Nitenumen compact EDC 18650 light w/USB charging - Amazon deal

I’ve been looking at this new Nitenumen “C8” EDC light ($19.99) on Amazon for about a week…

The price was just lowered today to $15.99! …Plus there’s a 5% discount coupon which brings it down to $15.19 (plus tax)
So I couldn’t resist any longer and “pulled the trigger” on it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B8C71PH/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was a total impulse buy and I probably shouldn’t have done it since I also plan to buy a DQG Tiny 4th this week! :person_facepalming:
But I won’t feel so bad if the included cell tests to be really 3400mAh

It’s length is only 99mm, and I also really liked the Stainless bezel and deep carry clip.
I originally mentioned it several days ago in this thread: Is there anything the size of the DQG with USB?

I didn’t realize until after I ordered and saw the above photo (lower photo) that it has a large-ish rectangular protruding area for the USB jack.
Not sure I’m going to like that, but since the switch is directly opposite, it may serve to help readily locate the switch in the dark.
I’m hoping it will be mod-able for a NW emitter and driver upgrade for a better UI.

I’m not entirely sure but it appears to be a new model, it was recently listed on their website along with two other new models.

It’s not listed yet in the Aliexpress NITENUMEN Store.

Interesting. Amazon listing says 111mm. Are strobe & SOS hidden? Let us know how mod friendly it is (at least for an emitter swap).

-Garry

Beam0 made me do it. I got one coming from amazon. Should be here Thursday.
I’ll try to remember to revisit here garrybunk with info.

Dammit! I fell into the trap too.

I hope not!

(2nd “bullet” point):

  • Perfect for EDC Flashlight - compact size,99 mm Length x 25.4mm Diameter ·55-gram weight

Where are you seeing that?
EDIT: I see that now in the “secondary” description. :expressionless:

  • Size: Diameter:111mm (4.4 in.) Length x 25.4mm (1.0 in.) Diameter ·92-gram weight (3.2 oz.) excluding battery

Well hopefully the “front page” description is the correct one!
Estimating from the photo with features correlation (clip, bezel) I’d say 99mm is the correct spec. / Fingers crossed.

Their website has been down all day so I can’t check specs there.

EDIT #2: The reviewer wrote “It is just under 4 inches in length”, which would confirm 99mm :slight_smile:
.

Probably not, but…

In photo #6 in the description on amazon (2nd to last photo) It shows Strobe and SOS as being “concealed” modes. But the way it was described in the review leads me to think otherwise. Nitenumen just listed it on their website, and sadly that photo is not showing there. I’d been trying unsuccessfully for days to get clarification from Nitenumen on the UI specifics, they finally answered with a generic reply and no specific answer about that photo.

.

Yep, mine arriving Thursday too, stay tuned!

:innocent: :wink: :smiley:

Is this brand any good? all I can think of when I see it is

Good one! Thanks, I really appreciate the chuckle! :smiley:

.
:heart_eyes: Seinfeld show!

.
…….No hidden modes for you!!!

Received my Nitenumen yesterday. It’s the one from Amazon. Here are my initial impressions:

Pros

  • Small
  • Nice stainless steel bezel
  • Bezel is not glued so swapping emitter shouldn’t be hard.
  • Large, very thick USB boot that fits firmly in raised enclosure. Unlikely to pop out accidentally and deep enough to probably provide adequate water resistance.
  • O-rings and tailcap threads came well lubed
  • Comes with Spare O-ring, USB boot, manual and USB cable.
  • Comes in a nice looking box.
  • Tailcap lockout
  • Small switch is not hard to find as it is on opposite side of large raised USB jack.
  • Switch is small and stiff enough that lockout is probably not necessary for EDC use.
  • Fit and finish - anodizing looks good. Engraving looks crisp and smooth
  • Cheap Price
  • If battery really is a 3400 mAh LG, then that is a cut above what other cheap lights ship with. I do not have the ability to test the capacity of the battery so cannot verify.
  • Emitter appears to be a cool-white XML2. Not sure if it is authentic or not.
  • Deep-carry clip.

Cons

  • Crappy UI
  • Mode selection - low isn’t that low. And no moonlight.
  • No electronic lockout.
  • Lens is not AR coated (expected on a light this cheap)
  • Body tube is either glued to the head, or the light uses a one-piece body. Not sure which from my cursory inspection. This may make the driver and switch harder to mod.
  • Does not work with flat-top batteries. Post at center of driver doesn’t stick out enough. I tried flat top Samsung 30Q and Sony VTC5 and neither worked.

