Contents
- Pricing & Availability
- What comes in the box?
- Design & Construction
- Size & Measurements
- User Interface
- Emitter & Beam
- Mode Chart
- Runtime
- Driver & Regulation
- Switch
- Carry & Ergonomics
- Batteries & Charging
- Competition
- Conclusion
Pricing & Availability
Skilhunt sent me this light in exchange for an honest review. Here is the official product page where you can see current pricing. Skilhunt is slowly rebranding to “ESKTE”, which will pop up throughout this review.
What comes in the box?
EC200S-Mini comes in Skilhunt’s retail box with a window showing off the light. Inside is:
- The light itself
- Battery (inside the light)
- User manual
- Magnetic charging cable (new orders will come with a USB-C cable instead)
- Wrist lanyard
- Spare o-rings
- Pocket clip
- Tailcap spacer (replaces magnet)
- Amber filter (optional, for the secondary LED)
Design & Construction
EC200S-Mini’s design is fairly simple. It’s a tube with a few cuts here and there for ergonomics, grip, and a bit of cooling. It’s not flashy, but it works well. It’s just like a shortened version of EC200S.
Build quality is good. The anodizing and machining are well done. It feels higher quality than lights from budget brands like Convoy, Sofirn, or Wurkkos. It doesn’t feel as high quality as most models from higher-end brands like Olight, Acebeam, or Wuben.
Size & Measurements
(All Skilhunt) H150 | MiX-7 | EC200S-Mini | EC200 | H300
| Measurement | Measured (mm) |
|---|---|
| Bezel Diameter | 25.0 |
| Maximum Head Diameter | 30.1 |
| Length | 71.1 |
| Switch Diameter | 10 |
| Lens Thickness | 1.5 |
| Lens Diameter | 22.0 |
| Optic Diameter | 9.0 |
| Reflector Height | 6.2 |
| MCPCB Size | 16.3 |
| LED Footprint | 3535 |
| Body Tube Diameter | 22.2 |
| Pocket Clip Slot Width | 4.3 |
| Pocket Clip Slot Diameter | 20.6 |
| Tailcap Diameter | 23.5 |
| Tailcap Length | 13.3 |
| Driver Diameter | U/M |
| Included Battery Length | 39.0 |
| Weight with included battery & no clip (g) | 70 |
| Clip weight (g) | 7 |
User Interface
This UI works like most other e-switch UIs with a couple changes. Turbo and Moonlight are adjustable (neat) and you can’t go from Moonlight to Low (boo). Plus there’s a secondary channel for the warm LED.
The actions are # of presses followed by a hold (H) or a release (C). So, “1C” is one click and release. “2H” is two clicks but you hold down the last one.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | 1C | On (main group) |
| Off | 1H (short) | Moonlight |
| Off | 1H (long) | Warm (low) |
| Off | 2H | Warm (last-used level) |
| Off | 4C | Lockout (indicator on) |
| Lockout | 1H | Moonlight (momentary) |
| Lockout | 2C | Toggle indicator off/on |
| Lockout | 4C | Moonlight |
| Moonlight | 1C | Cycle Moonlight brightness (L2-L1) |
| Moonlight | 2H | Jump to memorized main mode |
| On (main mode group) | 1H | Cycle mode (M2-M1-H1) |
| On (main mode group) | 2H | Moonlight |
| Any (except off & lockout) | 1C | Off |
| Any (except off, lockout, Moonlight) | 3C | Blinkies |
| Any (except Moonlight & blinkies) | 2C | Turbo |
| Blinkies | 2C | Cycle mode (strobe, SOS, beacon) |
| Turbo | 1H | Cycle Turbo brightness (T2-T1) |
| Turbo | 2C | Return to memorized main mode |
| Warm | 1H | Cycle brightness (Low-Med-High-Turbo) |
| Any (constant on) | 3H | Toggle cool/warm |
What they got right:
- 2H from off jumps directly to Warm. That’s exactly what I suggested in my MiX-7 and H200 reviews! Brilliant!
- Clicking turns the light on/off and holding the button changes modes. That’s the way almost all e-switch flashlights should work. It’s intuitive and quick.
- The common shortcuts work. Moonlight, Turbo, and Strobe all have shortcuts that work the same way as most other lights. They work very well and there’s no learning curve when switching lights.
- Turbo, Strobe and Moonlight are outside the main mode rotation. They have dedicated shortcuts, and keeping them separate keeps the UI a little cleaner.
- Turbo and Moonlight are adjustable. That’s neat if you want a little more Turbo time at the expense of brightness, or if the lower Moonlight level is too low. Skilhunt’s implementation causes another issue (see below), but it’s still a cool feature.
- The secondary LED is outside the Moonlight group. That was a gripe of mine about MiX-7, so I’m glad they (sort of) fixed that.
- You can toggle between cool and warm at any time via 3H and it maintains aproximately the same brightness.
