Thrunite has a new 18650 light on the market, boasting an incredible 2300 lumens from a single emitter, onboard microUSB charging, in a pretty compact package. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to review, let’s take a closer look.
Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/xh1RBsV
YouTube Version of this Review:
Packaging
Packaging is similar to past Thrunite lights. It’s a nice brown cardboard box, with few facts on the outside other then the model number, picture and emitter type. Inside the light is protected in black foam, with all the accessories underneath. Included with the light is a Thrunite button top protected 3100mAh IMR battery. The wrapping on this one is thin, and I can see the model number underneath indicating it’s a Samsung 30Q which is great. Other accessories include the nylon holster, with the velcro belt loop, and plastic dring, Extra orings, a pocket clip, Lanyard, micro USB cable, extra button cover and USB cover, and associated paperwork.
The light comes with a Thrunite button top protected branded IMR battery, the wrapper is kind of transparent and you can see the pink Samsung 30Q underneath. I am a big fan of 30Q’s so that’s great.
Construction
The light is built from aluminium, anodized an egg shell black, the same as other Thrunite lights. The tail allows for the light to tailstand but it’s not magnetic. There is a recessed area where I could see someone epoxying a strong magnet too if they wanted. On the tail cap is also the lanyard attachment point. Inside the tail cap there is an additional plastic ring used to hold the spring in place.
Threads on the body tube are anodized and square cut. The grip pattern on the body tube is a small series of squares milled in, with the edges all nicely deburred. This reminds me a lot of the Olight M2R’s body tube with a slight twist in design. It provides a medium amount of grip and should not rip up your pocket. The pocket clip is designed to fit this light on the tail end only and uses a little wider attachment point. For me I wish the clip allowed for a bit deeper carry. About 18mm of the light sticks up above the clip.
The head is allowed to separate from the body of the light. From what I can see inside it’s mostly brass contacts. There is a slight raised area in the center to act as a contact point. From the outside it’s similar to other Thrunite lights, there is an anti roll ring where you can find the button and USB charging port. The button is a silver metal, and features a LED in the center used for battery status. It’s almost flush, and won’t get caught accidentally. The charging port cover has a little different design. Instead of one weak attachment point like a lot of lights use, this has a rubber/silicone band that fits the entire way around the light that the cover attaches to. This means it gets out of the way further when charging. I like that change.
The front of the bezel is smooth with minimal fins. The lens is anti reflective coated, the reflector is deep and smooth, and the LED is nicely centered. Minimal writing on the light only the model number under the button, and under the charging port is the SN, and 3 regulatory markings.
If you drop the light from just a few inches when it’s on, onto the tail cap it will temporarily lose contact and go out for just a second, it comes back on as soon as the battery makes contact again. I think a stronger spring would help this or a spring in the head as well.
Size and Weight
I measured the length at 123mm, maximum diameter at 26mm at the anti roll ring, and minimum diameter at 25mm on the head. Weight with the included battery and clip was 125g.
Comparing it to the Olight M2R (in the video version), the TC15 is shorter by about ¼ inch, diameters at the heads are very similar with the Olight being a touch larger, but you notice it more in the anti roll ring and body tubes with the Olight being the larger of the 2 as well as weighing more. Comparing it to the Olight S2R the TC15 is a good deal shorter but similar diameters. Compared to the Acebeam EC35 the Thurunite TC15 is shorter by about a ½ inch and smaller in diameter too.
LED/Heat/Runtime
This light is using a Cree XHP35 HD LED in my example in Cool White. Thrunite on their website has a Neutral White model listed but it’s not yet available. Maximum brightness is listed at 2300 lumens but according some other reviews such as Zeroair it may be under rated as he saw 2700 lumens at the beginning of Turbo mode.
The beam on this has a hot center, and a reduced spill. It surprised me at how well it throws light at distance. Thrunite rates it at 246m and that’s thanks to that smooth deep reflector and XHP35 HD LED.
With so many lumens out of a small package this light does get hot. After 1 minute starting on turbo I measured it at 102F at the head, after 5 minutes I measured it at 113F, and after 10 minutes I measured it at 116F. This is getting fairly roasty but won’t burn you.
Runtime on this light is pretty solid considering it’s lumen output. On Turbo the light steps down after 2.5 minutes and then stabilizes for about 95 minutes. The last 10 minutes of that the light starts to sag a bit as the battery depletes but not too much or noticeably. At the end the LVP kicks in and the light shuts off.
UI
Mode spacing is as follows. Turbo 2300 lumens, then 820 lumens after 2 minutes. High 1050 lumens, Medium 250 lumens, Low 25 lumens, firefly/moonlight 1 lumen, and strobe 839 lumens.
UI on this light is the same as most Thrunite’s, which is good, nothing new to learn and it’s a good UI in my opinion. From off, long press to get Firefly mode, when the light is on press and hold to cycle the light through the different modes, going low to high. Double click to get to turbo, once in turbo click again to go to strobe.
Recharging
Recharging via microUSB performed pretty good. I saw an average close to 1A for charging, which means it took about 3.5 hours to fully charge. This is a safe charging speed, and it won’t win any awards for speed but it should mean your battery will have a long healthy life.
Pro’s
- High Quality Samsung 30Q battery.
- Nice construction, square threads, small diameter, a lot of output
- Good UI and mode spacing.
Con’s
- To move from good to great EDC for me this would need to have a pocket clip that allows it to go deeper in the pocket.
- Loses connection briefly when dropped on its tail from a short distance
Conclusion
The Thrunite TC15 is a pretty nice complete flashlight package. There are not a ton of similar lights with this emitter and size that are non tactical oriented. I like the longer throw that this offers in a fairly small package and small diameter but you pay for that with the light being a little longer then I would prefer for a pocket light. I do wish with this longer light you would get a spring in the head which I think would help with the connection issues when the light is dropped from it’s tail. I wish a deeper clip was offered as well to improve it’s EDC ability. Overall this light is a pretty good value for a complete package from a good brand with a great reputation and good customer support.
ThruNite is running a Christmas promotion on their website where you can use the code “20%” to save 20% when ordering direct from them (On most lights). I don’t get any kickbacks from this or anything like that I just want to make sure people can get a deal when one is available.