Even though I bought myself a new Fenix E12 v2.0 to use as my EDC flashlight earlier this year, and I'm very pleased with it, recently, I decided to look for an EDC light with a red secondary LED to help preserve night vision when I want that, so since my birthday is coming up soon, I went ahead and got one.

My criteria:
1. Must use a common cell type, a single cell, and can preferably use both primary and rechargeable lithium cells (AA/14500, CR123A/16340).
2. Must have one-handed, direct access from off to the lowest brightness mode of the primary LED, regardless of last-used state.
3. Must have one-handed, direct access from off to the red secondary LED, regardless of last-used state.
4. Must have a lockout mechanism to prevent it turning on in my handbag and starting a fire.

In doing a whole bunch of research, the only lights I've been able to find that have all of these features are the Nitecore EC11 (IMR18350/16340/RCR123A/CR123A) and EA11 (14500/AA). Sadly, both of these lights are discontinued, but a few dealers still have a few units of the EC11 in stock, so I ordered one this past weekend before they are all gone, and it arrived today.

The EC11 is pleasantly chunky in the hand, measuring 75 mm x 25.4 mm (about 2.95 in x 1 in). It has a flat, non-magnetic tailcap so it can stand on end, and it uses two forward switches for activation. My hands are not small, but I have no trouble comfortably operating the switches.

I actually think I would have preferred the EA11 because of the more common battery type, and for the fact that when operating on a 1.2 V battery, the "Low" mode is only 17 lumens, compared to 40 lumens for the EC11 operating on a 3.0 V battery, but no one has the EA11 in stock, anymore. Both models output 70 lumens on "Low" with a 3.6 V battery.

The EC11 and EA11 were apparently replaced by the MT10C and MT10A (itself now also discontinued), but the MT series adds a tailswitch, and because of that, no longer has one-handed direct access from off to any of the modes.

I also ordered a Fenix ARB-L16-700UP lithium-ion battery, a 16340 size with a built-in micro-USB charger. Although the EC11 is actually designed for an IMR18350 battery, there are none of these on the market with built-in USB chargers, and I don't want to invest in an external charger. The EC11 comes with a plastic spacer to allow the use of the 16340 or CR123A size batteries.

I'm actually planning on using the Keeppower 3.0 V regulated RCR123A batteries, but the Fenix battery was convenient to order from the same dealer from which I purchased the EC11. The only problem with the Keeppower cells is that they are actually 36 mm long, or 2 mm longer than the spec for a CR123A. Most of the 16340s I've seen, including those sold by Nitecore, are about 35 mm long.

In any case, I charged up the battery and popped it in. I'm pleased to say that the EC11 meets or exceeds my expectations is every regard. In addition to meeting all my criteria, it (and the EA11) also offer one-handed, direct access from off to the brightest primary LED mode, regardless of previous state. They have both electronic and mechanical lockouts (by unscrewing the tail cap to break the circuit).

I have found that the "Ultra-Low" 1 lumen mode (all batteries) is bright enough, even though I am more used to a 4-7 lumen "Low" mode, with the "Med" mode being 30-45 lumens, but the downside of the EC11 is the next brightness level up is a whopping 40-70 lumens (depending on battery). The EA11 is more sensible, at about 17 lumens *if* you use a 1.2 or 1.5 V battery. The EA11 body is also longer than that of the EC11. But, that is my only gripe about either of these lights, other than them also being discontinued.

As a result, they are nearly perfect, and there are no other lights on the market that I think can come this close to being perfect EDC lights.

Since this light will get used frequently, and can be recharged from my cell phone backup battery on the go, I'm not too worried about the measly 700 mAh capacity of the battery, which is about half that of a CR123A primary cell, and 1/4 that of an Energizer L91 lithium AA. CR123As are too expensive where I live, which is what led me to retire my Leatherman Serac S3 several years ago, after moving here, and I have no desire to buy them in bulk via mail-order, when the only thing that I have that actually uses them are my one flashlight (well, now two flashlights).

With the new 16340s/RCR123As, I'm happy to return to that cell size, but my old Leatherman was designed long before those became commonly available, and I don't want to risk destroying it. I will eventually re-home the Serac S3, maybe to my daughter who lives where CR123As can be found more cheaply.

The Fenix E12 v2.0 I bought earlier this year will now go in my backpacking/camping handbag, next to my Fenix HM23 headlamp, since I prefer to use the AA format in the backcountry.

I did not mention earlier than the maximum brightness of the EC11 and EA11 is 900 lumens when using high-discharge rate IMR batteries, because I frankly think that's superfluous, although it is nice to have. That drops to 450 lumens max in the EC11 with a 3.0 V CR123A lithium primary battery, or 160 lumens max in the EA11 when using a 1.2 V NiMH AA. I would never rely on an EDC flashlight for serious duty, but as the saying goes, the best flashlight is the one you have with you when you need a flashlight, and I have been in the outlying situations where I've needed to use my EDC light for searching for lost children or things that unexpectedly go "bump" in the night.

For a utility/EDC flashlight, having the ability to access all three of the most-used modes with a single button press is ideal.

From the "off" state:

A. press the Mode switch: red secondary
B. press and hold the Mode switch: white primary Turbo mode
C. press the On/Off switch: white primary last-used mode
D. press and hold the On/Off switch: white primary Ultra-Low mode

Finally, the EC11 and EA11 have a couple of nifty features: when you activate the electronic lockout, or when you first install a battery, the red secondary will blink out the battery voltage: x blinks for volts, then y blinks for tenths of volts. So, if it blink three times, then 6 times, the battery is at 3.6 V.

But wait! There's more! When the red secondary is one, you can press and hold the Mode button to enter red blinking beacon mode (about 2 Hz), or press and hold the On/Off button to put it in a stand-by mode where the red secondary blinks briefly once per second so it's easy to find if you drop it or set it down and forget where.

If these features appeal to you, you should probably track down one of these models, since, as I said, they are discontinued and will soon be gone.

I have no connection with Nitecore and receive no financial interest for talking about their products. I'm just a happy customer.


Edited by amper (11/29/21 07:59 PM)
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Gemma Seymour (she/her) @gcvrsa