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

[guiri]

I considered doing that but would have to find out where it was bought.

[varuscelli]

I considered doing that but would have to find out where it was bought.

If the original owner is a CPF member, they ought to be willing to work with you on this -- in the very least to let you know the vendor it from came from so you can perhaps contact them about the issue. If it came down to replacement, perhaps you could return it under his name if you and he were in agreement. But in a note like peterharvey73, my versions never had to be tightened to any extreme and they worked with the Redilast 3100s. Even though my first one was defective, it still worked using the 3100s except for the continued flickering and such that was associated with the bad ones.

[peterharvey73]

My TM is quite wonderful.
A wonderful size, wonderful u/i, a wonderful side spill of light for great illumination, and at least good throw.

It makes my traditional throwers seem really redundant!
Sure, the old lights throw more, but not much more.
The old throwers like my big bulky RRT-3 SST-50 have so relatively little side spill brightness, that they somehow seem to lack "illumination".
However, I do notice that as such, the old traditional throwers are great for "covert" operations by SAS troops/soldiers etc, because a lack of side spill will prevent disturbing the enemy, while their out-right throw will assist in hunting with a scope.

For a normal person, the TM is a great outdoor light; I wouldn't really recommend using it in your bedroom, esp with a lowest mode of 200 whopping lumens; the TM11 could be a lot more bedroom friendly with a 1 lumen mode like my old RRT-3 SST-50.
Of course, it's very hard to have many multiple modes with a simple ergonomic side switch like the TM, but then the RRT-3's magnetic ring with 8 modes is very unergonomic to use single-handed in a large tubular flashlight, thus the TM11 is what it is...

[coconutz]

Wow, that is one impressive little light. I'm really surprised that it only out throws the lumintop td15x by a small margin.

[guiri]

If the original owner is a CPF member, they ought to be willing to work with you on this -- in the very least to let you know the vendor it from came from so you can perhaps contact them about the issue. If it came down to replacement, perhaps you could return it under his name if you and he were in agreement. But in a note like peterharvey73, my versions never had to be tightened to any extreme and they worked with the Redilast 3100s. Even though my first one was defective, it still worked using the 3100s except for the continued flickering and such that was associated with the bad ones.

Yeah, I don't see this as being a problem and I'm gonna ask the guy I got it from (it was his buddy's light).

[guiri]

My TM is quite wonderful.

I agree, a very cool little light and well thought out. I like the modes and although I would love a 1 lumen mode for pure survival, it's still better than just full speed or two speeds or whatever.
Personally, I think that every light (IF possible) should have a really love emergency mode..

[UlrikJ]

Wuhuu, TM11 just got dropped off by the postal service :-) Now home to unpack it!

[UlrikJ]

One word. Wow! The TM11 is amazing. The amount of light is incredible compared to its size. I am truly impressed. But damn, it gets hot very, very fast. Just a totally awesome light.

[guiri]

Cool lil' light, isn't it?

[mauiblue]

Just was wondering, where are Nitecore products manufactured?

[peterharvey73]

Engineered and manufactured in China, but even if it is engineered outside China, chances are, it will still be manufactured in China anyway...

[bugsykepik]

whoaaa this tiny beasttttt is my next year whistlist

[houtex]

I've had mine for 2 weeks now. Runs on AW 3100.

Been using it in non-emergency situations. Having LOTS of fun with this light. Tiny monster indeed.

[peterharvey73]

I've had mine for 2 weeks now. Runs on AW 3100.

Been using it in non-emergency situations. Having LOTS of fun with this light. Tiny monster indeed.

So it does work on the latest AW 3100 mAH Flat Tops???
It works with all four (4) batteries simultaneously???

[houtex]

So it does work on the latest AW 3100 mAH Flat Tops???
It works with all four (4) batteries simultaneously???

I've had no issues. I got the AW's from lighthound same day I got the light. Not sure if they are the "latest" 3100 but they are flat top

[niteye001]

Really tiny monster, like it.

[Claireandtim]

I wonder if the AW 2900 flat tops will work, since I read that AW 3100's will work, can anyone advise if this theory might be correct?

[peterharvey73]

I took my 3x AW 2900 mAH Flat Tops from my old RRT-3 SST-50, and I put one at a time, then two at a time then three at a time into my Tiny Munster - NONE work!
However, my Redilast 3100 mAH work whether using one, two, three, or four.

On close examination of AW's photo's below, it is possible that he may have raised the positive contacts in his AW 3100 mAH Flat Tops a little to make positive contact.
The old 2900 mAH seem to have flush positive contacts at the top.
We must ask AW...

