Folomov is a newer flashlight and charging company that has put out many products in 2017. This is the first of their products I have had. It’s the EDC-C4 and it’s more than just a flashlight. Thank to Folomov for sending this to me to take a look at.
Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/gLOGn(link is external)
YouTube Version of this Review:
Construction
This light is made from a black anodized aluminum. The anodizing is smooth and has gloss to it. The tail cap is flat, and non magnetic. It will tails stand without a problem. Knerling on this light is a square pattern that’s medium grip. The clip is tail only and is removable but not reversible.The head is just ever so slightly larger. You have the main button which has an LED under for charging status. Opposite that is the cover for the micro USB charging port. I am a little worried about this rubber cover as it’s only attached at once place and easily stressed. This light is only rated for IPX-6 meaning it’s rated for rain, or high pressure stream but not full submersion.
The lens is slightly recessed and fairly thick glass. It does not look to have anti reflective coated glass. The reflector is smooth and the LED is nicely centered in the middle.
I measured length at 100mm, width at the narrowest is 22.5mm and at it’s widest is 25.5mm.
Issues
I had a few cosmetic issues with the Folomov C4 I received. First the rubber over the main button had one corner that was not all the way into the body of the light. I was able to mostly squish it back into place. Folomov gave me some pictures to show how it’s assembled in case I wanted to do that.
The other issue I have is the flat parts of the body tube don’t line up with the button or charging port on the light. I can rotate it manually but doing so disables the light. I think this is just my example because I have looked at other reviews and photos out there and it doesn’t seem to be a problem.
LED, Runtime, and Reflector
This light uses a Cree XP-L V6 LED in cool white. It has a fairly large dome on it. It has a pronounced hot center and minimal spill. I didn’t notice any tint casts or major artifacts in the beam. Runtime did decrease significantly after about 3 seconds. I believe there is a timer for turbo. After that the light ran on High for another 105 minutes roughly slowly decreasing in output. At that point it was a full decline to zero relative output. The light does have low voltage protection on the battery that will shut off the light to stop damaging the battery. I measured the battery at 3.20V when LVP kicked in. According to the manual, the ratings and runtimes given were with a higher capacity 3400mah battery but that’s not what ships with the light (2600mah). This is a bit deceitful on Folomov’s part.
UI
The UI on this light starts at the lowest mode which is 10 lumens, and goes to medium, at 75 lumens, high at 200 lumens then turbo at 1200 lumens. If you keep pressing the mode button it then starts going down in reverse, so 1200, 200, 75, and 10. Mode spacing could be improved as there is quite a bit of difference between 200 and 1200 lumens. This light also has a Strobe, SOS and Beacon function. You can get to them by double clicking. To change within strobe double click again and to exit click once. This light have lockout mode by a fast triple click to lock or unlock.
USB Charging (Demonstrated in the video review)
I spent a decent amount of time testing this light as a powerbank by charing various phones. Using the included cable you use the Micro USB side to plug into the light and then the female full size USB-A connector to plug your own cable in and charge your phone or device. I was able to charge an old Note 4 from 20 to 94% on the included cell. This I thought was decently efficient on the 2600mah included cell. When I measured this with my USB power meter speed of charging a phone was 1.2A and total watt hours was 6.48WH. When the light shut down charging the battery was measured at 3.13V. The flashlight got decently warm during this time too reaching 96F on a non contact thermometer. When charging your phone this can act as a flashlight just in a reduced manner.
To charge the light itself you can use a standard microUSB cable or use the included cable and plug the male end of the USB-A into your power source. The switch blinks red until full where it’s green. This is a slower way of charging. This light can use and charge standard 18650 batteries, flat tops, and button tops without issues.
As an EDC Flashlight
Lengthwise this is really short light for being powered by an 18650 and USB rechargeable. Being an 18650 it does have a bit of girth to it but it’s certainly on the smaller side for 18650 lights. THe clip will rotate on the light but it’s minimal. It has a large area at the top to fit jeans in but is missing a ramp so it gets stuck a little. I didn’t have an issue with this light turning on in my pocket due to the longer press needed to turn it on.
Packaging
This came in a full retail packaging. The box is a black and orange combination with important specifications on the rear and sides. Inside is a plastic tray that the light comes in. It includes the light, the included Folomov 18650 battery (2600mah), unique charging cable, lanyard, and some instructions. No holster is included.
Pro’s
- Small size for being USB rechargeable. Its just slightly longer than the Emmisar D4.
- Minimal branding on the light
- Flat top batteries, and button top batteries work for the light and powerbank features.
Con’s
- Uncommon/Proprietary cable to use it as a power bank. Prone to being lost.
- UI spacing should be better, and no moonlight
- I wish the flat body parts lined up with the button and USB port on my example. This seems to be isolated.
- 2600mah battery is lower capacity for 2018, especially for a light that can act as a powerbank. The ratings and runtimes given were with a higher capacity 3400mah battery but that’s not what ships with the light. This is a bit deceitful on Folomov’s part.
Conclusion
This is a very compact flashlight for using an 18650 and being USB rechargeable. The fact that it can act as a USB powerbank too is a nice added feature although not the most efficient. Use as a powerbank did cause the body to get warm but not dangerously hot. The light will work while charging or while being used as a powerbank but at reduced output which is important. I do wish it came with at least a 3000mah or 3500mah battery since it can be used as a powerbank. I like that you can use flat tops in it as well as button tops for all the features. I hope Folomov improves the build quality issues with the rubber flaps and aligning of the threads and body flats. For the money, output and these features it’s a decent value. This light is available on Amazon.