Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO +

[brightnorm]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

I understand that. It's more the using separate cells together in a light and the problems undercharged or overcharged etc. in the devices you mention the power packs are together even if it does consist of 18650 batteries in laptops etc.
As for explosions I have had an alkaline battery vent in my eye. Long story. So I know there is issues with any battery if abused.
My biggest issue is the rotation of cells and ensuring they have charged correctly etc.

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

The possibility of an incident with multi-battery lights is drastically reduced by adhering to the common sense procedures often mentioned on CPF. If you use only the highest quality protected batteries in multi-cell lights the chances of an "incident" will be extremely slight. This is one area where expense should take a back seat to safety.

I only use protected batteries in my lights. For use in the TM11 I've been charging Redilast 2900's on Pila IBC chargers and so far they always charge within .01v of each other. My TM11 suffers from the premature temperature-related cycling Selfbuilt mentioned, but I noticed thay even when the head of the TM11 gets hot, the batteries are still only warm.

Brightnorm​

 

[Art]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Selfbuilt summarises it nicely as 2 major issues:
1) LED emitter soldering issue - results in one of the emitters failing; Nitecore has rectified this issue.
2) flickering on turbo - Nitecore has revised the circuitry.

When I receive mine, I will test it out thoroughly immediately.
If problems within first 14 days, free brand new replacement.
Thereafter, 18 months warranty.
Lifetime repair available for cost of parts only.

I would only be worried if there were no fixes for these problems...

That is not my concept of buying a quality product.
I expect quality from the start , no one rushed Nitecore to create this light so if they put a nearly 300€ light for sale I do at least expect it has simple (fast to detect ) flaws corrected.
The problems dont seem to be easy to appear , most users notice them in the first time they try it so I dont believe they didnt notice this.

I do understand the difficult logistic to create such a product , but still that is the brands problem I at least expect a fully tested and reliable flash light when I buy in this "level" of prices.

From all the flahslights I own I only had to return 1 in at least 3 years of "flashaholism" and more then 50 flashlights bought... and it was not a nitecore

 

[brightnorm]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Value vs quality control:

I agree with Art's comment, especially considering the price of the TM11. If I were a member of the general public, rather than a long-time Flashaholic I would angrily regard the TM11's glitchs as unacceptable. However, as a Flashaholic my expectations are often a bit more flexible.


Re cycling:

From a cold start in a 70◦F room turbo was sustained 1'45" before downshifting. However you can sustain turbo without waiting for the upshift by clicking off then on in less than 1/2 second but more than the almost instant click required for strobe. Even when the head was very hot the batteries were only warm, which is probably a good safety feature of the light.

Brightnorm

 

[Baddog]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

the way i see it there is a flaw in the thermal management of the light. only one led has a resistor attached to it if u look well, so its only one led that is being throttled, the other two appear to continue cooking. Maybe i stand to be corrected, am happy to be...

 

[peterharvey73]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

You guys are right.
For US$260, we expect better quality control from this light.
Under normal circumstances, I would never buy a product of this price and quality ratio.
I would never buy a car with glitches, nor an iPhone 4 with antennagate, nor 4s with a power problem.

I only bought the TM11 so soon because you guys made me into a flashaholic.
Normally, I would have well and truly waited for them to iron the glitches out...

 

[varuscelli]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Call me crazy, laugh and point if you must - :hahaha: - but if I needed to use the TM11 hands free for 10 or 15 minutes or even an hour or more, this is exactly what I'd do. Yeah, 530 grams is quite a bit for the top of a helmet...but then again, I've been in parts of the world where people carry 50 times this weight on top of their heads without blinking an eye. Thinking a bit outside the box, this actually works. No, I'm not going to ride my bike with it this way, but for a temporary, hands-free way to get up to 2000 lumens out in front of me...I'd do it.

What's needed: In this case, a bicycle helmet and a TwoFish Bikeblock (the bikeblock attaches to a helmet bridge with a long piece of velcro that also wraps around the light). Bikeblocks are meant to hold smaller diameter lights (or other objects), but there's plenty of velcro to attach something as fat as the TM11.

