Category: EDC

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Astrolux FT03 Mini Review (Thrower, 4200 lumens?, USB-C, Aux LED)

Today I have A recent light from Astrolux the FT03 Mini, it’s the smaller version of the FT03 I tested last summer. The Mini has some different LED options, and runs off an 18650 or 18350 battery and has RGB Auxiliary LED’s. Thanks to Banggood for sending this too me to review.

 

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Pickup the new Astrolux FT03 Mini at Banggood https://ban.ggood.vip/Vf5l Use code “BGAU1101” to get the light for US $35.99.

 

Packaging & Accessories

The astrolux packaging is a heavier cardboard box with a line drawing of the light on the front, and a sticker on the side showing the specs you received. Inside you g et the light itself, a 18350 tube, 2 spare orings and a smaller lanyard. You get a manual too that’s fairly long, but the diagram for Andruil is pretty small.

Construction

Overall construction of the mini is pretty much identical to the original except scaled down to fit the 18xxx profile batteries instead of the 26650’s. Threads are anodized and ACME cut, the tail still includes stiff heavy duty dual springs. 

 

 

The body tube has 4 milled flats instead of 2 but that’s about it. It’s nice they include the 18350 tube here too instead of making it an add on. The button looks and feels the same, and it features the same LED indicators underneath. A slight difference is the charging port cover and how it attaches to the light itself.

To me the diameter of the head looks to be slightly smaller than proportional to the rest of the dimensions, this doesn’t surprise me as it makes the light more carryable. You still have a lightly crenulated bezel, and an anti reflective coated lens with a smooth reflector. 

 

Size & Weight

Maximum length is 145mm, maximum diameter was 44mm, minimum diameter was 24mm.The weight with a Sony VTC6 is 181.6g, compared to the original with a battery was 397.7g so less than half the weight. The light IPX7 water rated but Astrolux makes sure to note not to submerge it in water. 

 

Retention

Not much to say here on retention, due to the head size it’s not a light i would EDC in a pants pocket but it does work well in a jacket. The light has a lanyard attachment point on the tail cap. No pocket clip is included or designed to fit here.

 

LED & Beamshots

There are a couple different LED and Tints offered with this light, there is a SST40 option, and Cree XHP 50.2 at 5700k or 6500k, I have the warmer tint XHP 50.2 model here. The driver in use is the Texas Ace Avengers driver, with aux capability, so in practice the light is actually different from the full size FT03. The beam is tight but not like the lights with the flat top LED’s like the Acebeam L17 or Lumintop GT Mini, it’s a more broad beam which I think isn’t bad, I think it’s a more useful beam for most cases.

 

There are 4 very small RGB LED’s around the main LED inside the light, By default the light comes in Rainbow mode like you see here with low output, I have it in high output here so it shows a bit better. Through the UI you can set it to a constant color, rainbow or volts mode. 

 

Runtime

I did my runtime test with a Sony VTC6 battery, and a Vapcell 1100mAh for the 18350 test. I tested directly out of the package without adjusting the thermal configuration since this is a bit of an advanced feature and I don’t think many people will actually do it. That said for best runtime you should.

 

Runtimes with the 18650 were a bit unstable but pretty repeatable. With both batteries it gets about 3.5 minutes before stepping significantly down to about 5% relative output but then as it cools off output steps up again as you can see from the graph. Most of the output is under 20% though, so on this one only keep it as bright as you need it to maximize runtime and output. The total fon the 18650 was 1:42:30, and the maximum runtime on the 18350 was 0:32:30. Heat wasn’t a major factor with this light while in use with it’s fairly aggressive thermal throttling.

 

UI

The FT03 Mini features Andruil UI and by default ships in ramping mode which is where I leave it. Stepped mode is available and easy to switch with a trippple press. Double press to go to turbo when on. Andruil is a good UI but complex for a beginner as it has a significant number of modes and options. The manual that’s included does a decent job of explaining things but is very small text. I would encourage you to go take a look at the full Andril diagram and study it if you pick up this light. If you are interested in a more detailed overview of Anduril check out my review on the Lumintop/BLF FW3A. 

 

Recharging

The light does have USB-C onboard in the head for recharging. It does require the use of USB-A to C cable for this to work. I did my recharging tests with a Sony VTC6 battery (3000mAh) and saw max charge rate at 1.65A, with overall charging taking 2:02:00 minutes. I ran the same test with a VapCell 1100mAh battery and saw the same charge rate, overall charge time was 0:42:00. I had no issues with using onboard charging for the 18650 batteries but for an 18350 this is faster then I prefer to charge mine so I recommend using an external charger like the VapCell S4 Plus to do this and choosing a slower speed more closely in line with 1C for overall battery life.

 

 

Pro’s

  • It’s just fun with the 18350 tube installed, but much less practical in terms of runtime
  • Andruil UI is highly flexible but also not really easy to use.
  • Nice selection of LED, Tints, and Body Colors

 

Con’s

  • I think the claims here of 4200 lumens are probably optimistic at least on my copy when I compare it to other lights I have. 
  • Aux here is more of a cool thing rather then super useful as it’s fairly dim. 

 

Conclusion

I loved the original FT03 and still do think it’s a great value large format thrower. The mini shares a lot of similar features and somewhat similar performance but overall I am just a bit less excited about it. The Aux LED’s here don’t do a ton for me, they are neat but not that practical. For the money if size isn’t a factor I would go with the larger FT03. If you want the smaller size it’s not a bad light if you want aux and onboard charging, if neither of those are important I would check out my review on the Lumintop GT Mini and consider it as well. 

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Wurkkos HD20 Review (LH325D, 5000k, USB-C PD, 21700, Headlamp)

Last year I did a review on the Wurkkos FC11, and that light has gone on to become one of the most often recommended lights over on /r/flashlight for good reason. Well today Wurkkos has the new HD20 headlamp. It has 2 emitters including high CRI with neutral white, a 21700 battery for long runtime and USB-C charging that supports PD, all for an affordable price. Thanks to Wurkkos for sending this to me to review. 

