NITECORE TM26 QUADRAY (4 x XM-L U2 | 1-4x18650 / 2-8xR/CR123) Review

[turboBB]

@lumenjedi - those batteries likely aren't able to sustain the current draw

@kolbasz - don't have carpets but I'll see what I can do about a flood shot. Been having some camera problems lately but have new equipment coming in soon.

 

[tobrien]

you take such good (and dramatic) photographs of these lights

 

[xevious]

Thanks for your thorough review, TurboBB. I would definitely love to own a light like this. It's interesting to see some of the competition. There is a whole slew of similar 4x18650 thrower lights on the "cheap Chinese lights" front, for about 25% or less of the purchase price. I wouldn't touch any of them. When you're dealing with multiple lithium ion cells like this, you don't want to take a chance on improper or uneven current draw.

When you look at the "Tiny Monster" progression from the TM11, TM15, to TM26, it's amazing how Nitecore has uniformly improved on this model line. Quite frankly, if they come out with a TM-37 next year I'd be more than happy to get the TM26 for a good bit less. Terrific light.

 

[SeamusORiley]

Thanks for your thorough review, TurboBB. I would definitely love to own a light like this. It's interesting to see some of the competition. There is a whole slew of similar 4x18650 thrower lights on the "cheap Chinese lights" front, for about 25% or less of the purchase price. I wouldn't touch any of them. When you're dealing with multiple lithium ion cells like this, you don't want to take a chance on improper or uneven current draw.

When you look at the "Tiny Monster" progression from the TM11, TM15, to TM26, it's amazing how Nitecore has uniformly improved on this model line. Quite frankly, if they come out with a TM-37 next year I'd be more than happy to get the TM26 for a good bit less. Terrific light.

Interesting post.

Folks here who have the TM 11 or TM 15 seem quite happy with them, so I don't think it is that the new model makes the old obsolete. In fact, the TM 15 can be very nicely used with a diffuser cap, while the TM 26 cannot. Some who did not need so many lumens may still go for the TM 11, especially as the price has come down.

The price drop of the TM 26 has been surprisingly soon. It can now be had at 239, including shipping. wow!

Others have tested the LED readout for temperature, which is now something I am watching.

I find it to be accurately reading the temperature of rooms in my home, and in the outdoors. I have to get used to the C reading instead of F, but 61 degrees this morning, later 68 degrees near the wood stove matched the temps that I normally monitor.

I am impressed with the Nitecore line of flashlights.

 

[xevious]

Folks here who have the TM 11 or TM 15 seem quite happy with them, so I don't think it is that the new model makes the old obsolete. In fact, the TM 15 can be very nicely used with a diffuser cap, while the TM 26 cannot. Some who did not need so many lumens may still go for the TM 11, especially as the price has come down.

Oh, I don't doubt that the TM11 and TM15 are worth getting. I wasn't suggesting that they're obsolete, only that Nitecore made some progressive improvements from model to model. The TM11 was a bit troubled at first, but apparently Nitecore got issues squared away fairly quickly. It's also interesting to see how the TM11 is more floody, while the TM15 is more of a thrower. The TM26 hits both rather well. And you're right about the application, where the TM26 can't take a diffuser or filter (shouldn't be too hard to rig up your own though, with the square-ish head).

The price drop of the TM 26 has been surprisingly soon. It can now be had at 239, including shipping. wow!

Yeah, I noticed that as well (varies depending upon your luck on that auction site). It's amazing how a discounted TM26 can equal a normally priced TM15.

Others have tested the LED readout for temperature, which is now something I am watching. I find it to be accurately reading the temperature of rooms in my home, and in the outdoors. I have to get used to the C reading instead of F, but 61 degrees this morning, later 68 degrees near the wood stove matched the temps that I normally monitor.

I didn't realize the temperature is for external measurements... I thought it was just for internal temperature, to know if your light is getting near danger of overheating. That's really cool how it's accurate at sensing room temperatures.

As for C-->F conversion, just memorize a few key temperature points:
38C--> 98.6F (normal body temp)
25C--> 77F (comfortable)
15C--> 59F (bordering on chilly)
5C--> 41F (chilly)
0C--> 32F (freezing)

I am impressed with the Nitecore line of flashlights.

I am too. I'd been watching the brand a bit, very tempted to get one of their lights, but kept waiting... until the EA4 came along and I jumped in. VERY impressed. When comparing a given Nitecore light to a competitor of the same class, I'm much more apt to buy the Nitecore. They've really upped the game.

 

[sidecross]

Interesting post.

Folks here who have the TM 11 or TM 15 seem quite happy with them, so I don't think it is that the new model makes the old obsolete. In fact, the TM 15 can be very nicely used with a diffuser cap, while the TM 26 cannot. Some who did not need so many lumens may still go for the TM 11, especially as the price has come down.

The price drop of the TM 26 has been surprisingly soon. It can now be had at 239, including shipping. wow!

Others have tested the LED readout for temperature, which is now something I am watching.

I find it to be accurately reading the temperature of rooms in my home, and in the outdoors. I have to get used to the C reading instead of F, but 61 degrees this morning, later 68 degrees near the wood stove matched the temps that I normally monitor.

I am impressed with the Nitecore line of flashlights.

I have both the TM11 & TM15 and both fitted with ThruNite diffuser which has a 'flip-up feature for a choice of its use. It also provides excellent protection for the head of these lights.

