Nitecore EDC29 Tactical Torch Review
Nitecore EDC29⌗
- Specifications
- Introduction
- Torch in use
- Build quality
- LED, bezel, lens and reflector
- Size and comparison
- User interface
- Batteries and charging
- Performance
- Beamshots
- Conclusion
- Price
- Product page
Specifications⌗
| Brand/model | Nitecore EDC29 |
|---|---|
| LED | 2*NiteLab UHi 20 MAX LEDs |
| Maximum lumens | 6,500 lm |
| Maximum beam intensity | 40,230 cd |
| Maximum throw | 400 m |
| Battery | Built-in 2500mAh Li-ion |
| Onboard charging | Yes (USB-C) |
| Material | Aluminium |
| Modes | 4 |
| Blinkies | Strobe |
| Reflector | OP |
| Waterproof | IP54 |
| Review date | October 2024 |
Introduction⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 is a flat-style tactical light with two NiteLab UHi 20 MAX LEDs, an optical sensor, two dual-stage tactical buttons, a Rapid Lock switch, an OLED display and built-in USB-C charging.
This is the latest and greatest by Nitecore in their EDC series of flat-style tactical lights. They previously released the EDC25, EDC27 and EDC27 UHi.
I have been using a Nitecore Tini2 keychain torch on and off for a few years now. It also has an OLED display and USB-C charging.
Nitecore celebrated their 17th anniversary this year. You may find their products stocked in a lot of outdoor stores in Australia.
Nitecore provided this torch for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.
Packaging⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 comes in a black Nitecore branded box with an image of the torch on the front and details about the torch on the sides and on the back.
The following was included in the box:
- Nitecore EDC29.
- Lanyard and string.
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable.
- User manual.
Torch in use⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 feels great in my hand. There is plenty of grip.
The OLED display makes it simple to understand what the current status of the torch is.
The dual-stage Power and Customizable buttons are intuitive to use.
The Rapid Lock switch on the side is a bit like a safety switch.
Anecdotally, I had the Nitecore EDC29 unlocked and the cuff of my jacket started smoking because it was partially covering one of the two powerful UHi 20 MAX LEDs while using LUMIN SHIELD mode. There is a proximity sensor to try to stop that from happening but my cuff may not have reflected enough light for the proximity sensor to detect.
A lanyard and some string to attach the lanyard is included. For a secure attachment, you may want to untie the knot on the lanyard, thread it through the hole in the pocket clip, and then tie the knot again.
The torch cannot tailstand due to the Power button but it can headstand.
Build quality⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 has a stainless steel outer shell with a matte black finish. The frame inside is made of carbon fibre. There are no sharp edges.
There is plenty of grip from knurling on the sides and on the buttons!
The dual-stage Power and Customizable buttons both give satisfying clicks.
The first stage of the Power button is almost silent when momentarily activating Ultralow, and the first stage of the Customizable button is almost silent when momentarily activating SEARCH mode (spotlight).
The Rapid Lock switch requires a bit of force to unlock and lock the torch. It moves smoothly.
The OLED display came with protective film.
It is worth mentioning that the Nitecore EDC29 has one of the nicest OLED displays that I have seen implemented in a torch. Nitecore has made an effort to ensure that the display is not too bright, the brightness is automatically turned down after some time, and the display automatically turns off.
Overall, the build quality is excellent!
LED, bezel, lens and reflector⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 has two NiteLab UHi 20 MAX LEDs surrounded by an orange-peel reflector. There appears to be a glass lens with an anti-reflective coating.
The little dot below the two LEDs is for the proximity sensor.
CCT, CRI, and duv⌗
I have taken Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) and Colour Rendering Index (CRI, RA of R1-R8) measurements with the torch positioned two metres away from an Opple Light Master Pro III (G3).
The CCT is around 5100K, the CRI is around 60, and the Delta u, v is positive (green) on lower modes (Ultralow, Low, Mid, High).
The CCT is around 5800K, the CRI is around 67, and the Delta u, v is positive (green) on SEARCH and LUMIN SHIELD modes.