 

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Pickup the new Wurkkos HD20 on Amazon at https://amzn.to/38IennG 

Discount: Use the code 3F8GNFJO for 20% off also there is a 5% coupon on the page, for a combined 25% off the list price!

 

Packaging & Accessories

Packaging is a plain and simple orange box with just Wurkkos name on it, I suspect this is one they use with other models too as it’s just slightly too small for this light and there are no descriptors on it. Accessories include the light itself, a 4800mAh 21700 button top battery, elastic head strap, 18650 battery adapter, pocket clip, bag of extras including wrist strap, and 2 spare orings, USB-A to USB-C cable, and a manual.

Construction

The Wurkkos HD20 is made from aluminum, and anodized in a semigloss black. I found no issues with the machining on the light. The tail cap is flat and has a strong magnet that allows the light to safely attach on to any surface I have tried it on. There is a lanyard attachment point on the tail cap as well as some straight knurling. The spring inside is short but stiff.

Threads on the body section are square cut and dry. The body tube itself has ripples for grip and reminds me of a larger version of the Prometheus Beta series. There is a place for the clip to attach at both ends and this also where the straps for the head mount live. 

The head itself is quite long and has a good amount going on, the side has a few areas milled out for design, weight reduction and heat dissipation, including a large milled area in the back that’s a bit unique, as is the knurling on the back side of the head. This does give a bit of grip to turn when  mounted up. The USB-C port is covered by a large silicon cover that does fit the contour of the light well. On top is an Eswitch with translucent silicone cover and LED’s under to give an power level reading. It has a blue ring similar to Olight around the switch. This button does sit proud so it can’t headstand.

 

At the front you have the two emitters, The top being the spot, and the bottom being the flood. Both have aluminum bezels around them that look to be screwed in. The top has a TIR optic with glass over top and a flat front. The bottom uses a diffused lens. The light is IPX-68 rated

 

Size and Weight

Maximum length of this light is 122.5mm, maximum diameter at the head is 30mm, minimum diameter on the body is 26.7mm. Weight with the light, battery, and head strap is 202g. For comparison the Acebeam H30 (Also a 21700 light is) 190g. So it’s in the ballpark but a bit heavy.

 

Here are a few comparison pictures with the Acebeam H30.

 

Retention

The strap is made from a silicone material, it’s the loop type that holds the light in place and allows it to rotate up and down. Attached to this is a basic 3 way elastic band. It’s a less expensive headband which is ok for the price here but functional. I found it only moderately comfortable, the entire setup isn’t’ lightweight, so you need it reasonably tight to keep it in place. I found a bit more comfort if I tightened the top strap to let it carry a majority of the weight. 

A pocket clip is an option on this light, but not one I think will be used very often. It can mount on the top of bottom of the battery tube, head down would be the only way I would attempt to carry it due to how much of the head sticks out if mounted the other way. You could use this to mount to a hat with the 2 way clip but I don’t think this will be used much due to the weight and the fact that it’s a right angle light. To me the pocket clip is pretty much useless but nice that it’s included I guess.

LED & Beam

This light uses 2 LED, for 2 different purposes. First you have the Floody beam of the Samsung LH351D in 5000k at 90CRI. This is the bottom emitter on the light and is rated at 700 lumens. The beam it creates is a smooth even flood, it’s everything its described as. Looking inside it looks like it has a TIR style optic with a diffused lens.

The other LED in use here is the Cree XPL HD for the spot emitter. It’s also in 5000k but only at 70 CRI. It’s the larger emitter on top of the light and has a TIR style optic that creates a spot style beam. The spot is reasonably large, with very little spill. Maximum output here is 1300 lumens.

When used together you get a blend of both worlds. The tints here for me matched well enough I couldn’t tell which emitter is which in just tint. The beam shape isn’t perfectly round which isn’t unexpected. If being used as a headlamp it’s a wider than it is tall.

There is PWM in all modes on this light other then moon and Turbo. Below is a sample of what my oscilloscope showed for both emitters on all modes, and then a sample of what each single emitter showed on medium. I don’t notice it with my eye.

 

 

Exact outputs vary with each emitter, the LH351D topping out with 700 lumens, and the XPL HD at 1300. Combined they make 2000 lumens. Here is the runtime chart showing the different outputs for each mode and emitter. 

 

Heat and Runtime

I ran both emitters with the included 4800mAh battery on maximum brightness, and turbo output held peak output for 2 minutes before stepping down to 20% relative output where it cooled down and then began an oscillation with it’s aggressive active thermal controls of regulating the light between 18% relative output and 40%. This goes on for nearly 3 hours, before the last 30 minutes the spike is larger 15% to 70%. The last hour is a linear decrease to zero. Total runtime was right at 4 hours. Max heat was 42.5C at 2:50.

I then did runtimes with each emitter independently. Both were very linear non regulated input for the most part. The flood emitter which is less bright over all (700 lumens) lasted 10:10:00. The spot emitter lasted an impressive 14:31:00. 

 

UI

The basics of this light work like you think, click to turn on, long press to cycle through it’s 3 normal modes. Double press to go to turbo. When off, long pressing turns on moonlight mode. The blinking modes require you first to go to turbo then double click again, double clicking each time to cycle then between strobe, sos, and beacon. A single click exits any of these. A triple click allows you to check battery status via the switch on top. 4 fast clicks enters and exits lockout. 

 

Switching between the LED’s is describe in the manual as when the light is on just hold + click + hold. It sounds easy but in practice I have struggled with getting it right the first, second, or third time when I want to switch, it’s frustrating to say the least. 

 

There has been some talk of minor firmware bugs with memory on BLF threads with this light, to me they have not been obvious enough to spot without reading about them first. It’s not uncommon for a manufacturer to update the firmware without telling anyone on the next production run. The FC11 got a revised firmware very quietly. 

 

Recharging

The light has onboard USB-C charging on the back, and the most exciting part is it’s compatible with USB-C to C and USB-C PD. This is the first headlamp I have tested that’s this way, and it’s fantastic. It only took till late in 2020! 