What they got wrong:
- There’s no way to go to Low from Moonlight (or from Turbo, for that matter). because 1H from Moonlight adjusts the moonlight brightness. This bugs me every evening when I use the light while getting ready for bed. If I find the moonlight modes too bright, I have to jump to the memorized main mode (usually medium) and that’s too bright, so then I have to cycle up through high and back down to low. Adjustable moonlight is neat, but it should not get in the way of going from Moonlight to Low. Changing the Moonlight/Turbo adjustment to 2H would free up 1H as a shortcut to Low, like most other E-switch UIs.
- The lockout indicator is activated every time you enter lockout mode it activates the lockout indicator beacon. I wish it remembered whether you had the indicator beacon activated/deactivated. I just use mechanical lockout instead (loosen the tailcap a bit).
Notes:
- Strobe changes frequency. That’s good for tactical users and not good for light-painting users.
- Beacon’s frequency is weirdly high. It’s on for ~6-700 milliseconds every second. Most beacon modes I’ve tried come on for less than 100 milliseconds every ~10 seconds or so.
- Warm doesn’t have Moonlight. That’s not a big deal, but it would be nice.
Emitter & Beam
For the main LEDs you can select between Cree XP-G4 6500K and Nichia 519A 4500K. I chose the XP-G4s for maximum brightness and efficiency. Since this is the “S” model, it’s got a secondary Nichia 519A 3000K LED as well. The “S-RED” model has a secondary red LED and the “S-UV” model has a secondary UV LED. Warm, red, and UV are excellent choices for a secondary LED.
These LEDs all sit in their own individual reflectors. It’s not one 3-cone reflector. Each reflector is a separate piece and they’re all different. The one for the warm LED has a shelf for an optional amber filter. One of the main reflectors has an orange peel texture and the other one is smooth. Best of both worlds I suppose. There’s also an EC200(-Mini) variant that uses three of the same LED under a TIR optic. I just reviewed the 18650 version here!
The beam is floody with a wide hotspot and spill that fades gradually away from the hotspot. It’s great for up close or flooding a room. It doesn’t throw far, but it does throw further than the EC200 519A version I just reviewed.
In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed and the wall is 2.8M away.
In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed, the basketball goal to the right of the hotspot is 39M away, and the power pole in the center is 185M away.
Mode Chart
Disclaimer: All of my measurements are taken at turn-on. Lumen measurements were taken on a Texas Ace 3.5″ Lumen Tube. A candela measurement was taken at 10 meters with an Opple Light Master III on the highest brightness, and other candela figures were calculated relative to that. CRI, CCT, & DUV data were taken for each mode from a few feet away at the center of the hotspot with the Opple Light Master and Waveform DUV Calculator. Runtime tests were performed with the Ceilingbounce app on my smartphone. These tests were performed with a fully charged included battery unless otherwise specified. I cannot measure moonlight directly, so moonlight readings are calculated based on the brightness relative to the next-lowest mode. None of this is professional equipment, so take these measurements with a grain of salt.
The official specs are above, followed by my own measurements below.
| Level | Lumens | Candela | Throw (Meters) | CRI (Ra) | Color Temp. (K) | DUV (Tint) |
| T1 (Turbo) | 1900 | 7800 | 177 | 69 | 6090 | 0.0055 |
| T2 | 1000 | 4105 | 128 | 68 | 5880 | 0.0068 |
| H1 (High) | 560 | 2299 | 96 | 67 | 5690 | 0.0092 |
| M1 (Med) | 190 | 780 | 56 | 66 | 5550 | 0.0105 |
| M2 (Low) | 58 | 238 | 31 | 65 | 5540 | 0.0112 |
| L1 | 6 | 23 | 10 | 65 | 5500 | 0.0117 |
| L2 (Moon) | 0.7 | 3 | 3 | 65 | 5470 | 0.0120 |
| Level | Lumens | Candela | Throw (Meters) | CRI (Ra) | Color Temp. (K) | DUV (Tint) |
| W1 (Turbo) | 560 | 1000 | 63 | 97 | 3110 | 0.0008 |
| W2 (High) | 110 | 196 | 28 | 97 | 3090 | 0.0017 |
| W3 (Med) | 28 | 50 | 14 | 97 | 3090 | 0.0022 |
| W4 (Low) | 3 | 6 | 5 | 97 | 3080 | 0.0021 |
Runtime
Performance is good. Turbo lasts 1-3 minutes depending on the Turbo level you choose. Total runtime is about an hour on the 3 highest modes. Sustained output is impressive at ~550lm.
Thermal regulation: Timed step-downs only. No active thermal regulation. That means the light will perform consistently but may also overheat in hot weather or leave some performance on the table in cold weather.
LVP (Low Voltage Protection) is present and works well. When the battery is effectively empty, the light will shut itself off. It doesn’t rely on the battery’s protection circuit and the light can be re-activated in an emergency.
