4k Review - Astrolux EC01 3500 Lumens USB C Rechargeable - Best Value 2019

stroodl · 2019-09-24T20:55:26.000Z

Hello,
I just received my EC01. Looks great and everything but it was supposed to replace my old Nitecore EA41 with XML2U2 and a direct comparison of these two lights disappointed me

The EA41 on high is much brighter and has a better throw than EC01 on turbo. Besides that - the EC01 gets hot after a couple of seconds while the EA41 remains significantly cooler for a whole minute.

I’m using a brand new and fully charged Samsung 40T 21700 cell.

I do not need more light than my EA41 produces but the EC01 cannot even keep up plus it gets hot and ramps down quickly. But, to be honest, I also looked forward how 3500 lumens look next to 1020 lumens.

Is there anything I can check or is it how it is supposed to work?

Thank you,

Ondra

KevinZA1988 · 2019-09-25T12:25:44.000Z

stroodl:

Hello,
I just received my EC01. Looks great and everything but it was supposed to replace my old Nitecore EA41 with XML2U2 and a direct comparison of these two lights disappointed me

The EA41 on high is much brighter and has a better throw than EC01 on turbo. Besides that - the EC01 gets hot after a couple of seconds while the EA41 remains significantly cooler for a whole minute.

I’m using a brand new and fully charged Samsung 40T 21700 cell.

I do not need more light than my EA41 produces but the EC01 cannot even keep up plus it gets hot and ramps down quickly. But, to be honest, I also looked forward how 3500 lumens look next to 1020 lumens.

Is there anything I can check or is it how it is supposed to work?

Thank you,

Ondra

The EC01 was not designed to be a thrower. It outperforms the EA41 hands down, except for throw. If you want the EC01 to throw farther than the EA41, change the LED to a SST-40 5000K/6500K. On turbo, you will see a definite increase in throw over the EA41, and around 2100 lumens.

There is no way that the EA41 is brighter than the EC01. It sounds to me you are in muggle mode, or your EC01 is faulty. On max ramp the EC01 will be brighter than the EA41, and on turbo it will simply blow it out of the water.

amishbill · 2019-09-25T13:29:05.000Z

KevinZA1988:

….
It sounds to me you are in muggle mode, or your EC01 is faulty. On max ramp the EC01 will be brighter than the EA41, and on turbo it will simply blow it out of the water.

That is my guess too.

It’s too late to check, but I’m fairly certain both of my EC01 shipped with MuggleMode ON.

mortuus · 2019-09-25T17:41:30.000Z

Nitecore EA41 is a 1000 lumen flashlight? lol no wonder it can run longer but its no way near max turbo… for me i feel its just as bright on turbo as my convoy l6 cool white which does around 3500 lumens or whatever so it shows its really doing that much lumens the ec01… it getting warm is no suprise because the light is insane cute small…

Nitecore EA41 has a bigger reflector but less lumens, the ec01 reflector isnt really bigger then a convoy c8 or smaller? but since the light does 3500+ lumens u get some decent throw consdiering its a OP reflector…

stroodl · 2019-09-25T18:33:50.000Z

Thank you for the hints. I ordered two EC01’s (one of them as a christmas gift for my father) and both perform the same. Muggle mode is off.

I do not have equipment to measure the output but it seems to me that both EA41 and EC01 produce roughly the same “amount” of light (EC on turbo, EA on highest mode) with EC being more floody (which I actually prefer) and EA giving much more throw.
The thing is that EA stays warm to touch for more than a minute while EC is unconfortable to touch after 20 seconds or so.

I will make a video during the weekend to show you.

I will also try to calibrate the temp sensor.

scosgt · 2019-09-25T19:05:54.000Z

If you don’t have one already, get a Fire Flies E01. Great throw, does not get hot fast.

amishbill · 2019-09-25T19:06:13.000Z

What you say some some sense. Both lights light up a spot to the same degree, but the EC lights up a wider spot than the EA. The lumens to light up that additional area have to come from somewhere.

stroodl · 2019-09-25T19:12:02.000Z

amishbill:

What you say some some sense. Both lights light up a spot to the same degree, but the EC lights up a wider spot than the EA. The lumens to light up that additional area have to come from somewhere.

No no, the spot of EA is much brighter than the one of EC. You can clearly see EA’s brighter spot when pointing at EC’s spot… if you know what I mean I’m just guessing that the “amount” of light both lights produce is roughly the same (EA’s narrower but brighter spot vs. EC’s wider but less bright spot).

KevinZA1988 · 2019-09-25T19:27:37.000Z

stroodl:

amishbill:

What you say some some sense. Both lights light up a spot to the same degree, but the EC lights up a wider spot than the EA. The lumens to light up that additional area have to come from somewhere.

No no, the spot of EA is much brighter than the one of EC. You can clearly see EA’s brighter spot when pointing at EC’s spot… if you know what I mean I’m just guessing that the “amount” of light both lights produce is roughly the same (EA’s narrower but brighter spot vs. EC’s wider but less bright spot).