My recharging test was with the included 4800mAh 21700 battery, This is a standard battery I charged from LVP at 2.737v to Full at 4.123V in 3:21:29 which isn’t too bad for this large of cell. The light charged at 2.1A for the first 1:30:00. 

The light can also be used as a powerbank on some phones. I didn’t log any data when trying this but I can tell you that my Samsung Note 8 charges fine with this light and a C to C cable, but my ipad doesn’t recognize it as a power source. 

 

Pro’s

  • Great value, budget friendly, but good quality, full kit.
  • Neutral white with both emitters and high CRI with the flood, Now only if they would go high CRI with the entire light.
  • Supports USB-C to C charging with PD! First headlamp I have tested to do this. 
  • It also acts as a powerbank for some phones.
  • Strong magnet that has no problem holding up the weight here

 

Con’s

  • Pretty heavy, not small
  • Nice that they included a pocket clip but for me it’s pretty much useless here.
  • Switching between LED’s seems to fail at least 50% of the time, this could be me or just a UI that should be better.
  • The head strap could be higher quality.

 

Conclusion

I think Wurkkos has another hit on their hands with the HD20 if weight or size isn’t a big factor in your decision to buy a headlamp. This ticks a lot of my boxes for a headlamp, the biggest being a neutral white light with a pleasing tint, and at least one high CRI option. The long runtimes here are nice too, but you pay the penalty in size and weight from the 21700 and large head.

The biggest areas I see for improvement is a higher quality head strap that’s a little more comfortable. This isn’t a small headlamp so you notice the weight after a while. After I adjusted the straps to take more weight over my head it got a little better. 

 

It’s so nice to see true USB-C support here, it charges via USB-C to C and USB-C PD. You don’t see a speed increase with PD but that’s ok. Not many flashlights at all price levels support this, and as a result it can even be used as a powerbank if needed. 

 

At the time of filming this is right around the $40 price mark, thats a lot of value and I can recommend the Wurkkos HD20. Right now this is my pick for the best large headlamp to buy for Q4 2020. Wurkkos has offered a 20% discount on this light if you buy it on amazon with the code that’s in the description so make sure you check that out to save a few more dollars. 

 

Pickup the new Wurkkos HD20 on Amazon at https://amzn.to/38IennG 

Discount: Use the code 3F8GNFJO for 20% off also there is a 5% coupon on the page, for a combined 25% off the list price!

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Olight Warrior Mini Review (1500 Lumens, Dual Switch, Tactical, EDC, 18650)

Today I have Olights new smaller form factor tactical light the Warrior Mini. It’s capable of 1500 lumens, runs on an 18650 battery and is available in 3 colors, black, a splatter camo, and the desert tan that I have here. Thanks to Skyben for sending this to me to review, please make sure to check them out in the description below.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging is no big surprises from Olights the past year or so, it’s the white high quality sleeve over a plastic tray inside that houses the light and all the accessories. On the rear of the box you have details about the light and a runtime chart. Accessories include the light itself with the clip pre installed, Proprietary 3500mAh 18650 battery, MCC2A USB charger, Olight branded lanyard that attaches on the clip, and the manual. No extra orings on this light, but in most scenarios your opening it up to charge so it shouldn’t be a wear item, still a little 

 

 

 

Construction

The Warrior mini shares similar construction to a combination of other Olights, like the Baton Pro and the Warrior Pro. Quality is fantastic for a production light. The tail is a one piece design with the body tube, so batteries go in only from the head side. The button on the rear is all metal exterior construction and features the tri lug design we have seen on other recent Olights. It’s also magnetic and strong enough to hold the light horizontally. The button itself is spongy, and fairly stiff. It’s a two stage actuation which I like quite a bit from a UI perspective but it’s sometimes hard to know how hard to press to get into that first lower output mode. 

The texture on the body is aggressive but not sharp in the hand. I really like the feel of it, and hope we see it on future Olights. The downside is it’s aggressive enough to tear up pockets with pulled in and out during use. Threads are smooth, square cut and nicely greased. 

The head internally has a single short spring in the center, and then a ring with pogo pins for making contact with the proprietary batteries negative terminal on the top. This is a little different design than we have seen in the past but seems to be very compact. On the exterior the clip is captured. The button is the same as Olight has used in recent models with the LED underneath. 

The top of the head has a TIR style optic, with no glass lens over the top. There have a been a few reports online of this lens melting during extended periods of use, I didn’t see that on mine with normal stepdown. There is also a press fit plastic bezel. It has very small raised sections to let light out if standing on it’s head.

 

Size and Weight

I measured the overall length of the light at 107mm, maximum diameter at 23mm, minimum diameter is the same. The weight with the battery and clip is 104.8g. For comparison the warrior mini is between the Baton Pro and S2R Baton length wise. Diameter wise they are all within 1mm of each other. The light is IPX8 water rated.

 

Retention

As an EDC I found this carried well, I carried it in a front jeans pocket for a week every day and found it to be comfortable. I don’t mind Olights dual direction clips, they leave enough from for jeans but they can catch on things like a seat belt. This is a heads up carry, so if the light activates in your pocket, and there have been a few user accounts of this online, it has done damage to people’s clothes by melting them. For that reason I strongly recommend using lockout on this one. 

 

LED & Beamshots

The LED being used in the Warrior Mini is the SST40 in a 6000-7000k tint. It has a little green tinge on the lowest modes but once you apply more power that fades substantially.  I have no problems with the SST40 LED but wish one of the neutral tint bins was used here. 

The beam is nice through the TIR optic, but I wonder if something has changed with the material being used here from older lights as there are several reports of burnt or melted lenses with this it seems. So far mine is fine after extended runtimes. Overall the beam here is great for EDC in my opinion with a medium to large hot spot and quite a bit of spill, good for close up and medium to far range. With the tail switch this would be a good option to do a one handed grip of your weapon and have the light nearby in the opposite hand (Harris or Chapman style) if you wished. 