[peterharvey73]

AW says that both his 2900 and his new 3100 mAH batteries are both Flat Tops!
Now, it is a mystery as to why the old 2900 mAH don't work in my TM, while the new 3100 mAH work in another member's TM???

[HKJ]

AW says that both his 2900 and his new 3100 mAH batteries are both Flat Tops!
Now, it is a mystery as to why the old 2900 mAH don't work in my TM, while the new 3100 mAH work in another member's TM???

With flat tops it is a bit of luck if they work or not when connecting to a flat surface.

[3Cylinders]

Just wondering if everyone here is measuring and comparing voltages on all 4 of the batteries when taken out of the light to charge. The last time I charged my Callie's Kustoms from the light, 2 of them took considerably longer to charge than the other 2. In fact, 2 of them wouldn't start charging at a 1A rate, I had to bump it down to 0.5A for them to start charging. Unfortunately I did not check voltages prior to charging due to being in a hurry and not having my DMM handy, but I will the next time I charge. At any rate, my theory is that I may not be getting a good connection on all of my flat top batteries and the light is, in fact, running on only 2 of them. I should be able to confirm or debunk this theory the next time I charge.

[peterharvey73]

With flat tops it is a bit of luck if they work or not when connecting to a flat surface.

That may mean, that for the CPF member whose TM11 works on AW 3100 mAH Flat Tops - not all four flat tops maybe engaging?
It is possible then that only one, two, or three of the flat tops may be engaging - resulting in less output???

[selfbuilt]

At any rate, my theory is that I may not be getting a good connection on all of my flat top batteries and the light is, in fact, running on only 2 of them. I should be able to confirm or debunk this theory the next time I charge.

Yes, that is entirely possible. As HKJ says, it is variable whether or not flat-tops cells work with flat contacts. You could also check each cell one at a time, to see if each is able to activate the light. But even if each worked alone, there is no guarantee all would work when together (i.e. depends on tolerances). I will be interested to hear the results of you DMM measures on your next run.

[3Cylinders]

I just pulled the batteries to check and found them all at 4.05V, so they seem to be all working as expected and are tied in parallel when in the light. It's still troubling that there is no way to confirm they are all making a connection while in the light until after you've already run it. There isn't a lot of room for them to move around, but since flat-tops seem to be hit or miss in the TM11, it would be nice to have a confirmation that all batteries are making contact. As someone else suggested previously, springs in the bottom of the battery compartment at the negative terminal would greatly improve odds of all batteries consistently making their connections. I would recommend to everyone using this light that they check the voltages on all batteries EVERY SINGLE TIME prior to charging to make sure that all batteries are making contact and discharging equally. It would be easy for one of the metal tabs at the negative end to get flattened out and have one or more batteries no longer making contact, thus causing the remaining battery(ies) to have a higher drain on them. I would not want to have the full current drain on turbo mode coming from just 1 or even 2 batteries.

[guiri]

Since I'm not too bright, can someone explain the thinking behind NOT having springs on the negative end in the TM11?

[selfbuilt]

Since I'm not too bright, can someone explain the thinking behind NOT having springs on the negative end in the TM11?

I would just be guessing, but the raised metal areas on the base of the TM11 battery compartment do function like springs (i.e. they provide resistance, and have a fair degree of play). I presume the "advantage" comes from the base plate being a solid piece of metal this way (looks like a copper alloy). Alternatively, you would have different kinds of metal soldered together. Solder joints can fail But I have no idea what the likelihood of metal fatigue reducing the spring-like action here would be.

In any case, I don't know if actual soldered springs would do any better. I've notice a lot of flat-top cells have the insulation wrapping rising higher than the contacts, and I've seen plenty that won't activate on flat contact plates in the heads of lights that do have tailcap springs.

It basically comes down to flat-top cells not being fully support in this light (like many other lights, but for different reasons).

[guiri]

So (and not to derail the thread), are flat tops flat to make more room for capacity so to speak? Don't seem like a good alternative to me

I myself have problems with the Redilast 3100's in the TM11 and flat tops should be even worse...

[selfbuilt]

So (and not to derail the thread), are flat tops flat to make more room for capacity so to speak? Don't seem like a good alternative to me

Yes, that is exactly why they make flat-tops. If they went for button-tops, the cells would be too long for most lights (i.e. too far out of spec). You are best to stick with lower capacity button-tops to insure full compatibility.

[guiri]

Thanks. Yeah, I will wait and get a second set of batteries a little in the future as it seems more options are coming out.

[Kabible]

I simply added a dot of solder to each of my AW 2900 cells. They each work perfectly in the TM11.