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

[ScottsLight]

Another awesome review SelfBuilt. It helped me a lot when deciding to buy the TM 11. It arrived today. Now I can't wait for it to get dark here in the West so that I can go play with it.
Thanks again for the review. I've read several of yours before deciding to join CPF. I guess that makes me a noob here. But I've been a flashlight Junkie for years.

Best,
Scott

Scottslight

[JudasD]

does anyone happen to know what the power usage of this light is? Curiosity mosty.

Thanks,
JD

[Sigmasailor]

Assuming 1 hour run time at Turbo it consumes 12A at 3.7 V is well over 40 Watts... wow; no wonder it gets a little warm

[JudasD]

Assuming 1 hour run time at Turbo it consumes 12A at 3.7 V is well over 40 Watts... wow; no wonder it gets a little warm

I was thinking the same kind of thing. There is a current chart for the TK70 and i am very curious how this one compares. It's probably very close, but the proof would be in the chart. Chances are those that have the ability to produce the chart are busy with new reviews.

JD

[varuscelli]

I've had mine for about a month now and it's been problem free.

I used it last night on a 55 minute (3 mile) walk with my dog. I had it on turbo the entire way. The ambient temperature was about 35 degrees so the light did not get that warm, though near the end I could feel the warmth through my rather thin Goretex NorthFace gloves. Not uncomfortably hot though.

I did notice after about 45 minutes the light was no longer in turbo but had reverted to high, but that was quite sometime. I switched turbo back on and it stayed there for the remaining ten minutes.

Great information to share, MDJAK. I don't think I've seen anyone pass along extended runtime experiences with the TM11 during cold weather use, and it's good to know that at low temps you can get such an extended runtime in turbo mode. I had wondered about that...but on the Texas Gulf Coast we don't seem to have many opportunities for that kind of use or testing.

[peterharvey73]

Does anyone find it hard to switch their TM11 on from lockout, via three quick full presses in one second?
We must repeatedly do several lots of three quick full switches in one second to totally switch the TM11 on, from lockout?

[JudasD]

Does anyone find it hard to switch their TM11 totally off, via three quick full presses in one second?
We must repeatedly do several lots of three quick full switches in one second to totally switch the TM11 off?

Mine shuts off in one click. I only need to do the three quick clicks to get it out of lockout mode. If going into lockout mode is what you mean by shutting it off, i only hold the button down for 1 second until the light blinks, then it shuts down.

JD

[peterharvey73]

Mine shuts off in one click. I only need to do the three quick clicks to get it out of lockout mode. If going into lockout mode is what you mean by shutting it off, i only hold the button down for 1 second until the light blinks, then it shuts down.

JD

Sorry, it was incorrectly worded.
Do you find it difficult to switch on, from lockout?
Often, I do three quick full presses in one second, yet the TM won't turn on from lockout.
In the end, I end up unwinding the battery carrier by 1/4 turn, then re-tightening the battery carrier by 1/4 turn, to turn it onto standby, from lockout...

[JudasD]

Sorry, it was incorrectly worded.
Do you find it difficult to switch on, from lockout?
Often, I do three quick full presses in one second, yet the TM won't turn on from lockout.
In the end, I end up unwinding the battery carrier by 1/4 turn, then re-tightening the battery carrier by 1/4 turn, to turn it onto standby, from lockout...

Ahh Yes, i agree. This does happen to me too. I realized that i was pressing 3 times way too quickly. I found that i have to press three times a little slower, then it works just fine. But i never use lockout mode. I unwind the battery carrier to make a manual lockout.

JD

[peterharvey73]

I'm tired of doing 3 quick full presses in 1 second.
From now on, I'm just gonna do what you do, and unlock & re-tighten the battery carrier by 1/4 turn...

[Dillo0]

You only need to to do three quick half presses, not three full ones. Also, to make life easier, try to say a three-syllable word while pressing the button. It will make your life somewhat easier.

[MDJAK]

So I went out on my usual 3 mile walk last night with my dog. I had my new SR90 on shoulder strap ( I know, I'm a geek ) for throw when the road is long and straight, and my Tiny Monster in hand. (I also had my new EagleTac in my pocket just in case. More in a moment on that.)