 

Olight lists the official output modes as:

  • Turbo – 1500 – 500 – 170 Lumens with step downs.
  • High – 500 – 170 Lumens
  • Medium – 120 Lumens
  • Low – 15 Lumens
  • Moon – 1 Lumen

 

Heat & Runtime

The light is able to maintain 98% of relative output until the 2 minute mark (Timed) before stepping down to 32% relative output. At this point the output is very flat for 3:34:00. From there you get another hour at about 12% relative output before stepping below. FL1 output runtime total was 4:18:00. If you let it continue going the light will run out to 8:33:00 suggesting there is no LVP. It shut off at 2.735V which I suspect is where the battery protection kicked in. Max heat I saw was 46C at the 10 minute mark. 

 

UI

The UI on the Warrior Mini is the same that’s was on the Olight M2R Pro. It has 2 buttons for operation, first the two stage tail switch which is the more tactical operation, and then the standard silicone button up front for normal uses. It follows Olights basic UI for the most part. 

 

When you half press the tail button, you get medium in configuration 1, and then turbo 1500  lumens when you full press. This is in configuration 1, In configuration 2 the tail switch goes to turbo on half press and strobe on full press. 

 

UI is similar to other Olights but with some differences. Long press from Off to go to moon light mode, Double click to go to Turbo, and Triple click to go to strobe.There the front eswitch is mostly used as a mode switch but can be used to turn the light on and off from off as well. If you plan to use this for EDC in a pocket make sure you know how lockout mode works too.

 

Recharging

The Warrior Mini comes with Olights newest MCCA2 charging system which is faster and denoted with the red ring inside. The magnetic charging system is convenient and easy but does require a proprietary battery (3500mAh in this case) and the Warrior Mini is no different. The proprietary Olight battery goes with the positive terminal facing the head in this light though which isn’t always the case. 

I saw total charging time take 2:35:00, and as usually my charging monitoring system doesn’t like the drops in current that the MCC chargers do so my graph is incomplete. Max charge rate I saw was 1.3A at 1:16:00 mark. Once full the battery measured 4.3145V.

 

Pro’s

  • Big fan of the desert tan color
  • Great fit and finish for production lights
  • Turns out to be a nice pocket EDC for 18650 size.

 

Con’s

  • Plastic inner bezel, more prone to scratching then metal.
  • Seems to be melting lenses if activated in an enclosed space, make sure to use lockout mode.
  • Proprietary battery, but this one will charge in a traditional charger

 

Conclusion

The two words I would use to describe the Olight Warrior Mini is “Practical Tactical”. Sure you can use it tactically, the rear tail switch despite being a bit mushy and a tad hard to predict works well, and I find myself using it in an EDC roll too, the two stage switch is so much better then just a one mode straight to turbo switch like you find on other tactical lights at least in my EDC style usage. The UI here is the same as other Olights too so you don’t really need to learn a new UI for just this light. The Olight TIR’s are my favorite too for single LED lights. 

Something’s don’t change though, that proprietary battery that’s required here means you have to use the Olight battery and pay a premium for it. It also has the cool emitter which is Olights standard MO. On a tactical light it might make more sense but on a light that does great as an EDC I would prefer neutral white strongly. 

Overall the Warrior Mini is probably my favorite recent EDC/Tactical light, and I can recommend it if your ok with the cool white and proprietary battery. I wonder what special edition color Olight will come up with next on this light.

Pickup the Olight Warrior Mini from Amazon via Skyben at the following links.

Black: https://amzn.to/2GHtORu

Desert Tan: https://amzn.to/3p72YU2

Cammo: https://amzn.to/32nI6OK

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Acebeam TK18 Review (3000 Lumens, LH351D, Triple Emitter, EDC Flashlight)

Today I am taking a look at the Acebeam TK18 in Aluminum. This is triple LED light thats powered by an 18650 battery and is available with 3 different LED options in 3 different materials. Today I have the Aluminum light with the Samsung LH351D LED’s. Thanks to Nitetorch for sending this to me to look at and review.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging on the TK18 is a nice white pull out box with a line drawing of the light on the front. On the side it has all the LED options and materials on it marked with small stickers. Inside you get an assortment of things, such as the light, an optional Acebeam ARC18650H-310A 3100mAh battery, 2 spare orings, button cover, branded lanyard, and a USB-A to MicroUSB charging cable that has a optional area to plug in another cable to say charge your phone if needed.

 

Construction

The TK18 is available in 3 different materials, Aluminum which I have here, a raw copper, and a titanium. The anodizing here is a flat black that reminds me kind of Armytek since it’s a little chalky. Starting at the tail as always the only button on this light is a nice contrasting gray silicone, and recessed. It’s an electronic switch so it doesn’t take much pressure to actuate, and it’s non magnetic. The lanyard attachment point is on the tail cap as well.

Inside the threads are anodized, square cut and nicely greased. There is a inner tube in this light which is a little surprising with it’s small diameter. In the tail cap there is a short spring as well. The body tube has small rectangles for grip, these are short and everything is nicely chamfered, it’s similar to a frag pattern but smoother and less harsh. The pocket clip only attaches near the head of the light on the body tube and is non captured. More on that in a minute. The front of the body tube does have a retaining ring in it so the battery can only slide out from the rear. 

The head features a spring as well inside, on the outside it’s pretty basic and has minimal heatsinking. The front bezel does have crenulations and has a nice patinated copper color. The edges of it are a little up, especially considering this is a bezel up EDC. Underneath is a carillo style optic, with a glass ARC lens on top. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 105.27mm, minimum diameter on the body at 22.28mm, maximum diameter on the head of the light at 25.19mm. Weight with the clip and the Acebeam 18650 battery was 109.1g. The light is IPX8 water rated. Here are a few pictures of similar lights so you can see a size comparison.

