Review: Taotronics ThorLite TT-TF03

JohnnyMac

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Mar 24, 2011
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181
*For submission in the reviews section

Taotronics ThorLite TT-TF03


INTRODUCTION

I was contacted by Taotronics and asked if I would care to do a review of a couple of their lights. After taking a peek at their site, Taotronics.com, I noticed that their lights looked extremely familiar (Balder lights) and was curious if they were a rebrand. I've also heard rumors that Balder was going out of business so, having always heard good things about Balder flashlights but never having the pleasure of trying one, I decided to take Taotronics up on their offer. I'm glad I did. Read on to see why.

YAYS

• Macnhining is impeccable! All body components, inside and out, are machined to very high standards, even in places that will never see the light of day in normal use.
• Beautiful military grade HAIII anodization evenly applied. Great feel and matte finish. Very durable.
• Smooth output and good throw.
• Super deep reflector
• Well driven at 3A
• Trememndous thermal management. Gets warm but not hot on high. Majority of mass in the head and tons of surface areamakes a huge difference.
• Tight, properly sized o-rings throughout the light.
• Waterproof. Really. Mfg claims IPX-8 (2 meters for 30 minutes) and I believe it.
• Great switch feel, sturdy switch boot.
• Tail stands well.

NAYS

• Slightly outdated omponents. An upgrade from it's original XM-L U2 to a new XM-L2 U2 would work wonders in this light!
• OP reflector hampers already good throw from being outstanding throw.

QUICK & DIRTY

With an XM-L2 U2 emitter the manufacturer's claim of 900 lumens might be closer. In reality I got 629 lumens OTF with it's XM-L U2 after 30 seconds on high. Build quality rivals the best known makers. With a simple upgrade of the emitter to an XM-L2 U2 it could be a great light to rival more recent competitors. At the asking price of roughly $99 it is a very pricey light for it's performance compared to other lights in it's size class but at the same time it surpasses the performance of some brands costing far more. It all depends on what budget you are shopping with. If you do decide to go with the TT-TF03 then you will get an incredibly well made, high quality light to rival any other.

Features:

•Super •Bright Cree XM-L U2 LED up to 900 lumens.
•Deep reflector with strong beam shot to 260 meters.
•Powered by either 2 x 18650 or 4 x CR123 battery cells.
•Six lighting modes for wide range of applications.
•Tail standing / Candle mode.
•Full orange peel reflector with flawless wide beam.
•Premium Type Ⅲ hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish.
•Automatic memory function, remember last used setting.
•IPX-8 Waterproof (underwater up to 2 meters /30minutes).
•Anti-reverse protection and low voltage protection circuit.
•Power efficient and longer lasting.

Manufacturer Specifications:
Characteristics
Specification
Material
Aircraft Aluminum alloy T6061
Dimension
252mm(L) x60mm(D)
Weight
400g (exclude battery)
Color
Black
LED
Cree XM-L U2
Battery Type
2 x 18650 battery or 4 x CR123 battery
Reflector
Orange peel
Switch
Reverse switch in tail cap
Beam shot Intensity
260m
Waterproof
IPX-8

My Additional Specifications:

Lens (diameter * height)52.47mm * 2mm
Reflector (OD * ID * depth)52mm * 50mm * 50.6mm
MCPCB diameter16mm (will take 20mm without isolator)
Driver diameter30mm
Battery tube I.D.18.9mm
Switch PCB diameter20mm
Switch Boot diameter12mm
Tail standsYes
Accessories includedHolster, Lanyard, 2 O-rings, Spare Switch Boot, Manual

PERFORMANCE

Overall performance is extremely good. While the HOP finish on the reflector does reduce maximum throw distance, I still measured 41.6kcd @ 1m for a throw distance of 406 meters. This far exceeds the manufacturer's claim of only 260 meters. Inversely, the lumen output I measured in my Integrated Sphere after 30 second on high was, at 629 OTF lumens, far less than the manufacturers claim of 900 lumens on high. Their number may be correct if they are measuring lumens at the emitter right at turn on but in the real world it is just 629 OTF.
With it's 6-mode, two group driver, the user has the choice of having 6 modes (H/M/L plus Strobe/Strobe beacon/ SOS) or just 3 modes (H/M/L). To change mode grouping, just put the light into low mode and wait 5 seconds for a single quick flash. Cut power immediately after the flash and when it comes back on it will be in the other mode group. Modes are nicely spaced at 100%/30%/5%. Strobe is a constant fast strobe and beacon mode is a second of strobe, a second of nothing, a second of strobe, etc. SOS mode is a true SOS with a good 5 second pause between each "SOS" transmission.
I fully trust it's waterproof IPX-8 rating. I would not hesitate to take this light anywhere is might get wet and would actually feel safe swimming with it.
Easy tailstanding and capable of true candle mode with the head removed, it'd be great for emergency lighting use in low mode providing at least 68 hours of 30 lumen runtime with 2800mAh cells.

