At the end there will be a summary for those who like only particulars. In each topic I will bold the key sentences, so it will be easier to notice what’s the most important. Enjoy!
You can check the flashlight on the official Nitecore website:
Or you can buy one here:
Table of Contents:
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General parameters
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Package content
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Appearance, parameters
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UI, runtime and charging
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PWM
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Waterproofness
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Light pattern, tint
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Gallery and Summary
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Material | Aluminium (7075-T6), HA III Hard-Anodized finish |
| Reflector | Textured (OP) |
| Lens | Glass, AR coated |
| LED | NiteLab UHi 20 MAX |
| Brightness | 4000lm max, theoretical |
| Throw | 450m, 54500cd |
| Switch | Electronic, double click stage switch |
| Modes | 4 + spotlight only + LUMIN SHIELD (turbo) |
| Mode memory | Yes |
| Battery | 1x built-in 4000mAh, 18650 Li-ion |
| Reverse polarity protection | - |
| Low voltage protection | Yes |
| Waterproof | IP68, up to 2m underwater |
| Impact resistance | 2m |
| Size | [Diameter: (Head: 25.4mm / Tube: 24mm)] / Length: 115.6mm |
| Weight | Flashlight + battery: 121g (4.27oz) |
Inside were:
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Flashlight + 18650 4000mAh cell
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Paracord lanyard
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USB C charging cable
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Part of the standard lanyard (idk why)
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Manual
Nitecore EDC33 has a very nice design. It is of course subjective, but I really like it.
The reflector is textured, OP. The small hole found there is not a manufacturing defect but a proximity sensor. It reduces the flashlight’s brightness when it gets close to an obstacle. It’s worth noting that the sensor activates only once per power cycle – after one activation (and brightness reduction), it won’t work again until the flashlight is turned off and on again. I imagine this is to allow shining the flashlight at high power through a glass, it would be impossible otherwise (yes, it detects even very clear glass, like camera UV filter).
The UHi LED, with one central emitter and several smaller ones around it, can simultaneously emit both a focused beam and a diffused light -nice!
I really like this cool clip, stainless steel bezel and tail button protection and unique pattern knurling.
It all looks great, and even better in my favorite EDC35 I also reviewed.
Those both flashlights are somewhat of a hidden gems - both have something special, both are built from 7075 series aluminium. It does not sound like much, but the actual difference in hardnes between 7075 and 6061 is big.
Well, to be fair you also have to remember the flashlight is covered with HAIII anodization, which is harder than both 6061 and 7075 aluminium. But harder and better aluminium means tougher flashlight, it is less likely to get dents and other things when dropped, and harder to scratch ( when anodization is already scratched)
But I really don’t know what’s about this small string. I find it in all my recent Nitecore flashlights. It should be a part of the standard lanyard, well, it should be attached to the rest so it makes a lanyard. But now it is just a string, and I don’t really need it because there is a paracord included. Maybe a manufacturing problem, maybe Nitecore has like a milion of these and they need to dump it somewhere.
UI
The switch located at the back of the flashlight is used to lock it. Since the housing cannot be disassembled, Nitecore had to come up with a way to protect users from accidentally turning it on and damaging the flashlight and other items.
I mentioned the ability to switch between spotlight and floodlight thanks to the LED array.
But it sadly has some limitations: central spotlight LED is not bad, it works alone on two lowest standard settings (LOW - 70lm and MID - 300lm) and on the special, bright SEARCH (1700lm) mode. You cannot switch between central LED and LED array and change its brightness independently.
Floodlight, on the other hand, is very limited, well… it is never a true floodlight, because the center LED is always on, I repeat, always. Array of 8 small LEDs are on on the HIGH 1200lm mode, and the brightest LUMIN SHIELD (4000lm) mode.
It’s surprising that Nitecore hasn’t patented this solution yet. They seem to patent everything they can. For example, LUMINSHIELD has its own patent.
Imagine Convoy patenting something like a cardboard box: SimplePackaging™
Or: No-IP-standard-but-still-waterproof™
Runtime
The Nitecore EDC33 is powered by a single 18650 battery with a claimed capacity of 4000mAh. I thought such capacities for 18650 batteries were unrealistic, but it turns out they are not. In my 0.5A discharge tests, the battery achieved a capacity of 3864mAh. It’s possible that discharging at 0.1A could achieve the full 4000mAh.
Heat dissipation
It is normal for small and lightweight flashlight with max brightness 4000lm to overheat quickly.
This graph shows changing in output brightness over a fifteen-minute period. High mode, 1200 lumens.
Starting temp. (before turning on):
Temperature after 1 minute:
Temparature after 10 minutes:
Charging
USB type C charging port is protected by sliding cover. It’s refreshing to see something else than a rubber cover that can pop off easily.
Charging status, as well as remaining battery power is indicated by 4 small LEDs:
No PWM, checked with naked eye, phone and Opple LM4 (which has PWM check function). Great, Nitecore. This is great, now you have to make the battery removable, and add neutral or warm LED options. 
The non-disassemblable casing ensures the highest standard of water and dust resistance, namely IP68
9 - core UHI 20 MAX LED array (one central, 8 in array), max brightness 4000mAh. Cool white tint.
Orange peel (OP) textured reflector gives a nice floodlight, although it would be nice to be able to turn on only those 8 small arrayed LEDs (without the center spotlight LED also being turned on).
Center LED:
Nice and round hotspot. Rest of the beam looks great, evenly distributed and without discoloration.
Center + array LEDs:
Hotspot and spill blended together - it blended better than in EDC35, and tint is more neutral without slightly greenish color (compared to EDC35)
Light spectrum:
Calculated CRI and CCT (this is my software, CRI is accurate down to 1%, but CCT down to 10%)
Nitecore EDC33 is an EDC flashlight. Some might argue it looks tactical, but it’s commendable that Nitecore isn’t labeling everything as “tactical” just to boost sales.
Handling the light emission is a relatively new (as of 2024) UHI LED, composed of a central emitter surrounded by smaller emitters. In theory, this setup allows for both a narrow beam of light (from the central LED) and diffused light (from the surrounding LEDs). In practice, this theory holds true, as the desired effect has been achieved.
The non-disassemblable casing, besides meeting the IP68 standard, prevents battery replacement.
If you’ve read up to this point, I’ll mention that I plan to conduct a battery aging test through multiple charge cycles to assess whether a non-replaceable battery poses any issues.
Pros:
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Large capacity 18650 battery (4000mAh declared, 3864mAh measured)
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Easy lock slider
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Integrated charging
Cons:
- Non-removable battery
If you have any questions, put them below, thanks for sticking for a while 