candle lamp
Flashlight Enthusiast
The TR31C is a new light and one of the TR series from Rofis. It is first Rofis rechargeable tactical (XM-L U2) light that runs on 1x18650 or 2x(R)CR123A batteries.
The box has a simple magnetic closing clasp, cut-out foam holding the light and extras. The light comes with a good number of extras, i.e., inside is the light, user manual, warranty card, USB wire(1m) with connector, USB adapter, spare o-ring, tailcap rubber switch boot, pocket clip (attached), grip ring (attached), very nice wrist strap, and holster with closing flap.
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Manufacturer Specifications from user manual :
• Cree XM-L LED (U2) with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
• Battery: 2x CR123A / 1x 18650 / 2x 16340 (16340 battery is not recommended)
• 152 mm (length) x 25.4 mm(body diameter) x 39.8mm(head diameter)
• 180-gram weight (excluding batteries)
• It can be charged in the car, on the computer and household electric supply device, etc.
• Digitally regulated output - maintains constant brightness
• Intelligent memory circuit, automatically memorizes the brightness level when switch off
• Over-discharge protection function, when the battery is in low voltage, the light will flicker twice every two minutes
• Reverse polarity protection, to protect from improper battery installation
• Turbo mode will automatically decline to 500LM after 10 minutes, to protect the light from over-heating.
• Two modes and seven types of output
• Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle
• stainless steel attack head
• Adopt double-switch design (tail tactical switch, side dimmer switch)
• Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum
• Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
• Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
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The hard (type III) anodizing is a matt black and consistent throughout with no blemishes of other faults to be found on its surface. Anodizing is good on my sample. There are identification labels on the head only. All labels are sharp, clear, and bright white against the black background. The diamond-shape knurling is present over battery tube and tailcap. The clip-on stainless steel clip looks and feels more substantial than typical in this class. It holds onto the light well. The removable grip ring is screwed securely on the battery tube. The clip & grip ring work as a good anti-roll device as well.
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The light has 3 parts (i.e. head, battery tube, and tailcap).
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The light has a stainless steel bezel with four-point crenellations allowing light to shine through when left placed head down.
There are four thick shallow cooling fins for heat dissipation on the head. There is a spring on the positive contact plate in the head, so flat-top batteries should work fine. The user manual says the light has reverse polarity protection to protect from improper battery installation (i.e., the electronics of the TR31C itself has in-built reverse polarity protection.)
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The light uses AR coating lens and the purple hue is reflected on it. The aluminum reflector has a smooth pattern. Surface finish on the reflector was perfect from visual inspection, with very fine radial machining lines running down the reflector cup, and well-centered XM-L U2 LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup.
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The distinctive aspects of the light is the dual-switch control in the head and tailcap of the light, and the built-in 5V charging socket for 18650. The charging socket and charging status indicator are on the opposite side of the side switch on the head. The mode-changing side switch is electronic switch, with a clear and audible click. It has a series of raised concentric rings. A fairly typically looking DC-charging socket is used for charging.
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The charging device consists of 1m USB wire (with connector) and 5V(1A) adapter.
There are specifications and LED power indicator on both sides of the adapter.
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[Edit 12.10.29] The USB wire attaches to the computer (slow charging) or directly attaches to the power socket through an adapter (fast charging). When connecting the adapter to the power socket, the LED power indicator is on. You can charge the 18650 in the light anywhere there is USB interface or electric supply. [Edit 12.10.29]
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Three color indicator show you the charging status (i.e., red / green means charging / charged respectively. yellow means battery installed wrongly or tail switch not pressed).
[New 12.10.29] I didn't check out the charging time for myself, but the usuer manual describe it as follows :
- Fast charging time with USB wire & adapter : (Capacity of 18650)/850mA+0.7hr = charging time
- Slow charging time with USB wire only : (Capacity of 18650)/500mA +0.7hr = charging time
Note that reverse 18650 installation is forbidden, the CR123A and RCR123A are forbidden. The light uses CC/CV charging and termination current is 10% of the charging current.Termination current changes with charging current. [New 12.10.29]
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The entire light's clean cylindrical design makes it feel very comfortable when held in hand. The battery tube has notch on the end where the removable clip can be attached.
