Tag: Folomov

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Folomov C2 Review (400 lumens, 98CRI, Super small, 14300 battery, Summer EDC)

The Folomov C2, is a very small EDC light with a very high CRI (98CRI) warm beam, magnetic tail cap, and USB rechargeable battery. It might be a just about perfect little summer EDC. Thanks to Folomov (Affiliate Link) for sending it to me to take a closer look at and show to you guys.

Just a reminder to everyone to make sure you join my Facebook page for the YouTube channel and my reviews, where I try to post a few days a week, new arrivals etc, and take a look at the Patreon page I have setup for the channel as well.

 

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/CKowYeZ

Youtube Version of this Review: 

Packaging

Instead of a box, the C2 comes in a small tin with foam inserts. The top cover is laser engraved with the name and brand. It would make a nice gift box. Included with the light is a pocket clip, battery, extra orings, manual and micro USB charging cable.

Construction

The light is made from aluminum and hard anodized a satin black. Starting at the tail it’s magnetic, and flat, so it tails stands well. The tail cap sides have just a little milling in them to add style and a slight amount of grip. Inside threads are anodized and square cut. The body is tiny at only 19mm in diameter, It has 2 flats where the minimal labeling for the light is (Just the brand and model name).

The button and clip segment grow in diameter slightly, similar to the Olight Mini series of lights. Folomov choose a gray button that has 2 LED’s underneath to give a bit of a charge indication. They are green when the battery is charged and turn red when the battery is low. The head section has small teardrop areas milled in. The bezel is a polished aluminum. The glass lens sits recessed a little and underneath is a orange peel reflector.

The clip is fixed in a tip up position and fixed rotation, this allows you to mount the light on the bill of a hat if you wish to do so. The bad part about this clip is the bend at the top is just too tight, there is only about 1.5mm of space at the top of it, so it’s difficult to fit over the brim of most hats, and even pants or shorts pockets are usually thicker than that at the seam. The result is it just doesn’t carry as deep as it could, but it still carries better then many lights.

Size and Weight/Comparisons

This is a seriously small light, I measured length at 55mm, max diameter near the switch at 19mm, minimum at 16mm. Weight only comes in at 31.7 grams with the battery and clip. The light is IPX8 Water rated as well.

The C2 does share a lot of design features with the Olight SMini series of lights, but is about 20-30% smaller. It’s not a revolutionary design but one that works well. For me the C2 has proven to be a great summer carry, as I am wearing shorts more, I want smaller and lighter weight things in my pockets and the C2 fills that gap while still having quite a bit of power. The magnetic tail cap just add to it’s utility. It does only have tip up carry which some people will love, others will hate.

LED/Beamshots/Runtime

The little Folomov C2 is using a Nichia 21A LED. The tint is 3000k and an exciting 98 CRI. The beam has a hot center that covers about 30% of the beam and then a minimal amount of light in the spill. I like warm high CRI beams, I will admit the warmer tints can take some time getting used to especially if you have a lot of cool white low CRI lights now. For me I always will take high CRI if I can get it as I just prefer colors to look natural and it’s good for any photography too.

Folomov rates the light at a maximum of 400 lumens in turbo, 160 lumen in high, 50 lumen on medium, 10 lumen on low, and ½ lumen on moonlight. It also has strobe, SOS and bacon all at 160 lumens.

Runtime is nothing outstanding, due to the 14300 sized battery at 250mAh. It’s just a really small battery in terms of capacity, part of this is to fit the microUSB charging circuit on which barely fits. So in my runtime tests the light was on for 65 minutes. Turbo is really only good for about a minute, before stepping down pretty significantly. The next 30 minutes you get a usable amount of light. The last 30 minutes is just above moon light mode modestly.

Low voltage protection kicked in at 3.08V. The light does have reverse polarity protection and some thermal protection. Parasitic Drain was measured at 2.0uA.

 

UI

The UI is straightforward and logical in illumination mode.  Low, Medium, High, and then it repeats. Direct access to low is available by long pressing from off, and a double click takes you to turbo. Low, Medium and high are available for memory as well. There is lockout mode which you can activate by pressing the button 3 times quickly, and you do the same to unlock. This mode is very similar to Olight’s UI, so if you know it you will catch on quick.

There is a tactical mode which I think is a little silly on a light this small but it does have it. To go between the two you click the light 7 times from off. It makes the side switch a momentary turbo if pressed and held. If the button is pressed quickly it locks turbo on,and if you double click the side switch you get strobe.

The light ships in the default mode which is where I think most people will want to leave it.

 

Recharging and the Battery

Recharging the 14300 battery is easily accomplished with the MicroUSB port on it’s side. The USB charging circuit sits on top of the battery and has red/green LED to indicate charge status. Full Battery Voltage was measured at 4.207V. Total recharging time took just 1 hour and the maximum charging speed I saw was 0.3A which is appropriate for a cell of this size.

I suspect the battery being used here is really more like a 14200 sized sell with the last 10mm, being the USB recharging circuit. You can see the line in the battery. 14200s are also much more available then 14300s, that said I am not finding any 14200’s that match the capacity here. While I understand why they went with USB recharging especially for such a small cell, it does hurt capacity as it takes up valuable space.

 

Pro

  • Warm White high CRI. 98CRI is just fantastic on an EDC this size.
  • Small size, this was smaller than expected and carries really nice
  • Easy to use UI that’s what you would expect

Cons

  • The pocket clip is narrow, meaning anything but very thing pockets won’t ride all the way down in the clip.
  • Not a common battery size, Folomov says they will at some point have additional batteries for purchase.
  • Low capacity battery at only 250mAh.

 

Conclusion

For me the Folomov C2 is a hit. It’s enough light to get me through an office or light duty EDC use, but has enough power to do a few other small tasks. For any larger tasks I would want a larger light nearby in my home, car, or office. It’s not a light I would go camping with or use for extended times due to the small battery but it’s more useful than most keychain lights without being too big in a pocket. I love the high CRI warm LED, this is what sets it apart from the competition that typically prefers cool white LEDs. My only main concern is the availability and cost of replacement batteries. Folomov has said they will be available but hasn’t said when or at what cost.  Overall it’s a nice light, with a straight forward UI for a pretty affordable price. I recommend it for a very small light weight EDC.

 

Save 20% on the Folomov EDC C2 now through June 13th at https://amzn.to/2MCjAE5 (Affiliate Link)

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Folomov EDC C4 (18650, 1200 Lumens, USB rechargeable/Powerbank feature)

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.