Today I have one of Thrunite’s newest models and an update to one of my favorites the TV15 V3. It’s a 18650 powered, Cree XHP35.2 general purpose EDC flashlight with onboard charging. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to review. If they have provided me a discount that will be in the description below along with all my social media links to check out.
Pickup the Thrunite TC15 V3 at Amazon https://amzn.to/3uZY8xh (Be careful to select the V3) Use code LBJQKH2I to save an additional 5% until 3/10 on top of the existing 10% click coupon on the page.
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Packaging & Accessories
Standard Thrunite packaging here that I will let the photos do the descriptive work. While the box does note that a NW emitter is available, it’s not out at the time of review. Accessories that come with the light are the flashlight itself, a Thrunite branded standard 3100mAh 18650 IMR battery, branded lanyard, USB-A to USB-C cable, 2 extra orings, spare USB port cover, pocket clip, nylon holster and assorted paperwork.
Construction and Design
The TC15 V3 looks a lot like the previous TC15 V2. Starting at the tail cap it is mostly flat with a small indent, and non magnetic. Your lanyard attachment point is on the rear. There is no knurling on the light, with only flat areas milled in the tail cap for grip to remove the battery. The body tube has flutes milled into it for style and a bit of grip. As mentioned in the retention section the clip only attaches in the middle of the light and the body tube is not reversible.
Internally there is a spring at the tail, and a solid post in the head. Threads on both ends are square cut, lubricated and anodized. The head has a anti roll ring where the button sits. It’s the same e-button Thrunite has used on many other lights and tolerances are good, no side to side movement. It makes a nice click and requires slightly more force than normal to push. The charging port here is 90 degrees to the right of the button, in a very slim silicone cover that stays out of the way.
The front is one piece, no extra bezel, what bezel is there is smooth. The glass lens is slightly recessed and has AR coating. The reflector has an orange peel and is deep.
Retention
Retention options on the TC15 V3 are pretty typical with one asterisk. Thrunite does include nice branded lanyard that attaches on the tail cap. You also get a branded holster, it’s ok, mine had lots of loose strings and felt kind of thin.
Lastly is the clip on the TC15 V3. It’s changed from being mounted near the tail, to mounting in the middle of the body. It’s a dual direction clip but backwards from how I would carry this light, head down. That means to carry it head down you have to lift your pocket over the rather large bend of the clip. Once you do that it carries pretty well but it’s just not easy to put in the pocket like pretty much every other knife or light with a clip. Oh and for those suggesting you rotate tube so the pocket clip carries more traditionally you can’t. The thread line up but it doesn’t make electrical contact due to a 1mm difference on the head side. Not a fan of this design personally.
Size and Weight
I measured the length of the TC15 V3 at 122.5mm (4.82”), minimum diameter at 23.5mm (0.925”), and maximum diameter at 25.6mm (1”). Weight with the included battery and clip was 134.5g or 4.74oz. The light is IPX8 water rated and 1.5M impact resistant. Here are some comparison shots with similar sized lights you might have. Branding is pretty minimal on this light which is great.
LED & Beam
The TC15 V3 is using a Cree XHP35.2 LED. As of the creation of this video it’s only available in cool white. My unscientific Opple Meter registered this at 7000k in turbo with a CRI of 72 in the center. The beam has tint rainbow, with the beam getting green around the spill. The beam shape is a medium sized hotspot in the center and large amount of spill. This light does have PWM, but I don’t notice it with my eye. I will throw up what the meter shows in medium mode. I measured parasitic drain at an acceptable 47uA.
Thrunite lists the official outputs as the following.
Heat and Runtime
For my runtime tests I measured the % of relative output at the 30 second mark to set what 100% relative output is according to the FL1 Standard then let them run. I did this with the supplied 3100mAh battery fully charged.
Turbo ran for 3 minutes stepping down gradually as heat increased. From here it ran for 1:20:00 before 2 final step downs for a somewhat short total runtime at 1:35:00. Maximum heat was recorded at 1:20:00 at 46C. I then compared Turbo, High, and Medium runtimes and there really is not much difference between Turbo and High runtimes, less than 5 minutes. However medium ran out to 4:10:00. I did test low but didn’t graph it, it clicked in an impressive 58 hours and 17 minutes which is longer than The United claimed runtime.
UI
The UI here is pretty simple. When the light is off, a quick press turns it on in the last mode used (memory), a press and hold lets you cycle through the 3 main modes (Low, Medium, High). When on double press to go to Turbo or Triple Press to go to strobe. When going to turbo or strobe the light does blink to off for a second which isn’t my favorite thing. From off long press to get to firefly mode, to lock/unlock from firefly press and hold to lock.
Battery and Recharging
The TC15 V3 comes with a Thrunite branded 3100mAh IMR battery. This is a standard button top battery which is great to see. The light charges via the USB-C port on the side of the light. It is USB-C to C compatible and USB-C PD compatible. I charged from LVP at 2.94v to full at 4.1v in 2:17:04. It’s worth noting that charging speed here hit 2A almost immediately and continued at this rate for the first hour. Not a ton of light actually hit and hold 2A charging. Make sure you have a high quality power supply though to hit this.
Final Thoughts
The TC15 V3 is mostly a win for me. It’s a nice size, easy user interface, and uses standard batteries with onboard USB-C charging. The pocket clip is what doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, it really should be flipped to the tail for deep carry, or mill the body so you can mount it in either direction. Both would be great solutions and improve the carryability of this light. As is to carry it head down it’s basically a 2 hand operation to put it back into your pocket. Not idea in my opinion.
I do hope we see a NW emitter for the TC15 V3 some day, it’s a personal preference of mine and something Thrunite has been good at in the past. I hope this isn’t a situation of slower sales of NW emitters causing the company to choose not to come out with that option.
So if your looking for a good quality general purpose, non complicated 18650 flashlight with an easy UI and good customer service, look no further than the TC15 V3.
Pickup the Thrunite TC15 V3 at Amazon https://amzn.to/3uZY8xh (Be careful to select the V3) Use code LBJQKH2I to save an additional 5% until 3/10 on top of the existing 10% click coupon on the page.