Manufacturer Output & Runtime Firgures

When using 2x 18650

high
medium
low
Output
900 lumens
272 lumens
20 lumens
Runtime
2 hours
7 hours
100 hours

My Output Measurements:
ModeOTF LumensTail AmpsRuntime with 280mAh cells
High - 100%6291.5A (3A total)1.86 hours
Medium - 30%2110.290A (0.580A total)9.5 hours
Low - 5%300.041A (0.082A total) 68 hours

Lux @ 1m41,600
Throw Distance406m

A CLOSER LOOK
The ThorLite TT-TF03 arrived in it's own branded trademark case that all Balder/Taotronics flashlights come in. I really like this form of packaging as it is durable, protective, and original., As with all my reviews, clicking any image in the review will open the pic in full resolution in a new window or tab.


Inside the novel case we find the TT-TF03 inside it's custom holster, a very nice high quality lanyard with lobster claw latch, a small bag containing 2 spare o-rings, a spare switch boot, a small neodymium magnet to use flat toped cells in series, and a very nice owners manual.


With the torch out of it's holster we can now take a peek at the operating end of the light. The first thing one notices is the heavy orange on the reflector. While it does make for an exceptionally smooth beam, it does reduce the maximum throw distance. I do wish they had used an SMO reflector in it. Even still it throws a respectable 400+ meters.
The second thing you notice is how damned deep the reflector is. I can only imagine how fantastic this would throw if it has an XP-G2 driven at the stock 3A the driver provides.


The machining on this light really is flawless. Not one nick or scrape in the finish. No sharp edges anywhere on any of the surfaces. Everything is deburred and as close to perfect as I've seen on any light. Throughout the pics, any spots you see on the light are dust particles that seem to magically appear when you take macro shots. Annoys the hell out of me but not much I can do.


Fins and cutouts covering the head really do manage the heat well. Everything is smooth edged and wonderful on the eyes. Some might find it a little on the busy side but it all serves a purpose and that is to ensure you can run this light on high until the batteries die without ever worrying about the light overheating.


The bead-blasted looking silver ring on the pill can be removed for a solid black finish for thise who love the tactical look more than a spot of bling. The Taotronics logo is tastefully etched with a nice gray finish.



The entire head is very long. The only semblance of balance in the hand is due to the multiple cell arrangement. It could actually use a third cell in series to fully balance what is a front heavy light.


All etching on the light is crisp and consistent. The now standard "Caution: Hot Surface" label is small and reasonably tateful and unobtrusive on this light. It is also not really needed. With all the mass and surface area on the TT-TF03 heat is never an issue. One could overdrive the hell out of this light without worrying about frying internal components due to heat.


The section with the silver sleeve is actually the pill. You can see how clean the threads are. The o-ring (all o-rings on the light in fact) seals snugly and perfectly to seal all joints from water and moisture ingress.


The emitter sits under a nylon centering ring and insulator. The MCPCB is mounted directly onto the one piece pill. It is quite solid and heavy.


Here you can see what the pill looks like without the silver sleeve. You can also see that without the head threaded onto the pill the light would make one heck of a great candle in a power outage.


The pill threads into the main part of teh head.



With the bezel and reflector removed we can see inside the head where the machining and finish are just as nice as the outside of the light. Most manufacturers take shortcuts in areas like this by machining quickly, leaving fine grooves. The TT-TF03 has none of these and the machining is done with great care thoughout all areas.


Fully anodized threading throughout. All threads are cut deeply and cleanly. They are also arrived fully lubricated. All threaded areas are sealed with thick o-rings.


The o-ring on the lens sits between the glass lens and the front of the bezel.


Here you can see the full threading in the lightly crenelated bezel along with the o-ring groove in the front.


Now we can see the reflector. The hole in the base of the reflector sits snugly around the base of the dome of the emitter. If neither were absolutely perfrectly centered the emiter would be dedomed as soon as you started threading the pill into the head. Fortunately there are no such worries due to the exactling tolerances. My only regret is the HOP surface. It would really be an incredible thrower if it was SMO.


The reflector is extremely deep as well. It is also machined with the same high quality as the rest of the light. Standing next to the reflector of my HD2010, you can see not only how deep the reflector of the ThorLite is compared to the HD2010, you can also see the lack of machining rings on the outer surface compared to the lesser quality HD2010.


