I have all 3 of these lights. None of them are perfect.
Folomov EDC-C4
Pros: Good mode spacing and can act as a powerbank, something the other lights can’t. It also has excellent fit and finish and feels quite lightweight. Hand feel is quite-good.
Cons: To use the powerbank feature you might have to lug around its special cord, plus the cord of whatever you are charging, which isn’t very convenient. The UI isn’t great. it requires you to hold the button down for a couple seconds to turn the light on or off. Also, because the large soft-touch button is easy to accidentally depress, using lockout is a must. The light features a triple-click electronic lockout, but clicking 3x then holding for 2 seconds just to turn the light on certainly isn’t convenient. Most expensive of the bunch.
The Nitenumen C8
Pros: Best “hand-feel” of the bunch (feels great in the hand. Good knurling). Excellent fit and finish. Threads and o-rings well-lubed. Best USB port cover of the bunch (biggest, thickest, holds securely, with thickest stem… and the box comes with a spare); deep carry clip; Stainless steel bezel; Small switch button is easy to find as it is on the opposite side of the light from the protruding USB cover compartment; Switch button is small and stiff enough that lockout should not be necessary for EDC pocket use (chance of accidental activation is very low).
Cons: UI (a single click takes you to max which is great, but turning it off is a pain. You either have to click 5x to turn off. Or you can click and hold for 3 seconds, which apparently is the shortcut to SOS mode. Once in SOS mode you can click once to turn off.); mode spacing (light has high, medium and low, but the “low” is not that low.); Doesn’t work with flat-top batteries.
Ultratac S20:
Pros: metal button; Sleek look.
Cons: My sample is unreliable (half the time it doesn’t work at all the other half the time it only works dimly. Clearly there is a bad connection somewhere in the light…. probably a bad ground connection); Protruding metal button looks nice but is extremely easy to accidentally activate. Using lockout of some kind during pocket EDC is mandatory; Knurling is a bit too smooth for me (not enough grip).
My assessment: I don’t think I’d carry any of these lights as my main EDC as-is. The cool-white tint isn’t great and none of them have a good UI. I like the hand-feel of the Nitenumen the best, but the UI and mode spacing are awful. The EDC-C4 is probably the most useful, because it can act as a powerbank, but doing so requires carrying and 2 USB cables so isn’t as convenient as the light’s small size might suggest.
Firelight!
How is it possible,that you didnt changed the driver in the nice Nitenumen light??? Is it not possible?Looks so good,but the UI is terrible really…Plus the cool white,most commercial led colour…People nowadays dont like it much…
Thinking I probably will try changing the driver, but I’ve never done a driver with a USB charger built in.
I’m debating a number of options for upgrading this light:
Option 1: Replace the driver with one without a built-in USB board. The light would lose charging, but I could give it the much better Emisar D4 interface and much higher max output. This is the easiest option and one most likely to be successful. It would mean the lare protruding USB cover and its housing would be redundant though. I suppose I could remove the cover and file down the housing, then cover up the un-anodized filed area with a piece of anodized black aluminum sheet.
Option 2: Buy a separate USB board and figure out how to install it. That might give me the Emisar D4 interface, with the added benefit of charging. I’d have to order the USB board though, which could take months to arrive.
Option 3: Try to pull off the USB board out of the existing driver and figure out how to attach that. No need to order parts, but also a relatively low chance of success if I don’t know what I’m doing.
Option 4: Turn the Large USB cover into a button and install a 2-button driver. Maybe use the big USB cover button for power and the small button for mode switching.
Once I figure out what to do with the driver I expect I’ll also upgrade the emitter. At the very least put in a neutral tint emitter, but possibly also upgrade it to a triple. Or put in a single SST-40.
@ Firelight2, you said your Nitenumen doesn’t work with button top batteries.
Did yours not come with a button top 3400mah battery? Mine did and it works fine.
Thanks for this summary… Figuring the UI would be a let down and knowing it’s CW, I mainly bought the Nitenumen for a possible mod host, to at least upgrade the LED and driver, because it was cheap and I like the SS bezel. I figured the protruding USB part would assist in feeling for the switch, and I’m glad to hear about the other pro’s.
Received mine today, posting my initial feedback in the dedicated thread.
Firelight2, I know you’ve done some great mods on small lights so I’m also looking forward to seeing your thoughts about possible upgrades…
The bezel end of the Nitenumen is slightly larger than the DQG 4th so since I have already modded the DQG with a triple, I’m thinking The Nitenumen might benefit from the same triple mod. I used the BLF A6 board with a attiny85 transplant running NarsilM with a switch soldered on the A6 board.
My Lumintop rechargeable battery came today.
It works with DQG Tiny just fine.
Amazing light….
On my kitchen scale this combo weights 84 grams.
Emisar D4 shorty with Aspire 18350 is just 10 grams lighter, but has 1/3 battery capacity and lacks recharge ability. Though it’s a little brighter.
i’ve got that folomov, it;s pretty good, the pattern is not too throwy at all
it reminds me of the dqg tiny 18650 IV pattern a lot
99mm, vs 87mm for the tiny
it does have usb charging , and can be a power bank too [though you have to use a proprietary cable for that]
I don’t like the UI much, but you might.
The light levels could be better for me, but you may not mind.
The light color is coolish white, which I don;t mind.
It does come with a battery, though it isn’t a high capacity one.
The switch looks ok, i was the guy that had 2 of the tinys fail.
wle
yeah i think so too, maybe there will be sales.
the UI is really not good.
i reviewed it on amazon, tried to be polite.
but i like a small 18650 so much that i STILL use it in spite of the annoyingness of the UI, just because i broke (doing nothing but just EDCing) two dqg tinys, AND a manker u11 [also the button - another but different TERRIBLE design]
i LOVE the UI on the astrolux S1, but THE THING IS TOO BIG! to go in your pocket
it is cheap though
and you can get it small by using different body tube and 18350 cell, but i hate 18350s
My 2 cents. The OTR U18 is only slightly longer than these lights but it is a beauty for the price . I can’t stop praising it’s virtues. $21 on sale , good UI , decent cell , USB charging , nice fit and finish . Low isn’t real low but it can be memorized so single semi long click = low and double click to a fairly high turbo . 3 clicks to blinkies . LVP , maybe thermal regulation , not sure yet.
still the levels are not very useful, the long presses are no better than the folomov (though it is half the price).
It has power bank capability, right?
is there a special cable for that?
(that is what the folomov has, plus you have to add a cable to go to mini or micro usb, it stops at female ‘big rectangular’ usb)
it looks ok - probably better for the price than the folomov (which is a pretty cold light and no led options available).
sadly,i will sell OTR U18 after a few days i became an owner of it…not enough bright,cool white and main-its not working:) i see other reviews with the same problem:) and yes,it has another type of usb than our phones and other flashlights…so bad choice
I have been EDC-ing the Folomov EDC C4 for a while now, I like the size and the ability to use it as a powerbank, I ordered a 6 inch Mini usb to USB-C adaptor for my phone) my only gripe with it is that I wish it had Narsil UI, and the switch light would be on when the the light is off.