 

 

Retention

The Acebeam TK18 comes with a dual direction pocket clip that attaches on the front side only of the body of the light. It’s a pretty long clip in comparison to the light and it’s fairly deep carry with about 9.5mm sticking up out of your pocket, but the retention to the light could be a little better. I also didn’t care for the bezels sharpness here when EDCing it in a front pocket, my hand caught it once or twice. The clip does also allow for you to attach it to a baseball hat if you want, that side is fairly stiff.

 

LED & Beam

The LED’s in use on my light are the Samsung LH351D in cool white. At this point I think I have all major tints of the LH351D, and unfortunately cool white happens to be my least favorite just because of the tint mainly. In the TK18 you do have that carillo style optic which puts out a pretty even beam like most triple LED lights. It’s fairly floody but can throw at the higher powers, great for EDC and this is a smaller diameter light then a lot of triples. No PWM was observed. 

Stated mode spacing with the Samsung LH351D CW Emitters and a 20A 18650 in Power Mode.

  • Ultra Low – 3 Lumens
  • Low – 80 Lumens
  • Med – 200 Lumens
  • High – 1000 Lumens
  • Turbo – 3000 Lumens

 

Stated mode spacing with the Samsung LH351D CW Emitters and a 20A 18650 in Eco Mode.

  • Ultra Low – 3 Lumens
  • Low – 80 Lumens
  • Med – 200 Lumens
  • High – 630 Lumens
  • Turbo – 1450 Lumens

 

Heat & Runtime

I did all my runtime tests with the included Acebeam ARC18650H-310A 3100mAh battery. You need a battery capable of at least 20A sustained to get close to the rated outputs. The light will also run off 2 CR123A batteries with about half the normal outputs in high and turbo but similar overall runtimes. My tests were unknowingly done in Eco mode, read the directions guys. I will put some graphics of what Turbo mode looks like at the end. 

 

In Eco I was able to hold turbo 1450 lumens for 5:30 before stepping down and this was pretty good. Step down was 55% of relative output where it held till the 2:17:00 mark. Starting at 2:00:00 the light starts flashing, dropping output down near 20% then back up to 55% to let you know the battery is getting low. This continues as the light does it’s last major step down to 6% relative output for the remaining hour. Total runtime in Eco from Turbo was 3:15:00. I saw max temps of 52C at the 10 minute mark in Eco. 

Here are 2 graphs of what output was like in Power mode with the same supplied battery. 

 

UI

You have 2 main UI groups with this light, an Eco and a Power mode, by default the light ships in Eco mode. To switch between them you have to lock the light (From off press and hold for 5 seconds), While locked click 10 times and the light will go from low output a higher output and this will mean the light is in power mode. It’s a similar action to go back to eco.

 

Normal operation is a short press to turn on where you last left it (Not for ultra low or turbo) then press and hold to cycle through each mode steps (Low, medium, high). Double click at any time to get to turbo, triple press to get to strobe. It’s a fairly simple UI thats similar to many other lights. Just read the manual for switching between eco and power.

 

Recharging

My light came with the Acebeam ARC18650H-310A 3100mAh protected button top battery. It has a MicroUSB port on the side for charging and is pretty long a 69.95mm in length. It also has an LED indicator on the positive terminal side, it’s always green when charged, but does turn off when fully discharged.I charged the light from LVP at 2.961V tyo Full at 4.168V in 2:31:35. Max charge rate I saw was 1.1A. The charge curve started off slow as I like to see then increased substantially and then trailed off. No issues here other then it’s a bit slow. 

 

Pro’s

  • I find this as a good looking light with the copper colored accents
  • Small diameter for a dual tube, triple LED light.
  • On the pricey side for not having a battery that comes with all packages. Aluminium is fairly affordable.

 

Con’s

  • No tint data for the LED choices are given, the LH351D’s here are cool white, quite floody.
  • Doesn’t seem to hit 3000 lumens when compared to other lights, this is supported by a few other reviewers. 
  • Front bezel needs to be toned down a little for a head up EDC light.

 

Conclusion

The Acebeam TK18 is an interesting light overall. Visually I like most of the look here, the aged copper colored accents are nice, I wish the clip didn’t have the Acebeam website on it, because I think that’s a little distracting. It’s pretty thin for a triple LED too, which helps it cary well in the pocket. It’s as narrow as many of the competitors single LED lights. That said I don’t care for the semi aggressive bezel when carrying. 

 

While I typically love the Samsung LH351D emitters, here I would probably recommend you go with the Nichia 219C instead to get high CRI and hopefully a warmer emitter. You give up some output but I am ok with that. The UI here is easy to follow but I don’t care for the Eco and Power settings, it adds unnecessary complexity. It’s nice to be able to use CR123A too in a pinch, it’s not something you see that often anymore. Overall if you were looking for a small diameter triple and wanted something a bit different with LED options that was reliable this would be a solid choice, just make sure your using a very capable battery for max performance.

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Reylight Ti Pineapple Mini Review (Brass Preorder, Nichia 219B R9080, 10440, Titanium)

Today guys I wanted to do an update to a video I did earlier this year on the Reylight Copper Pineapple Mini. I have here the light in Titanium, and wanted to tell you about a few of the updates to it and announce that it’s available for preorder in Brass right now too. More details on that in a minute. 

 

This won’t be a comprehensive review so go check out my review of the Copper Pineapple Mini for that in the description below. While you’re there I will have a link to Preorder the Brass version of the Reylight Mini Pineapple too. 

 

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Materials

The Pineapple mini is now available in 3 materials, copper, titanium and soon to be brass. The weight of the titanium light with the 10440 battery and new clip is 41.2g compared to 60.8g on the copper light with battery and the original clip design. Brass should come in just a little under the weight of copper but I don’t have a figure for that at this time. 

Physically What’s Changed

A couple things have changed on the light which I want to talk about the big one is the newly designed pocket deep carry pocket clip. The old clip was a press on clip and a didn’t have a super great fit on the body of the light. The new clip is captured by the tail section and as a result it’s slightly shorter to compensate, overall the Ti light is just a hair longer. Function wise the new clip is almost perfect, it’s deep carry but the opening at the top isn’t very big so on some pockets you do need to get the material aligned just right or press fairly hard to get it seated right. Retention is good too with it being able to hold the light on your pocket no problem. I have even seen some people sandblast or trouble the finish of the clip so it better matches the finish of the light, an awesome idea.