The backside of the pill has a protective threaded ring that contains the cell positive contact bushings and protects the back of the driver board. Here we can see the ring, the nylon insulator busing, the outer brass bushing/plunger, and the inner contact bushing and contact spring.



The rear of the driver PCB


Moving down to the battery tube we see the same immaculate machining. There are two flats on the battery tube, one of which has the Taotronics logo etched cleanly and deeply into it's surface.


Instead of the usual knurling, the ThorLite has ribs engraved into the body to aid in grip. They work very well at providing grip while keeping a clean look and non aggressive surface.



Threading on the main body where it threads into the pill is unanodized for ground contact. The threads are cut with the same deep, clean, deburred and smooth feel. A heavy o-ring seals the connection.


The joint is heavily walled for great strength and further heat absorbtion away from the pill and into the handle.


Unanodized threads at the tail end as well.


A closer look at the tail cap while mounted. Crenelations in the tail allow for easy finger/thumb access of the switch while still allowing for stable tail standing in candle mode.


Large lanyard hole in crenelation for a split ring or lanyard latch.


Inner switch assembly. Negative contact is the same as that up front in the pill.



Plenty of room to accomodate protected cells. The cells here are unprotected Sanyo cells.


Tailstanding rather nicely.


Here are some comparison shots of the TT-TF03 between the Small Sun ZY-T13 and Ultrafire HD2010..


The reflector is roughly the same as the other two except it is far deeper and, of course, HOP instead of SMO.


Waterproof? You bet! While I had nothing handy to submerge it 2 meters deep, I did have it fully submerged for 90 minutes with absolutely zero moisture penetrating its seals.


90 minutes later and still going strong. Not a drop of water inside of it.


This picture is taken at a distance of exactly 1 meter form the wall. The overall spill os about 1 meter wide. The hotspot is far smaller than I could get it to photograph. The intense center you see is actually mostly corona. In person you can see the actuall center spot is only less than 3 inches wide.


Here I've turned down the exposure to try and capture the hotspot better. I've only partly succeeded.


Finally some outdfoor beam shots taken at 50m distance to the target.






8836057700_9e4f558cf7_z.jpg


CONCLUSION:
I have to give the light a 4 of 5 stars. It's relatively high price is only somewhat counterbalanced by it's fabulous construction and overall quality. The HOP reflecotr takes away somewhat as well. Given an XM-L2 U2 emitter and an SMO reflector it would get 5 stars from me. Just like in the picture below, by my dead reconning I have to say it is "Mac Approved", expecially if it is within your budget. I've seen far more expensive lights not half as well made or overall performing as the ThorLite TT-TF03. ;)
 

Explorer29

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 1, 2013
Messages
2
I am interested in purchasing the TaoTronics ThorLite TT-TF03 and had a question about your picture showing the light in action outside; the second to last picture in your review. I noticed the beam is very wide. There's the bright center of the beam, but then there's a lot of light spread out all around the edges. I can see the tree on the left, that you're not even aiming the light at. I know this does come in handy, but are you able to narrow the beam more so it's mostly just a bright center beam without all of the extra light along the edges? Thanks for your time.
 

LowFlux

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Joined
Aug 6, 2008
Messages
210
If you compare the picture of the HD2010 is closer to the curb in the picture then the ThorLite...so they were probably taken on different nights (the trucks in the background might also confirm this). The ThorLite being further back brings the tree into the camera focus.

Unless they come out with a Smooth reflector version, a light with Heavy Orange Peel will have bright spill compared to a thrower. It will be very bright in your immediate area...just not as punchy as a smooth reflector light. It has a great high run time and no step down, and is a very well machined light.

Great review JohnnyMac!
 

JohnnyMac

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
181
I am interested in purchasing the TaoTronics ThorLite TT-TF03 and had a question about your picture showing the light in action outside; the second to last picture in your review. I noticed the beam is very wide. There's the bright center of the beam, but then there's a lot of light spread out all around the edges. I can see the tree on the left, that you're not even aiming the light at. I know this does come in handy, but are you able to narrow the beam more so it's mostly just a bright center beam without all of the extra light along the edges? Thanks for your time.
Explorer29, the beam is not adjustable. The light does have a very useful spill but even with having a fairly large reflector, the OP texture smooths out the hotspot edges and adds to the usable spill. What you see is pretty much what you get.
 

numanuma07

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Aug 24, 2014
Messages
6
Thank you for the in-depth review, Johnny!

I managed to snag this light for a mere $40 a few months back off Newegg and couldn't be any happier with the purchase I made. A shame that it appears Taotronics has discontinued production of this exceptional light.
 
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