Thrunite TN4A (XP-L V6, 4xAA) review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO and more!

[UrbanExplorer]

Hey selfbuilt! Been making wonderful use of all your reviews for a good time. So much so that it convinced me to make a CPF acct. Wonderful place. Anyways, to my question. Judging from this review as well as other reviews you have done is it accurate to conclude Thrunite's proclaimed lumen outputs etc are to spec with ANSI/NEMA FL1 standards? Obviously not exactly but at least close enough to be considered as such? Reason being I am considering if I should purchase the updated 2017 TN36 which claims a 10,000 lumen output. However, various youtubers and independent testers claim it's real output is around 8000 lumens ish. Some even claim 6500 lumens. This sounds extremely hard to believe for a company which I initially believed were using ANSI/NEMA Standards. Let me know what you think! Thanks!

 

[CelticCross74]

just read through these posts again. I am flattered that apparently that my still very much enthusiastic opinion of the TN4A was a helpful influence for those interested in the light. I noticed several mentions of some of the TN4A variants having a "green" tint to the beam. The only one of my 5 TN4A's that does have a green tint is my very first TN4A I bought when they first came out. It is an early batch CW TN4A. It does not have the lanyard hole attachment point or the serial number on the side. These early batch CW TN4A's according to my own experience with it as well as many other end user reports put out a beam profile that has a very thick corona that tint shifts non stop. The tint shifting in the corona is very visible. The corona actually looks like it is "boiling" the tint shifting happens that fast. This boiling corona tint shifts in the green spectrum. At first I was like WTF is this? But I got used to it. NONE of the other 4 TN4A's I have have this problem at all. As for AA batteries yes the L91 lithiums still give you the most possible output and longest run times the light is capable of but like I said before just using L91's only can get pretty expensive. Eneloop Pro's are expensive yes but being such a high quality rechargeable NiMH low drain cell you save a LOT of money over the lets say 3 years of near constant use before the chemistry starts to break down. The Pro's are now 2650mah up from 2550mah. Just got a fresh 8 pack of the new Pro's and was thrown off that the cells have "2550mah" still printed on them. After a little digging around I found out that Eneloop just has yet to update the cell wrap with the new 2650mah rating and that the cells I bought are indeed 2650mah which is kind of odd at first but Eneloop stands by their claim of the latest Pro's being 2650mah...

 

[Bright Bird]

I'm pretty new to flashlights, and I had previously bought the ThorFire TK4A as a birthday present for my mother. I decided that I wanted my own pocket rocket, so I got the TN4A XPL-HI NW after reading this thread.

What I noticed is that the engravings are different than on your photos, CC. At first I was worried that I might have picked up a fake, but the light just seems to be too good quality for that to be the case. I assume that there are different variations?

 

[CelticCross74]

Ill have to look at my 5 TN4A's again but when the TN4A originally came out they did NOT have the engravings as pictured above. TN did change their engravings to be more specific of the model and having the serial number engraved as well. Your TN4A HI pictured above has the same engravings on my own HI variants. It looks legit to me...

 

[Bright Bird]

Ill have to look at my 5 TN4A's again but when the TN4A originally came out they did NOT have the engravings as pictured above. TN did change their engravings to be more specific of the model and having the serial number engraved as well. Your TN4A HI pictured above has the same engravings on my own HI variants. It looks legit to me...

Thanks!

 

[CelticCross74]

not a problem at all! I am always willing to help another CPFer out. Forgot to add that the first TN4A's also did NOT have a lanyard attachment point on top of not having the serial number engraved on the side. TN did indeed(according to TN)make "adjustments" to the early batches that took care of the crazy boiling tint shifting corona.

 

[Bright Bird]

not a problem at all! I am always willing to help another CPFer out. Forgot to add that the first TN4A's also did NOT have a lanyard attachment point on top of not having the serial number engraved on the side. TN did indeed(according to TN)make "adjustments" to the early batches that took care of the crazy boiling tint shifting corona.

I'm not an expert, but I've not noticed any irregularities with the tint. It is a fantastic light with a nice beam pattern, and I'm really glad that I decided to try a neutral white light. I have since then ordered a light with Nichia 219b emitter, and will definitely be choosing warmer tints when given the option (currently waiting for a high-lumens light with multiple 219c's). The only thing I had to get used to was the fast double-click speed for turbo. At the beginning it was driving me insane, but now it is easy - at least with my right hand. And the sudden cut-off takes getting used to, as well - but I guess that's the price you have to pay for a flat regulation. My SR52UT is unregulated so the light gradually dims, and I know that it is time for a recharge when I can barely notice a difference between mid and high mode.

 

[sbslider]

Not sure what batteries you use, but my TN4A powered by eneloops or standard nimh batteries does not cut out, even on turbo. It does step down from max output for the mode to the next mode down, but I am pretty certain the low battery indicator comes on before a noticeable step down happens. I wrote a few posts about how my light behaves with the low battery indicator, I think it was earlier in this thread.

