In my last review I reviewed the Wowtac W1, but today I am taking a look at the Thrunite T1, the W1, bigger and slightly older brother. The T1 has been out now for a few months but this is my first time getting my hands on one. The light uses as larger 18350 battery with more runtime, a larger Cree XHP 50 LED with more output upto 1500 lumens, with tint options, and features ramping UI. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this over to review and look at.
YouTube Version of this Review:
Join the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidretroReviews/
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liquidretro/
Packaging & Accessories
Normal brown cardboard Thrunite box here, On one end is the line drawing of the light and it’s name, on the other is the emitter option that is in the light which here is the Neutral White option. The light comes protected in foam, and it’s accessories include the Thrunite branded button top protected 1100mAh 18350 battery, deep carry pocket clip, Thrunite branded lanyard, extra o’rings and USB port cover, MicroUSB cable for recharging and the user manual.
Construction and Description
The T1 is an EDC style flashlight that’s made from black anodized aluminum. It features a flat magnetic base with a pretty strong magnet. The clip attaches at the rear only of the light and is not fixed in place. It’s a dual direction clip, more on that later on in the review. The body has a milled texture that we have seen on other Thrunite lights like the TH10 V2, and TC15 I have reviewed previously.
Inside there is a large stiff spring, and a solid post in the head. It works with the rather long 18350 that comes with the light, and more standard unprotected sized batteries too without rattle. Threads are fine and square cut.On the head itself it has the eswitch that’s fairly quickly with LED’s underneath to indicate charging status. Opposite the switch is the MicroUSB recharging port and silicon cover. Water resistance here is good and it’s rated at IPX-8 and survives my bucket test easily.
The bezel has a large silver accent. The lens is anti reflective coated. Underneath is a large shallow reflector that swallows up the large Cree XHP-50 LED nicely. Centering is good on the LED within the reflector.
Size & Weight
I measured the length of the T1 at 70mm long, 22mm at the narrowest point, and 26mm at the widest point between the button and charging port. Weight with the included battery and clip came in at 71.4g. The light is IPX8 water rated.
The Wowtac W1 visually looks very similar to the Thrunite T1 but the Thrunite is large in pretty much all dimensions just slightly. For those that don’t know Wowtac is Thrunites sister brand. The two light share the same switch, clip, and charging port design. The bezels are the same style but dimensions are slightly different.
The Olight S1R Baton II is frequently compared to the T1 because it’s a popular light of this form factor. It’s smaller in all dimensions since it runs a 16340 battery. It only carries head up, which you certainly have to get used to. It’s much more visible in the pocket because of it’s blue bezel and reflector, vs the T1’s black tail cap in deep carry. Runtimes are better on the larger battery of the T1, as well as turbo is brighter with 2.5 times more runtime before step down and the T1 comes with a tint choice.
Retention
The T1 features a dual direction deep carry pocket clip which means it will clip onto the brim of a hat or batman mask if you want. The light carries with the tail up, deeply in the pocket which I like. I like to put the clip opposite the button on most lights like this because i can find the button easier by feel, but on this it interferes with the USB cover slightly when trying to put it in your pocket. Overall a good but not perfect carry.
LED & Beamshot
This light is using a Cree XHP 50 LED. Mine is in the neutral white tint, but cool white is also available if you prefer. The beam here is mostly floody from the short orange peal reflector, but has a large bright center to give it some spot. I do notice quite a bit of tint shift. The center is warmer and the spill is cooler with a bit of a blue tinge.
Runtime & Heat
For such a small light that produces 1500 lumens on turbo, the runtimes here were pretty impressive. Turbo lasted a solid 2 minutes before it was done stepping down gradually. It ran from 2 to 15 minutes at about 35% relative output, then stepped down slightly to 30% relative output for the bulk of the runtime out to 55 minutes. From here the light started to sag out to about 68 minutes and eventually stop with low voltage protection kicking in at 3.065V.
Heat here is manageable given the 1500 lumens turbo mode lasts for 2 minutes. At 1 minute I measured 109F, at 5 minutes 105F and at 10 minutes 103F.
Official lumen ratings were
- Turbo 1500 Lumens then 408
- Infinity High 685 Lumens
- Infinity Low 15 Lumens
- Firefly 0.5 Lumens
- Strobe 550 Lumens
No PWM was observed via eye or oscilloscope.
UI
This light features a ramping UI Thrunite is calling infinite UI. I like it quite a bit. If you long press from off you get firefly which is 0.5 lumen. If you single click to turn on the light will come on in the last ramping mode used. To adjust the ramp you long press and hold once one. Let off the button when you get to your desired brightness level. If you overshoot or undershoot each time you let of the button the direction reverses. Double click to go to turbo and triple click to go to strobe.
Recharging
USB-C recharging would have been nice, to see here but instead we have good old MicroUSB. Since this isn’t a brand new model I won’t fault it too much. The included 18350 battery is a button top protected 18350 that’s on the long side at 39mm but it’s capacity of 1100mAh is the current maximum available which is nice to see no corners were cut.
I clocked the recharging of the battery at taking 2 hours 27 minutes to go from LVP of 3.065v to full at 4.125v. Maximum amperage I saw was 0.52A which is perfectly safe for a battery of this size.
Pro
- Longer runtime, and turbo output then it’s competitors due to the 18350 battery.
- Available in NW and CW
- Less expensive then it’s Olight and Fenix competitors
- Head down deep carry design.
- Ramping UI
Con
- Not a particularly attractive light or unique design.
- Included protected cell is on the long side.
- Ramping is a little slow for my taste but perfectly useable.
Conclusion
The Thrunite T1 is a light I would recommend to anyone wanting more runtime or more light out of this small form factor EDC style light, without breaking the bank. It’s slightly larger then the competition but you get a solid bump in runtime and output for that, while still being affordable and giving you a choice in tints.
I enjoy the ramping UI here but I wish it was slightly faster. I really don’t have much bad to say about the light. It’s one I can pretty easily recommend and it’s affordable.
Pickup the Thrunite T1 at Amazon https://amzn.to/2RMAAYx
Save 15% by using code 15T10430 until 4/30/2020
View the Full Image Gallery At https://imgur.com/a/IZzm8dx