I actually tried this out in my yard, and it works just fine, as long as the helmet strap is snugly cinched. Not having to use one hand to hold the light opens up lots of possibilities for actual tasks. I wouldn't want to do this for hours at a time, but relatively short-term tasks it's very workable.

 

[yifu]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Call me crazy, laugh and point if you must - :hahaha: - but if I needed to use the TM11 hands free for 10 or 15 minutes or even an hour or more, this is exactly what I'd do. Yeah, 530 grams is quite a bit for the top of a helmet...but then again, I've been in parts of the world where people carry 50 times this weight on top of their heads without blinking an eye. Thinking a bit outside the box, this actually works. No, I'm not going to ride my bike with it this way, but for a temporary, hands-free way to get up to 2000 lumens out in front of me...I'd do it.

Two more at the sides will balance out the weight very nicely, plus you get 6000+ OTF lumens, more than even H7 HID equipped cars. Not to mention its all on your head.

 

[varuscelli]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Two more at the sides will balance out the weight very nicely, plus you get 6000+ OTF lumens, more than even H7 HID equipped cars. Not to mention its all on your head.

Yes, with a pair of very good sunglasses and a couple of months of neck strengthening exercises at the gym.

 

[peterharvey73]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Just got my Redilast 3100's, and my Tiny Monster.
Redilast 3100's fit and work fine in Tiny Monster.

Has a very thin almost cheap looking crenelated ss bezel; no wonder they kept width to a minimum, and in particular the low weight.
Annodising is not as good and semi-polished like Jetbeam, but pure matt finish just like Zebra SC600, as I had originally suspected.

TM so wonderfully compact and lightweight in the hand!
I initially thought 4x18650's in parallel might be too big in the hands, but not so.

Underhand hand shake grip with TM's side switch so ergonomic & relaxing compared to the tail end clickies!
Side switch has a slightly fussy flush soft touch, with necessity for lock out, but fine.

Beam is superb; right now in the daytime.
Will run on turbo for extended periods tonight.

A wonderful light. So compact and lightweight, with a lovely side button...

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Quick update: I've had some correspondence back and forth with Nitecore's engineers, and they agree that a possible source of the oscillations is an overly narrow temperature range over which the temperature sensor responds. They are going to try lowering the temperature set point at which the light returns to Turbo output, to see if that resolves the issue. I suspect it should. :wave:

 

[excfenix]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Quick update: I've had some correspondence back and forth with Nitecore's engineers, and they agree that a possible source of the oscillations is an overly narrow temperature range over which the temperature sensor responds. They are going to try lowering the temperature set point at which the light returns to Turbo output, to see if that resolves the issue. I suspect it should. :wave:

Tell them to just have it switch to 1100 lumens when the temperature is too high and let it stay there, period--avoid trying to go back to turbo altogether. That and, to keep the red ring around the button on all the time-- we can't see the button on low and medium modes without it flashing.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet because of these flaws. To those thinking about buying the TM11: hold out for now. As selfbuilt said, the engineers are doing something about the cycling.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Tell them to just have it switch to 1100 lumens when the temperature is too high and let it stay there, period--avoid trying to go back to turbo altogether.

I did actually suggest that, as a simple fix while the light is on - but the question is then what happens when you turn off-on again? The sensor needs some way to know if it should limit output or not (i.e. you are just delaying the problem, rather than fixing it). As the engineers have put it, their goal in the design of TM11 was to be able to emit a max output of 2000 lumens in a safe temperature range.

The solution to adjust down the temperature set point at which the light returns to Turbo should resolve the matter for all states. After all, there is nothing wrong with the approach - as near as I can tell, the problem is simply one of an overly narrow temperature set point range on some lights. Widening that range should resolve the issue.

 

[excfenix]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

You're the man, selfbuilt. Your importance to the flashlight community is why they're talking to you. Please let us know if you find out when the corrected batch rolls out.

