Astrolux EA04⌗

Specifications
Introduction
Torch in use
Build quality
LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam
Size and comparison
User interface
Batteries and charging
Performance
Beamshots
Conclusion
Price
Product page

Specifications⌗

Brand/model	Astrolux EA04
LED	4*HP50
Maximum lumens	12,600 lm
Maximum beam intensity	36,481 cd
Maximum throw	382 m
Battery	26650, 26350, 21700, 18650
Onboard charging	Yes (USB-C)
Material	Aluminium
Modes	Ramping
Blinkies	Strobe
Reflector	Smooth
Waterproof	IPX6
Review date	November 2023

Introduction⌗

The Astrolux EA04 is a 26650 sized flooder with four HP50 emitters, a smooth reflector, USB-C charging and a simple user interface.

Banggood kindly sent this torch for review. I have not been paid for this review nor have I held back my opinions of this torch.

The Astrolux EA04 is US$37.99 from Banggood with the promo code: BGb21a97

Banggood is having a Global Shopping Festival.

Packaging⌗

The Astrolux EA04 comes in a plain cardboard box with ASTROLUX branding. There is plenty of foam within the box to protect the torch.

The following was included in the box:

Astrolux EA04.
26350 tube.
Two spare o-rings.
21700 and 18650 adapters.
Lanyard.
User manual.

Torch in use⌗

The Astrolux EA04 feels comfortable in my hand. The side switch gives a satisfying click.

There is a lanyard hole in the tailcap.

The torch can tailstand.

There is no magnet in the tailcap.

Build quality⌗

The Astrolux EA04 is made of aluminium and it has a green anodised finish.

The pattern on the 26650 and the 26350 tubes provide plenty of grip.

The edges near the lanyard hole and the edges on the bezel feel slightly sharp. It would be nice of the edges were chamfered. The rest of the torch is smooth.

The torch arrived with film to protect the glass lens.

The button feels firm and gives a satisfying click. There are green and red indicator emitters behind the switch cover for the charging status and the battery status.

There are pads that might be for updating the firmware.

Dual springs have been used in the tailcap to prevent the battery from rattling around.

The threads came without any lubricate. The tailcap turns smoothly but some effort is needed to press the two springs down against a cell when screwing the tailcap on.

LED, bezel, lens, reflector and beam⌗

The Astrolux EA04 has four HP50 emitters, a smooth reflector, a glass lens and a bezel that screws on.

The glass lens appears to have an anti-reflective coating.

The bezel unscrews easily. No glue was used on the threads. There is a black o-ring on the threads for the bezel and a white o-ring under the edge of the bezel to improve water resistance.

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 6670K. The CRI is around 70.

The Delta u, v is slightly positive (green).

The beam has a white hot spot, a slightly green corona and a hint of purple in the spill.

Mode	CCT (K)	CRI (Ra)	x	y	Duv
Mid	6378	69.9	0.3147	0.3322	0.0038
Top	6965	71.5	0.3070	0.3157	-0.0008
Turbo	6668	70.7	0.3107	0.3227	0.0010

Calculate Duv from CIE 1931 xy coordinates

Dimensions and size comparison⌗

Dimensions⌗

I took the following measurements using a digtal caliper.

Measurement	Unit (mm)
Length	116.86
Head diameter	41.13
Tube outside diameter	30.08
Tube inside diameter	26.74
Tube length	71.83
21700 adapter outside diameter	26.72
21700 adapter inside diameter	21.71
Tail diameter	33.74
Button diameter	10.5
USB port width	12.1
USB port height	7.3
USB port depth	2.54
Battery length	70.1
Battery diameter	21.2
Retaining ring inside diameter	27.06
Head threads inside diameter	26.74

I measured a Molicel P42A 21700 4200mAh battery.

Weight⌗

I took the following measurements using a digital scale.

Weight	Unit (g)
Torch	146.25
21700 adapter	18.32
Battery	65.77
Torch with battery	230.34

I measured a Molicel P42A 21700 4200mAh battery.

Size comparison with its competition⌗

From left to right: WildTrail WT3M, Astrolux EA04, Emisar D4SV2, Acebeam E75

User interface⌗

The EA04 has an electronic side switch to control the torch.

There is smooth ramping and shortcuts to Moonlight, Turbo and Strobe.

State	Action	Result
Off	Hold	Moonlight
Off	Click	On (mode memory)
Off	Two clicks	Turbo
On	Hold	Smooth ramp
On	Click	Off
On	Two clicks	Turbo
Turbo	Hold	Smooth ramp
Turbo	Two clicks	Return to ramp (mode memory)
Any	Three clicks	Strobe
Strobe	Hold	Return to ramp (mode memory)
Strobe	Two clicks	Turbo
Strobe	Three clicks	Return to ramp (mode memory)

Mode memory⌗

Mode memory does not include Turbo or Strobe.

Strobe⌗

The strobe frequency appears to be constant.

Battery status indicator⌗

The battery status indicator is green when the torch is on and the battery is mostly fully. It went from green to red when the voltage dropped to 2.89V.

Lock out⌗

There is no electronic lock out mode. The tailcap can be turned 1/4 to physically lock out the headlamp.