The battery tube accommodates both 2x(R)CR123A's and protected 18650 cells easily. Note Rofis doesn't recommend RCR123A's. I measured the current with 18650 at tailcap on turbo output as around 1.9A. So using 2xRCR123A seems to be unreasonable. The clip is head-facing, and not reversible. There is a grip ring which helps with holding the light in a cigar style grip and also serves as an anti-roll feature. The grip ring is threaded, and can be removed only after removing the o-ring.
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The light has a diamond-textured knurling going round the tube. Knurling is a bit aggressive.
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.
Threads on both ends are well machined as well, with the those on the rear end being anodized which allows the light to be locked-out when the tail cap is slightly loosened.
Threads on either ends on the battery tube mate well with the head and tailcap with no issues of cross-threading or grinding. The screws threads are square-cut.
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The wall thickness of the battery tube is quite thick, and the light feel solid.
.
.
The tailcap switch is a forward clicky. The rubber switch cap is recessed within the tail end. The switch has nice stiff tension with average travel and tactile clicking feedback. There are also a couple of wide loops for wrist strap attachments.
[New 12.11.03] As jhc37013 mentioned in the thread #6, I had the same experience that the switch retaining ring becomes loose and loose contact when strongly tightening down & loosening the tailcap several times over and over again. I was informed by Rofis that based on customer feedback, the tail thread in the next batch will be corrected to avoid this issue. [New 12.11.03]
[New 12.11.05] The users who already bought the light may get a replacement. (Rofis has informed me!)
You can contact your dealer directly to make a record. When the dealer order from Rofis after the next batch avaialble, Rofis will add extra tail and your dealer will send to you.
[New 12.11.05]
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Technically, the light can tailstand, but it's rather unstable (not recommended) due to the small area of the switch cap relative to the body size.
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User Interface
Turn on-off by the tailcap forward clicky switch (press-on for momentary, click for locked on).
There are two modes (i.e., general mode & flashing mode).
On-off is controlled by the tailcap switch and output mode switching is controlled by the side switch on the head.
1) General mode
Output changing is controlled by the electronic side button switch. Click and release to advance through outputs, which proceed in sequence from Low -> Med. -> High -> Turbo, in repeating sequence. The light has mode memory, and remembers the last output level used when you turn the light off and back on, (even after a battery change).
Note that you cannot set the output level while the light is off. The electronic switch only works when the light is powered on by the tail switch first. As such, there is no standby current on the TR31C.
2) Flashing mode
The "hidden" Strobe, SOS, Frequent Flashing are accessed by clicking and holding the side button switch for more than 1 sec. The light will move between Strobe, SOS and frequent flashing when you click and release the side button. To return to the general mode, hold the side button for more than 1 sec again.
The flashing mode has no memory. The UI is quite same as the Rofis TR51 reviewed.
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From left to right, Panasonic CR123A, VicLite 18650(2600mAh) protected, ThruNite Scorpion (v1), Rofis TR31C, Xtar TZ58. The TR31C is a little shorter but heavier than other lights in this category.
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The head size & body weight excluding battery of three lights are as follows :
Scorpion - 35mm / 129g, TR31C - 39.7mm / 180g, TZ58 - 40.2mm / 134g
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It is good size to hold and can be used as a tactical light. Overall grip is fine.
.
.
The CR123A & 18650 fit well in the tube. All types (i.e., true flat-tops, wide and small button-tops) of 18650's work fine. Overall build quality is excellent.
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Measured Dimensions & Weight
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.
TR31C comes with a basic nylon holster with a velcro strap on the head. The light fits in the holster head-up only.
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.
[New 12.10.31]
PWM
The light shows no sign of PWM at any output levels. I think the light is actually current-controlled as claimed. I notice there is neither buzzing sound nor tint-shift at all output levels with the naked eye on my sample. [New 12.10.31]
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Runtime
TR31C steps down on turbo output after 10 mins runtime, on both 1x18650 and 2xCR123A's. This seems to be a timed drop-down, not a thermal sensor feature.
