Light Review: Jetbeam E01R and E10R USB Rechargeable EDC lights

Jetbeam are taking the concept of USB rechargeable EDC lights to a new level of convenience with their super compact E01R (AAA) and E10R (AA/14500), by hiding the charging port so well you would never guess they had this feature just by looking at them.

Taking a more detailed look at the E01R:

Before we go into the detail of the E01R, these are the boxes for both the E01R and E10R models.

Included with the E01R is a USB cable, spare O-ring, quality lanyard, and the instructions.

Not to gloss over that lanyard, the cord is a type of piping with a round cross-section.

This has a sliding toggle to allow you to secure it to your wrist.

Fit and finish is excellent all over this light.

The E01R has a two way clip allowing for carry either way up, and also allowing it to be fitted to a baseball cap peak to act as a headlamp.

A lanyard hole is included in the tail-cap and in the pocket clip.

The power switch is a small metal button on the side of the light’s head.

Though not an ultra compact AAA light, the E01R is still nice and small.

Inside the tail-cap is a gold plated spring terminal.

The threads are almost square, and are well lubricated.

And this is the trick up the E01R’s sleeve. Unscrew the head of the light to reveal the micro-USB charging port.

A closer look at the charging port and threads.

With the head removed, you do not see the battery, instead there is a set of contacts for the connection to the head once refitted. Just next to the spring (at about 2 o’clock) is the indicator LED for charging.

Inside the head are the matching set of contacts.

For the E01R, there is a TIR optic with an XP-G2 LED hidden at its centre.

Unlike a lot of TIR optics, you can just about see the LED.

Charging the cell in the E01R is easy, simply plug in the powered USB cable. The E01R is small, as you can see by how large the USB plug looks.

Taking a more detailed look at the E10R:

Changing over to the E10R, and exactly as with the E01R there is a USB cable, spare O-ring, quality lanyard, and the instructions.

Again the fit and finish is excellent, giving the light a refined look.

The E10R is similar in size, relative to the battery, like the E01R is compared to its battery (so not the smallest AA light). Here the E10R is shown next to its two power source options,the NiMh AA (Eneloop), and a 14500 (an AW 14500).

A small metal button is used for the power switch, which is exactly the same size as the one on the E01R.

Both the clip and the tail-cap have lanyard holes in them.

In the case of the E10R, the clip is a standard type. Even without the tail-cap loosened it is free to rotate to any position around the body.

Inside the tail-cap is a gold plated spring terminal.

The threads are almost square, and are well lubricated.

And like the E01R, unscrew the head of the E10R to reveal the micro-USB charging port.

A closer look at the micro-USB charging port and threads.

With the head removed, you do not see the battery, instead there is a set of contacts for the connection to the head once refitted. Just next to the spring (at about 2 o’clock here) is the indicator LED for charging.

Inside the head are the matching set of contacts.

Charging the cell in the E10R is easy, simply plug in the powered USB cable.

For the E10R, there is a smooth reflector with an XP-L HI LED at its centre.

The charging indicator LED is slightly hidden by a foam PCB cover. Here it is lit, showing the E10R is charging.

Indicating a 14500 is now fully charged, the charging light shows blue. (this is red if a NiMh is used)

The beam

Please be careful not to judge tint based on images you see on a computer screen. Unless properly calibrated, the screen itself will change the perceived tint.

The indoor beamshot is intended to give an idea of the beam shape/quality rather than tint. All beamshots are taken using daylight white balance. The woodwork (stairs and skirting) are painted Farrow & Ball “Off-White”, and the walls are a light sandy colour called ‘String’ again by Farrow & Ball. I don’t actually have a ‘white wall’ in the house to use for this, and the wife won’t have one!

Although the beginning of the review starts with the E01R, for the beamshots, I’m starting with the E10R’s beam. The combination of the small focused SMO reflector and XP-L HI LED gives a strong hotspot and wide usable spill. A good mixture for a compact EDC light with the output power a 14500 allows.

At exactly the same exposure, the E01R looks a bit weak; this exposure is included to allow a direct comparison.

Adjusting the exposure to show the E01R’s beam more how your eyes would see it, we have a lovely wide smooth beam with a soft and gentle hotspot. A really useful close range beam.