On the Titanium model, the button feel is different. I get some more side to side play, and the button feel takes less pressure. I think this is due to the different heights of the tail and tolerances here. It doesn’t rattle side to side but if you hit it from the side it can move quite a bit before it actually makes contact with the switch inside. It’s a less premium feel but works. 

 

  • Copper Tail – 11.71mm
  • Copper Button – 4.89mm
  • Copper Button Diameter – 9.24mm

 

  • Titanium Tail – 11.21mm
  • Titanium Button – 4.76mm
  • Titanium Button Diameter – 9.17mm

Driver Differences – The driver and LED here is largely the same with a small difference. There has been a change in the main MOSFET to allow for better compatibility with NiMH batteries. The light still is best with a Liion battery over a NiMH or Alkaline in my opinion but the two lower voltage batteries do work better. 

 

I ran runtime tests with both battery types to compare the revised driver to the original and with the 10440 I got an additional 28 minutes of runtime for a total of 1:45:00, and with the NiHM we got an extra 30 minutes for a total of 6:10:00. Turbo step downs were the same. Outputs are still the same, 90 lumens with a AAA or 240 with a NiHM. 

 

 

 

Conclusion

I really enjoyed the copper mini, and have been frequently carrying it this summer, it’s small and light weight and provides enough light in shorter durations. I have been working from home so if I ever need more light I am around other lights. 

That said the titanium mini is even lighter, and thankfully it still has the Nichia 219B R9080 at 4500k 97CRI. I think it just looks awesome with the stone washed finish too. I put a blue tritium in mine and it’s just a perfect combo to find your light in the dark. The weight savings between the two is 19.6g so that’s substantial. The improved clip is what the light deserves in my opinion too. The Nichia 219B R9080 at 4500k is still a great high CRI LED too. 

Unfortunately at the time of filming the Titanium version of the light is out of stock, but Rey hopes to have some before the end of the year. Brass is available for preorder now with it expected to ship out in November, so the brass version would make a great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer too. If you’re holding out for Titanium the best way to be notified about it is to join Reylight’s Facebook group, and check out his website at Reylight.net. I will have a link to both sites as well as my own Facebook and Instagram pages too. 

 

Preorder the Reylight Brass Pineapple Mini http://bit.ly/2UDFFok

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Thrunite TT20 Review (2526 Lumens, SST70 LED, USB-C, 21700, Tactical?)

Today I have Thrunite’s newest model, the TT20. It produces 2526 lumens from a Luminus SST70 LED, a 21700 battery. It has onboard USB-C charging and has a rear tactical switch. It’s available in 2 color bodies too. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to look at and review. 

 

Get the Thrunite TT20 for $55.96 (20% off) until October 31st by clicking coupon checkbox on the product page at Amazon.

Red TT20 https://amzn.to/2T2DHvx

Black TT20 https://amzn.to/356sIa6

 

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Packaging & Accessories

The TT20 is using Thrunites standard heavy but minimal cardboard box. It’s lacking information like normal but that’s fine since it’s designed for online direct to consumer sales. Inside you get the flashlight itself, along with the proprietary 5000mAh 21700 battery, a basic holster, and a USB-A to C cable. The extras bag includes 2 Orings, a spare rubber tail boot, extra orings, 2 spare USB Charging port covers, and a branded lanyard. 

Construction

The Thrunite TT20 is available in 2 colors currently, a standard black and a Red “Outsider” edition that I have here. It’s a really nice rich vibrant red, I always like seeing lights in different colors. This version replaces the TT20 model number engraving with the Outsider’s logo. (Youtuber).

Thrunite added a large mechanical tail switch on this light making it “tactical” It’s cover is grippy and you can connect the lanyard at either side of the tail switch. It has some straight knurling for trip to help remove the tail cap. Inside the center contact is slightly spring loaded.

Threads are anodized and square cut. The battery compartment has very tight tolerances with the battery, when inserting the battery it’s cushioned by a layer of air escaping, normally you don’t see these types of tolerances in production lights. It doesn’t suffer the problem of the USB port cover popping off either which you sometimes see when inserting batteries in lights. The surface of the light has a fairly tame grip level for a tactical light, it’s a similar milled pattern to what the TC15 and T2 have. The 2 way clip is reversible on either end of the light, I have switched mine from where it came preinstalled. 

The head of the light is pretty plain, and glued to the body of the light at the front. You have an anti roll ring at the front. The e-switchis similar in shape and design to other Thrunites but this time black anodized and seems to stick out slightly more.It’s still got the LED indicator underneath for battery power levels. The battery charging port is opposite, and it has a fairly large silicon cover. The little pull tab can get in the way causing the flap to open unintentionally. The front of the light has a scalloped bezel that’s non tactical but allows light to escape when standing on the head. The lens is anti reflective coated, and underneath is a deep smooth reflector and the LED is nicely centered. The light is IPX8 water rated and had no issues with time in a bucket of water.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 136mm, max diameter at 29mm, minimum diameter at 26.5mm. Weight with the battery and clip installed is 181.1g. For me I find it fits in the hand pretty well and it’s a decent size for a 21700. Not the smallest light in it’s class but not the largest either. 

 

Comparison

The Olight M2R Pro is the most obvious light I have as a competitor. It also is a 21700 battery, tactical tail switch with front button, and a similar overall size. Weight wise it’s within 1 gram. I think the Olight is a bit more tactical, with the more aggressive bezel, more aggressive body section grip, it’s more focused beam, and the 2 stage tail switch. Clip wise I have to give the advantage to Olight but the TT20 is good too. See the pictures below for how it compares to the Thrunite T2 and TC15.

 

Retention

The TT20 comes with a lanyard that you can attach onto the tail cap if you wish. This is approaching the size of light where I start to use lanyards, but for now I will leave it off. It also comes with a holster, it does the job but is fairly basic, with just a D-ring and belt loop. This is one area where the Olight M2R Pro’s holster is clearly better.

