Nitecore UI1 Charger Review

The Nitecore UI1 is a single bay charger suitable for lithium-ion cells all the way up to 21700 in size. Read on for thoughts and testing!

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Official Specs

There isn’t an official listing for the Nitecore UI1 Charger yet – but have a look at the pdf manual below for the full specifications.

Price

No product listing yet = no price.  Sorry!

Short Review

This isn’t a bad little charger, but with no powerbank feature, and only charging at 0.8A, the usefulness may be limited.

Long Review

Key Features

• Automatic termination upon charging completion
• Reverse polarity protection and anti-short circuit protection
• Thermal protection during the charging process
• Activates over-discharged batteries with protective circuits
• Compatible with power banks, 5V solar panels and USB adaptor
• Made from durable and fire retardant PC materials
• Optimal heat dissipation design
• Insured worldwide by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Specifications

Input:                           DC 5V/1A 5W

Output:                                    4.2V±1%

800mA (MAX)

Compatible with: Li-ion/IMR: 10340, 10350, 10440, 10500, 12340, 12500, 12650, 13450, 13500, 13650, 14430, 14500, 14650, 16500, 16340 (RCR123), 16650, 17350, 17500,17650, 17670, 18350, 18490, 18500, 18650, 20700, 21700, 22500, 22650, 25500, 26500, 26650

Manual and Packaging

I don’t have any packaging, but here’s the manual:

UI1_UM_EN

So new that the manual isn’t even a pdf!

What’s Included

The charger and cable were included in my package.  Probably the only addition in the retail package will be a manual.

Build Quality and Durability

The UI1 is on par with other single bay Nitecore chargers.  The back is nicely imprinted with all the applicable cells.

The ends don’t have much going on – just a micro-USB input.  There are no output features (this is not a powerbank.)

Size

Dimensions:  122.5mm × 29.2mm × 32mm

Weight:  40.5g

This isn’t the smallest single bay charger.  It’s not even the smallest single bay charger with USB output.

Power

The UI1 is powered by micro-USB, which connects at the end of the device.  A cable is included, and it’s a nice cable indeed.

This charger will charge many sizes – from 16340 all the way up to 21700 in length and 26650 in size.  Essentially any Li-ion cell that fits in here will charge.

I’ve run a couple of charge tests on an 18650 cell.

Charging proceeds as it should.  The charge rate is around 0.8A

User Interface and Operation

There are no buttons on the UI1.  Just put the cell in, and off it’ll go.  The charger will detect if a 0V cell needs correction, and there is reverse polarity protection, too.

During charging, blue LEDs flash to represent the level of charge.  Three solid LEDs indicate that the cell is fully charged.

Conclusion

What I like

• Good set-it-and-forget-it charger
• LEDs adequately display the information

What I don’t like

• No powerbank feature
• Low 0.8A charge rate

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Notes

• This item was provided by Nitecore for review.  I was not paid to write this review.
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