Tag: tactical flashlight 2020

Posted on

Nitecore MH12S Review (1800 Lumens, USB-C PD, 21700)

Today I have the Nitecore MH12S, this is a new model in a long light of MH series lights from Nitecore. It’s marketed as multitask hybrid series light. It produces 1800 lumens, contains a 21700 battery that’s included and is USB-C PD rechargeable. Nitecore did provide this light to me to review.

 

Watch this review on YouTube: 

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liquidretro/ 

Join the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidretroReviews/ 

Enjoy this review? Buy me a Coffee/Beer: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Liquidretro


Packaging & Accessories

The MH12 comes in a typical Nitecore retail package in the trademark black and yellow color scheme. Something that’s a little different is it doesn’t have the typical runtime chart on the back, only a long list of features, and on the side a list of use cases and accessories. Accessories included with the light itself is a 5000 Nitecore (non proprietary) button top 21700 battery, a 18650/CR123 Battery magazine, tactical holster, USB-A to C charging cable, lanyard, 2 spare o’rings, and a pocket clip, along with your normal paperwork. 

Construction

The MH12s is made from aluminum and anodized black. Machining & fit and finish are good, with no obvious problems detected. At the tail cap there is a quiet tall mechanical switch that protrudes and it takes some effort to actuate. The lanyard attachment point is on the rear tail cap and decent sized hole. Inside there is stiff springs at either end, and threads are anodized, fine and well lubricated. 

 

The body tube has minimal knurling but does have some on each end, you have 3 areas in the middle for the clip or tactical finger loop (not included) should you want. The body tube is glued to the head. There is a minimal anti roll ring at the front, it’ has limited effectiveness with anything but a flat surface.

The button (eswitch) on the head is aluminum as well, with a hole in the middle for power indication status, the button is relatively small and hard to find at night by feel alone, especially with gloves. There is minimal fins for heat dissipation. Opposite the button there is the USB-C charging port, the silicon cover here is well integrated and stays put without trouble. 

Up at the front there is a minimal bezel that does allow light to escape when standing on its head, it protects the anti reflective coated glass lens, and smooth bezel underneath. 

 

Size and Weight

I measured the overall length at 141mm, max diameter on the head at 29.5mm, minimum diameter on the body at 25.5mm. Weight with the included battery was 149.2g. The light is IP68 water rated and submersible to 2M along with the standard 1M of impact resistance.

It’s a long long light but within 5mm of the Thrunite TT20 and Olight M2R Pro, but narrower then both. 

 

Retention

The MH12S has quite a few retention options. It comes with a pocket clip, lanyard and a tactical hostler but is also compatible with a tactical ring that Nitecore offers separately. The pocket clip can attach facing either direction on any of the 3 ribs in the middle of the light. It’s not a deep carry clip as a good ¾ of an inch sticks op out of your pocket when put in the lowest position. My clip was slightly out of spec and doesn’t make contact with the body of the light. A little modification with some pliers should improve this situation but is a little disappointing to see on a brand new light. 

You also get a plastic belt holster that the light can be pushed into. You can put it in heads up or heads down, and it’s a tight fit. If done correctly at allows you to mount to access both the side buttons and top button from the holster. The lanyard attachment point should you choose to use that is on the tailcap. 

LED & Runtime

The light features a Luminis SST-40 W LED in cool white at 6500k. The good news here is that it’s not as blue as some older Nitecore lights which I appreciate. On ultralow and low power modes I get a slight green tinge but this disappears at higher power levels. The beam itself is small defined hotspot in the center and a large spill of less light. True to it’s name this is a nice all around beam, good for walking the dog, hiking, or more tactical uses if you wish. 

There are a handful of battery options here, the light comes with Nitecore 5000mAh 21700 battery, which will be most users primary cell, but with the battery magazine (Spacer) the light comes with it will also run 18650 and 2x CR123A batteries or RCR123. A battery capable of 8A discharge or more is needed to be able to access Turbo’s 1800 lumens or you will be limited to High’s 1050 instead. No PWM was present in this light, and I did verify this with my oscilloscope. 

 

Official outputs are listed as the following. 