Regulation is maintained very nicely through Turbo on all batteries. The relatively high and low capacity 18650 cells show stabilized flat regulation. The difference is how long they last before falling out of regulation near depletion. It seems that TorchGear 18650 (its bare cell is Panasonic NCR18650A) was unable to supply sufficient power to keep the circuit at its initail level. So initial output is dependent on the specific internal battery chemistry. Of course, the 3100mAh cell performs better in entire runtime.
Those little blips near the end of the run are from the low-battery warning system of the light (i.e., The light will flicker twice every two minutes).
The runtime for 10% output of Trubo output for various batteries is as follows :
1) 1xVicLite 18650 : 99 min.
2) 1xNLTEK 18650 : 115 min.
3) 1xTorchGear 18650 : 159 min.
4) 2xPanasonic CR123A : 88 min.
Note that the bare cell of the NLTEK is LGABD11865 (3000mAh), and its maximum charging voltage is 4.35v for full capacity. But I charged it 4.2v for runtime test, so the capacity is about 2700mAh reduced with about 300mAh.
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[New 12.10.29]
Beamshot
1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door)
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/200sec, Auto white balance
- Scorpion
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-TZ58
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- TR31C
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- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/320sec, Auto white balance
-Scorpion
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- TZ58
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- TR31C
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- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/640sec, Auto white balance
- Scorpion
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- TZ58
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- TR31C
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- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/1250sec, Auto white balance
- Scorpion
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- TZ58
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- TR31C
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[New 12.10.31] The light has a middle sized bright hot spot. The hotspot is very well focused, perfectly circular with a defined edge. A soft corona surrounds the hotspot which makes the hotspot seems slightly wider than it actually is. The spill beam region is relatively dim compared to the hot spot, but is clean with no artifacts. The beam has a slightly cool side. [New 12.10.31]
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2. Indoor beamshot (about 7m from the target)
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1/4sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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- Scorpion
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- TZ58
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- TR31C
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3. 55m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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- Scorpion
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- TZ58
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- TR31C
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4. 60~65m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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- Scorpion
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- TZ58
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- TR31C
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[New 12.10.29]
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* TR31C provided by Rofis. (Thanks!)
The box has a simple magnetic closing clasp, cut-out foam holding the light and extras. The light comes with a good number of extras, i.e., inside is the light, user manual, warranty card, USB wire(1m) with connector, USB adapter, spare o-ring, tailcap rubber switch boot, pocket clip (attached), grip ring (attached), very nice wrist strap, and holster with closing flap.
.
.
Manufacturer Specifications from user manual :
• Cree XM-L LED (U2) with a lifespan of 50,000 hours
• Battery: 2x CR123A / 1x 18650 / 2x 16340 (16340 battery is not recommended)
• 152 mm (length) x 25.4 mm(body diameter) x 39.8mm(head diameter)
• 180-gram weight (excluding batteries)
• It can be charged in the car, on the computer and household electric supply device, etc.
• Digitally regulated output - maintains constant brightness
• Intelligent memory circuit, automatically memorizes the brightness level when switch off
• Over-discharge protection function, when the battery is in low voltage, the light will flicker twice every two minutes
• Reverse polarity protection, to protect from improper battery installation
• Turbo mode will automatically decline to 500LM after 10 minutes, to protect the light from over-heating.
• Two modes and seven types of output
• Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle
• stainless steel attack head
• Adopt double-switch design (tail tactical switch, side dimmer switch)
• Made of durable aircraft-grade aluminum
• Premium Type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish
• Toughened ultra-clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating
.
.
The hard (type III) anodizing is a matt black and consistent throughout with no blemishes of other faults to be found on its surface. Anodizing is good on my sample. There are identification labels on the head only. All labels are sharp, clear, and bright white against the black background. The diamond-shape knurling is present over battery tube and tailcap. The clip-on stainless steel clip looks and feels more substantial than typical in this class. It holds onto the light well. The removable grip ring is screwed securely on the battery tube. The clip & grip ring work as a good anti-roll device as well.
.
.
The light has 3 parts (i.e. head, battery tube, and tailcap).
.
.
The light has a stainless steel bezel with four-point crenellations allowing light to shine through when left placed head down.
There are four thick shallow cooling fins for heat dissipation on the head. There is a spring on the positive contact plate in the head, so flat-top batteries should work fine. The user manual says the light has reverse polarity protection to protect from improper battery installation (i.e., the electronics of the TR31C itself has in-built reverse polarity protection.)
