Review of the Thrunite Ti with Firefly mode 0.04 / 60 Lm

subwoofer

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'Thrunite Ti - The first AAA lights with firefly mode in the world!'; and eye catching statement, especially for a fan of low low modes like me.

The second interesting feature is that the two modes are accessible, not by turning off and on again, but instead simply by tightening the head more. This very simple interface is very user friendly and makes it an easy light to use and gift or lend out.

PART 1 – Initial Impressions:

For a very reasonable price the quality of this torch is excellent. Everything is precise and well finished and the knurling deep and crisp.

The head turns more smoothly than any other EDC light I have used and the first sign of resistance that you feel is the point at which the low level (firefly output) comes on. Firefly, at 0.04Lm is barely visible in normal lighting, but is a very good level for fully dark adapted eyes, then about 1/16th of a turn more and the high level comes on….and what a high it is!

From an AAA light the Ti produces a surprising amount of light and without having to resort to li-ions can really impress. It may not be able to keep up with li-ion output levels, but from AAA is surprisingly good.


What is in the box:

A nicely presented box with the 'first…in the world!' proudly emblazoned on the front.

01-ThruniteTiBox.jpg


The plastic carrier tray out of the box

02-ThruniteTi.jpg


The Ti comes with two spare o-rings, a split ring and instructions.

03-ThruniteTi.jpg


The Ti's LED is well centred, and the reflector comes right up to the LED dome (unlike some other lights where the reflector only comes up to the edge of the LED support).

06-ThruniteTi.jpg



Looking inside:

With the head removed you can see the positive and negative contacts of the Ti. The Ti does not have a normal spring, instead having a circular foam pad on the positive terminal which pushes the battery terminal away from the contact as you unscrew the head to turn it off. I will be curious to see how well this holds up in the long term.

04-ThruniteTi.jpg


Shown here with the head removed and brass threads visible

05-ThruniteTi.jpg



Modes and User Interface:

The Ti has two output levels and is available with either 0.04Lm (firefly) or 3Lm for the low level and 60Lm for high. The one I am reviewing here has the firefly low.

To access the low level turn the head until you feel the first hint of resistance and the low level comes on. Turning the head a further 3mm (at the circumference) and it switches to high.

This is very simple and intuitive to use.


Batteries and output:

The Ti takes AAA batteries and will work with alkalines and NiMH. There is no significant measurable difference in output between these types of battery. I have been using NiMH as my preference is for rechargeable batteries.

The Ti's high output is very bright for a single normal AAA battery and noticeably brighter than the popular iTP A3 as shown very clearly by the lab testing.



PART 2 – In The Lab

As in a previous review, I decided to try and quantify the actual beam profile. There are probably many flaws in my method, but it is simple and easy to carry out and seems to provide a good enough comparison.

The method used was to put the light on the edge of a table 1m from a wall, with a tape measure on the wall. The zero of the scale is placed in the centre of the hotspot and a lux meter is then positioned at points along the scale, with the measurements recorded. Beam shots are often taken with the light shining on a flat white wall, so this method is simply measuring the actual intensity across the beam on a flat surface, not the spherical light emission.

The results are then plotted on a graph.

For the best throw you want to see a sharp peak with less of the distracting spill. For the best flood light the trace should be pretty flat.

Here the Ti is shown next to the Fenix LD01, E01 and iTP A3. You can clearly see how the Ti has a much brighter hotspot.

ThruniteTibeamcomparison.jpg



Taking this a little further, I calculated an approximate factor to apply to the lux measurements, as each measurement gets further from the centre of the beam, it corresponds to a larger area onto which the light is falling. It seems to me that this should also be taken into consideration, so I applied these area corrections and came up with this odd looking graph.

The key quantity here is the area under the graph line. This should correspond to the total light output. Here you can see the diffuser has put more light energy into the spill and widened the hotspot.

The Ti, despite having a brighter hotspot and better throw, has less total output than the LD01 although more than the A3.