  • Turbo – 1800 Lumens
  • High – 1050 Lumens
  • Mid – 300 Lumens
  • Low -50 Lumens
  • Ultra Low – 1 Lumen
  • Strobe/Beacon/SOS – 1800 Lumens

 

Heat & Runtime

I did my runtime and heat tests with the included 5000mAh Nitecore battery in uncooled conditions (More realistic). Turbo had a pretty quick step down from the 1800 lumens within the first minute and a half but it was a gradual step down and continued this trend from the 0:43:00 mark to 2:46:00 it was quite stable at 40% relative output, before it did it’s LVP warning and stepping down to 5% relative output and shutting off at 3:23:00. Max heat I saw during this time was 46C at 0:10:00.

I also ran a runtime test under the same conditions but only going to high mode, and here the light was able to sustain a much higher output for longer in comparison to turbo. Around 80% relative output or better for 3:26:00, with at total runtime of right at 4:00:00. So if you don’t need turbo this is the best mode to use for sustained output and runtime. 

 

UI

The light has 2 modes, first the daily mode which is the lights default and how I tested and then a tactical function. When in daily mode the light does have a memory function for all modes except SOS and Beacon. When in tactical it will only memorize turbo or strobe. 

 

For daily mode the light turns on with the tail switch, and then you use the e switch up front to change modes, and it cycles through all 5 non blinking modes. There are no shortcuts to jump to turbo or turn on ultralow when off. If you press and hold the mode button when on the light will go to strobe instead of cycling through modes. It’s a little different from many lights but is easy enough to understand but might be hard to remember if switching to many other lights.

 

Recharging

The MH12S has onboard USB-C charging, thats capable of being charged via USB-C to C and USB-C PD, another nice change to see. USB-C to C is finally going mainstream on flashlights. I charged the included 5000mAh Nitecore battery (non proprietary) from LVP at 2.947V to full at 4.198V in 3.5 hours. Max charging rate I saw was 1.9A at the 1:30 mark. The charging curve here looks a little funny with a lot of drops to near zero as detected by my meter, this also caused it to cut a little short the graph. I don’t think this is a problem for charging the cell just a bit different. The light will also charge 18560’s with the adapter if you want to. 

Pro

  • Simple interface but lacks shortcuts to moon or turbo.
  • Good all around beam
  • Not as cool white as past Nitecore Lights.
  • Wide selection of compatible batteries (21700, 18650, CR123A, RCR123A).

 

Cons

  • Seems long
  • Pocket clip did not make contact with the body without modification and it’s deep carry
  • Only one LED and tint option
  • UI has no practical shortcuts, requires cycling through brighter modes to go lower. 

 

Conclusion

The Nitecore MH12S is a solid general use light. I like that NItecore has taken a step away from ultra blue emitters but do wish they would offer a more neutral or warm tint option, in the MH series of lights since I believe these better represent the multifunction roll the lights were designed for. 

This isn’t a light I will probably EDC in my pockets due to the clip design and relatively long nature of the light, I do like it’s slim nature though. I think this is a better jacket pocket light or utilize the holster it comes with. The UI here isn’t my favorite but I can live with it. Overall I like the beam profile here of the light, and with the 21700 it has a great runtime, and it’s super great to see USB-C being implemented with full support and PD support. 

Posted on

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

 

Watch this review on YouTube: 

**Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liquidretro/ 

Join the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidretroReviews/ 

 

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

Posted on

Jetbeam TH20 Guardian (2020) Review (3980 Lumens, XHP 70.2, 21700, USB-C)

The Jetbeam TH20 Guardian is an updated version of the previous popular TH20 Tactical flashlight. It’s rated for 3980 lumens from a Cree XHP 70.2 LED and a 21700 battery. It features onboard USB-C charging and has a powerbank function. Thanks to Jetbeam for sending it to me to review. 

 

Watch this review on YouTube:  

**Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liquidretro/ 

Join the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidretroReviews/ 

 

Packaging and Accessories

Packaging is standard Jetbeam hanging design with a nice photo of the light on the front and stats on the back. Inside accessories include the light, a 5100mAh 21700 battery, a belt holster, wrist lanyard, the USB-C OTG cable for charging and using as a powerbank, and then some nice spare red orings. Paperwork includes the manual, warranty card and COA. 

 

 

Construction

The TH20 is a solid well built light all around. Starting at the tail cap it has 2 large square ears that protect the button and paddles well, and allow for a place for the lanyard to fit. The light will tail stand but it’s not very stable when doing so. The knurled areas on the tail and body are on the smoother side but the milled areas on the light and heatsync give you an area to lock into. 

Threads on the inside are anodized, square cut, beefy and really smooth. Other manufactures take note, this is how it’s done. The tail cap has dual stiff springs, but the head only has a brass post, a little surprising for a tactical light. No issues with vibration though. 

