Thrunite Catapult Pro Review (2713 Lumens, 1005 Meters Throw)

Today I have the latest and greatest version of the Thrunite Catapult Pro. This is a long-distance handheld thrower flashlight. It uses an SFT70 LED, which results in an improved throw of over 300 meters out to 1005 meters, and a 132,500 candela improvement. On throwers, it’s that candela number that you are looking for not lumens. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me. 

 

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Buy the Catapult Pro from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3SQkURn

Buy the Catapult Pro from Thrunite at https://thrunite.com/catapult-pro/#tab-description

 

LED & Beamshots

The Catapult Pro is using a Luminis SFT70 LED, this is a flat top LED and well known for its throwing capabilities. On my Opple meter, I measured about 6000k when in low, and it gets slightly cooler up to 6100k when in infinity high mode. CRI (Ra) measured at 68. The DUV showed it was just slightly green in person this is hard to notice. There is very fast PWM when using the infinity UI as you would expect, but high and turbo are free of it. 

As you show from the night shots section the beam is what you expect out of throw, a very small, very intense hot spot, this has a small spill around it that’s about half as bright, and then the wider spill is very minimal. Compared with older versions the beam here is more intense and has a tighter more defined spot. This is reflected in the greater distance and improvement of 132,400 candela. 

 

Output Testing

Turbo – 2450 out of Rated 2713 = 90%

Infinity High – 1620 out of Rated 1482 = 102%

Infinity Low – 50 out of Rated 42 = 119%

 

Heat and Runtime

Quickly let’s go through the heat and runtime here of the Catapult Pro. The light is able to sustain 1500 lumens or more for 9 minutes and it reaches 48C during this. The first minute and a half are good for at least another 1000-1500 lumens. In high mode the lights able to sustain the 1500 lumens for an impressive 14 minutes. Total runtime in Turbo and High are right at 1:50:00. I also tested by ramping to 1000 lumens and seeing how long it could hold this and that got me out to 2:17:00.

 

Packaging & Included Accessories

The packaging is the same as Thrunite’s standard brown cardboard box, with line drawings on the outside, and minimal info. Inside the light is well protected with foam. The accessories are the light itself, with a preinstalled 5000mAh 26650 protected battery, USB-A to C charging cable, nylon holster, branded lanyard, split ring, 2 spare O-rings, spare port cover, inner button material, and the manual. 

 

Construction & Design

The Catapult Pro is a step away from the design we have known on the Catapult V6 and V6 SST70 versions. While the tail sections are the same, the body tube is where the difference shows. Gone are the milled diamond grip pattern which was one of my favorite things, and they have been replaced with more traditional rectangle milling that Thrunite uses on other lights like the TN series. Here the blocks are a little larger and deeper, it makes for an aggressive grip on the black anodized aluminum. Interestingly all 3 versions of the Catapult have interchangeable heads and bodies, and they all work with each other. Anodizing here is good quality and matches very well with other black Thrunite flashlights I have. 

The light only separates at the top of the body tube right before the switch. Inside there is a beefy double spring in the tail and threads at the top are square cut, and nicely greased. The button is the same one that Thrunite uses on most of their models. It’s low profile and is a decent click for an electronic switch. Reverse the switch is the USB-C recharging port, with a good silicone cover that stays in place nicely.

The head design is similar to the TN42 V2 that I reviewed last year, where it’s a smooth cone on the exterior, silver bezel, large glass lens, smooth reflector, and a nicely centered LED.

 

Size, Weight, and Retention

With each revision of the Catapult, they seem to grow a little in size, and that’s no different here with the Catapult Pro. Length is 5.92” (150.5mm) long, 1.3” (33.5mm) in diameter at the body and 2.55” (65mm) at the head. Weight with the battery installed is 10.89oz or 308.6g. Weight increases only slightly 0.19oz over the outgoing Catapult V6 SST70 version. 

Retention options are the same as previous models, there is a place for the lanyard attachment at the rear with or without the use of a split ring using the branded lanyard. Your other option is by use of the nylon holster. This holster has a very minimal amount of padding inside, it features a fixed belt loop and plastic Dring. 

 

UI

The Catapult Pro has a change in UI, from Thrunites normal stepped modes to a ramping interface we have seen on a few other Thrunite lights. I don’t mind this because it allows for the user to dial in exactly how bright they need the light and optimize battery life. However here it’s just a touch slower than I would prefer. 

The ramping interface works logically and has memory mode. It’s infinity ramping, so if you press the button and hold it the light will ramp up, flash twice at the top of normal brightness, and then start ramping down, where it will then flash twice and start ramping up again. Long press from off to get to firefly, Double Press in any mode to get to Turbo, and triple press from any mode to get to strobe. One interesting note here about strobe is that it doesn’t produce anywhere near peak output. It’s only rated to 776 lumens whereas the light is capable of producing 2700 lumens in Turbo.