Moving outdoors, and the E10R on 14500 has a reasonable power to give it a bit of range.

The same cannot be said about the E01R as its wide beam runs out of steam very quickly. But don’t forget this is a AAA light.

Modes and User Interface:

Both the E01R and E10R operate in exactly the same way. The only UI difference is the charging indicator.

There are three modes, High, Medium and Low, plus a Strobe mode.

To turn the E01R/E10R ON, briefly press the switch. The last used constant mode is memorised.
To cycle through the modes High, Medium, Low, High, with the E01R/E10R ON, briefly press the switch.
To turn the E01R/E10R OFF, press and hold the switch for 2s.
To access Strobe mode, with the E01R/E10R ON or OFF, rapidly double tap the switch.
To exit Strobe, either briefly press the switch (to change to a constant mode), or press and hold the switch for 2s (to turn OFF).

When charging the E01R, a red light is shown during charging. When fully charged, the red light goes out.
When charging the E10R, using AA the red and green lights come on during charging. When fully charged, the green light goes out.
When charging the E10R, a red light is shown during charging. When fully charged, the blue light is shown.

Both the E01R and E10R have an electronic lockout of the switch. To Lock, from OFF, press and hold the switch for four seconds. The LED will start to blink indicating the Lockout was successful.

To Unlock, press and hold the switch for four seconds, the last use mode will come on.

Batteries and output:

The E01R runs on NiMh AAA (or AAA Alkaline without charging feature).
The E10R runs on NiMh AA (or AA Alkaline without charging feature) or Li-ion 14500.

To measure actual output, I built an integrating sphere. See here for more detail. The sensor registers visible light only (so Infra-Red and Ultra-Violet will not be measured).

Please note, all quoted lumen figures are from a DIY integrating sphere, and according to ANSI standards. Although every effort is made to give as accurate a result as possible, they should be taken as an estimate only. The results can be used to compare outputs in this review and others I have published.

___________________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________
E01R or E10R using specified cell I.S. measured ANSI output Lumens PWM frequency or Strobe frequency (Hz)
___________________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________
E01R High – AAA 111 0
E01R Medium – AAA 22 0
E01R Low – AAA 2 0
E10R High – AW 14500 457 0
E10R High – AA 164 0
E10R Medium – AA 39 0
E10R Low – AA 3 0

* Beacon and Strobe output measurements are only estimates as the brief flashes make it difficult to capture the actual output value.

There is parasitic drain in both lights. The drain in the E01R when using NiMh AAA was 41.3uA (2.21 years to drain the cell). The drain in the E10R when using NiMh AA was 69.8uA (3.11 years to drain the cell). The drain in the E01R when using 14500 was 86uA (1.19 years to drain the cell).

Where a light has built in charging, to best show how it really performs, the batteries have been charged using the built-in charger; This will show if cells are undercharged. First, note the totally flat output from the E01R, exhibiting excellent regulation on the output. Though the E10R is using an AA NiMh with 2100mAh (compared to the AAA’s 800mAh), overall the performance of the E10R using AA is much closer to the E01R than you might expect when the E10R has nearly three times the cell capacity. This is either due to the built-in charger not fully charging the cell, or the driver circuit showing some inefficiency when powered by AA. The 14500 is where the E10R comes to life with nearly 500lm output, staying above 300lm for 25 minutes and only stepping down to below 200lm after 30 minutes.

Troubleshooting

This section is included to mention any minor niggles I come across during testing, in case the information helps anyone else.

The first E01R supplied would not charge. This seemed to be due to a connection issue with the micro-USB port. Jetbeam promptly replaced this under warranty and the replacement has functioned perfectly.

As per the description of this section, this information is provided in case anyone else finds a similar ‘issue’ that might be fixed in the same way.

The E01R/E10R in use

Many USB rechargeable EDC lights have built-in batteries. Though very convenient, this means there is no option of replacing the battery with a fresh cell if you need more light than one cell will give you. Both the E01R and E10R run from standard cells, so whether you use the built-in charging, or not, you can still swap out empty cells for fresh as needed. Both will also run on an alkaline cell, so you are covered in all ways.

Unlike those convenient EDC lights with built-in cells, the E01R and E10R give you that extra level of confidence. Crucially of course you get the performance of a ‘proper’ light.

