*NEW* Nitecore TM16

Flashy808

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 2, 2015
Messages
282
My tm16 arrived :)
Will only have time to open it when I get home. But I'll try to do a mini review with photos if anyone is interested.

Great I'm Interested in a Review too! Nothing like knowing what greatness I can't afford! :)
 

Bruno28

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
508
Location
Australia
Seen that. But does not even compare to any lights or do night beam shots. During the day that shows me nothing.
 

Aj37

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 8, 2015
Messages
5
I just purchased a TM16 and should have it later this week. This is my first high quality flashlight purchase so I'm pretty excited!

I know there aren't too many owners out there yet but I'm curious as to how picky it will be when it comes to battery length. I currently have 4 Efest Purple 18650 3100mAh batteries which are 67mm in length. I've heard that most Nitecore flashlights only accept protected batteries with a 69 - 70mm length. Is there any truth to this? Will the Efest batteries rattle around or not make contact at all?
 

Bruno28

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
508
Location
Australia
Unfortunately the flashlight does not work with flat tops.
It does not lock out by twisting the tail until the oring shows up. My solution was to drop a blob of solder to flat tops and this makes the connection to the inside of the light as the tail connections are protruded.
By doing this solder blob the light is able to lock out with just a little over a quarter turn.

34ddc87c05988c5b4ed3fd663a6f23b6.jpg
 
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Bruno28

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
508
Location
Australia
All good. You just got a little too excited. I really like the looks of this light. But it's much bigger than expected.
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
Surprised you're ordering one considering you thought the M43 was too heavy for you. By comparison, this looks like quite the monster.

I don't think I said I sold it for being too heavy. If I did, I didn't mean to. I'm sure I mentioned the weight, but that was not my reason. Heat and battery consumption was the deal breaker. The TM16 is a TOTALLY different class of lights. Throw, throw, throw vs. all flood.
 
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Parrot Quack

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 10, 2015
Messages
1,106
Location
Magalia, CA
Hi Guys.

I've been reading what the web has posted on the TM16 to see what others have had to say on the TM16. This is what I posted on my experience with the TM16 on Amazon. Hope it helps those who want a personal opinion of the TM16. Wishing all well.

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I received the TM16 this afternoon and tonight, took it outback and came away from the experience with a huge, ear-to-ear grin. This is the flashlight we've all wanted since childhood.

First things first. For the price ($200.00), besides the flashlight, the buyer receives two empty plastic 18650 boxes that are each designed to hold a pair of 18650s. The buyer also receives a light duty lanyard, a couple of extra "O" rings for the end cap and an instruction book. No belt carrying case was included. Bummer but I don't think this was an omission or oversight as the Nitecore EC4 has a belt case included.

Compared to flashlights of six to eight years ago, this is a tiny, compact searchlight. The head is 3.5" wide and 2.5" tall. The rest of the light consists of a handle (battery tube) that is 4.5" long and 2.125" wide. The handle fits an average man's hand well. My hand is neither large or small so I consider my hand to be an average size hand. With batteries installed, using a postal scale, the TM16 weighed 24.7oz or 700g.

The light should be used with high draw, 3400mAh, 18650 PROTECTED Li-ion (Panasonic inside) Orbtronic 3.7V Batteries. I use high draw 18650s purchased especially for use in this light. Pricey batteries? Yes. But at the same time, better batteries give a longer run-time and easily meets the amperage draw requirements (when on turbo) of a light like this so it's not always turning off.

For charging purposes, I recommend the Nitecore D4 Charger. I've tried many chargers and in my opinion, the D4 charger is the best charger I've found. The display on the D4 automatically displays the amount of time the batteries have been on charge. Also, the display automatically toggles between charged voltage and shows how much current is being pumped into the battery at any one time and moment. By any stretch of the imagination, this is a sweet charger. I've had the charger long enough to say: I love it. :D

The TM16 is, despite its compact size, a potato masher size flashlight but it has a throw that makes everything in life better.