UI

  • Click once to get high.
  • Click again from on to cycle through the following in order: medium —> low —> strobe —> SOS —> OFF.
  • Shortcut to off: When light is on, hold button down till LED starts flashing (about 3 seconds), then click once.
  • No mode memory. Light always starts in high.

Overall impression: Decent, but not great light. Very good for the price.

NOTE: I measured the length of the light with battery installed: 99 mm

I got mine today. Its a very nice looking light, similar to DQG 4th except the heads more like a Utorch UT01 with the button on bottom and the charging port were the button would be. I’m not digging the UI at all, I suppose some might like it. I just hate having to go through the flashy modes to get back to the start of the UI. :confounded: It also starts in high which I dislike because it blinds you upon first click if your not ready for it.
I prefer starting in moonlight, low, med, high and turbo.
The battery says it is protected and looks nice in the burnt orange wrap. I got it cooking on the icharger right now, will do a capacity test when its done and report back what I find.

Received mine today as well, here’s my initial feedback…

  • Very nice packaging / good looking sturdy box
  • Includes user manual, spare USB cover and O-ring
  • Has a solid feel and distinctive appearance
  • Disco modes not “concealed”
  • Good brightness output
  • Tint is cold but not real blue
  • Length is 99.6mm
  • Nice pocket clip
  • Decent knurling
  • Thick glass lens (uncoated)
  • Aluminum reflector

The included cell came fully charged! (4.15v) Should have been about 3.7v for long term storage.

The protruding area for the USB port does provide a “feel reference” for locating the switch, however I dislike the protrusion and would prefer it wasn’t there.

Modding potential:

  • The bezel unscrews easily
  • MCPCB is 16mm and is secured with 2 phillips head screws, and appears to have thermal compound underneath.
  • Body is one piece - does not unscrew from head
  • Driver is secured with 2 screws (appear to be star/torx)
  • Driver appears to be 17mm but has an odd shape (flat on one side) unless that’s a contact board
  • Appears to have a pill that removes from the front, there are 2 divots to use snap-ring pliers

The “tail” of the rubber retaining “post” for the USB cover extends into the area of the MCPCB and interferes with the reflector making re-installation a bit tricky as you need to hold down the lens while screwing the bezel on.

Probably would have to remove the pill to make it easier to do an emitter swap.

PWM?

Hopefully someone else can report on the PWM as I’m not susceptible to it and cannot notice it. I’m not entirely sure how to check for it either. I believe beaming it into a fan? But I don’t have any fans handy.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Sounds like a pass for me, unless someone proves emitter & driver swap are pretty easy (which I guess will likely lose USB charging and then you have the protrusion for no purpose).

-Garry

I was unable to spot any visible PWM with mine. I tried 2 methods: beaming the light on medium mode into a desk fan, and swishing the beam around the room rapidly. I did not notice any visible strobing effect. I assume the driver either uses high-frequency PWM or is current-controlled.

Maybe the best way to reinstall is to remove the USB boot completely from the light and then reinstall it after reinstalling the rest of the light.

It does look like driver upgrade will not be horrible since it appears everything can be disassembled and isn’t glued, I want to try but personally modding or changing a driver in a side switch light is something I haven’t gotten into yet.

The protrusion does have a purpose (to locate the switch) but nevertheless I’d rather it wasn’t there, or at least was not so large. With the right upgrades I could probably live with it though. But I’d feel better if the charging could be retained.

Too bad Nitenumen really missed an opportunity to make something special here. What I really don’t understand is why? They know about the concealed modes and actually have it shown in one of their photos, I couldn’t see it costing any more to have it. Plus they’ve had other lights in the past with 2 separate groups, one with and one without the disco modes. Do they know they screwed up and are blowing this thing out cheap to get rid of them before releasing the corrected ones?

Maybe, I have trouble getting those ball end of the rubber posts back into the holes. One thing I didn’t try though was removing the cover and pulling the post out some, away from the reflector (but not removing it) that might work too.

Some of their design decisions are really strange. This light has a shortcut to SOS, but not to OFF … what were they thinking!!!