The beam produced has what appears to be two intense hotspots close together. The hotspot almost looks like a circle. There is an intense oval shaped spill when using High, SEARCH and LUMIN SHIELD modes.
| Mode | CCT (K) | CRI (Ra) | x | y | Duv |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultralow | 5043 | 59.2 | 0.3469 | 0.3906 | 0.0177 |
| Low | 5108 | 59.3 | 0.3445 | 0.3866 | 0.0168 |
| Mid | 5172 | 60.0 | 0.3423 | 0.3822 | 0.0157 |
| High | 5306 | 61.6 | 0.3380 | 0.3735 | 0.0134 |
| SEARCH | 5848 | 67.0 | 0.3244 | 0.3484 | 0.0073 |
| LUMIN SHIELD | 5852 | 67.0 | 0.3242 | 0.3494 | 0.0079 |
Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates
Dimensions and size comparison⌗
Dimensions⌗
I took the following measurements using a digital caliper.
| Measurement | Unit (mm) |
|---|---|
| Length | 133.8 |
| Width | 36.5 |
| Height | 23.0 |
Weight⌗
I took the following measurements using a digital scale.
| Weight | Unit (g) |
|---|---|
| Nitecore EDC29 | 159 |
Size comparison with its competition⌗
I do not currently have any other flat-style EDC/tactical lights that can be compared with the Nitecore EDC29. So here are two EDC lights as a reference for scale.
From left to right: Nitecore EDC29, Nitecore Tini2, Wurkkos HD01
From left to right: Nitecore EDC29, Nitecore Tini2, Wurkkos HD01
User interface⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 is controlled by a Rapid Lock switch and two dual-stage buttons:
- Power button
- Customizable button
The Power button is used to access Ultralow, Low, Mid and High.
The Customizable button is used to momentarily access SEARCH, LUMIN SHIELD and Strobe.
The output will step down when ATR (Advanced Temperature Regulation) kicks in. The OLED display will show a progress bar when you enter SEARCH, LUMIN SHIELD or Strobe mode. The progress bar will count down when the Customizable button is being pressed down. The output will step down. And then the progress bar will count up.
The Rapid Lock switch can be used to enter and exit FULL LOCK (2) or SEMI LOCK (1) modes.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Locked | Slide the Rapid Lock down to the unlocked position | Unlock and remain off |
| Off | Slide the Rapid Lock up to the locked position | FULL LOCK (2) |
| FULL LOCK (2) | Press the Power button or the Customizable button | Nothing |
| Off | Full press the Power button | On (memory) |
| On | Half press and hold the Power button | Momentary Ultralow |
| On | Half press the Power button | Cycle (Ultralow, Low, Mid, High) |
| On | Full press the Power button | Off |
| On | Slide the Rapid Lock up to the locked position | Off and FULL LOCK (2) |
| On, Off | Half press and hold the Power button | Momentary Ultralow |
| On, Off | Half press and hold the Customizable button | Momentary SEARCH |
| On, Off | Full press and hold the Customizable button | Momentary LUMIN SHIELD or Strobe |
| Locked | Slide the Rapid Lock down to the unlocked position | Off and unlock |
| Off | Full press and hold the Customizable button and then full press the Power button | Swap Customizable button (LUMIN SHIELD, Strobe) |
| Off | Press and hold the Customizable button and slide the Rapid Lock up to the locked position | SEMI LOCK (1) |
| SEMI LOCK (1) | Half press the Power button | Nothing |
| SEMI LOCK (1) | Full press the Power button | Nothing |
| SEMI LOCK (1) | Half press the Customizable button | Momentary SEARCH |
| SEMI LOCK (1) | Full press the Customizable button | Momentary LUMIN SHIELD or Strobe |
| SEMI LOCK (1) | Slide the Rapid Lock down to the unlocked position | Unlock |
Please read the user manual for more details.
Sensor Protection Function⌗
There is an optical sensor (i.e. a proximity sensor). It is located near the two main LEDs.
You can temporarily disable the proximity sensor by half pressing the Power button shortly after entering HIGH mode.
This is what the user manual states:
“When the flashlight is off, if there is an obstruction near the light outlet and hte flashlight accidentally accesses HIGH, the flashlight brightness will automatically decrease to 400 lumens to prevent overheating and prolong the lifespan of the flashlight. Once the obstruction is removed, the flashlight will reutn to the previous brightness level.”
“Off: The protective sensor is automatically enabled when the flashlight is powered on. Once activated, the sensor can be temporarily disabled by briefly half pressing the Power button.”
Mode memory⌗
There is mode memory.
Ultralow, Low, Mid and High are memorised.
Strobe⌗
Strobe mode uses LUMIN SHIELD (Floodlight) with 6,500 lumens. It has a constant frequency.
