Nitecore EDC31 was sent to me directly by NITECORE for review.
For technical details and to purchase the torch:
https://nitecorestore.com/collections/n … flashlight
Useful Links:
https://twitter.com/nitecorelight
Nitecore, after having presented the EDC33/EDC35 in recent months, with Lumin Shield technology, has launched a new torch of the same series on the market these days but with smaller dimensions.
Nitecore EDC31 is smaller than the EDC33 but maintains almost all the main features of this series including the use of the Uhi 20 MAX LED with an integrated multi-core design with UHi Fusion packaging technology that combines a main core with 8 auxiliary cores arranged together in a single LED. This solution offers long-range coverage with the flexibility to seamlessly switch from spotlight to floodlight.
A light press activates the tactical search mode SEARCH while a firm press activates the LUMIN SHIELD mode for high light intensity.
Nitecore EDC31 has a high capacity 3800mAh 18650 lithium battery inside (not replaceable). With this battery the maximum autonomy is 57 hours (Ultralow 5 lumens).
EDC31 is equipped with the Rapid Lock button that allows the partial or total blocking of the torch quickly.
Nitecore EDC31 is compact (113.2mm) and lightweight (100 g with Clip), and has a single switch at the tail to manage 4 brightness levels (High, Mid, Low and Ultralow) in addition to the momentary levels LUMIN SHIELD (Floodlight) and SEARCH (Spotlight).
EDC31 has a maximum output of 3500 lumens and a maximum peak beam intensity of 35,630cd with a maximum throw of 380 meters.
EDC31 is IP68 certified (2 meters submersible) and has shock resistance up to 2 meters.
Its very compact size and its features make it an ideal companion for signaling, locating and emergency assistance at night, for night walks, night fishing, camping and more.
Note: The data shown is measured using the built-in lithium-ion battery (3,800 mAh) under laboratory conditions. The data may vary in actual use due to different environmental conditions.
Key Features:
- Utilizes a 9-core UHi 20 MAX LED with a maximum output of 3,500 lumens
- Maximum peak beam intensity of 35,630 cd and a maximum throw of 380 meters
- 4 brightness levels to choose from; SEARCH and LUMIN SHIELD™ available
- Powered by a built-in 3,800mAh lithium-ion battery for up to 57 hours of battery life
- Lockout switch (Rapid Lock™) available for Half Lockout mode and Full Lockout mode
- A micro-textured reflector provides long-range and wide-angle illumination
- Power indicators indicate remaining battery power
- Intelligent lithium-ion battery charging circuitry with a USB-C charging port
- Advanced Power Cut-Off (APC) technology for ultra-low standby power consumption
- Highly efficient constant current circuitry provides stable output
- Built-in Advanced Temperature Regulation (ATR) module (Patent No. ZL201510534543.6)
- Double-sided anti-scratch coated optical lenses
- Made of aluminum alloy with military-grade HA III hard-anodized finish
- Waterproof and dustproof rating IP68 dustproof (2 meters deep)
- Shockproof up to 2 meters
Specifications:
Length: 113.2 mm (4.46")
Head diameter: 23.0 mm (0.91")
Tube diameter: 22.6 mm (0.89")
Weight: 100 g (3.53 oz) (including clip)
Warranty Service:
All NITECORE products are guaranteed for quality. Any DOA/defective product can be replaced with a replacement product through a local distributor/dealer within 15 days of purchase. After that, all defective/malfunctioning NITECORE products can be repaired free of charge within 24 months from the date of purchase. Beyond 24 months, a limited warranty applies that covers the cost of labor and maintenance, but not the cost of accessories or replacement parts.
Nitecore EDC31 arrived in the classic Nitecore cardboard box with the main features that distinguish it printed on it.
Inside the package I found the Nitecore EDC31 with the Clip installed and the integrated battery 18650 Lithium 3800 mAh, the USB-C charging cable, the Lanyard, manual and warranty.
Nitecore EDC31 is built with HA lll military grade aluminum alloy, hard anodized finish with a waterproof and dustproof rating of IP68 (2 meters submersible) and shockproof up to 2 meters.
The EDC31 is small and compact with a total length of just 113.2mm and a weight, with battery and Clip, of 100g.
Having the EDC33 available as well, the difference in size in the hand is even more noticeable than in the photo; the EDC31 is better held in the hand and especially in a trouser pocket.
The knurling of the flashlight body is beautiful and follows the design seen on the latest Nitecore products and the grip is excellent even with a wet flashlight or with gloves.
The Nitecore EDC31 is made of a single block and is managed by a single switch at the tail. The writing on the flashlight body is well made. The design of the tail does not allow the Nitecore EDC31 to be placed upright (candle-shaped). The large chrome clip, stable and well anchored to the torch body, allows for easy insertion of the torch into your pocket. The supplied lanyard included in the sales package can be inserted into the clip.
