!

Missing critical information in this review.

What is the max lumens on a Eneloop Pro / AA battery? Hopefully it’s at least 350+ lumens.

I’m seeing XP L

  • LED: Cree XP-L
  • Input: DC 0.8V-4.2V
  • Output: max 700 lumen
  • Reflector: precise metal filmed
  • Glass: filmed mineral glass
  • Material : HA-III military hard-anodized finish aluminum alloy
  • Housing: Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish of black
  • Switch:Tailcap
  • Powered: 1*14500 or 1*AA
  • Size: head: ¢0.73 inch/ Ø18.5mm, Length: 3.94 inch/100mm
  • Weight: 1.19 Ounces/33.8g(exclude battery)

Yeah, for some reason the manufacturer neglects to mention the AA lumen modes.

my completely unscientific observations would put the nimh AA high mode about 2.5 (maybe 3) times that of the IMR 14500 medium mode. I was using an efest IMR 14500 v2 700 mah and an Ikea ladda 2450. I have 2 of the EC10s and had the beams on the wall about 2 metres in front of me