By hiding the USB charging port inside the head, the port is protected by the O-ring seal of the head. A simple design feature which makes the light just as waterproof as any other non-rechargeable light. This has got to be one of the most important aspects of the way Jetbeam have designed the charging of theses lights; in the majority of cases a USB charging port does compromise the waterproofing – not here.

My main criticism of these lights is with the UI. Firstly the button is quite small and sometimes not easy to hit first time. Secondly the fact that you need to press and hold the switch for 2s to turn it off is quite annoying. Personally I’d much rather the output went on and off with a brief press, and the mode change was a 2s press, but unfortunately it is not.

Another minor annoyance, but probably unavoidable, is that the clips press onto the side of the head, meaning they rub against the anodising as you unscrew the head for recharging. I lift the clip slightly before unscrewing the head to avoid wearing the anodising prematurely – many wouldn’t bother.

Finding the switch can prove challenging by feel, so it can be a little frustrating when you miss the button. I have made this a bit more reliable by lining up the clip so it is opposite the button, but the clip is not held tightly and can still rotate, so this method can end up failing. Also, in gloves, you have no hope at all of finding where the button is, so end up working your way round the head until you hit the right spot. The flip side to this is that the lines of these lights are very streamlined and clean looking.

Moving past these niggles, and onto the beams, the E01R has an outstanding EDC beam. Wide, smooth and perfect for short distance and indoor use. It is also surprisingly bright even with only 111lm. The levels are very well chosen, with Medium being the most useful for general purposes. Neither model includes a genuinely low, low, moon mode, but the low level at 2-3lm is probably more useful for those situations where you want a low level but your eyes are not fully dark adapted; even if they are, the 2lm level is not shockingly bright (it is amazing how little light your eyes really need if given the chance).

More and more lights are including USB recharging, simply because it is much more convenient to charge the battery without taking it out, (and you don’t need to buy a dedicated charger). Jetbeam have achieved this with the E01R and E10R without compromising the style, integrity or function of the lights, and in the E10R have a charger that can charge NiMh and Li-ion!

Review Summary

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
Things I like What doesn’t work so well for me
_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
Fully concealed, and O-ring protected, USB charging port. Power switch is fiddly.
Can run on NiMh or Alkaline (and Li-ion for the E10R). Need to hold the switch for 2s to turn off.
Excellent EDC beam. Pocket clip is always free to rotate.
E01R has perfectly regulated output.
E10R’s charging indicator shows if it is NiMh or Li-ion.
Lockout with 1/4 turn of tail-cap.

 

Discussing the Review:

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EDC Gear Review: NITECORE Utility and Daily Pouches – NUP10/20 and NDP10/20

NITECORE have gone beyond just portable lighting and have started designing products for EDC and daily carry. We now have the NUP10/20 Utility Pouch and the NPD10/20 Daily Pouch which give you plenty of carry options for all those essential bits of EDC gear.

 photo 00 NC Pouches intro P1230459.jpg

The details:

On test in this review are two of the four versions of these pouches, the NUP20 and NDP10. They arrive (like most bags) in a cellophane over-wrap.
 photo 01 NC Pouches wrapped P1230428.jpg

Starting with the NDP10, firstly let’s just cover the naming convention for these pouches. The NDP part means that this is the NITECORE Daily Pouch, and the NDP is either the 10 or 20 depending on the front panel. If this is 10, it has a ‘Hypalon’ Synthetic Rubber panel, or if 20, it has a ‘Velveteen’ Synthetic fabric front panel.
 photo 03 NC Pouches NPD10 P1230468.jpg

So this NDP10 pouch is the larger ‘Daily Pouch’ and it has the ‘Hypalon’ front panel.
 photo 05 NC Pouches NPD10 zip pulls P1230481.jpg

In keeping with the stealth appearance of the pouches, the rubber NITECORE logo has none of the usual yellow colouring.
 photo 06 NC Pouches NPD10 brand P1230484.jpg

If you haven’t come across Hypalon before, it is a synthetic rubber made of chlorinated and sulphonated polyethylene, noted for its resistance to chemicals, temperature extremes, and ultraviolet light.
 photo 07 NC Pouches NPD10 hypalon P1230487.jpg