The head section has a section that looks like heatsyncs, I think it’s more style though, The front bezel seems to be glued in place, I can’t get to move, It’s short but has large crenulations allowing light to spill out. The antireflective coated glass underneath is thick and well protected. Under that is the deep orange peel reflector and the large Cree XHP 70.2 LED. 

Size & Weight

I measured the overall length at 161mm. Maximum diameter on the head was 40.21mm and minimum diameter on the body was 29.5mm. The weight I measured with the battery, was 267.3g. This is a large light, no ways around that. See the photo below for some photos of similar 21700 sized lights. 

 

Retention 

This isn’t an EDC light to put in your front pants pockets, instead you have a holster option that the light comes with. It comes with a nylon holster, with a button belt loop and no Dring. The material here is nice but the stitching is all single stitch and it it’s not a premium feel.

LED & Beamshots

This light is using a Cree XHP70.2 LED in cool white. No tint data is given but it’s definitely cool white and has the characteristics of a XHP70.2 LED. So that means it has some beam distortion in the center, of a corona donut and then tint shift across the beam. It’s more a flood but the beam isn’t even, so I would call it on the floodier side of a typical flashlight beam. Definitely not a thrower.

The light has 4 solid on modes and then strobe.

  • Turbo 3980 Lumens
  • High 1500 Lumens
  • Medium 350 Lumens
  • Low 25 Lumens

No ratings are given for strobe but I would guess it’s equivalent to high or turbo.

 

Runtime & Heat

I am skeptical of the claimed 3980 lumens, at least that it can sustain it for any time. In my runtime graph here I see about 20 second before the light has stepped down. At this point it can sustain this mode for about 10 minutes before stepping down again due to thermal constraints with the maximum temp it sustained was 40.5C. Total runtime ended up at 2:26:00 but instead of shutting off the light ran for several more hours at basically moonlight mode. I stopped the test at 5:35:00. LVP kicked in at 2.946V.

UI

UI here is quite simple. You have a large mechanical button on the tail end of the light covered in a large silicone switch, it’s quite stiff, you won’t accidently press it, but it is loud. Next to it on both sides are metal paddles. When the light is off, the paddles give instant access to the strobe/sos mode of the light in a momentary manor. When you press the main button on the light the paddles give you mode options give you mode selections, with memory. The easiest way to lock the light out is mechanically by just turning the tail cap slightly.

 

Recharging

The TH20 offers charging via USB-C, but doesn’t support C to C charging. It features USB-A to USB-C which seems to be all most flashlights offer. Recharging the included the 21700 5100mAh battery from LVP to full took a total of 5 hours even, with peak charging rate 1.87A. The curve is a little abnormal but no big concerns with a battery this size. My one complaint is the LED light that gives the charging status is very close to the port, and combined with the port cover it can be hard to see depending on the cable you’re using. Charging stopped at 4.149V. 

The light can also be used as a powerbank. It comes with a USB-C to USB-A Female adapter cable that can be used to charge your phone or other device from the light. It can also charge a device like my phone with just a USB-C to C cable. I did a discharge at 2A, but when doing this it didn’t seem to step down gracefully like I would expect or it could be my equipment, not many lights do the powerbank feature. 

Pro’s

  • I like the warm gray color of the anodizing
  • Feels well made, and beefy, buttery threads.
  • The battery bank feature is nice in a pinch.

 

Con’s

  • Turbo is too short only lasting about 20 seconds.
  • Definitely has some distortion in the beam from the lens and LED.
  • It’s big, and on the expensive side.
  • While it tail stands, it’s not stable when doing so.

 

Conclusion

I don’t have a ton of use for a light like this in my daily uses. It’s large, heavy and turbo is too short to be useful for me on my example. I do think the tail design is pretty decent for direct access to strobe in a tactical situation but 3 simple light modes plus turbo for your solid modes. I wish turbo lasted longer then 20 seconds, it would be useful in tactical and non tactical situations. 

 

I love the color of the anodizing here, it’s gray brown anodizing, nice to see especially on a tactical light. The light is also very well built from what I can tell. Solid, and the rear switch takes quite a bit of pressure to push. If you need a solid well built tactical light thats in that middle ground between a flood and thrower then this fits that need, but isn’t going to be your best general purpose light in my opinion. 

Take a look at the TH20 Guardian 2020 at BatteryJunction https://www.batteryjunction.com/jetbeam-th20-guardian-v2.html