The internal battery, not removable by the user, is a 3800mAh Nitecore 18650 Lithium with a maximum autonomy of 57 hours.
On the head of the Nitecore EDC31 we find a slightly crenulated bezel and an OP (orange peel) reflector with an optical lens with anti-scratch coating on both sides. In the center we find a 9 Core LED system (UHi 20 MAX) one central and 8 lateral ones to provide a maximum power of 3500 lumens.
The SEARCH (Spotlight) beam covers a theoretical maximum distance of 380 meters, while the more alluvial LUMIN SHIELD beam covers a maximum distance of 330 meters.
Nitecore EDC31, unlike the EDC33/EDC35, does not have a protection sensor.
Nitecore EDC31, in the wall test has a beam that is not perfectly clean but without obvious artifacts with a bright hotspot and a yellow-green colored crown.
On the Nitecore EDC31 we find only one switch at the tail. The rubber button is of a decent size with a perceptible click.
The tactical button of the EDC31 is two-stage; by pressing lightly, but without reaching the bottom, you have access to the first stage and the first click with the activation of the momentary level “SEARCH” (Spotlight) while continuing to press the button all the way down we obtain access to the second stage activating the momentary level “LUMIN SHIELD” (Floodlight).
To turn on the EDC31 you have to press the switch fully and quickly; sometimes it may happen that the torch does not turn on at the first attempt. After turning it on, by lightly pressing the switch you can cycle through the four available levels. There is no Strobe and SOS.
Near the button there are 4 status LEDs, green in color, which indicate the charge status of the integrated battery.
The user interface of the Nitecore EDC31 is simple. The EDC31 has 4 brightness levels in addition to the momentary LUMIN SHIELD (Floodlight) and SEARCH (Spotlight) levels. The EDC31 has memory for the 4 main levels.
LUMIN SHIELD 3500 lumens,
SEARCH 1500 lumens,
High 1100 lumens, 4 hours
Medium 300 lumens, 5 hours
Low 70 lumens, 24 hours
Ultralow 5 lumens, 57 hours
On/Off: When the light is off, fully press the tail button to turn it on or if on, fully press the tail button to turn it off.
Brightness Levels: When the light is on, half-press the tail button to cycle through the following brightness levels: ULTRALOW – LOW – MID – HIGH. The flashlight will directly access the previously stored brightness level when reactivated.
Direct Access to SEARCH 1,500 Lumens: When the light is on/off, half-press and hold the tail button to directly access the momentary SEARCH level. Release to return to the previous state.
Direct Access to LUMIN SHIELD™ 3,500 Lumens: When the light is on/off, fully press and hold the back button to directly access LUMIN SHIELD™. Release to return to the previous state.
Lock/Unlock: The EDC31 has two lock modes (Partial Lock Mode and Full Lock Mode).
Half Lock Mode:
· When the light is on, slide the lock switch up while holding the back button halfway or fully pressed to access the partial lock mode. The lock icon is visible below the lock switch.
· In Half Lock mode, half press and hold the back button to enter SEARCH; fully press and hold the tail button to enter LUMIN SHIELD™.
Note: To enter Full Lock mode, first slide the lock switch down to unlock the flashlight, then turn on the flashlight and then slide the lock switch up. The light will exit the partial lock mode and enter Full Lock mode directly.
Full Lock Mode (Default): When the light is on/off, slide the lock switch up to enter Full Lock mode. The lock icon can be seen under the lock switch, indicating that the back button is not available to activate the flashlight.
Unlock: In both lock modes, slide the lock switch down to exit the lock mode.
Tail LED Indicators: When the light is on, the power indicators will light up steadily to indicate the remaining battery power, while when the light is off, just press the rear button halfway and the power indicators will light up to indicate the remaining battery power (lock mode excluded).
Power Level Indicators Status:
4 Constantly On 75% – 100%
3 Constantly On 50% – 75%
2 Constantly On 25% – 50%
1 Constantly On 0% – 25% (Please charge the product as soon as possible)
Always at the rear, on the side there is the USB-C charging port protected by a hard rubber cover while on the opposite side we find the lock button.
• During the charging process, the four indicators at the end, near the button, will gradually change from flashing to solid light to show the battery level. When the battery is fully charged, the EDC31 will stop charging and the power indicators will remain constantly lit.
The lighting function is available during the charging process (excluding LUMIN SHIELD™ and SEARCH). The charging time in QC Mode, measured by me, is approximately 1 hour and 50 min. (1.6A) (Charging via 5V/2A adapter). When fully charged, the standby time, according to Nitecore, is approximately 12 months.
• The EDC31 features a convenient lock selector (Rapid Lock) for partial lock mode and full lock mode. With this system, you have the ability to prevent accidental activation of the light during everyday storage or transport in an intuitive and fast way. This implementation is really very practical and fast.