Does your light just shut off at some point? If so, that does not sound good to me. I have the TN4A, not the "HI" variant, but I would expect the electronics to be the same.

 

[Bright Bird]

Not sure what batteries you use, but my TN4A powered by eneloops or standard nimh batteries does not cut out, even on turbo. It does step down from max output for the mode to the next mode down, but I am pretty certain the low battery indicator comes on before a noticeable step down happens. I wrote a few posts about how my light behaves with the low battery indicator, I think it was earlier in this thread.

Does your light just shut off at some point? If so, that does not sound good to me. I have the TN4A, not the "HI" variant, but I would expect the electronics to be the same.

I used the white Eneloops at the time. I seem to remember that it didn't actually shut off, but it switched to a very low mode (possibly not even as bright as the standard low mode), shortly after the red light started flashing in turbo. I'll do another test when I walk my dog tonight, to be sure. The batteries (I'm now using the black Eneloops) are already half depleted, so it shouldn't take long in turbo mode to see how it behaves when the voltage drops.

 

[sbslider]

What I recall is in turbo the light drops from turbo to high level, which is not very easy to notice. The next step down maybe all the way to moon light. This likely happens when the low battery indicator changes from red to flashing. I believe there is slow and fast flashing. When I finish traveling for the day I will review my notes and let you know. I do recall if running in high mode when the low battery indicator is tripped the light steps down to medium mode. Similar behavior if the low battery indicator is tripped in medium mode, the light steps down to low . Once tripped, the low battery indicator stays on independent of mode used until the battery is disconnected for a few seconds.

 

[Bright Bird]

What I recall is in turbo the light drops from turbo to high level, which is not very easy to notice. The next step down maybe all the way to moon light. This likely happens when the low battery indicator changes from red to flashing. I believe there is slow and fast flashing. When I finish traveling for the day I will review my notes and let you know. I do recall if running in high mode when the low battery indicator is tripped the light steps down to medium mode. Similar behavior if the low battery indicator is tripped in medium mode, the light steps down to low . Once tripped, the low battery indicator stays on independent of mode used until the battery is disconnected for a few seconds.

There should definitely not be a step down from turbo to high - that's one thing that I remember from this review, and I tested the turbo mode myself for several minutes. Most of the time I just use it for short bursts - medium level is usually enough for my purposes. But it does seem that the light steps down to a very low level after about 40 minutes on turbo with white Eneloops, and after 50 minutes with Eneloop Pro according to the review. There is supposed to be plenty of runtime left after the step down, although I'm sure that I wasn't able to start the light in a higher mode after that. But I'll test and post the results if I think that something's not right.

 

[sbslider]

There should definitely not be a step down from turbo to high - that's one thing that I remember from this review, and I tested the turbo mode myself for several minutes.

The step down I was referring to is due to low battery only. As I mentioned, it since the difference between turbo and high is subtle, the step down is easy to miss. But it does happen, trust me (at least on my light). This is after 30 - 50 minutes in turbo mode, depending on the batteries used.

Is the "very low level" you refer to moonlight, low medium, or something else?

 

[Bright Bird]

The step down I was referring to is due to low battery only. As I mentioned, it since the difference between turbo and high is subtle, the step down is easy to miss. But it does happen, trust me (at least on my light). This is after 30 - 50 minutes in turbo mode, depending on the batteries used.

Is the "very low level" you refer to moonlight, low medium, or something else?

According to the chart on page 1 of this review, the step down should occur to a very low level, which is what I experienced.

Just got back from walking my dog, but those batteries do last long! I thought they must have already been half depleted, but I had the light continually on turbo mode during a 20 minute stretch of my walk and it is still going strong. Don't really feel like sitting at home with the torch in my hand until it starts dimming, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow's walk for further testing. One thing that I'm really happy with is that the torch never got too warm to hold. I seem to remember reading that the temperature never exceeds 45°C, but that must have been in a different review as I couldn't find any temperature measurements in selfbuilt's review. As a comparison, I need to switch my Convoy S2+ to a lower level after about three minutes!

 

[sbslider]

According to the chart on page 1 of this review, the step down should occur to a very low level, which is what I experienced.

Thanks for pointing me to those runtime plots, different from what I recall, but then my memory is not the greatest. May run the light after work tonight to see if I can judge the step down level, it looks like down to low based on the plots. I recall something smaller . . .

 

[Bright Bird]

The step down I was referring to is due to low battery only. As I mentioned, it since the difference between turbo and high is subtle, the step down is easy to miss. But it does happen, trust me (at least on my light).

I see now what you mean - the graph does indeed show a small step down to a slightly lower outpit before it drops to low mode. But that is still to a considerably higher level than 'high', and I doubt very much that it's something I would notice.

Hopefully my batteries will be low enough tonight for me to tell how the light will behave.

 

[sbslider]

I agree, I don't think you would notice the step down either. Then the next step down is much bigger than I remember. We can both check it out and compare notes.