I measured Strobe with a Zoyi ZT-703S oscilloscope using High Speed mode.
Low voltage protection⌗
The light turns off around 2.7V.
I saw this voltage on the OLED display after turning the torch back on.
Pulse Width Modulation⌗
I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).
I measured the PWM of the light with a Zoyi ZT-703S oscilloscope.
Ultralow, Low, Mid, High, SEARCH, LUMIN SHIELD
What I like about the UI⌗
This has to be one of my favourite user interfaces! I really like the tactical design.
There is a shortcut to Ultralow (half press the Power button), SEARCH (half press the Customizable button) and LUMIN SHIELD/Strobe (full press the Customizable button) while the torch is either off or on.
You can select Ultralow, Low, Mid or High before turning the torch on. The mode is shown on the OLED Display while half pressing the Power button to cycle through each mode.
I like how the OLED display turns off after about 10 seconds.
What could be improved⌗
I am right-handed and this torch seems to be designed for right-handed people.
There is a design flaw where the torch will not turn on if you hold it with your left hand and use your thumb to half press the Power button and either half press or full press the Customizable button.
I find it easier to accidentally press the Power button while trying to press the Customizable button hen holding the torch in my left hand. You could rotate the torch so that the OLED Display faces away from you and the Rapid Lock switch is nestled against your thumb. But then you would not see the OLED Display.
The only time where you are supposed to press both buttons is when you full press the Customizable button and then half press the Power button so that a full press of the Customizable button changes from LUMIN SHIELD to Strobe mode.
If you half press the Power button first for less than a second and then you proceed to either half press or full press the Customizable button then the light will not turn on. Nothing happens.
This “nothing happens” issue also occurs when the light is already on and you want half press or full press the Customizable button to momentarily activate SEARCH or LUMIN SHIELD/Strobe mode.
Long story short, you need to avoid accidentally half pressing the Power button when you intend to press the big Customizable button or nothing will happen.
Batteries and charging⌗
Battery⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 has a built-in 2500mAh Li-ion battery.
Charging⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 has built-in USB-C charging. It can take 5V/2A input.
The charging cover moves easily out of the way and it fits flush with the body when putting it back in after charging.
Power supply: PinePower Desktop USB-C
USB Meter: ChargerLAB Power-Z KM003C
Room temperature: 16 C
I charged the Nitecore EDC29 using the built-in USB-C charger.
The display showed 2.66V before charging the torch.
The charging rate started at 5V/160mA. It increased to 5V/1.8A by a minute. It peaked at 5V/2.3A by 58 minutes. The charge current then decreased and charging completed by 1 hour 20 minutes.
The display showed 4.20V when charging was complete.
Power supply compatibility⌗
I tried the following power supplies with the USB-A magnetic charging cable:
| Power supply | USB Type | Protocol | Does it charge? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple 61W Power Adapter | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| Google Pixel Power Adapter | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-C | PD | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-A | QC | Yes |
| PinePower Desktop | USB-A | Yes |
USB to USB-C charging works.
Performance⌗
Specifications from the manual:
| LUMIN SHIELD | SEARCH | High | Mid | Low | Ultralow | Strobe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Output (lumens) | 6,500 | 3,000 | 1,200 | 400 | 100 | 15 | 6,500 |
| Runtime | 2h | 3h | 13h | 61h | |||
| Beam Distance (metres) | 370 | 400 | 190 | 100 | 68 | 30 | |
| Beam Intensity (cd) | 35,360 | 40,230 | 8,952 | 2,496 | 1,158 | 230 |
LUMIN SHIELD is a floodlight. SEARCH is a spotlight.
Lumen measurements⌗
| Mode | Specs | Lumens @turn on | Lumens @30 sec | Lumens @10 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultralow | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Low | 100 | 109 | 108 | 108 |
| Mid | 400 | 409 | 405 | 403 |
| High | 1,200 | 1,241 | 1,221 | 671 |
| SEARCH | 3,000 | 3,253 | ||
| LUMIN SHIELD | 6,500 | 8,127 |
SEARCH stepped down to 1,071 lumens by 8 seconds.
LUMIN SHIELD stepped down to 1,250 lumens by 9.7 seconds.
I will show what reactivating LUMIN SHIELD looks like in the runtime graphs below.
Runtime graphs⌗
I used my own DIY lumen tube with a TSL2591 sensor and forked bmengineer’s project RuTiTe to record runtimes.
