Nitecore EA4

Compact searchlight that really works – Apart from maglights i have never bought an expensive handheald torch before. I have bought those 1000 watt rechargeable ones which only last 6 months but this thing is fantastic. It takes 4 x aa batteries and gives 860 lumens and "throws" a beam 280 metres rated at 20,000cd it is a true hand held searchlight. Really well machined. When you load the batteries in a small light in the handle blinks and lets you know what condition the batteries are . You can vary the output from a dull light to turbo. There is also a strobe light function it can be submersed into two metres of water and is impact resistant to 1 metre drops Compact, so well built It is expensive but you do get what you pay for

Nitecore an up and coming brand with a few quirks to sort out – I got my Nitecore EA4 from Amazon and its been one of those torches that was to fill a void I have within my lines of Maglites, Led Lensers, Inova's and a myriad of cheapies. This EA4 was to be the be all and end all of torches that was to light up to 300 meters, provide around 900 lumens and be 'awesome' in every respect from what i have herd on Candle Power Forums.

My first initial thoughts were that the torch has some clear and definable faults, one being the stainless steel bezel which is not flush with the body, its either not screwed down all the way of there is some issue there with a gap being present - about half the thickness of a credit card. This gap is both unsightly and could let dirt into that void, also water could sit in that recess and go who knows where?

Secondly the lense, there seems to be a piece of plastic surrounding the edge of the glass lense, this from production I assume. This has played on my mind a little and is generally uncomforting and one of those things you assume to see on a cheap end torch with production issues and faults that are inherent with high volume mass production.

Thirdly, the UI camera style button is a great idea no doubt. But put it into the real world and it becomes apparent that there is limitations to its effectiveness and control at night in either bare handed or gloved holding form. I also am not too keen on the full and half clicks of the button to augment the lighting modes, it seems too hard to get the required result and could result in either a missed mode or accidentally switching it on while in a pocket or sheath and having it overheat and break. I also dont personally like the blue standby / find me light - I am a fan of the Nite Ize tailcap find me lights I have in my 2AA Maglites because their smaller and are red in colour and dont distract from what your doing and can be found in the most dead of night unlike blue which fades into the night pretty quickly. I found that the find me / standby light faded away only after 3 meters away, and in a semi lit area the light was basically completely useless. Compared to the Nite Ize tail cap light there was no competition - would prefer the smaller led and it in red and a more prominent / easier to find recessed and heavier a duty button design in the future.

The overall working of the torch itself is flawless in its own right, figuratively speaking the EA4 Pioneer is just that a "Pioneer" as this is the smallest and brightest 4AA torch everyone is speaking today. No doubt there are other brands furiously designing killer torches to out do this one with new LED modules as they come out - however this torch is a innovator and pioneer of this segment of cheap and cheerful 4AA monsters. The beam length is about a honest 200 meters, it wont stretch all the way down my street, and the beam is a pencil / flood at the edges style - it is a good spotlight and did surprise a few people last night that either drove through the beam or walked up my street. I had a few comments of 'what was that' - when I showed them they were stunned. In comparison to my MT7 there are a few comparisons but few drawbacks with this little offering.

The tailcap lanyard hole is another 'how am I going to work around this' design, so far I had to use the Led Lenser tailcap lanyard stainless steel triangle loop and fashion it to fit the EA4 as a lanyard loop doesn't fit snuggly and securely as it should; and a lanyard loop also detracts from the tail caps function to tail stand on a flat surface. My redesign with that stainless loop has made do with what they have and it works nicely now and gives better movement and function to their lanyard loop.

Without yabbering on for days on end about the pro's and cons of this little monster spotlight, and all the technical mumbo jumbo (can be found on their official website) - I would suggest that anyone that wants a 'small, 4 x AA batteries, waterproof, quality driven at its price point' torch should look at this torch exclusively! There are offers from so many other torches that would surpass Nitecore in many a field (except for lumens at this stage), however for the $60 price point they are far far far more expensive and with no apparent gain at all.

If anyone is interested in this torch - there are offerings from many places both online and instore. Most online shops are selling these for < $70 and some with extras like batteries and diffusing caps - so shop around. Also there is a second generation EA4 that just came out and is exclusive to some online retailers - this new EA4 had 90 lumens more, however most owners are not happy with the yellow beamed led and stick with the cool beamed EA4. High lumens, small, takes AA batteries (eneloops), comes with pouch and wrist lanyard, IPX8 waterproof, keeps your hands warm. Comes only in black, has been superseded already, st/st bezel is not screwed down and slightly wonky, glass lense can be cracked if torch dropped on its edge, plastic underneath bezel and between glass lense. UI button not easy to accomplish at night & wont be easy during winter with gloves, Belt pouch was stitched wonky and does not provide any protection if torch dropped on floor.