Thrunite Archer V2 (XP-L V6 Cool or XP-G2 Neutral) 1A, 2A, 1C, 2C Series Overview

[gkbain]

Seems like I am repeating myself. My 1A V2 just got packed up for return. I hadn't tried a 14500 in it till today. Works for a few minutes then shuts down. Not a battery issue as that was the first thing I tried. Works fine on Eneloops. The 1C V2 I returned last week did the same thing. The higher voltage of a LI did not work on my samples. My failure rate is 100% on the V2 series. I will not be trying another. I'll just wait till my pre ordered ZL SC5 arrives. Hope more people have better experience with the V2 than I did.

 

[demoteamone]

selfbuilt, Thanks for the Nice Review!


Wow, I don't understand is this thread is about reviewing or What. that being said, I bought an 1A V2 CW around 1 month ago, & It work Fantastically Well! I wanted update from my Fenix LD10 x something Better & I did, just that simple. I must be the lucky guy.... because my flashlight doesn't have any problem.

 

[Buckster76]

great review - thanks - and I've just bought a NW 1A v2

question though - is the strobe meant to work ? I can't get it to work no matter how long I press and hold the mode button

I'm half wondering if defective unit, as twice already I've been "stuck" in max mode,with the mode button not doing anything - and taking bottom off to disconnect and then reconnect battery cured it

but strobe - I can't get to work at all

any ideas please?

nice unit otherwise though

 

[selfbuilt]

question though - is the strobe meant to work ? I can't get it to work no matter how long I press and hold the mode button

That's odd. Either something is wrong with your light, or they've removed the feature. Have you tried contacting your dealer/thrunite?

And :welcome:

 

[Berneck1]

great review - thanks - and I've just bought a NW 1A v2

question though - is the strobe meant to work ? I can't get it to work no matter how long I press and hold the mode button

I'm half wondering if defective unit, as twice already I've been "stuck" in max mode,with the mode button not doing anything - and taking bottom off to disconnect and then reconnect battery cured it

but strobe - I can't get to work at all

any ideas please?

nice unit otherwise though

Sounds like an issue with your mode button. It works fine on mine.


Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums

 

[Nighted]

I ordered an Archer 1C V2 NW on May 1st.

Everything works as expected, including the strobe mode.

Build construction is good. The threads are nice, comparable to my Fenix lights, maybe even smoother compared to when the Fenix lights were new.
The switches seem solid and the tail clicky has a nice resistance to it but has a bit of a binding feel (only when slowly moving the switch) that I think will be gone after some use.

The clip is great, lots of retention. Clips on the brim of my hat very solidly. I'm happy about that because I can imagine that coming in very handy.
Knurling and anodizing are as good as any other light I've seen.

I like the neutral white but can't say yet if I have a preference between this and cool white. At first I was not sure if I liked it at all as it was not what I've been used to using for the last 6 years, but was surprised how quickly I 180'd to liking it. Literally the same day I got it.

I liked the looks of the light too, which is important to me. Didn't really like the previous Thrunite models and there are a few newer ones that don't do anything for me aesthetically either.

I should have ordered a cool white at the same time for comparison. Will order more definitely. For the price you can't go wrong and it's no loss if you don't like it. Most people would be shocked and awed by these lights and would be happy to have them gifted.

 

[js82]

Hi Selfbuilt,

Does swapping the LED for the A1 appear difficult to do? I'm looking to get a nice and cheap forward clicky and this seems like a good candidate host.

Thanks

 

[selfbuilt]

Does swapping the LED for the A1 appear difficult to do? I'm looking to get a nice and cheap forward clicky and this seems like a good candidate host.

Well, a simple emitter swap should be easy enough (given the screw-on bezel). Don't know how easy it would be to access the circuit - probably about the same level of difficulty as most lights of this class.

 

[js82]

Thanks Selfbuilt! Just wanna change the emitter along with the base plate.

 

[gclyn]

I purchased the Archer 2C V2 a few weeks ago...so far so good...no problems with mine. I really like the feel and look of the Archer series. Too bad some members are having problems. I buy from Amazon in case of a defect, as the returns are easy.