Note: Lumen measurements may be off by 10% with my DIY lumen tube.
The room temperature was approximately 16 C.
The surface temperature of the Nitecore EDC29 reached 60 C near the head after activating LUMIN SHIELD multiple times in a row.
I held the Customizable button down to measure the lumen output of SEARCH and LUMIN SHIELD modes. When the progress bar reached 0%, the OLED display turned off and the output dropped to Mid (400 lumens). I released the button to turn the torch off, the OLED display turned on, and the progress bar gradually went up to 100%. I then held the button down and repeated this process for a minute to see how bright the output is each time, how long it lasts at the maximum brightness, and how long it takes for the progress bar to reach 100%.
Runtime⌗
Here is a summary of the runtime results:
| Mode | User manual | Runtime | Turn off |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 2h | 1h 45min 29s | 2h 54min 27s |
| Mid | 3h | 2h 55min 41s | 3h 48min 19s |
| Low | 13h | 11h 57min 33s | 12h 43min 37s |
| Ultralow | 61h | 10min+ | 10min+ |
“Runtime” is the time until the output reduces to 10% of the output at 30 seconds (as per the ANSI/PLATO FL1 2019 Standard).
“Turn off” is the time until my DIY lumen tube no longer detects more than 1 lumen.
“+” indicates that the light remained on after recording had stopped.
The runtime fell slightly short for High, Mid and Low modes.
The output looks well regulated.
Throw⌗
I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. Each mode was measured at five metres.
| Mode | Specs (cd) | Specs (m) | Candela measured (cd) | Distance (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultralow | 230 | 30 | 75 | 17 |
| Low | 1,158 | 68 | 1,300 | 72 |
| Mid | 2,496 | 100 | 2,700 | 103 |
| High | 8,952 | 190 | 9,825 | 198 |
| LUMIN SHIELD | 35,360 | 370 | 8,200 | 181 |
| LUMIN SHIELD @ 0s | 35,360 | 370 | 41,500 | 407 |
| SEARCH | 40,230 | 400 | 15,525 | 249 |
| SEARCH @ 0s | 40,230 | 400 | 45,050 | 424 |
SEARCH (spotlight) reached 424 metres (45,050 candelas) at turn on. It fell short at 30 seconds with a beam distance of 249 metres (15,525 candelas). The beam distance is measured after 30 seconds when following the ANSI/PLATO FL1 Standard.
Beamshots⌗
I went to a local park and aimed the Nitecore EDC29 at a tree 70 metres away.
Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 3.2", f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.
Nitecore EDC29 (LUMIN SHIELD)⌗
Nitecore EDC29 (SEARCH)⌗
Nitecore EDC29 (High)⌗
NEXTORCH TA30C MAX (High)⌗
NEXTORCH TA30C (High)⌗
Olight Baton 3 Pro Max (Turbo)⌗
Wurkkos HD01 Spot (Turbo)⌗
Conclusion⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 is an excellent flat-style tactical light!
The two NiteLab UHi 20 MAX LEDs perform better than expected. I measured over 8,000 lumens at turn on compared to the 6,500 lumens that Nitecore claim.
The user interface is simple to use. I like the tactical features with shortcuts to Ultralow, SEARCH and LUMIN SHIELD from off.
It looks like the button layout is better for right-handed people. It would be interesting to hear from someone that is left-handed. The Rapid Lock switch is definitely easier to operate with a thumb.
The runtime is pretty good on Ultralow, Low, Mid and High but the battery will drain fast if you keep using SEARCH or LUMIN SHIELD modes. The built-in battery means that you will need to wait for it to charge. That said, 5V/2A USB-C charging is decent.
I highly recommend the Nitecore EDC29.
Pros:⌗
- Excellent build quality.
- Lumen output is much better than expected using LUMIN SHIELD.
- It produces a wall of light!
- Good beam distance.
- Ultralow, Low, Mid and High can be selected while the light is off.
- Shortcut to Ultralow, SEARCH, LUMIN SHIELD or Strobe.
- OLED display.
- USB-C charging.
- Proximity sensor can be temporarily disabled.
Cons:⌗
- The button layout may not be as nice for left-handed people.
- Runtime was slightly shorter than expected.
- Low CRI.
- Built-in battery.
Price⌗
The Nitecore EDC29 is US$109.95 from amazon.com (affiliate link)
Product page⌗
Nitecore EDC29 at nitecore.com
Nitecore Australia
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