Driver & Regulation
The driver is covered and glued in place so I can’t get any good photos. Based on the performance I believe it’s a Buck driver.
Regulation performance is good. All modes are mostly unaffected by battery voltage until the battery is effectively empty. That tells me EC200S-Mini has a good quality driver and the components are being pushed hard for maximum brightness.
Note: All regulation measurements are taken at turn-on so they do not reflect any thermal or low voltage stepdowns that may occur. A value of 0 indicates low voltage shutoff immediately upon activation.
PWM: No PWM is visible to my eyes or camera, nor audible to my ears.
Parasitic Drain: 54 microamps with the lockout indicator disabled (you have to disable it every time you enter lockout. That will take ~2 years to drain the included battery. It’s ~725 microamps with the lockout indicator enabled, and that will drain the battery in 2 months.
Switch
The switch is electronic and located on the side of the head. There’s a rubber boot held down with a threaded retaining ring. It’s partially transparent so it can light up and function as a battery indicator. It’s audibly clicky and I like it!
Carry & Ergonomics
Ergonomics are fine. It’s stubby so I can only hold it with three fingers, but that’s secure enough. It works well in a forward or pencil grip.
The clip is the same as the larger EC200(S) and that causes some problems. The clip is too long so it lands on the port cover, button, or cooling fins. I wish Skilhunt included a shorter clip that landed on the smooth area between the body tube and the port cover.
Because of the poorly matched clip, it doesn’t carry particularly well. The best place I found to carry it was my jeans watch pocket. The larger 18650 version is easier for me to carry because its clip works well.
The magnet inside the tailcap is strong enough to hold the light up on a vertical surface. If you don’t like the magnet, Skilhunt includes a plastic spacer in the box to replace the magnet. Use some needlenose pliers to remove the tailcap spring and make the swap.
Batteries & Charging
The battery included is an 1100mAh protected button top 18350 cell that does a fine job powering EC200S-Mini. Unprotected button top cells fit too without any rattling or cutting out. There’s also a not-mini version available that uses an 18650 battery. I wish it were just one model that included both battery tubes, but the battery tube is glued to the head so you have to choose between the 18650 or 18350 version when you purchase.
The appeal of this 18350 battery is that it’s small, but it only makes this “Mini” version 1/3 smaller than the full-size 18650 version and you give up 2/3 of your battery capacity. It also makes the clip land in bad spots and makes it feel less secure in hand. For those reasons, I recommend the non-mini 18650 version.
Charging is facilitated by a USB-C port on the side of the light. It’s covered by a rubber flap to keep out water and debris. The port cover is secure and it doesn’t come open by accident unless you don’t push it back in properly. Both C-to-C and A-to-C cables worked just fine and it’s fully functional while charging. There’s no powerbank function, but I wouldn’t expect one on a light this small.
The battery indicator is located under the switch. It will glow when the light is plugged in or for a few seconds after the light’s turned on. I prefer four discrete LEDs, but this four-color/pattern setup works well enough. Here’s what the colors mean when it’s unplugged:
- Constant blue: >80% charge
- Blinking blue: 50-80% charge
- Constant red: 20-50% charge
- Blinking red: <20% charge
And when it’s charging:
- Constant blue: 100% charge
- Breathing blue: ~67-100% charge
- Constant red: ~33-67% charge
- Breathing red: <33% charge
Competition
Here are some lights in the same class and how they compare.
Emisar D4V2 (with optional 18350 battery tube):
- lower price
- multiple driver options (FET for max output, dual channel, or Boost for higher efficiency)
- HUGE variety of LED options and multiple optic options
- RGB auxiliary LEDs for style, finding it in the dark, and checking charge level
- only accepts unprotected flat-top 18650/18350 batteries (not included)
- feature-rich but complicated Anduril 2 firmware
- optional magnetic tailcap
- more expensive
- three main LEDs plus red, green, blue, and UV
- larger head
- same main LED options
- similar main UI, worse secondary LED UI
- similar build quality
- same battery
- magnetic charging instead of USB-C
- same clip (with same issues)
- Identical except: three LEDs under a TIR (no secondary channel) and a larger 18650 battery
This section is not comprehensive. If I didn’t include a particular light here, it doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t deserve to be here. I simply cannot list every possible competitor.
Conclusion
I love the larger, single-channel EC200 and it’s become a part of my everyday carry. The “S” variants take that greatness and trade one of the three main LEDs for a secondary LED in warm white, red, or UV. They also updated the UI so now the secondary LED is separate from the Moonlight group and it can be accessed directly from off! Awesome!
I don’t love the “Mini” aspect though. The shorter body tube and battery cause problems with the pocket clip and decrease battery capacity by two-thirds. I don’t think making the light 30% shorter is worth the convenience and battery tradeoff, so I recommend getting the longer 18650 version for most users.
Thanks to Skilhunt for sending me this light for review!
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