I took the TM16 into our backyard which backs up to BLM land, so there are no streetlights or houselights to ruin the dark. All one can see is the black of an unlit forest. For comparison purposes, I used a Nitecore EC4 (1000 lms) on turbo to fill the wilderness with light. Very nice. On Turbo, the EC4 is an excellent light but lights the fronts of trees, exposes close in shadows and doesn't get deep back into distant shadows. When one hits turbo on the TM16, everything lights up; trees, deep shadows, distant trunks.....quite literally, everything. The TM16 puts the term, "very nice," in the dirt. One comes away from the light comparison experience (EC4 vs TM16) knowing in the TM16, they have a "REAL" flashlight in their hands. Again, this is the flashlight we've all wanted since we were children and I'm not exaggerating.

The next lighting test was to go out front. In front, we have a long, straight, downhill stretch of road and the bottom of the hill is about a thousand feet away. When the TM16 turbo mode is used, literally, at this distance, in a pitch black night, one has enough light to be able to tell who is waving back at you. Yes, it's that powerful of a light and it's a light you'll be happy you purchased. It sure made me smile.

A final lighting test was to walk to a close by wilderness area and see how the TM16 performed as a search/spotlight in a forest setting. And the TM16 passed with flying colors. Yes, for me, walking a darkened trail is a spooky experience but the spill of the TM16 is about a hundred feet wide and the throw is as far as the road, trail, trees and underbrush allows. When walking with this light in front of you, on the darkest of nights, one doesn't feel they're walking in the dark. For evaluation purposes, everything close by, front and sides, is lit up. With freshly charged high output batteries, run time on turbo is about a full hour and the temperature of the light housing rises to warm, not hot.

The TM16 is a great search light which, at a hundred or more yards, is more than capable of easily filling in distant shadows when looking for somebody or something that one might consider important and due to well placed settings, the TM16 doubles as a walking flashlight with just enough light and throw to light up what's immediately in front of you yet with a couple clicks of the mode button, one immediately has enough light to flood a football field. For functionality, if one is needing much more than a football field of light, they're going have to purchase a much more powerful light and we all know they're coming. :D Maybe a "quality" light with 16,000 lms? :D

If one is looking for a flashlight that can turn night into day at a hundred plus yards, the TM16 is a flashlight I feel very comfortable recommending. Out in the pitch black darkness of a nighttime forest, nothing is going creep up on the user (except from behind) as they'll easily see the reflection of a nighttime predator's eyes much further out than a thousand feet. Cougar in a tree? You'll easily see their glowing eyes and know not to go near that tree. Be it bear or human, at night, w/4000 lms, the strobe effect is certain to blind or confuse any attacker.

To paraphrase Paul Hogan's character, Mick Dundee; that's not a flashlight.......this is a flashlight. In my opinion, the TM16 is a beast and is a well priced beast that will definitely get one where they want to go.
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
Nice writeup Parrot Quack! I'm glad you like the light. Sounds like you have a great place to do some testing. Mine will arrive Monday and I can't wait!! The one thing that still worries me is the drain while off and locked out. If I can resist using it for a few months (unlikely), I plan on putting in fully charged cells at 4.20v and seeing what they measure after 1 month, 2 months, etc. Just so I know for sure.
 

thedoc007

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
3,632
Location
Michigan, USA
Nice writeup Parrot Quack! I'm glad you like the light. Sounds like you have a great place to do some testing. Mine will arrive Monday and I can't wait!! The one thing that still worries me is the drain while off and locked out. If I can resist using it for a few months (unlikely), I plan on putting in fully charged cells at 4.20v and seeing what they measure after 1 month, 2 months, etc. Just so I know for sure.

You might want to charge them to 4.1 or even 4.0, rather than fully charge them. It will still give you good data, and it will avoid the worst of the capacity loss. (Lithium-ion cells really do not like being at full charge for extended periods.)

I ordered a TM16 as well...couldn't resist the great Gearbest price. Also ordered some button top NCR18650GA cells to go with it...I'm assuming the physical lockout will work properly with those cells. Honestly I doubt I'll keep the light...I prefer dedicated throwers/flooders, rather than the jack of all trades/master of none. But I do like Nitecore, and I couldn't resist seeing (up close) the Nitecore answer to the Fenix TK75.
 
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