Review: Nitecore EC4GTS (2x18650 sided, Flood, thermal regulation, thermal video)

I received the EC4GTS from Nitecore for the review.

The EC4GTS comes in this box, with lanyard, manual, warranty and a sheath.

The distinctive feature of the EC4GTS is the monolithic construction that gives a squared design: the body and the head are made out of a single piece of aluminum, and the only parts that are added on the main “frame” are the bezel and the tailcap.

Near the head there are 2 electronic switch with a blue LED underneath them.

The smooth reflector hosts the emitter: a XHP35HD.

At the tailcap there are lanyard holes

The peculiar design to allow the tailcap to be screwed to the body of the light by twisting the bezel at the tailcap.


And a tripod screw on the outside of the tailcap.

Also as you could have noticed, the EC4GTS is powered by 2 18650 cells that are inserted side by side, rather than one after the other like in other lights. This makes the EC4GTS a much more compact light and easier to carry and use.

The sheath is in cordura and MOLLE compatible

Output and runtime
All tested using 2 18650 3400mAh Nitecore protected batteries.




Beamshot
Will be uploaded in the next days

Thermal Test

My thoughts
The light is well built and finished.
I have always been a fan of the “side to side” lights, because they make the light more compact and easier to use. The rectangular rounded body of the EC4GTS feels much better in my hand than a slimmer and circular one.
Also, the monolithic construction helps incredibly in the heatsinking aspect of things, as you can easily see from this thermal video. A light thus built is able to run for longer periods of time at higher output than a light made out of single pieces. You can easily observe this in other lights that have body and head as separated pieces.
In that aspect, the thermal regulation improves further the experience.
I like the UI that allows to get access to minimum, maximum and last used mode.

The sheath I don’t like too much, while it embraces closely the head, the body has a bit of play and the Velcro could engage a bigger surface (as you can see in the pic).

I would have liked another mode between the ultralow (1 lumen) and low (55 lumens) mode.
I would like to see this light come in a neutral white version.

Thanks to: AntoLed for the Luxmeter, thermal camera, camera help; thanks to Zampa for the tripod.