A detail of the Hypalon’s surface and cut-outs.
 photo 08 NC Pouches NPD10 hypalon P1230489.jpg

Access to the comparments is via the zip closures, and NITECORE have made these zips very easy, with large zip-pulls having a semi-circular moulded loop.
 photo 09 NC Pouches NPD10 zip pulls P1230492.jpg

On this larger Daily Pouch, there is a small hook and loop patch-panel for personalising your pouch. On the NPD20 you can fix patches to the entire front panel, but the Hypalon prevents this on the NPD10.
 photo 10 NC Pouches NPD10 patch panel P1230495.jpg

There is a padded carry handle on the top of the pouch so it can be held like a small bag.
 photo 11 NC Pouches NPD10 handle P1230502.jpg

It also comes with a shoulder strap.
 photo 12 NC Pouches NPD10 plus strap P1230505.jpg

The shoulder strap clips onto D-rings either side of the handle.
 photo 13 NC Pouches NPD10 strap clip P1230509.jpg

On the back there is a PALS webbing attachment which is compatible with PALS/MOLLE systems.
 photo 04 NC Pouches NPD10 pals P1230471.jpg

Supplied with the NPD10 are two PALS connection strips which have a Velcro closure.
 photo 14 NC Pouches NPD10 PALS P1230514.jpg

Opening the main compartment, there is a pocket fixed to the front with an elastic organiser strip, and the rear of the main compartment has a full hook and loop surface for additional flexibility, plus another elastic organiser strip.
As the zips run all the way from one side to the other and have double zip-pulls, the access to these pouches is ambidextrous.
 photo 15 NC Pouches NPD10 main P1230518.jpg

The hook and loop organiser surface in the main compartment.
 photo 17 NC Pouches NPD10 main inside P1230534.jpg

Inside the front compartment, there is even more organisation for small items. Two elastic strips, a front pocket and a clip/D-ring fixing point for keys etc.
 photo 16 NC Pouches NPD10 front P1230527.jpg

Now we switch to the smaller NUP20. NITECORE Utility Pouch with ‘Velveteen’ Synthetic fabric front panel.
 photo 18 NC Pouches NUP20 P1230540.jpg

Again, in keeping with the stealth appearance of the pouches, the rubber NITECORE logo has none of the usual yellow colouring.
 photo 19 NC Pouches NUP20 logo P1230543.jpg

A closer look at the plush Velveteen Synthetic fabric front panel.
 photo 20 NC Pouches NUP20 patch front P1230547.jpg

As on all of the NITECORE pouches there are large zip-pulls for easy access.
 photo 21 NC Pouches NUP20 zip pulls P1230551.jpg

There is a padded carry handle on the top of the pouch so it can be carried like a small bag.
 photo 22 NC Pouches NUP20 handle P1230556.jpg

The Utility Pouch also has a shoulder strap.
 photo 23 NC Pouches NUP20 strap P1230560.jpg

This too clips onto D-rings each side of the handle.
 photo 24 NC Pouches NUP20 strap clip P1230561.jpg

The strap is a generous size so should accommodate wearing it over even large coats.
 photo 25 NC Pouches NUP20 strap fitted P1230566.jpg

On the back of the NUP20 is the same PALS attachment system as used on the Daily pouches.
 photo 26 NC Pouches NUP20 PALS P1230570.jpg

As before the PALS connection strips have a Velcro closure.
 photo 27 NC Pouches NUP20 PALS P1230574.jpg

In the main compartment, the layout is the same as with the Daily pouch, but the compartment is just smaller.
 photo 28 NC Pouches NUP20 main P1230578.jpg

It too has the hook and loop rear panel inside the main compartment.
 photo 29 NC Pouches NUP20 main detail P1230580.jpg

Using the same configuration as the NDP pouches the NUP 20 has two elastic strips, a front pocket and a clip/D-ring fixing point for keys etc. inside the front compartment.
 photo 30 NC Pouches NUP20 front P1230589.jpg

A closer look at the clip/D-ring.
 photo 31 NC Pouches NUP20 front clip P1230591.jpg

A very brief aside here looking at a couple of other NITECORE pouches/holsters, the NCP30, as one of these will appear in the next section.
 photo 32 NC Pouches NCP30 P1230597.jpg

What are they like to use?