It’s just higher candela, not higher lumens. So easy to think it’s brighter if you don’t know the difference. My 800 lumen OSRAM White flat Convoy C8+ throws much farther than my 6000 lumen BLF Q8.

LTC · 2019-09-25T20:12:13.000Z

stroodl:

Thank you for the hints. I ordered two EC01’s (one of them as a christmas gift for my father) and both perform the same. Muggle mode is off.

I do not have equipment to measure the output but it seems to me that both EA41 and EC01 produce roughly the same “amount” of light (EC on turbo, EA on highest mode) with EC being more floody (which I actually prefer) and EA giving much more throw.
The thing is that EA stays warm to touch for more than a minute while EC is unconfortable to touch after 20 seconds or so.

I will make a video during the weekend to show you.

I will also try to calibrate the temp sensor.

Very interesting from your 1st post and this. Maybe something is really wrong somewhere. Hope to see your video soon.

PiercingTheDarkness · 2019-11-19T14:08:49.000Z

Have you confirmed the 40T cells are genuine? I highly doubt there’s something wrong when he says that both are the same

The EA has a more focused center hotspot which makes it appear the same brightness.

The EC has a lot more evenly spread flood (surrounding light) which is producing more lumens

You need to understand the difference between lux and lumens when choosing the right flashlight for you.

Lux - the brightest (most intense) part of the beam

Lumens - overall light output

nuemtol · 2019-11-19T15:07:48.000Z

Thank you for the video. The specs on this light look so good: price + charging + lumens. It also looks very good on video reviews. I wish Astrolux had better build quality + support… s43s & EC01 would then seem like good gifts.

Flashaholics , and d_t_a next to MF01 mini. It looks so bright in the grassy field.

So tempting at $25

This is too technical for me, but is there a chance the problems discussed are related to the MF01 Mini problems of incorrect voltage reading, and temperature calibration?

andygold · 2020-01-10T15:54:27.000Z

Battery question...

I'm looking for the "best" 21700 battery for the EC01.

I've seen:

Samsung 50E INR 5000mAh 3.7V High-Drain 10A $9.50

Samsung 40T INR 4000mAh 3.6V High-Drain 35A $7.95

Samsung 30T INR 3000mAh 3.7V High-Drain 35A $11.00

Xtar Molicel INR 4200mAh 3.6V High-Drain 45A $8.95

Some are rated at 3.6volt, others 3.7volt. Does this make a difference? I do realize that they will be charged to roughly 4.2 volts.

Can the EC01 reach it's max performance with the 10Amp 50E, or is 10A not enough? I ask as it has the highest capacity of the four.

If the 50E is not sufficient, then the Xtar appears to have the best specs of the remaining three. Would the Xtar be the best choice for brightness and capacity?

Or, would you suggest the Sammy 40T? (or 30T....although the 30T is more expensive than the 40T for some reason)

Lastly, would an IMR battery have any advantages over INR? I think I Saw a Liitokala IMR that was up around 4000mAh and 40A.

Swabs · 2020-01-15T16:38:52.000Z

Received my EC01 yesterday, and I am disappointed to see the beam is a very warm color. I ordered the cool white 6000-6500K, but clearly got a 5000k model. The product box has a label that states 6000-6500K, and that label was put on rather sloppy, so I am thinking somebody at the factory was in a hurry and put the wrong label on the box, causing the issue.

I sent a message to the seller on Aliexpress, so I am hopping for a resolution within the next day or two.

VrestoTaylor · 2020-01-15T22:03:34.000Z

i see pictures,videos…anyway-is it comfortable as an typical edc or is it too big and heavy?looks so nice…

patmurris · 2020-01-16T01:05:51.000Z

andygold:

Battery question…

I went with 40Ts for the nine units i ordered. Seems like a reasonable choice. The 10A 50T might not be enough for high and turbo, although it sure is enough for most use cases.

Swabs · 2020-01-16T01:11:49.000Z

vresto:

i see pictures,videos…anyway-is it comfortable as an typical edc or is it too big and heavy?looks so nice…

Yes, it is a very good looking torch. Beautifully made, too.

It’s on the smaller side, it is about an inch shorter than the Sofirn C8F I have. I hope that gives you an idea. It is extremely comfortable in hand. I carried it in my pant pocket at work today, no complaints at all.

VrestoTaylor · 2020-01-16T17:28:38.000Z

i saw the videos…-and cos never had xhp50 lights-this is a bit throwy right?

Swabs · 2020-01-16T22:43:31.000Z

vresto:

i saw the videos…-and cos never had xhp50 lights-this is a bit throwy right?

To my eyes, and comparing to the Wowtac A4 V2, Convoy C8+, and Lumintop TD15S, the Astrolux EC01 is definitely more on the floody side. Not so much a thrower. .

vit55 · 2020-03-26T21:11:53.000Z

Hi everyone,
please how to do a factory reset of this torch? Thanks in advance.