It was the first cold night in NY. Ambient air was 25 degrees. I had the TM on turbo the entire time and it stayed there, 50 minutes. And as to the head getting warm, that was a most welcome benefit as my hands inside my thin gloves were freezing. I began to hold the light by the fins up around the head and could feel the warmth immediately permeate through my gloves as I switched hands with the light, juggling the leash at the same time. It warmed my hands within a minute. An awesome side effect. LOL.

As for the EagleTac, I wound up wanting more light (had the SR90 switched off as it was difficult to aim on the strap with one hand holding the TM and the other a 26 ft retractable leash with my dog pulling me to and fro') and so I held it together with the TM in the same hand and so had not a triple but a quadruple. It was way cool and damn bright.

Hey, I said I'm a geek, didn't I?

Oh, I forgot one thing, semi-important. I dropped the TM. Yep, I'm also a klutz. I had the lanyard around my wrist, but switched hands and didn't put it around that wrist. I let go of the light to zip up my jacket and it dropped to the ground. No damage at all.

[Sigmasailor]

Wow, that does sound good! Well; I'm waiting (again two weeks) for my third TM11. Nothing to do about that. The first one completely died within 15 minutes, on the second one the emitters started flickering after 20 minutes and now cycles between flickering and dead making it useless; it is sitting in the box ready to be picked up for a return to China.
Still room for improvement possible. Does Nitecore test these lights before they ship them? As long as they are not fully in control it is the least they should do to avoid sending poor copies of the TM11. Can't wait to finally get a good one though.

[varuscelli]

It was the first cold night in NY. Ambient air was 25 degrees. I had the TM on turbo the entire time and it stayed there, 50 minutes. And as to the head getting warm, that was a most welcome benefit as my hands inside my thin gloves were freezing. I began to hold the light by the fins up around the head and could feel the warmth immediately permeate through my gloves as I switched hands with the light, juggling the leash at the same time. It warmed my hands within a minute. An awesome side effect. LOL.

Ha! Another great side benefit in cold weather. Good stuff.

[MDJAK]

Okay, I lied, sort of. After closer inspection, the drop did scratch near the bezel and slightly dent the outer portion of black, not the silver bezel. Not bad at all for a four foot drop to pavement.

[mauiblue]

I'm trying my best to keep gravity from winning, but I know it's not if but when I do eventually drop my Tiny Monster. I've been trying to remember to use the wrist strap whenever I do my patrol. So far so good. I've been mostly using the high setting and once in a while I go to turbo mode. It is a great torch so far and hope to get much performance from it.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[Sigmasailor]

I got some news from Nitecore. Apparently they started shipping modified Tiny Monsters after 20st January 2012; both failed torches were produced prior to that date. I will get a new (modified) one sometime next week; they were shipped just today. Will keep you posted

Eric

[JudasD]

I got some news from Nitecore. Apparently they started shipping modified Tiny Monsters after 20st January 2012; both failed torches were produced prior to that date. I will get a new (modified) one sometime next week; they were shipped just today. Will keep you posted

Eric

Interesting. Did they mention a revision number? we shall see if the torch you receive has a different date code under the head.

JD

[MDJAK]

Out with TM again last night. Runs warm but expected. But button is useless with gloves on. Press and press with no response. Also, light switched on its own, also normal, between turbo and high every few minutes. While I like it, my jetbeam RRT3 XML is better quality with much better UI. Mark

[Olli1783]

Tuning my tm11 http://www.taschenlampen-forum.de/ta...11-defekt.html

Perfectly i love it

[Norm]

Tuning my tm11 http://www.taschenlampen-forum.de/ta...11-defekt.html

Perfectly i love it

Great Post,

Google translated version

Norm

[selfbuilt]

Tuning my tm11 http://www.taschenlampen-forum.de/ta...11-defekt.html

Great Post,
Google translated version

Yes, well done - it's always good to see the insides of these lights.

Definitely sorry to see the apparent low quality thermal compound. With the quality and expense that goes into designing/making many of these lights, I've always found it odd that so many makers would skimp out on the few extra cents needed at that step. Seems shortsighted, given what they will have to deal with in terms of returns.

[Sigmasailor]

Interesting. Did they mention a revision number? we shall see if the torch you receive has a different date code under the head.