As for other light brands, I have had failures with Fenix, Sunwayman, Jetbeam and Zebra...I gave them all a second chance; however, at those price points, it's hard to feel good when you get a lemon.

 

[Nighted]

Not even 2 months in and having problems with mine. Well, probably started about 2-3 weeks ago. Seems to have something to do with the emitter assembly.

Sometimes I'll click the tail switch and it won't turn on. Even shaking the light can cause the light to flicker and go out, then just turning the light will light up the emitter again.

I heard the stories about the unreliability of these lights and decided to give Thrunite a chance. I don't think I'd want a Thrunite in an emergency situation.

I may try another, or get a refund (if possible) but I don't think I'll bother buying another Thrunite product considering how many stories I've heard and keep hearing. I'll spend the extra money and get something that I know I can trust.

After just signing into my account on Thrunite's website, I noticed that all the old reviews for the Archer V2 1C lights have been removed. Hmmm...
Also, there seems to be 3 options, repair, replace, and store credit.

 

[Javora]

It sounds like the retaining piece in the tail cap has come loose. If you remove the tail cap and look at the spring, you will see two indentations on either side. Take something that will stick into those indentations (paperclip, hairpin, etc.) and tighten it by turning the assembly piece clockwise. See if that fixes the problem. Hope this helps.

 

[Nighted]

It sounds like the retaining piece in the tail cap has come loose. If you remove the tail cap and look at the spring, you will see two indentations on either side. Take something that will stick into those indentations (paperclip, hairpin, etc.) and tighten it by turning the assembly piece clockwise. See if that fixes the problem. Hope this helps.

Great suggestion but not the problem. Oh, and the retention ring inside the tail cap has a reverse thread.

I'm certain it's the emitter assembly and started after I received the light and tightened down the bezel which was not screwed on all the way. I haven't opened it up but I would assume there is some sloppy soldering going on in there.

From what I've seen so far the guts/circuits are no where near the same quality as other manufacturers.

 

[Javora]

That's too bad, that fixed my light when it did that. You do bring up a good point that I would like to see in reviews and that is the quality of the circuitry and wiring in any given light. Maybe even rate the different companies based on how well they are put together.

 

[Kudzu]

I'm also having reliability problems with my 1A V2 CW. During my testing at home it worked fine on Eneloops, but a month into an extended trip abroad it stopped liking them.

It will turn on and switch modes with an Eneloop, but when I turn it off, nine times out of ten it won't turn back on. I've tried four different cells in various states of charge, and get similar results.

If I take off the tailcap and short across the tube and negative terminal with a pair of tweezers, it will work with the rejected cells, so it seems to be a tailcap control issue. The ring is tight.

It works fine with alkalines, but we all know how we feel about that. Thrunite has agreed to replace it, and I had a good customer service experience, but I won't be taking one overseas again.

 

[scs]

I'm also having reliability problems with my 1A V2 CW. During my testing at home it worked fine on Eneloops, but a month into an extended trip abroad it stopped liking them.

It will turn on and switch modes with an Eneloop, but when I turn it off, nine times out of ten it won't turn back on. I've tried four different cells in various states of charge, and get similar results.

If I take off the tailcap and short across the tube and negative terminal with a pair of tweezers, it will work with the rejected cells, so it seems to be a tailcap control issue. The ring is tight.

It works fine with alkalines, but we all know how we feel about that. Thrunite has agreed to replace it, and I had a good customer service experience, but I won't be taking one overseas again.

And they've raised their prices...

 

[selfbuilt]

If I take off the tailcap and short across the tube and negative terminal with a pair of tweezers, it will work with the rejected cells, so it seems to be a tailcap control issue. The ring is tight.
It works fine with alkalines, but we all know how we feel about that. Thrunite has agreed to replace it, and I had a good customer service experience, but I won't be taking one overseas again.

