I reviewed the Folomov EDC C1 a while back. For me it was a good light – I didn’t experience some problems many others experienced. But Folomov responded to the issues, and has released a new version. This one has a bigger heatsink, a stainless bezel, and should not have the issues of the previous generation. Read on for some testing!

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the official product page for the aluminum. I don’t see the updated product on their site.

Versions

This is an iterated item, so there are some older versions. But buy this one, not those. This one is distinguished by the stainless bezel. There are two bodies, though – brass (seen here) and a black anodized aluminum. Also it seems that the different materials get different emitter temperatures, too. The brass is a very warm 3000K, and the aluminum a more neutral 5000K, and 80CRI. Both are Nichia E21A, though.

Price and Coupon

Brass is going for $34.90 at the moment. This light was sent to me for testing by Illumn.com, and I recommend you buying it there.

Short Review

I liked the original (and had no issues – still have no issues in fact), and I still like this one. I like the tail e-switch, love the warm emitter and high CRI, and overall just really like this light.

Long Review

The Big Table

* Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).

^ This is after a pretty big stepdown, although I don’t measure the output to be near the 335 claimed lumens anyway.

What’s Included

Folomov EDC C1 v3 Flashlight

Spare o-rings (2)

Pocket clip

Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)

Manual

Package and Manual

The light ships in this cardboard box, and inside this box is a tin with the light and goods.

Below is the manual.

Build Quality and Disassembly

Build quality is at least as good as the original version, and I’d probably give this one the edge. There’s not one specific thing I’d point to, though; it just feels better.

The tailcap is what unscrews to change/charge the 10440 cell.

The body doesn’t have any knurling, or really even any cooling fins. The head has some texture, though. That said, the tailcap isn’t hard to remove.

The body does have some branding, which is deep cut into the body. Based on ad copy it looks like the aluminum is different here – it’s printed, not cut.

The tailcap unscrews easily as I said, and the threads are square cut and fairly big for such a small light. This does mean that mechanical lockout isn’t as much of an option. The tailcap has to be unscrewed halfway or more to achieve this.

The tailcap has a spring, but the head has only a button. There’s also a… what looks like teflon washer of sorts – not sure what purpose this serves.

The package includes the cell seen below.

Size and Comps

Officially this light is 70.7mm long and 13.5mm in diameter, and weighs 35.7g with cell.

It’s a small light.

It’s not as small as the previous generation, though! Note at least two differences. First and most obviously, the bezel. Namely that there is a separate bezel on the new one. Secondly, it looks like the tailcap has changed a little bit. It’s now longer, and also the rubber button cover is rounded – no tailstanding here! One final difference is the clip placement.

Retention and Carry

There’s a pocket clip included. It’s a friction fit steel clip, which affords only bezel up carry. This does mean the EDC C1 v3 will serve well as a hatlight if you wish.

I quite like this clip, even though it could be improved a little. A bigger mouth, for one thing, would be very nice. But it’s a snug, secure clip.

The clip has a couple of cutouts, which would allow lanyard attachment. A lanyard is not included, though.

Power and Runtime

The EDC C1 v3 runs only on lithium ion cells (no alkaline, NiMH, etc – anything under 3V). The appropriate liion cell is included – a 10440. This specific cell has built in charging, a feature I don’t look for in cells.

The included cell is a button top, and I’m fairly sure you actually need a button top to run the light. It’s unclear if the head end of the cell tube has a physical protection to prevent flat tops.

I found this bit awkward. The pocket clip just put this light as backward for me, so it was always weird putting the cell in this way (seen below), so just be aware – if you use the clip as an index, that the positive end goes into the tube. (Again that’s not unusual, just weird when seeing the clip which is most often on the tail end of lights….)

Just like the EDC C1 before it, the output doesn’t even come close for me on Turbo – even at startup. Also the stepdown is dramatic – from initial of 230ish lumens, to 60 and trailing off in under a minute.

High also has a big stepdown, and exhibits essentially the same profile as Turbo after the stepdown.

Both runtimes did show LVP. I wasn’t able to confirm this with bench power – e-switches are hard.

The included cell has built in charging, via micro-USB. A cable is included.

Charging is unremarkable, which is good and safe.

Modes and Currents

Mode Mode Claimed Output (lm) Claimed Runtime Measured Lumens Tailcap Amps Turbo 335 0.5h 89 ? High 150 0.8h 82 ? Medium 40 1.2h 37 ? Low 8 4.8h 9 ? Moon 0.5 30h ~ ?

PWM

There’s PWM on every mode. I’m not a fan but the PWM is very fast, and I don’t find it to be noticeable. I don’t recall testing the other edition of this light but I have a feeling the PWM on Turbo will help keep the emitter from being burned out – that was one of the issues with the original.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. And here’s the worst PWM light I have ever owned. Also one of the very first lights I ordered directly from China!

User Interface and Operation

There’s a single switch and it’s an e-switch on the tail. It’s marked with a big power logo, and doesn’t have any indication features. It’s a clicky switch, and very accessible.

There are two UI’s. Illumination mode (default), and Tactical mode. To switch between them, from off click 7x. The light will flash 6x to confirm the change.

Here’s a UI table for “Illumination Mode”!

State Action Result Off Click On (Mode Memory) Off Hold 0.5s Moon Moon Click Mode Memory On Click Mode Advance (LMH) Any Click 2x Turbo Turbo Click 2x Special Mode Advance (Turbo>Strobe>SOS>Beacon*) On Hold 0.5s Off Off Click 3x Lockout (Three flashes to confirm) Lockout Click 3x Unlock (One flash to confirm) On Click 3x 1 minute countdown timer (One flash to confirm)^

* This isn’t a typical beacon – it fades in and out approximately every 5 seconds.

^ Countdown starts at 1m but minutes can be added. After the timer, click three more times to add one minute. The light will flash twice to indicate the timer is now 2 minutes. You can add up to 10 minutes total. The manual seems to be incorrect on this matter, but the above works on my copy. The timer seems to activate a lowish mode, not really corresponding to Low. But it’ll time in Moon as well – so really two modes are available in timer mode.

Here’s a UI table for “Tactical Mode”!

State Action Result Off Hold Momentary Turbo Off Click Turbo Off Click 2x Strobe On Click Off

LED and Beam

The emitter of choice in the EDC C1 is a Nichia E21a, in 3000K temperature, with CRI of ≥98.

There’s a reflector too. The beam is good for a keychain type light. A nice large hotspot, with a little spill.

Moon is quite low – maybe a little higher than 0.5 lumens, but still low.

These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.

This is a very warm 3000K emitter. I don’t have a spectrophotomagic meter, but by eye, and comparing to what else I’ve handled, it’s…. definitely warm.

Tint vs BLF-348 (Killzone 219b version)

I compare everything to the Killzone 219b BLF-348, because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Conclusion

What I like

Neat update to the other light

Glad it includes a cell

Neat that there’s two UI’s

What I don’t like

Requires liion cell (no NiMH support)

Output not even close to 335 lumens, and the stepdown is massive

Wish more modes were available in Tactical and/or click for off was default for both groups.

Notes

This light was provided by Illumn.com for review. I was not paid to write this review.

This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!

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