I like gadgets, but I have decided that flashlight interfaces should be simple rather than complex. That two-button interface on the EC11 is a turn off to me. Two buttons right next to each other, and it doesn't look like you could easily find them by feel alone in the dark.

I have several flashlights that require long push, short push, half push, double click and all kinds of other gyrations. You hand a light like that to someone else who requests temporary use, and they can't figure out how to work it. Even me, as the light owner, have trouble sometimes when I haven't used that particular light in a while, have other lights with different interfaces, and struggle to remember which interface style I am supposed to use. I have one light with an otherwise simple interface - push to turn on low, again for next lighting level, repeat, and finally it cycles back to low to start all over again. That's simple. But I can't tell you how many times a friend has handed me my light back still glowing away, because they couldn't figure out how to turn it off. Push and hold for that operation. But if I accidentally did that on a different flashlight, I'd be flashing SOS or some other stupid thing. Has anyone every intentionally used a flashing SOS function?! If I saw that out in the woods, I'd think "Ha! Another fool that doesn't know how to work their flashlight."

The best interface, for me, is the Fenix PD25. Tail switch for on/off. Separate button up front to cycle through output levels. Remembers last light level. But even that fools some people. They either try to turn it on/off with that forward lighting level button (fail), or they correctly identify the tail switch for on/off and never even realize there is a second button up front to adjust output. But even though not perfect, this Fenix PD25 interface is the best compromise I've run into. People's personal tastes may vary though.

I'm afraid that future iterations will have instructions like "Double-click tail switch, while holding down the front button for 5 seconds, then rapidly twist the head left and right 3 times." That's how you turn it on. But if you want SOS, that's "Click button once."