.
.
The light uses AR coating lens and the purple hue is reflected on it. The aluminum reflector has a smooth pattern. Surface finish on the reflector was perfect from visual inspection, with very fine radial machining lines running down the reflector cup, and well-centered XM-L U2 LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup.
.
.
The distinctive aspects of the light is the dual-switch control in the head and tailcap of the light, and the built-in 5V charging socket for 18650. The charging socket and charging status indicator are on the opposite side of the side switch on the head. The mode-changing side switch is electronic switch, with a clear and audible click. It has a series of raised concentric rings. A fairly typically looking DC-charging socket is used for charging.
.
.
The charging device consists of 1m USB wire (with connector) and 5V(1A) adapter.
There are specifications and LED power indicator on both sides of the adapter.
.
.
[Edit 12.10.29] The USB wire attaches to the computer (slow charging) or directly attaches to the power socket through an adapter (fast charging). When connecting the adapter to the power socket, the LED power indicator is on. You can charge the 18650 in the light anywhere there is USB interface or electric supply. [Edit 12.10.29]
.
.
Three color indicator show you the charging status (i.e., red / green means charging / charged respectively. yellow means battery installed wrongly or tail switch not pressed).
[New 12.10.29] I didn't check out the charging time for myself, but the usuer manual describe it as follows :
- Fast charging time with USB wire & adapter : (Capacity of 18650)/850mA+0.7hr = charging time
- Slow charging time with USB wire only : (Capacity of 18650)/500mA +0.7hr = charging time
Note that reverse 18650 installation is forbidden, the CR123A and RCR123A are forbidden. The light uses CC/CV charging and termination current is 10% of the charging current.Termination current changes with charging current. [New 12.10.29]
.
.
The entire light's clean cylindrical design makes it feel very comfortable when held in hand. The battery tube has notch on the end where the removable clip can be attached.
The battery tube accommodates both 2x(R)CR123A's and protected 18650 cells easily. Note Rofis doesn't recommend RCR123A's. I measured the current with 18650 at tailcap on turbo output as around 1.9A. So using 2xRCR123A seems to be unreasonable. The clip is head-facing, and not reversible. There is a grip ring which helps with holding the light in a cigar style grip and also serves as an anti-roll feature. The grip ring is threaded, and can be removed only after removing the o-ring.
.
.
The light has a diamond-textured knurling going round the tube. Knurling is a bit aggressive.
.
.
Threads on both ends are well machined as well, with the those on the rear end being anodized which allows the light to be locked-out when the tail cap is slightly loosened.
Threads on either ends on the battery tube mate well with the head and tailcap with no issues of cross-threading or grinding. The screws threads are square-cut.
.
.
The wall thickness of the battery tube is quite thick, and the light feel solid.
.
.
The tailcap switch is a forward clicky. The rubber switch cap is recessed within the tail end. The switch has nice stiff tension with average travel and tactile clicking feedback. There are also a couple of wide loops for wrist strap attachments.
[New 12.11.03] As jhc37013 mentioned in the thread #6, I had the same experience that the switch retaining ring becomes loose and loose contact when strongly tightening down & loosening the tailcap several times over and over again. I was informed by Rofis that based on customer feedback, the tail thread in the next batch will be corrected to avoid this issue. [New 12.11.03]
[New 12.11.05] The users who already bought the light may get a replacement. (Rofis has informed me!)
You can contact your dealer directly to make a record. When the dealer order from Rofis after the next batch avaialble, Rofis will add extra tail and your dealer will send to you.
[New 12.11.05].
.
Technically, the light can tailstand, but it's rather unstable (not recommended) due to the small area of the switch cap relative to the body size.
.
.
User Interface
Turn on-off by the tailcap forward clicky switch (press-on for momentary, click for locked on).
There are two modes (i.e., general mode & flashing mode).
On-off is controlled by the tailcap switch and output mode switching is controlled by the side switch on the head.
1) General mode
Output changing is controlled by the electronic side button switch. Click and release to advance through outputs, which proceed in sequence from Low -> Med. -> High -> Turbo, in repeating sequence. The light has mode memory, and remembers the last output level used when you turn the light off and back on, (even after a battery change).