 

Recharging

Recharging here is accomplished with the onboard USB-C. The port cover here is good, it stays in place easily. I had no issues charging the ligh with USB-C to C or with chargers capable of PD. I tested the included 5000mAh Thrunite button top protected battery at 5543mAh. From LVP at 3.159v to full at 4.156v in 3:20:00 with a maximum charge rate of just under 2A for about 70% of the charging time. Let me know how you like the graph here, I got some new equipment that gives a more detailed output. 

 

Final Thoughts

I have been a fan of previous versions of the Catapult and the new Catapult Pro earns that spot and recommendation too. It’s a pretty big upgrade in performance over the previous version. It’s a significantly more focused, intense beam, and the result is 300 meters more throw than the previous version. 

The UI here will be a hit-and-miss thing for you depending on if you like ramping UIs. For me it’s a touch on the slow side but good. It would be nice if they would allow you to switch between a Ramping and Stepped UI, but that’s not a thing here. I do wish they would have kept the diamond milling on the body, while the rectangles on the Pro here are more aggressive they just look like most other Thrunite models, and the diamonds of the previous Catapults I thought elevated the look of the light and made them stand out. Fear not, the body tubes are interchangeable if you have previous models and want to make a switch you can.

This is the biggest upgrade Thrunight has done to the Catapult line, not only visually but also for performance. If  you want a handheld thrower that uses a single larger battery this one won’t disappoint especially with its fairly long duration on higher outputs. 

 

Buy the Catapult Pro from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3SQkURn

Buy the Catapult Pro from Thrunite at https://thrunite.com/catapult-pro/#tab-description

Thrunite T2 vs Seeker 2 Pro Comparison

See my full reviews of these two lights below.

Thrunite T2 https://youtu.be/5Apvie0OZRg

Olight Seeker 2 Pro https://youtu.be/O3x90cZEMhw

 

Pick up these two lights

Thrunite T2 Neutral White https://amzn.to/3jVEcUm

Cool White https://amzn.to/30gZeVE

Olight Seeker 2 Pro https://amzn.to/2JqRgRR

Thrunite T2 Review (3757 Lumens, XHP 70 LED, USB-C, 21700)

Today I am taking a look at Thrunite’s newest model, the T2. It’s super floody light, producing a whopping 3757 lumens out of a Cree XHP 70 LED, a 21700 battery, and is rechargeable with onboard USB-C. Thanks to Thrunite for sending it to me to review. Let’s take a closer look. Be sure to see Thrunite’s deal on the bottom of the page for the T2.

 

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Get the Thrunite T2 on Amazon at the links below. 

Neutral White https://amzn.to/3jVEcUm

Cool White https://amzn.to/30gZeVE

 

Packaging and Accessories

Packaging here is Thrunites standard good quality brown cardboard box with minimal information. The side lists the model and emitter. Inside the light is protected well with foam. Accessories include the light, a 5000mAh Thrunite branded button top 21700 battery, a nylon holster, USB-A to C charging cable, 2 extra orings, a spare charging port cover and a branded lanyard along with a manual. 

 

Construction

The T2 shares many similar visual features to the smaller Thrunite T1 I reviewed earlier this year. The T2 is made from 6061 aluminum and has a fairly flat tail cap, that is non magnetic, but has a place milled in the side for a lanyard. The tail section and body are a one piece design. The clip only attaches at the tail and is non captured. The body section has a rectangle/rib pattern milled in oti. It’s similar to the Olight M2R which is a competitor light. The T2’s millings are deeper and the rectangle sections are a little larger. It’s a nice amount of grip.

Threads on the body tube are anodized, square cut and nicely greased. Inside the head it has a single brass post up front to fit the proprietary battery. On the outside there is a silver metallic button covering the eswitch with a hole in the middle for the LED indicator. The sides have some milled fins in them. Opposite the button is the silicone cover for the USB-C charging port. I had no trouble here with access to any of the cables I tried. The port is nicely recessed and out of the way.

The aluminum bezel has a grey accent that’s slightly tapered. Inside is a AR coated piece of glass, a wide but very shallow orange peel reflector and the giant Cree XHP 70 LED. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 112mm and maximum diameter on the head at 30mm and minimum diameter on the body at 26mm. Weight with the included battery and clip was 167.8g. 

 

Comparison

The light that i will be comparing this to is the Olight M2R. Now the M2R is a little more tactically focused but quite similar in over all size. The T2 is shorter in overall size and hardly grows in diameter. That said the M2R does have a bit more reach. The T2 seems to sacrifice it’s throw performance for the overall length of the light in the hand.

Retention

The T2 comes with a basic nylon holster, with a Dring and belt loop. The T2 fits inside just fine. You also have the option of a branded lanyard. These are basic options but do the job just fine. The T2 has as very deep carry pocket clip that only attaches at the tail of the light. It bends out and then up almost flush with the tail but on my example here that upper loop is hard to attach onto a pocket due to the step and small amount of space up top. Other than that it’s a decent clip and once you get it down over your pocket lip it carries well for a 21700 light.