JD

No, they didn't; if they keep their promise I will get one this week. I will forward the version number as soon as I see it. Second thing I'll do is simply pop in some charged batteries and switch it on Turbo. I hope they realise you need some good glue/contact paste....

Nice repair story above; I wonder how much a professional would charge for such a repair; looks like a couple of hours work at least.

[Richie086]

Great Post,

Google translated version

Norm

This is a great post. One question though, it isn't obvious to me that once the stars were removed and then reseated in the artic silver, how do you know exactly where to place them? Did the person place them in approximate positions and then place the reflector on to see if the stars were in the correct position, then slide them around to get them in proper position?

[JudasD]

This is a great post. One question though, it isn't obvious to me that once the stars were removed and then reseated in the artic silver, how do you know exactly where to place them? Did the person place them in approximate positions and then place the reflector on to see if the stars were in the correct position, then slide them around to get them in proper position?

I was thinking the exact same thing. I was also wondering how were they able to verify that all 3 emitters are level? Then did they have to readjust the reflector in order to regain their performance? It is a very nice write-up. Lots of questions though.


JD

[Patriot]

I was thinking that the quality of innards was really brow raising. Cracked LED dome, brass plate instead of copper, 2mm thick plate instead of a much thicker thermal slug, thermal past issues....

I'd really like to love this light but it has certainly had its issues. I can't help but to think of the performance gain that could be had with a more substantial heat sink. Obviously, the peak initial output is impressive as well as the battery configuration and flexibility.

[nico]

Hello all!

First, I have to say that I am pretty amazed how nice is the community of this forum. I would be glad to become a part of it.


I decided to give it a try and buy TM11. Before I do, I would like to ask you very kindly for a little help and recommendations as I do not want to make mistake.

I have read this whole thread and I am still rather unsure about ideal batteries and charger combo.

Can you recommend me the best cells for TM11? I mean cells which:

1) Work without any problems (e.g. with flat tops)
2) Let the TM11 run at its full power
3) Have the biggest possible capacity without sacrificing the above two points

For me, price is way less important than quality but paying twice the price for extra 5% capacity is not what I want to do.
Also, if you can recommend a good charger for the cells, it would be really great.

I have never used Li-Po cells of this size and I have no idea what I should be looking for.

Thank you in advance.

[HKJ]

1) Work without any problems (e.g. with flat tops)
2) Let the TM11 run at its full power
3) Have the biggest possible capacity without sacrificing the above two points

You cannot use flattops, but need some sort of button top. A simple advice (I do not know if it covers point 2) is to go for anything based on Panasonic NCR18650A, i.e. 3100mAh battery (Except AW that is flattop).
You can see my battery test summary for a list possible batteries.

[selfbuilt]

You cannot use flattops, but need some sort of button top. A simple advice (I do not know if it covers point 2) is to go for anything based on Panasonic NCR18650A, i.e. 3100mAh battery (Except AW that is flattop).
You can see my battery test summary for a list possible batteries.

A follow up point to that is if you go for a 3100mAh battery, try to choose one of the shorter button top versions. There are reports of some of the longer cells not always working in this light.

In my testing, I found that once you exceed 69.0mm total battery height, it gets iffy whether or not they will work in a given TM11 sample.

[peterharvey73]

1) Work without any problems (e.g. with flat tops)
2) Let the TM11 run at its full power
3) Have the biggest possible capacity without sacrificing the above two points

I use Redilast 3100 mAH Button Tops, because they were the highest capacity battery available with protection circuits, and a button top; the Redilasts work superbly, no problems.
They are based on hi quality Jap Panasonic cells, with Jap IC protection circuitry, that is assembled aftermarket.
Apparently nowadays, Panasonic themselves make 3100 mAH with protection circuit directly, but I'm not sure if they are flat top or button top?

As to the charger, I use the most recommended and highest quality charger - the Pila Charger; it works superbly.
I no longer use my DSD charger, nor my Ultrafire WF-139 charger.

My DSD charger is okay, but the LED lights up green for 10 seconds [indicating that it is fully charged], but then does one red blink periodically [indicating that it is not fully charged yet]; else the DSD charger is fine.
My Ultrafire WF-139 looks great, is very compact, but apparently, test reports say that it trickle charges the battery, so therefore can overcharge the battery if left charging for extended periods like overnight...