 

[Patriot]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Looks to be a great, compact, mega LED light once the cycling issue is fixed. I think I'll hold off until this small issue is behind them. Definitely my kind of light though!

Thanks Selfbuilt for another outstanding review. Really enjoyed your video as well. :thumbsup:

 

[peterharvey73]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Had my TM for a few days now.
Running on Redilast 3100's.
Works fine.
I wish they'd do a 3x18650, rather than 4x18650, but according to mathematics, 3x18650 may only reduce the circumference by a little; weight would reduce further though.
The flush mounted super light touch sensitive switch is fine too.
Sometimes a bit too touchy, but fine and certainly very light to use.
Switching on from lockout and switching to lockout is fine; you get used to it.
Half press for momentary on three lower modes, to full press for momentary on turbo is superb.
The beam is superb.
Because big lights with big reflectors naturally throw well, ditto the Tiny Monster - it throws well; not 400 meters like the top single XM-L throwers, but pretty good @ nearly 300 meters.

The tint is neutral; not cool.
So far, no LED failure, nor Turbo flickering.
In the evenings, it works fine.
Now if I experiment, and deliberately leave it on for extended periods like 10 minutes or more etc, then it gets really hot to hold, and the thermal cut out kicks in, then it drops in brightness from turbo to high, and only then does it automatically jump up and down between the two modes, depending on the temperature.
For my purposes, this is not a problem.
However, I guess for someone who intentionally wants to run Turbo for extended periods of time, like more than 10 minutes, then this could be a problems - in such case, I would recommend purchasing a much larger and heavier flashlight that can withstand higher temperatures.
However, for general use, the TM is fine.
For example, look at my Zebralight SC600 - it deliberately steps down after 5 minutes on Turbo for thermal reasons, yet how many complain about that short duration?
If we want a single 18650 which can turbo for extended periods of time, then we obviously would avoid my SC600 altogether.
Ditto the TM11...

 

[Art]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

This is a bit offtopic but I decided to but a Galaxy S2 instead of the TM11... it still has a led so Im like 1950lumens short ?

Still I will keep notice of how this are going and will probably buy a TM11 later.

 

[Pandorum]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Quick update: I've had some correspondence back and forth with Nitecore's engineers, and they agree that a possible source of the oscillations is an overly narrow temperature range over which the temperature sensor responds. They are going to try lowering the temperature set point at which the light returns to Turbo output, to see if that resolves the issue. I suspect it should. :wave:

Haha, while they are tweaking this light, maybe also suggest to them to add SPRINGS in the battery well?
Or if Nitecore reads this forum, SPRINGS in battery well please and I'm sold.

 

[peterharvey73]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Had it for a week now.
Tiny Munster works fine.
My RRT-3 SST-50 thrower is almost in the dust bin now.
Now, I realise why the TM is winning.
It's the form factor, size and weight.
The UI side switch.
And the TM beam is so much floodier, yet loses probably only 50 odd meters in throw, with the old RRT-3 SST-50 throwing only about 350 meters, because Selfbuilt tested the 4Sevens Maelstrom S18 SST-90 to throw 360/377 meters, and goinggear videos indicate that the S18 may throw a little further than the old RRT-3 SST-50.
Thus the Tiny Monster's secret is a lot more flood, with just a little sacrifice in throw.
Thus I walk with the Tiny Monster all the time now, while the old RRT-3 SST-50 is a collector's item.

My only gripe with the Tiny Monster is that it is very hard to get it out of lock out mode.
We are supposed to do three full presses in one second, but I'm often doing 9 presses to get it back onto Standby mode.
I have learnt a fast way to get it out of Lock-out - untwist the body 180 degrees to disconnect the circuit, then re-twist it 180 degrees to re-connect the circuit, then it instantly flashes it's red light a number of times to indicate the voltage and go into Standby...

 

[MY]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Where is the best place to buy this tiny monster?

 

[RCLumens]

Re: Nitecore "Tiny Monster" TM11 (4x18650, 3xXM-L) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO

Many Thanks Selfbuilt!! Excellent review and very informative as always!!