LED & Beamshots

The Thrunite T2 is running a Cree XHP 70 LED and is a available in cool and neutral white. I have the neutral white and it has a bit fo green to it, not uncommon for a Cree emitter. It’s a big LED in a very short and wide reflector. The result is a very floody beam with a good amount of tint shift unfortunately. At 

When the light is dropped on it’s tail it flickers slightly but stays on. I didn’t detect any PWM with my oscilloscope. 

Official Outputs are listed as the following.

  • Firefly  – 0.3 Lumens
  • Low – 30 Lumens
  • Medium – 366 Lumens
  • High – 1712 Lumens
  • Turbo – 3757 Lumens

 

Heat & Runtime

With big output numbers from a big LED comes heat and output stepdowns. Turbo on the T2 started to step down at 1:10 and then ran at 38% relative output till the 8 minute mark, stepping down another 10%. FL1 was at 3 hours 12 minutes. Total runtime was 3hr 20 minutes. Peak heat was 49.9C at 1:30

I did a bit of comparison to the Olight M2R Pro also running a 5000mAh 21700 battery and you can see the Olight has a little brighter mid range but ends about 5 minutes shorter. Overall both lights are pretty comparable in terms of runtime even though their beam patterns are really used for different purposes. 

 

UI

The UI on the T2 is what Thrunite uses on most Thrunite and Wowtac models. Long press to go to Firefly, single click to go up in modes from L, M, H, and double press to go to Turbo. Triple press to go to strobe. There is a memory mode on all normal modes, and a lock out if you press and hold while the flashlight is off. Mode spacing here could be improved, with just 3 modes you see some big steps up, Medium to High is 366 to 1712. I would like to see another mode in the middle.

 

It’s kind of a bit of a shame they didn’t decide to use the T1’s ramping mode as I liked that quite a bit. For a more high end light like this, it’s almost becoming the norm to have a stepped and ramping mode that the user can switch in and out of. 

 

Recharging

The Thrunite T2 has onboard USB-C recharging, and it ships with an A to C cable. They advertise the light as having fast charging but doesn’t really say what that is. I had my hopes up that it would be compatible with C to C  charging via USB-C PD but at least in my testing that doesn’t seem to be the case. Charging the 5000mAh battery from LVP at 2.948V to Full at 4.199V took 3 hours 30 minutes. Maximum charging rate I saw was right at 2A. It didn’t ramp up but instead started right at 2A and then ramped down as the battery filled. The LED Indicator on the button displays power levels in real time. Greater then 21% is blue, between 11-20% red, and flashing red is less then 10% power remaining. When charging they go red and then blue when charged.

I was a little worried about the included 5000mAh battery as it has both the positive and negative terminals on the positive side, it looks identical to the battery Olight uses in the M2R Pro and in fact the Olight and Thrunite batteries are interchangeable in either light. What’s a little strange here is that Thrunite doesn’t have a contact point in the head for that negative terminal on the top of the battery so a standard button top 21700 works and charges in this light just fine. 

 

Pro’s

  • Compact High Lumen Flood
  • Neutral white tint is available
  • Even though it looks like a proprietary battery, standard batteries charge and work just fine.

 

Cons

  • Not USB-C to C Compliant, no USB-C PD support
  • Pocket clip need a little bit of tweaking to fit most pants for deep carry
  • Mode spacing is spaced out quite a bit. 0.3, 30, 366, 1712, 3757 lumens. 
  • Timed Step Down

 

Conclusion

The T2 a pretty good all around floody light with a lot of output from it’s Cree XHP 70 LED. It’s nice to see Thrunite continue to offer tint options on their lights. I find the overall design here a little boring to look at but in this case it’s form over function and functionally it’s pretty good. 

 

I would make a few small changes on a revised model if I could, another mode between medium and high to split the difference between 366 lumens and 1712 lumens. I would tweak the top loop of the clip to allow for it to fit over thicker pants easier, and I would make it compatible with a USB-C to C cable so it could be charged with many laptop and smartphone chargers. The USB-C to C cable is the one universal cable to make your life easier, we are just not there yet with most flashlights. It would be nice to see active thermal management on a light in this price range instead of a timed step down.

 

The battery here is really interesting, that Thrunite went to the expense of putting that negative contact on the positive end but doesn’t use it on this light. It makes me wonder what they might have coming out in the future. It’s nice here that you don’t need a proprietary battery though. 

 

Overall I can recommend the T2 if you need a high output flood light in a small package with a choice of tint. It even EDC’s and carries in a front pocket pretty well which I was not expecting for a 21700 light. 

 

Get the Thrunite T2 on Amazon at the links below. 

Neutral White https://amzn.to/3jVEcUm

Cool White https://amzn.to/30gZeVE

 

Thrunite is also running a promotion for the T2, limited to the first 50 people. 

1 – Buy ThruNite T2 & leave your unbiased experience on Amazon

2 – Contact review@thrunite.com to get a customer edition T1 – dark green ($45.95 on Amazon?for free, limited to the first 50 people!