Thrunite TN12 Pro (18650 EDC Thrower for under $50, 1900 Lumens)

Today I am looking at the Thrunite TN12 Pro, it’s a slim form factor 18650 light, optimized for a throw, and tactical applications, but can serve that EDC roll as well for those that prefer a tail cap switch and turbo shortcut. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to review and show you guys.

 

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Buy the Thrunite TN12 Pro at Amazon https://amzn.to/3HikEpp

 

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging here is standard Thrunite, protective, nice but not over the top. Accessories that come with the light, is the 3400mAh button top protected 18650 battery, lanyard, orings, spare port cover, pocket clip, nylon holster, USB-A to C charging cable, and manual.

 

Design & Construction

The TN12 Pro is made of hard anodized 6061 Aluminium and features a mechanical switch in the rear with a textured button that is a shortcut to turbo. It has protective rings around it which feature a milled-out area for the lanyard. The pocket clip mounts at the rear. The body section has small, deeply milled lines that provide a significant amount of grip but shouldn’t rip things up. The head section is glued to the body. The head is similar to most other Thrunite designs with the same style silver button, with a voltage indicator LED in the middle with an antiroll ring around it. The bezel is not removable but does have rounded crenulations to allow light to leak out if placed face down. Inside the reflector is smooth and deep. The lens is AR coated. Inside the light has a fairly stout spring at the rear as well as the front. It’s a dual wall light to allow for the use of the front and rear buttons. 

A note on the name here, Thrunite has traditionally used the TN naming for lights that didn’t have onboard recharging and used TC for lights that had onboard charging. They through out history when choosing the name here as it’s a TN but does have onboard recharging. Labeling here is minimal just the brand and model number on the front, and directly opposite the required markings and serial numbers. Other brands should take note of how small and minimal this branding is. 

 

Retention

Retention options are several here, first, you have the branded lanyard that can attach at the tail if you wish. You also have the nylon holster the light comes with, it’s one that Thrunite uses with other lights this size, plastic Dring, sewed dring, elastic side, and soft interior. 

The last is the pocket clip which mounts at the rear of the light. It’s a dual direction clip so it can be clipped to a hat if you want. While this isn’t as deep of carry as I typically want on an EDC, you rarely get that on a tactical light, so the 0.85” that sits above the clip is ok. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 5.15”, minimum diameter at 0.94”, and maximum diameter at 1”. I measured the weight at 5.07oz with battery and clip. Thrunite rates the TN12 Pro as drop resistant to 1.5 meters and IPX-8 water rated.

The main competitor to the TN12 Pro is probably the Olight Warrior Mini 2. The Thrunite is larger in all dimensions as well as weight which came in 0.82oz heavier, without the magnetic tail cap properties of the Olight, although these are mainly for charging.

 

LED & Beam

The LED being used here is the Luminus SFT40 LED in cool white. I measured it with my Opple Meter at 6000k 65 CRI. It’s a flat top LED in a relatively small package. The resulting beam is a small hotspot and very minimal spill. The throw is this light’s main thing and it does that well out to a claimed 380 meters. Some people have complained about coil whine on high mode, but it’s not something I can personally hear here. There is PWM but it’s very fast. 

 

Output Measurements

Here is a chart for my measurements of outputs using my DIY Lumentube. Everything was pretty close except for Turbo I couldn’t quite get to the claimed 1900 lumens. 

 

Heat & Runtime

I will try to let the graphs do most of the talking in this section and point out a few high points. Turbo runtime was good for about 2 minutes, jumping from near 1800 lumens to 800, in what looks like a thermal regulation with temps reaching 56C. There is one more step down to 400 lumens gradually out to the 7-minute mark which is where Thrunite gets the 7-minute runtime number from.

Turbo and High modes had very similar output curves with the only difference is really where they start at. Medium mode ran out past 6 hours. In all modes, the light runs at the end in low/firefly for several hours. 

 

UI

UI is similar to Thrunite’s standard UI, but with direct access to only Turbo on the tail cap. The light has the normal Eswitch up front and mostly normal UI there. Long press from off to go to firefly, however long pressing again shuts it off instead of going to low. Once in low, you can press and hold to cycle between low, medium and high. To access turbo double press the front switch or just turn on the rear tail switch. To get to strobe triple-click the eswitch. There is memory mode, here when the eswitch is used for low, medium and high only. As a result of the construction here there is no mechanical lockout. 

 

I did notice one UI feature that I think maybe a bug. When in medium mode if you leave the light for a few seconds, hit the button again expecting to bump up to high mode, instead the light bumps down to low. 

 

Recharging

Recharging here is accomplished via USB-C port that is capable of charging via C to C and or PD. Max charge rate I saw was 1.7A without issue in a near-constant current charge mode till the end. The total charge time of the included 3500mAh 18650 from LVP at 2.93v was 2:46:00. Full charge was measured at 4.18v.

The port cover here is worth mentioning. Like many, it’s rubberized silicon that pushes in place. They have a little dovetail to help keep it in place, but I find it kind of hard to push in and keep in place when in use. I found if I push the cover in and then pull it to the front of the light, it’s easier to put it in the dovetail and keep it in place. 

 

Final Thoughts

I have mixed feelings on the TN12 Pro, it’s not radically different from other models, but it’s a pretty great value if you’re looking for a throwy 18650 with onboard USB-C charging, cool white, and instant-on Turbo via the tail cap. 

 

For me, this doesn’t meet my EDC needs, but this isn’t really where the design is focused, as I feel like it’s more on the tactical side of things with EDC being a second thought. I had a hard time putting the port cover in place and keeping it there, it’s like the silicone is just slightly too long.

Overall it’s a good value right now with the coupons that are being offered on Amazon for a complete kit light if this niche is what you’re looking for and I think you will be happy with it. However, this isn’t different enough that I would rush out and buy it if I had a previous version or a light that did something similar. 

Buy the Thrunite TN12 Pro at Amazon https://amzn.to/3HikEpp

Olight Warrior Mini Recall News!

Here is the link to the official Facebook group post on the matter https://www.facebook.com/groups/Olight/permalink/3455317721188648

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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. 

 

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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