ThruniteTiAreaAdjustedbeamintensityprofile.jpg



PART 3 – The beam

The beam is very well formed with strong hotspot but reasonable spill as well.

08-ThruniteTiBeam-F8-1s-iso400.jpg


Firefly is a great low low output and here is show next to (from left to right) the Zebralight SC51, Quark AA Regular, Thrunite Ti and Photon Freedom Micro all in lowest output mode.

07-ZebralightSC51QuarkAARThruniteTiPhotonFreedomMicro-F8-2s-iso100.jpg




PART 4 – Using the Ti

Looking at them and a few graphs doesn't tell you much about what this is like to use and how it performs in different situations.

An EDC torch is going to fulfil different roles to larger heavier duty torches. Each of us will have different every-day tasks for a light, be it as a back-up for a larger light, lighting the path to and from a car, helping get a key into a lock, peering down a drain, looking inside computing hardware or the boot of your car, the list is endless.

The Ti with firefly fits a specific role when you need the lowest low. The contrast between high and low is extreme and in general use you might feel it could do with a low of 3Lm or so…well you are in luck as the Ti comes in version with 3Lm instead.

For a general EDC I would choose the 3/60Lm version. For a bedside light used for night time wandering about the house the firefly version is the best choice.


I'll update post 2 of this thread once I have some more comments to add....

(Note: this light was a personal purchase and not supplied by anyone for review)
 
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nanucq

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Received two Thrunite Ti (3-60) today.
Runtimes on High with Eneloop in a glass filled with fresh water: 145 and 165 minutes :thumbsup: very impressive.
A very little wobbling in the head was resolved by applying silicon grease on the threads.

Thank you for your review.
 

Loomin

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In the picture with the 4 lights shining at the wall, I believe your post should read, "from left to right" as opposed to "from right to left"... ???
 

subwoofer

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In the picture with the 4 lights shining at the wall, I believe your post should read, "from left to right" as opposed to "from right to left"... ???

Thanks for pointing that out, I have corrected the post.
 

Racer

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Thanks for the great review. I've been carrying my Ti Firefly with me for about a week and I'm really impressed with it.

I've probably done a good 1,000 twists on it and it's holding up well. Though when I first got it the distance between modes was about 1/8 of a turn and it's stabalized to about 1/16 of a turn. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning. This seems to be mostly due to the foam being slightly compressed from heavy use.

The UI has a great feel to it, and clearly a lot of thought was put into it.

It is certainly an innovative design. I have some concerns about long term reliability of it, but they could be unfounded. How well is the foam going to hold up? Is there going to be any issues with metal fatigue with the metal contact piece for low mode? Going from low to high bends that piece until it makes contact with the plate below it.

But so far I have been fairly abusive towards it and it's proven to be a good light. I plan on buying a few of the 3 lumen version and give a couple of them as gifts to non-flashaholics. So while I'm not sure how it would hold up to long term use versus something like a Fenix E01, I think it's going to be fine going from out of the box onto someone's keychain. I'm confident that someone I give one of these to will get light from it in an emergency!
 

shadeone

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how easy would it be to make a new little foam disc to replace the one in there if it ever does get too worn out?

also subwoofer, what versions of the LD01 and ITP A3 do you have to compare this against? LD01 XPG R4? Upgraded ITP A3 XP-G R5? I was surprised to see that the "60 lumen" thrunite appears brighter than the "96 lumen" (if upgraded r5 version) ITP A3...
 

nanucq

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I was surprised to see that the "60 lumen" thrunite appears brighter than the "96 lumen" (if upgraded r5 version) ITP A3...
I've got an ITP A3 upgraded R5, and a Thrunite Ti. The main difference is that ITP is a more floody light. The beam is 70% wider, same with the hotspot.
ITP has a MOP, Thrunite an LOP.
That's why it seems brighter.
 

zs&tas

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great review thanks ! buying one based on your review :)

I need to get one of these to rotate with an old olive ld01
thanks again keep up the good work
 

Swedpat

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Thanks for the review!