That is really odd that it happens (and only on eneloops). As you describe it though, the problem would have to be inside the tailcap (likely something causing increased resistance). I would take thurnite up on the replacement offer. Otherwise, a disassemble and thorough clean of the tailcap internals could help. I do remember one unusual case from a few years ago where Fenix had trouble with a type of o-ring that was partially conductive (made worse by the lube, which was also a partial conductor). :shrug:

 

[Kudzu]

Otherwise, a disassemble and thorough clean of the tailcap internals could help.

That did help, thanks! I had some spare time today and pulled everything apart. The first thing I noticed was some really bad threading on the reverse-threaded retaining ring. It's badly gouged in a few spots.

Then I ran my finger around the threads on the inside of the t̶u̶b̶e̶ tailcap, and it came out covered in (what I assume are) aluminum particles. I wiped everything down with an alcohol swab, which also came out filthy. The light seems to work now. I haven't been able to reproduce the failure that previously I could induce 90% of the time.

I'll update if anything changes.

 

[reppans]

Thrunite Archer V2 (XP-L V6 Cool or XP-G2 Neutral) 1A, 2A, 1C, 2C Series Over...

Selfbuilt, your output/runtime graphs (for the higher modes) and estimated lumen charts (across all modes/batteries) are very helpful to users and I think go a long way toward keeping manufacturers reasonably honest on their marketing specs. The one big hole for objectively covering all the test dimensions are runtime tests across the lower modes.

While it is, of course, way too much work to actually run these tests, do you think it would be worthwhile to provide a simple tailcap current measurement chart for those lower modes that you do not test for otherwise? It would only require a few extra minutes of your time and would go a long way in the completeness of your review.

FWIW, after running many side-by-side output/runtime tests on moonlight and lows (which I use most), I have personally come to find that tail cap current measurements are quite accurate for well regulated lights.... certainly enough so, that I will no longer be doing runtime tests on low lows myself.

As one example, Thrunite is claiming ~800 lumen-hours per AA on low here.... (again):

2A Specs

• CW Modes & Run-time: Firefly:0.055lumen(672 hours); Low:17lumen(96 hours); Medium:75lumen(11 hours); High:450lumen(100 minutes); Strobe:450lumen(140 minutes).

• 
  
  TN also once claimed ~800 lumen-hour per AA spec is their Neutron 2A V2 (11 lms for 72 hrs for 1AA, as per your review and my manual), but my runtime tests and tailcap measurements show it to be less than half that (which is still very good efficiency). TN has subsequently amended that spec, along with it's 1 month/AA firefly spec - although, the new FF spec still seems overstated, by multiples, based on my sample's 20ma/1Eneloop tailcap reading (which is not efficient).
  
  I had once assumed that a light's efficiency on the higher modes would also translated to efficiency across the lower modes.... but that is not true.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: Thrunite Archer V2 (XP-L V6 Cool or XP-G2 Neutral) 1A, 2A, 1C, 2C Series Over...

While it is, of course, way too much work to actually run these tests, do you think it would be worthwhile to provide a simple tailcap current measurement chart for those lower modes that you do not test for otherwise? It would only require a few extra minutes of your time and would go a long way in the completeness of your review.

There are a number problem here, I'm afraid. First off, not all lights have easy access the lowest modes from strandby/off. Even just doing standby mode testing, I have burnt out more than a couple of DMM uA ports over the years by accidentally slipping with my leads and accessing a higher current draw mode. Even with fuses, I find this typically toasts a DMM's uA port. If I tried to actually routinely measure lower output modes as well, I'm sure I'd go through them even faster! You would also really need to use bypasses and shunts to get around high mode sequence issues, which I'm afraid is bit beyond my electrical skill set.

More generally though, I worry about the ability to extrapolate from lights that use different types output regulation. It is reassuring to hear that you are finding good correlations, but I know there are a lot of pitfalls. For example, PWM-controlled lights are particularly known to be difficult for DMMs to accurately measure (depending on the DMM, and the PWM frequency). But even current controlled lights could vary depending on the regulation pattern, battery source, etc. Here again, best thing would be to have an external power source to directly interrogate (as HKJ does). I'm afraid beyond my experience or resources - you are going to have to rely on others to do current draw measures of lights you are interested in.