 

The pocket clip on the TT20 is dual direction and pretty good. It allows for a fairly deep carry in the pocket with only about 10mm of the light sticking out of the pocket. The clip is mountable on the front of the body tube or the rear. I suspect most people will rear mount it like I have it here. It’s a non captured clip so it does rotate around the body of the light. The TT20 will fit on a hat if you want it to but with the 21700 battery it’s heavier then I normally want to do with a strap on clip.

LED & Beamshots

The TT20 is using the Luminus SST70 LED in cool white. This is my first light with this LED as it’s fairly new and new to the flashlight market as well. It’s an XM Size LED, Quad die LED so it would be a replacement for a Cree XHP50, but it’s physically smaller, more like and XHP35. With it installed here in the TT20 there is a small donut in the beam at distances less then 3”. At low powers, I get a bit of green/yellow in the beam, but these go away at moderate power levels and the beam is a cool but not cold tint. There is a moderate hot center and the spill is moderate. There is a small ring at the outer edges of the spill.

This gets a bit into the UI of the light but during ramping it’s not a smooth ramp. It seems as if there are a ton of small fixed steps as it’s increasing or decreasing in brightness instead of a nice and smooth ramp like you have on most lights with ramping. Once you stop it’s even and I don’t notice any PWM to my eyes or camera. My scope says there is a tiny bit, so no concerns. 

Working voltage is 2.7V-4.2V which means you are only using the “proprietary” 21700 that the light comes with. FIrefly is measured at 0.5 lumens, infinity low starts at 31 lumens up to 1468. Strobe is 1294 lumens and Turbo is 2526.

 

Heat & Runtime

I did my runtime tests with the included battery at room temps of around 73F, non cooled. Turbo on the light lasts for 1:15 before it starts stepping down and it’s stable again at the 3 minute mark at around 23% relative output. I saw peak temps at 1:30 of 52C. The light was able to hold this 23% relative output for a long time, 3:30:00, total runtime was 3:36:00. LVP was measured at 2.849V. The standout for me is if you just skip turbo and run the light in infinite high, it’s around 1300 lumens and the light is able to hold this for a little over an hour (75 min).

When I compare the runtimes to the Olight M2R Pro, the Olight is able to withstand it’s turbo output slightly longer at about 5 minutes (while stepping down), and it’s bulk of the runtime was closer to 38% but for a shorter 2:33:00 and a total runtime of 3:15:00. 

 

UI

The UI on the TT20 is different for a tactical light. It’s ramping with the use of the front button. It starts on low and if you long press from off the light comes on in firefly mode. Once on in normal mode you can press and hold and the light will begin it’s ramp up, as mentioned the ramp isn’t very smooth or fast. A full ramp from low to high takes 5.44 seconds which is a long time in my opinion. The light flashes at both ends 3 times and you can ramp in a loop low to high then ramping back down to low. It’s harder to start the light out in low especially if coming from moonlight mode. Double click on the front switch to jump to Turbo or use the tail switch to go to turbo at any time. Triple click the front button to get into strobe. There is memory as well for modes other than Turbo. When using turbo from the tail switch you can’t adjust the mode.

 

The light does have electronic lockout mode, if you are a subscriber here you know I rarely if ever use lockout through the UI. Thankfully mechanical lockout is an option by just breaking contact with the tail. This will prevent the tail from working but the E-Switch will still work thanks to that proprietary battery. The light basically has 2 physical paths for current to flow. I find myself sometimes turning on electronic lockout accidentally here if I press to long to get to firefly mode.

 

Charging

The TT20 has a onboard USB-C port for charging. It’s only compatible with USB-A to C, and not full C-C or USB-C PD unfortunately. Total charge time was 3:03 which is pretty good. Max charge speed I saw was 2.1A. The curve here is different from I typically see but it did decline as the battery charged. The battery measured as full at 4.199V.

The battery will charge in some external chargers too if you have a large or pointy contact to make it over the plastic spacer on the battery. Alternatively if you have a charger that accepts long cells like the VapCell S4 Plus I recently reviewed, then a 1mm rare earth magnet will work as a spacer if needed. With the S4 I don’t need a spacer it turns out.

As mentioned before the 5000mAh 21700 battery here is proprietary since it has both the positive and negative contact on the traditional positive end of the light, and it has small plastic spacer here. The battery is interchangeable with the Thrunite T2 and Olight 21700’s like what’s on the M2R Pro. The Olight battery will run in the Thrunite TT20, but not the other way around. This is done to reduce the lights diameter, so it can run without an inner tube, so the E switch and tail switch can both operate. 

 

Pro’s

  • Body Color options, but I wish these were not cobranded. 
  • Better value and longer overall runtime then the main competition.
  • It can sustain a high percentage of infinite high for quite a while.
  • New SST70 LED that I think we will be seeing a lot more from manufactures, hopefully in Neutral white soon. 

 

Con’s

  • The red anodizing is a great color but doesn’t seem to be as durable as black.
  • Ramping isn’t steady and suffers noticeable PWM during the ramp. It’s also slow.
  • The UI here isn’t my favorite, it’s a clumsy mix of what I will call Everyday tactical.

 

Conclusion

My conclusion I come away with this light is, is it really tactical? The inclusion of the ramping suggests to me it’s more for general everyday use, with the tail cap being the more tactical feature since it allows you to go to full turbo instantly, but when using the tail option you can’t adjust the mode and it’s only turbo. I like how with the Olight M2R Pro, the tail switch is 2 mode, so it’s easy to get to but you have the option of if you want full power or not. 

To me the TT20  more everyday tactical than full on tactical. The beam to me is more everyday than tactical too with it being less focused and more flood then the M2R Pro. That said the TT20 is a nice value compared to many othe the other 21700 lights in the price category. It’s nicely made and carries better than I expected in the pocket. The runtime on infinite high is great too, It’s easily able to sustain over 1000 lumens for over an hour. In my opinion I can recommend the TT20 for general use if you’re OK with the UI and slow ramps but I probably wouldn’t recommend it for a true tactical operator type situation.