Nitecore EDC31 near other flashlights and together with the EDC33.
From left: Sofirn SD05, Olight Baton Turbo, Nitecore EDC33, Nitecore EDC31, Lumintop FW21 and Nitecore 18650 Battery.
LIGHTING and RUNTIME
In my evening tests I appreciated the illumination of the EDC31. With the 300 lumens of the medium level you already have a good illumination of the walk while with the high level you can easily cover a medium distance. Using the EDC31 in the two most powerful modes instead, the heat emitted quickly reaches high values especially using the LUMIN SHIELD level of 3500 lumens as you can see from the photo taken with a thermal camera after continuous activation for 2 minutes.
With the OPPLE Light Master Pro, a fairly precise device even if not calibrated, I measured the CCT color temperature value and the Ra color rendering on the HIGH and LUMIN SHIELD levels.
The values on this system (UHi 20 MAX composed of 9 LEDs) can vary by moving slightly from the central LED.
In LUMIN SHIELD (3500 lumens) the measured CCT value is 5874 while the Ra is 70.2. Duv = 0.0061
In HIGH (1100 lumens) the measured CCT value is 5771 while the Ra is 65.6. Duv = 0.0114
As you can see from the graph below the color shift is towards yellow/green. I did not notice any PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) at first sight.
Nitecore EDC31 has a powerful beam in the two momentary levels SEARCH of 1500 lumens and LUMIN SHIELD of 3500 lumens, but the duration is short of a few seconds. The SEARCH level using only the central LED has more throw than that obtained from all nine LEDs of the LUMIN SHIELD.
The candela (lux/1 meter) values taken at ignition (peak), with measurement at 5 meters, are as follows:
Ultralow (5 lm): 108cd for 21 meters
Low (70 lm): 1746cd for 84 meters
Mid (300 lm): 7587cd for 174 meters
High (1100 lm): 9350cd for 193 meters
SEARCH (1500 lm): 34920cd for 374 meters
LUMIN SHIELD (3500 lm):29160cd for 342 meters
The Runtimes were done indoors at a temperature of about 18°C, using the internal battery, a fully charged 3800mAh 18650. For the tests I used a Dr.Meter LX1330B Luxmeter.
I would like to point out that the values expressed in the graphs should be considered above all as a reference because they were made with means and conditions different from those used in the laboratory.
The measurement made with the Luxmeter reports the values in Candela (cd) and not the expressed brightness.
The runtimes measured by me, in the tests done (HIGH and MID), are slightly lower than those declared in the table by Nitecore.
In HIGH (1100 lumens) there is a sharp drop in the luminous flux immediately after turning on the EDC31. After 30 seconds the drop is less sudden and stabilizes after about 20 minutes at about half the initial value up to over 3 hours from the start. At this point, after a quick and brief rise in brightness, the first drop occurs, approaching battery exhaustion. EDC31 turned off after almost 4 hours from switching on.
In MID mode (300 lumens) you immediately have constant brightness until 4 hours and 30 minutes after switching on. Here too, two subsequent stepdowns bring the brightness to the level below the ultra-low level before switching off.
MID 300 lumens:
In the graph below we see the runtime, with the “HIGH” level, of the Nitecore EDC31 together with the Nitecore EDC33.
Another test was done, with the Nitecore EDC31, activating the LUMIN SHIELD mode at 3500 lumens several times and consecutively. The duration of each activation varies considerably, as can be seen from the graph, as this brightness takes away a lot of energy from the battery that the EDC31 is equipped with.
VIDEO Unboxing and Use:
CONCLUSIONS
Nitecore EDC31 has a nice design and is very light and compact in size. These are the qualities that distinguish it from, for example, the EDC33 which however remains more performing and of superior quality.
The autonomy is discrete while the recharge is fast; it took me about 1h50min for a full recharge.
The EDC31 is interesting precisely for its lightness linked however to a good construction quality, power and available functions. In the most performing levels, in particular in the momentary LUMIN SHIELD level, the body of the EDC31 heats up quickly making it difficult to hold it in your hand for a long time.
In conclusion my impression is of a good complete product, powerful and compact, with some strong points such as the Rapid Lock and the fast recharge. Too bad for the dual-stage tail switch, the only one available, which remains not very functional having to manage the entire UI available.
Thanks for reading the review.
In short:
What I like:
Compact size, overall and compared to the previous EDC33.
Decent construction.
Good light beam with a good throw.
Remaining charge indicator.
Excellent lock switch.
Fast charging
Great Large clip for practical use.
What I don’t like:
Non-removable battery.
2-stage electronic switch not very functional. Sometimes it takes multiple attempts to access the normal levels.
No moonlight (1 lumens)
Low CRI
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