 

[sbslider]

So, I did find what you found in regard to the light cutting out, it drops down to low mode (or so). I also watched the low battery indicator as the light ran. I did not time the whole run, but I got 30+ minutes on my white eneloops when the low battery indicator turned from blue to red. I stopped timing at that point, but would estimate another 10 or so minutes before the light output noticeably changed. These batteries had been used for a couple weeks, mostly on low and medium mode with some sort bursts on turbo. As the batteries discharge, the low battery indicator goes from solid red, to slow blinking red (still no noticeable output drop) then to fast blinking red, and the output drops significantly. based on testing I did with a power supply, the voltage to the light is down around 3.2V when this voltage drop happens, or about 0.8 V / cell BEST CASE. If there is any cell mismatch, then one or two cells are even lower than that. Really should not be running cells that you want to reuse many times down to those voltages. Recharging at or near when the low battery indicator turns red is much better for cell health. This happens at total voltage of 3.6V into the light, or 0.9V / cell best case.

 

[CelticCross74]

...what is this "cutting off" issue I am reading about above? First I have read of anything like this happening with the TN4A. Just a reminder here, TN specifically states that AA cells of no less than 2500mah capacity are required in order to get their advertised output and run times. The white Eneloops as far as I know are 2100mah now(IDK if that has changed or not). Over the years I have had my 5 TN4A's none of them have ever suddenly "cut off". I use Pro's and L91 lithiums in my TN4A's only. The L91's are a hoot! 3000mah capacity and up to 1.8v! Expensive though...

 

[sbslider]

The reality of life is not everyone will use the specified batteries. Eneloops have better long term performance the most (every?) other battery. By long term, I mean 100s of cycles. Regardless of the battery type, the will run otu eventually. When they do this in turbo mode, the step down is from between 500 and 1000 lumens to about 15 lumens. pretty abrupt light change, but no big deal, as you can anticipate it just by paying attention to the low battery indicator. I would not call it an "issue", really it is a "behavior" and a desirable on, in my opinion.

The light behaves differently in high mode, stepping down to medium mode, at least that is what I recall observing. This memory contradicts what selfbuilt posted in his review though. I tend to trust his data before my memory, but will likely test it in some cheap alkaline batteries to see who was right when I return home from

 

[Bright Bird]

...what is this "cutting off" issue I am reading about above? First I have read of anything like this happening with the TN4A. Just a reminder here, TN specifically states that AA cells of no less than 2500mah capacity are required in order to get their advertised output and run times. The white Eneloops as far as I know are 2100mah now(IDK if that has changed or not). Over the years I have had my 5 TN4A's none of them have ever suddenly "cut off". I use Pro's and L91 lithiums in my TN4A's only. The L91's are a hoot! 3000mah capacity and up to 1.8v! Expensive though...

Mea culpa for conflating 'cutting off' with 'stepping down to a very low level'.

So, I did find what you found in regard to the light cutting out, it drops down to low mode (or so). I also watched the low battery indicator as the light ran. I did not time the whole run, but I got 30+ minutes on my white eneloops when the low battery indicator turned from blue to red. I stopped timing at that point, but would estimate another 10 or so minutes before the light output noticeably changed. These batteries had been used for a couple weeks, mostly on low and medium mode with some sort bursts on turbo. As the batteries discharge, the low battery indicator goes from solid red, to slow blinking red (still no noticeable output drop) then to fast blinking red, and the output drops significantly. based on testing I did with a power supply, the voltage to the light is down around 3.2V when this voltage drop happens, or about 0.8 V / cell BEST CASE. If there is any cell mismatch, then one or two cells are even lower than that. Really should not be running cells that you want to reuse many times down to those voltages. Recharging at or near when the low battery indicator turns red is much better for cell health. This happens at total voltage of 3.6V into the light, or 0.9V / cell best case.

I didn't manage to let the batteries run down last night as I was also testing the ThorFire C8s that arrived in the post yesterday. But I just conducted an indoor test, which confirms my memories of what I had previously observed. At some point, the red LED lit up for about two minutes before it started flashing slowly (~1.5Hz?). It took about a minute before it started flashing quickly and the output was dimmed significantly. I left it like that for about three minutes before I turned it off. After turning it on again, I was not able to access any higher output modes. The same if I completely cut off the power by unscrewing the body before screwing it back again.

That is what had kind of shocked me when I first used the light - the fact that I've only got about three minutes warning before the torch turns into an emergency light (and possibly a bit more if I lower the output mode at that point). It's not really a problem for me though, as I've always recharged the batteries a lot earlier since then - about once a week using the light on medium mode every night, with occasionally bursts of turbo. To me that is perfectly adequate, and if I ever took the torch to a longer outing, I'd make sure that I'd have a spare set of batteries with me.

I should probably add that I've been using the black Eneloops (Pro) - when I observed the behaviour that I described before, I was using white Eneloops, so the advance warning might have been even shorter.