Get the Thrunite TT20 for $55.96 (20% off) until October 31st by clicking coupon checkbox on the product page at Amazon.

Red TT20 https://amzn.to/2T2DHvx

Black TT20 https://amzn.to/356sIa6

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PhotonPhreaks Flood Ring Test & Install (Turn your Triple into a Mule)

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PhotonPhreaks Flood Ring on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
PhotonPhreaks Flood Ring on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
Stock optic on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
Stock optic on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
PhotonPhreaks Flood Ring on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C
PhotonPhreaks Flood Ring on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C
PhotonPhreaks Flood Ring on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
PhotonPhreaks Flood Ring on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
Stock Optic on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
Stock Optic on my Reylight Dawn, Nichia 219C.
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Nitecore NB10000 Review (10,000mAh, 18W USB-C, Carbon Fiber, Powerbank)

Today I have Nitecore’s newest powerbank the Carbon Fiber NB10000. It’s made from Carbon Fiber, all around, features 10,000mAh capacity, along with USB-C and A, and is capable of 18W input and output. Thanks to NitecoreStore for sending this to me to check out and review. 

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging here is quite nice it’s a box that looks like it’s made of carbon fiber and it’s a pull out tray that has the powerbank, included USB-A to C cable, and the paperwork inside. 

 

 

Construction

This powerbank is made from a carbon fiber reinforced plastic case, this is a more expensive stronger material then you find in most power banks. It feels a lot like a high quality tool that’s using a glass reinforced plastic. As for the carbon fiber on the top and bottom, I have my doubts here on it’s authenticity. When I hold it up at a certain angle and press near the front I can get it to deflect easily, there is also no texture in the weave that I can feel. At best it’s a peel and ply carbon fiber, at worst it’s a printed and stuck on. Other then that it’s quite stiff and feels well built. On one side all the inputs and outputs are laser engraved and easily read.

At the front you have one USB-A port for output only, up to 18W, then you have a USB-C port that can be used for In or out at 18W each. Next to it you have the single button on the powerbank with 3 blue LED underneath for power indication.

Oh and it’s water rated at IPX5 which is rare for a powerbank. It means it can sustain a low pressure jet of water or splashes, so it’s perfect for adventuring. Even though it’s not officially rated for it, I did submerge it briefly and it survived. 

 

Size and Weight

I measured it as 122mm long, 59mm wide, and 10.5mm thick. This is nice and thin and slides behind most modern smartphones in a pocket while charging which is convenient when traveling. At 151.2 Grams it’s pretty light too thanks to that use of carbon fiber.

When I compare it to my Aukey 10,000mAh powerbank the Aukey is wider, longer, and 43g heavier. The 10,000mAh Anker powerbank I have is shorter but significantly thicker, I suspect it’s using cylindrical cells (21700?) and is 41 grams heavier. 

 

Performance

As mentioned the NB10000 has one USB-A port for output only, up to 18W, then you have a USB-C port that can be used for In or out at 18W each.

I did my charging tests with my 65W Aukey GaN chargers that I previously reviewed on this channel and had no issues. Total charge time was 3:13:00. Peak charge I saw was 8.9V at 2.0A, or right at 18W. My CT-2 Meter recorded a total of 43.44Wh went into the battery. 

 

Official Specs are as follows

Input – USB-C: 5V @ 2.4A or 9V @ 2A

Output – USB-C: 5V @ 3A or 9V @ 2A or 12V @ 1.5A

  USB-A: 5V @ 3A or 9V @ 2A or 12V @ 1.5A

I ran 3 discharge tests, 5V at 3A, 9V at 2A, and 12V at 1.5A each performed as expected with power being pretty stable. 

 

At 5V at 3A, I measured total energy at 31.29Wh, and average voltage at 5.18V and a total discharge time of 2:01:05.

 

At 9V at 2A, I measured total energy at 29.16Wh, and average voltage at 9.14V and a total discharge time of 1:35:58.

 

At 12V at 1.5A, I measured total energy at 29.71Wh, and average voltage at 12.02V and a total discharge time of 1:38:58, with a bit of voltage step down the last 20 minutes.

 

The NB10000 also offers Passthrough Charging meaning you can connect it to your charger, via USB-C and then charge your phone or other device (Flashlight) via the USB-A port, and both will charge at once. It’s not the full 18W speed but for me both my phone and the powerbank were full in the morning, making this great for backpacking or travel.

 

I charged my good old Note 8 from 15% to 100% in 1:51:00 via USB-C with 2/3 lights lit on the powerbank. I charged my phone again from 50% to 100% and the powerbank was still showing ? full. 

 

It’s nice that the powerbank has a low power mode that you can activate by pressing and holding the single button until a white LED comes on underneath. This is perfect for charging an increasing number of low power devices like wireless headphones, smart watches and other wearables. 

 

Pro’s

  • Carbon Fiber! I am a sucker for carbon, real or fake it doesn’t matter.
  • Really small and compact
  • Supports 18W in or out, and charging via USB-C PD.
  • Low power mode

 

Con’s

  • The indicator LEDs are too close together to easily read.
  • Passthrough charging works but is fairly slow.  
  • On the pricey side these days, but it is a premium build quality.

 

Conclusion

The NB10000 is a small, well built powerbank with a great size to performance ratio. It has the features I am looking for in a powerbank in 2020, like PD support, 9 and 12V, and a low power mode. It doesn’t hurt it’s made of carbon fiber too since I am a sucker for it. That said you pay for these more premium features and this isn’t a cheap powerbank.

 

That said it’s my new travel charger since it’s so easy to put in a pocket and charge on the go. It also fits nicely in my camera bag which is also a plus. The traditional powerbank brands better watch out because Nitecore has them in their sights. 

Pick up The Nitecore NB10000 Carbon Fiber Powerbank at NitecoreStore at https://bit.ly/3lssOiO