Lumintop EDC 2AA Flashlight Review
The Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight has an interesting user interface. It runs on 2 AA cells (1.5V only) and has a Cree XP-L2. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight product page.
Versions
I believe there’s just one version of the Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight.
Price
Looks like the going price for the Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight is around $31. Lumintop’s official site has it for $30.95.
Short Review
I’d say this isn’t the most interesting or exciting light that Lumintop makes, but the user interface feature is pretty neat! Depending on how tightened the head is, you are accessing either three steady modes or two strobe modes. It’s a nice feature if you need that!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Lumintop EDC 2AA Flashlight Kit | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-L2 |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $28.07 |
| Cell: | 2xAA |
| Runtime Graph | |
| LVP? | No |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 450 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 506 (112.4% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 7.5 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 125 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 158lux @ 4.717m = 3516cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 118.6 (94.9% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 7500-7900 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Lumintop |
| All my Lumintop reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight
- AA primary cells (2)
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Below you can see how the interesting user interface works. If the head is tightened so that the ring on the MCPCB and the threads are touching the cell tube, you’ll have the steady modes. If you loosen the head so that only the threads are contacting, you get the strobe modes.
The tailcap has a nice beefy spring.
Overall, the build quality here is just fine.
Size and Comps
Size 148 x 22mm
Net Weight 76g
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
Also above is the light beside my custom-engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
Below you can see the Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight beside another 2xAA light I’m playing around with right now. Fairly different lights, though.
Retention and Carry
The Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight has a friction-fit pocket clip.
It allows quite a deep carry, too.
The tailcap has holes for attaching a lanyard, but no lanyard is included.
Power and Runtime
Lumintop includes the type of cells that are needed for the EDC 2AA flashlight. Those are AA cells, of the “primary” (disposable) variety. I tested with the NiMH cells seen below – Amazon Basics. They’re good and fine cells for this light! If you want to check them out, use my referral link to amazon, for the Amazon Basics rechargeable NiMH AA cells!
Honestly, the fit is very snug with these cells… Primary cells can be inserted through the head or tail, but these Amazon Basics would only come and go through the tail!
Here are a couple of runtime graphs.
I didn’t really observe low voltage protection.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@3V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 450 | 35m | 506 | 2.00 |
| Medium | 80 | 6h30m | 70 | 0.28 |
| Low | 3 | 168h | 5.2 | 0.01 |
Pulse Width Modulation
The mode order used by the Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight is HML, so below, the PWM graphs are in that order. High is at left. Both of the lower modes have PWM and I’d say it’s PWM at a speed that isn’t all that desirable. If you’re sensitive to PWM, you’ll likely notice this PWM.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation of the Lumintop EDC 2AA flashlight
There’s a single switch on the EDC 2AA. It’s a mechanical tail reverse clicky.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off (with head fully tightened) | Click | On (Mode Memory) |
| On (with head fully tightened) | Tap | Mode advance (High Medium Low order) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Off (with head loosened a bit) | Click | On (Mode Memory; Strobe or Beacon) |
| On (with head loosened a bit) | Tap | Mode advance (Strobe or beacon) |
This is a very uncomplicated user interface.
LED and Beam
Lumintop has used a Cree XP-L2 emitter in the EDC 2AA.
That emitter is coupled with a smooth reflector, and the bezel has a bit of a shape so that light will escape while headstanding.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The output is very cool, ranging from 7500K to nearly 8000K. That’s not ideal, I would say.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Great size and shape in hand
- Very simple user interface
- Can avoid strobe modes completely if you wish to
- Runs AA cells, including NiMH
What I don’t like
- Very cool white output
- High medium Low mode order
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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