The TM26 with a low of 3 lumens makes this light a favorite for just one light carry.

I can use all three TM models and have no wish to sell any model. :thumbsup:

 

[ausmark]

used mine twice and temp reading stuck on -20 .... bought it on ebay so hope i can sort out warranty (awesome torch though)

 

[valkyriebiker]

Hi All,

I'm looking on the runtime graph posted by turboBB... What is the broken line indicated with RL3400_TMP mean?

thanks.....!

 

[turboBB]

That line indicates the temperature in F as graphed along w/the lumens output. So basically the TM26 reached a max of 106.7F before it stepped down and started cooling off a little and then stayed relatively steady for the rest of the run.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[emmashi]

yes, I agree with you ,and TM26 is a good item

 

[SeamusORiley]

I have both the TM11 & TM15 and both fitted with ThruNite diffuser which has a 'flip-up feature for a choice of its use. It also provides excellent protection for the head of these lights.

The TM26 with a low of 3 lumens makes this light a favorite for just one light carry.

I can use all three TM models and have no wish to sell any model. :thumbsup:

I agree. I don't think the TM 26 makes the 15 obsolete, for example, for the very reason you cited. The Thrunite diffuser cap fits like it was made for the TM 15, and turns it into a perfect camp light, or room light when the power goes out.

I wish Nitecore had manufactured a small diffuser/filter cap for the TM 26, especially with the lowest lumen setting being able to be left on for a month straight without recharging!

 

[djw479]

Can't wait for you to dive into the internal charging system.

It will be interesting to see if this sub-system functions similarly to the P25(1x18650), but with 4x18650s to manage here.

 

[xevious]

^ Yeah, I'm very curious to know how the driver manages the cells as well, both in use and in charging. Since it's important to have the voltage balanced across all 4 18650's, you'd imagine that in use the driver will balance the draw to help keep the voltages even. Is charging completely parallel or partially (meaning 2 cells each charged in series)? Also, does Nitecore require only protected 18650's be used in this light (in addition to RCR123)?

 

[itguy07]

^ Yeah, I'm very curious to know how the driver manages the cells as well, both in use and in charging. Since it's important to have the voltage balanced across all 4 18650's, you'd imagine that in use the driver will balance the draw to help keep the voltages even. Is charging completely parallel or partially (meaning 2 cells each charged in series)? Also, does Nitecore require only protected 18650's be used in this light (in addition to RCR123)?

They are all in parallel so the voltage is automatically in sync and is balanced automatically. If you use 4x2500mAH batteries it looks like 1 3.7v 10000mAH battery to the charger and will charge just like one of those.

 

[RTJ]

They are all in parallel so the voltage is automatically in sync and is balanced automatically. If you use 4x2500mAH batteries it looks like 1 3.7v 10000mAH battery to the charger and will charge just like one of those.

Hi mate,

that's new to me. Please explain, as I was assuming when cells are charged parallel, the light will not be able to check their condition. As the light will charge to a total of 4* 4.2 volts = 16.8 volts. Therefore it doesn't matter when one battery is slowly undercharged, whilst the others are slightly overcharged. Or am I wrong?

What if I put in 3 cells of 3.9 volt and one cell of 4.15 volt. What will happen then?

 

[itguy07]

Hi mate,

that's new to me. Please explain, as I was assuming when cells are charged parallel, the light will not be able to check their condition. As the light will charge to a total of 4* 4.2 volts = 16.8 volts. Therefore it doesn't matter when one battery is slowly undercharged, whilst the others are slightly overcharged. Or am I wrong?

What if I put in 3 cells of 3.9 volt and one cell of 4.15 volt. What will happen then?

Sure. Since you put the 4 batteries in with the positives all one direction and the negatives the other, the light will only see 4.2 volts as that's all you are giving it. So it will see one HUGE (in amps) 4.2v battery. Charging would be the same at 4.2 volts. If you put in 3 at 3.9 and one at 4.15 volts, energy would flow from all the batteries and you'd end up with around 3.96v on all batteries when it stabilized.

This link may explain it better than my explanation:
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/serial_and_parallel_battery_configurations

 

[little squirt]

I'm so stuck on picking up my first serious flashlight. Not sure to drop the coin on a $400 light like this one, or start with a smaller $100 light like the M22..thanks for the review,

 

[CYMac]

I just got this beast, and let me tell you all, you will LOVE it...! You don't only get a flashlight, you also get a free CHARGER (the flashlight can do it) and it holds FOUR batteries. So you basically can use it for charging batteries too, what a handy thing for a trip, you don't want to bring a charger with you? this thing will be good enough! Love it!

 

[Xavier]

I'm so stuck on picking up my first serious flashlight. Not sure to drop the coin on a $400 light like this one, or start with a smaller $100 light like the M22..thanks for the review,

The lowest I've seen for this light is ~$250. For the price, I wouldn't want another flashlight.

 

[icehunter]

I definitely want one, have been waiting for the price to drop though, and then it´s a question if it´s worth waiting for the XM-L2 emitter.
Does anyone know if the Cree MT-G2 emitter is feasible/possible in this flashlight? At 2.200lm per emitter x 4 you would get 8.800lm output, that would be awesome if possible, even if you could only get that kind of output for a few minutes