This is an interesting light. But I consider the difference between low and high too big. 1500 fold difference really is extreme! I like the mode of 0,04lm, but the high should be 20-30lm, in my opinion.
 
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subwoofer

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how easy would it be to make a new little foam disc to replace the one in there if it ever does get too worn out?

also subwoofer, what versions of the LD01 and ITP A3 do you have to compare this against? LD01 XPG R4? Upgraded ITP A3 XP-G R5? I was surprised to see that the "60 lumen" thrunite appears brighter than the "96 lumen" (if upgraded r5 version) ITP A3...

The comparison was with the Q5 iTP A3

Thanks for the review!

This is an interesting light. But I consider the difference between low and high too big. 1500 fold difference really is extreme! I like the mode of 0,04lm, but the high should be 20-30lm, in my opinion.

I am going to get the 3/60Lm version as the contrast between firefly and max is massive, but I really like the firefly mode.

What about regulation? I read somewhere that the Thrunite Ti was not regulated?

In my run-down test which is running right now, the Ti is getting dimmer and dimmer and even the firefly is lower than it was before.
 

SuLyMaN

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The comparison was with the Q5 iTP A3



I am going to get the 3/60Lm version as the contrast between firefly and max is massive, but I really like the firefly mode.



In my run-down test which is running right now, the Ti is getting dimmer and dimmer and even the firefly is lower than it was before.


Damn. Unregulated output for this price is a no go for me! The lumintop worm is more and more looking like a real winner.

sent from my mob. Excuse misspelling. thanks!
 

subwoofer

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Damn. Unregulated output for this price is a no go for me! The lumintop worm is more and more looking like a real winner.

sent from my mob. Excuse misspelling. thanks!

$16 - is that really too expensive to have unregulated output?

Even the Fenix LD01 after the battery drops too low to maintain regulation gets dimmer.
 

FlashKat

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I am curious why regulation is so important? I am not being sarcastic, but want to learn more about the reason why. Thanks :)
I like it more when a flashlight starts to dim.
Heh I think yes but then again every people value the same dollar differently :) For $2-4 more, the lumintop worm has regulated output.
 

SuLyMaN

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I am curious why regulation is so important? I am not being sarcastic, but want to learn more about the reason why. Thanks :)
I like it more when a flashlight starts to dim.

About 17 years ago my dad bought a 3D mag lite which here where I live was supposed to be THE sh!t. While it was damn expensive at that time, I was not amazed by the flashlight output dimming as the battery was consumed. Mind you, I was 13-14 at that time, with no internet and was at this age/point in time thinking "damn this stinks, cant they make something that has the same output until my battery dies?"
I joined CPF in 2010 and saw this was possible... Imagine my JOY.

To cut a long story short, since my early adolescence, I hated lights with diminishing light output :) I saw it, and just hated it! That's the story and its true :)

EDIT: It just occured to me when I showed my brothers the options of a regulated light, he just said to me "dont like it" and that he prefers dimming output. It just boils down to personal preference I guess.

EDIT2: Replied via PM so as not to derail OP's thread further. Thanks for the great review :)
 
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FlashKat

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With a regulated light you are left in the dark once the light shuts off, or is there something I don't know. At least once the light starts to dim you know the battery is getting low.
About 17 years ago my dad bought a 3D mag lite which here where I live was supposed to be THE sh!t. While it was damn expensive at that time, I was not amazed by the flashlight output dimming as the battery was consumed. Mind you, I was 13-14 at that time, with no internet and was at this age/point in time thinking "damn this stinks, cant they make something that has the same output until my battery dies?"
I joined CPF in 2010 and saw this was possible... Imagine my JOY.

To cut a long story short, since my early adolescence, I hated lights with diminishing light output :) I saw it, and just hated it! That's the story and its true :)

EDIT: It just occured to me when I showed my brothers the options of a regulated light, he just said to me "dont like it" and that he prefers dimming output. It just boils down to personal preference I guess.
 
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