The way you choose to carry your EDC gear is as personal as your choice of the gear itself. What you are doing and where you are going also completely changes the requirements of your carry system, so you will need a few options to suit these differing requirements. For any scenario, no one bag/pouch/system will suit everyone, and the way you fill that carrying system will also be unique. So really the best thing you can have are options, and the NITECORE pouches give you options.

Taking the larger Daily Pouch the NDP10, here I’ve shown one example of a set of gear I’ve been carrying.
 photo 33 NC Pouches NPD10 contents P1230765.jpg

This is a snapshot of a set of gear that changes depending on, well, the day. This is not an over-stuffed pouch as I don’t like ramming things to full capacity as it just makes it more difficult to find things, but the list here includes:

A fire-resistant Buff
Mini screwdriver set
3mm cord hank
Gorilla tape mini roll
Jaffa Gaffa tape mini roll
2mm cord hank
CountyComm Pico Grappling hook
NITECORE F1 charger/powerbank
NITECORE NL188 3100mAh 18650 cell
NITECORE USB cable
NITECORE P20UV
Mini adjustable spanner
Screwpop Magnetic Screwdriver
Chris Reeve Knives Large Inkosi
Fällkniven Flipstone Sharpener
NITECORE NWS20 Titanium Whistle
NITECORE NTP10 Titanium Pen
Sharpie Mini Marker
NITECORE SENS AA
Uncle Bill’s Sliver Gripper Tweezers
Burketek Pocket Wrench II
Gerber Bear Girls compact multi-tool
A ‘peak_wanderer’ Unseen Ring Spinner

Not too shabby, and prepared for the odd eventuality. Remember this was not crammed full, but was accessible.

Like this I was carrying the NDP10 inside a larger bag, using at as an organiser, and also separately with the shoulder strap. I found it a bit dense/heavy for PALS/MOLLE mounting.

As a bit of an aside, to free up a bit of space inside and to make access to the bigger light easier I decided to use the PALS feature on the front to fit the NCP30 pouch onto the NDP10.
 photo 35 NC Pouches NPD10 with pouch P1230791.jpg

From this angle you can see the PALS connection strap woven through the PALS panel.
 photo 36 NC Pouches NPD10 with pouch P1230793.jpg

The NCP30 has an elasticated body that holds onto the light so you don’t need to have a top flap covering it.
 photo 37 NC Pouches NPD10 with pouch open P1230799.jpg

If you are concerned though, you can bring a retaining flap out of the NCP30 to fully secure the light.
 photo 38 NC Pouches NPD10 with pouch closed P1230804.jpg

So, these NITECORE pouches give you options for organisation and carry of those essential EDC bits and pieces. In-bag carry, direct carry, on-bag carry and shoulder-strap carry options for sensible sized pouches that are small enough to be convenient and large enough to be useful.

Review Summary

The views expressed in this summary table are from the point of view of the reviewer’s personal use. I am not a member of the armed forces and cannot comment on its use beyond a cutting tool or field/hunting knife.

Something that might be a ‘pro’ for one user can be a ‘con’ for another, so the comments are categorised based on my requirements. You should consider all points and if they could be beneficial to you.

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
Things I like What doesn’t work so well for me
_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
Choice of two pouch sizes that are small enough to be convenient and large enough to be useful. Would benefit from more dividers/separators inside main compartment.
Multi carry options – Shoulder, PALS/MOLLE, handle. Zip-pull loops can catch on things accidentally and be pulled open.
Smaller pouches can be attached to the front of these using hook/loop or PALS/MOLLE. PALS/MOLLE connection strips not the most secure with hook/loop closure.
Choice of front panel material.
1000D Corduroy construction.

 photo 34 NC Pouches NPD10 contents P1230775jpg.jpg

 

Discussing the Review:

Please feel free to add comments to the review, but the ideal place to freely discuss these reviews is on a forum. If you started reading the shorter forum version of the review, but followed the link this full exclusive review, please return to that forum to discuss the review there.
If you read the review entirely on Tactical Reviews, please consider one of the following to join in any discussion.

EdgeMatters – Sponsored Reviews (UK based Forum for Knife Makers and Collectors)

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