Note that you cannot set the output level while the light is off. The electronic switch only works when the light is powered on by the tail switch first. As such, there is no standby current on the TR31C.
2) Flashing mode
The "hidden" Strobe, SOS, Frequent Flashing are accessed by clicking and holding the side button switch for more than 1 sec. The light will move between Strobe, SOS and frequent flashing when you click and release the side button. To return to the general mode, hold the side button for more than 1 sec again.
The flashing mode has no memory. The UI is quite same as the Rofis TR51 reviewed.
.
.
From left to right, Panasonic CR123A, VicLite 18650(2600mAh) protected, ThruNite Scorpion (v1), Rofis TR31C, Xtar TZ58. The TR31C is a little shorter but heavier than other lights in this category.
.
.
The head size & body weight excluding battery of three lights are as follows :
Scorpion - 35mm / 129g, TR31C - 39.7mm / 180g, TZ58 - 40.2mm / 134g
.
.
It is good size to hold and can be used as a tactical light. Overall grip is fine.
.
.
The CR123A & 18650 fit well in the tube. All types (i.e., true flat-tops, wide and small button-tops) of 18650's work fine. Overall build quality is excellent.
.
.
Measured Dimensions & Weight
.
.
TR31C comes with a basic nylon holster with a velcro strap on the head. The light fits in the holster head-up only.
.
.
[New 12.10.31]
PWM
The light shows no sign of PWM at any output levels. I think the light is actually current-controlled as claimed. I notice there is neither buzzing sound nor tint-shift at all output levels with the naked eye on my sample. [New 12.10.31]
.
.
Runtime
TR31C steps down on turbo output after 10 mins runtime, on both 1x18650 and 2xCR123A's. This seems to be a timed drop-down, not a thermal sensor feature.
Regulation is maintained very nicely through Turbo on all batteries. The relatively high and low capacity 18650 cells show stabilized flat regulation. The difference is how long they last before falling out of regulation near depletion. It seems that TorchGear 18650 (its bare cell is Panasonic NCR18650A) was unable to supply sufficient power to keep the circuit at its initail level. So initial output is dependent on the specific internal battery chemistry. Of course, the 3100mAh cell performs better in entire runtime.
Those little blips near the end of the run are from the low-battery warning system of the light (i.e., The light will flicker twice every two minutes).
The runtime for 10% output of Trubo output for various batteries is as follows :
1) 1xVicLite 18650 : 99 min.
2) 1xNLTEK 18650 : 115 min.
3) 1xTorchGear 18650 : 159 min.
4) 2xPanasonic CR123A : 88 min.
Note that the bare cell of the NLTEK is LGABD11865 (3000mAh), and its maximum charging voltage is 4.35v for full capacity. But I charged it 4.2v for runtime test, so the capacity is about 2700mAh reduced with about 300mAh.
.
.
[New 12.10.29]
Beamshot
1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door)
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/200sec, Auto white balance
- Scorpion
.
.
-TZ58
.
.
- TR31C
.
.
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.
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/320sec, Auto white balance
-Scorpion
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.
- TZ58
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.
- TR31C
.
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.
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/640sec, Auto white balance
- Scorpion
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.
- TZ58
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.
- TR31C
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.
.
- ISO100, F/3.5, 1/1250sec, Auto white balance
- Scorpion
.
.
- TZ58
.
.
- TR31C
.
.
[New 12.10.31] The light has a middle sized bright hot spot. The hotspot is very well focused, perfectly circular with a defined edge. A soft corona surrounds the hotspot which makes the hotspot seems slightly wider than it actually is. The spill beam region is relatively dim compared to the hot spot, but is clean with no artifacts. The beam has a slightly cool side. [New 12.10.31]
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.
2. Indoor beamshot (about 7m from the target)
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1/4sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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.
- Scorpion
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.
- TZ58
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.
- TR31C
.
.
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.
3. 55m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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- Scorpion
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.
- TZ58
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- TR31C
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4. 60~65m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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.
- Scorpion
.
.
- TZ58
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.
- TR31C
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.
[New 12.10.29]
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* TR31C provided by Rofis. (Thanks!)
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