Low voltage protection⌗

There is low voltage protection but the standby drain is around 4.8 mA when the light switches off at 2.7V. The battery might drain to 0V if the torch is left on for several days.

I tested low voltage protection by connecting the head of the torch to a bench power supply and then by lowering the voltage from 4.2V to 0V.

Mode	LVP?	Red flash	Cut-off voltage
Bottom	Yes		2.72V
Mid	Yes	2.89V	2.73V

PWM⌗

I did not notice any visible PWM (flickering).

What I like about the UI⌗

It is simple to use.
Shortcut to Turbo.
Shortcut to Moonlight.

What could be improved⌗

A lock-out mode would be nice.

Batteries and charging⌗

Battery⌗

No batteries were included.

I used the 21700 adapter with a Molicel P42A 21700 4200mAh cell because I don’t have any 26650 or 26350 cells.

A high drain cell is recommended.

I tried the following cells:

Cell	Top	Compatible?	Comment
Molicel P42A 21700 4200mAh	Flat	Yes
Samsung 50S 21700 5000mAh	Flat	Yes
Acebeam IMR21700NP-500A 5000mAh	Button	No	The cell is too long.
Weltool UB21-50 21700 5000mAh USB-C	Button	No	The cell is too long.

Charging⌗

The torch has a USB-C port for charging and for the power bank feature.

Power supply: PinePower Desktop USB-A
USB Meter: AVHzY CT-3 (recommended by LiquidRetro)
Room temperature: 18 C

I charged the included cell inside the Astrolux EA04 from 2.82V to 4.17V. Charging completed after 2 hour 19 minutes. The charging rate was approximately 5V 1.8A.

Charging status indicator⌗

The charging status indicator is red while charging and it becomes green when the battery is fully charged.

Power supply compatibility⌗

I tried the following power supplies with the built-in USB-C charger:

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-C to USB-C charging works.

Performance⌗

Specifications from the user manual:

	Turbo
Output (lumens)	12,600
Runtime
Beam Distance (metres)	382
Beam Intensity (cd)	36,481

I used a Molicel P42A 21700 4200mAh cell for the following tests.

Lumen measurements⌗

I used a UNI-T UT210E clamp meter to measure the current at turn on.

Mode	Amps at start	Specs	Lumens @turn on	Lumens @30 sec	Lumens @10 min
Bottom	0.02 A
Mid	0.40 A		166	165	164
Top	12.18 A		5,755	2,323	1,144
Turbo	25.70 A	12,600	8,768	4,815	1,129

The bottom of the ramp was too low for my DIY lumen tube to measure.

Standby drain⌗

55.9 µA.

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 18 C.

Runtime⌗

Here is a summary of the runtime results:

Mode	Runtime	Turn off	Final voltage
Turbo	1h 32min 7s	1h 43min 50s	2.93
Top	1h 44min 26s	1h 46min 11s	3.04
Mid	10h 52min 29s	10h 52min 29s	2.94

“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 one lumen.

“+” indicates that the light remained on after recording had stopped.

I measured the middle of the ramp, top of the ramp and Turbo. The bottom of the ramp was too low for my DIY lumen tube to measure.

There are no runtime estimates in the user manual.

Turbo and the top of the ramp start off strong! But then they quickly drop to around 1,200 lumens within a minute. The output drops to about 800 lumens after an hour.

Throw⌗

I took lux measurements with a UNI-T UT383BT at 30 seconds. The middle of the ramp, top of the ramp and Turbo were measured at five metres.

Mode	Specs (cd)	Specs (m)	Candela measured (cd)	Distance (m)
Mid			475	43
Top			8,975	189
Turbo	36,481	382	17,250	262

Beamshots⌗

I went to a local park and aimed the Astrolux EA04 at a tree 70 metres away while using Turbo.

Beamshots were taken using a Sony RX100M2 using 3.2", f3.2, ISO 100, 5000K WB.

Astrolux EA04 (Turbo)⌗

WildTrail WT3M SST40 (Turbo)⌗

Emisar D4V2 CREE XPL-HI V2 5D 4000K (Turbo)⌗

Emisar D4SV2 CREE XPL-HI V2 5D 4000K Turbo beamshot

Acebeam E75 (Turbo)⌗

Conclusion⌗

The Astrolux EA04 is a relatively inexpensive pocket flooder.

It produces a nice floody white beam.

The lumen output and beam distance is lower than expected.

The user interface is pretty simple. Smooth ramping gives an almost infinite amount of output levels but I would prefer four or five modes (e.g. Low, Medium, High, Turbo).

This torch might be a good host for an enthusiast wanting to swap another driver in. It is easy to open up and disassemble.

I would recommend the Astrolux EA04 to enthusiasts looking for an inexpensive pocket flooder that can reach more than 8,000 lumens at turn on.

Pros:⌗

Good build quality.
Nice floody beam.
Simple user interface.
Built-in USB-C charging.
Supports a variety of cells (26650, 23650, 21700, 18650).

Cons:⌗

Lumen output is lower than claimed.
Beam distance is lower than claimed.
Low CRI.
Low voltage protection kind of works (4.8mA standby drain).

Price⌗