Review: ThruNite Saber 1A

[ezarc]

Submission for the reviews forum.

ThruNite Saber 1A

Summary​

Features and Specification:

• 
  [*=left]LED:Cree XP-G2 LED with a lifespan of 20+years of run time.
  [*=left]Three modes of output:High (169lumen,1.5hours),Low (9lumen,39hours), Firefly (0.09lumen,147hours).
  [*=left]Memory function to stay at any one of the 3 modes.
  [*=left]Regulated current for smooth consistent strong output.
  [*=left]Max 169 lumen output using 1.5V AA battery.
  [*=left]Air craft quality aluminum body structure.
  [*=left]Premium type III hard anodized anti-abrasive finish.
  [*=left]Tempered double coated ultra clear glass lens.
  [*=left]Stand on tail to serve as candle.
  [*=left]Water proof to IPX-8 standard.
  [*=left]Streamlined body design.
  [*=left]One handed operation.
  [*=left]Compact easy to use twist switch.
  [*=left]Reverse polarity protection.
  [*=left]Accessory: key ring.
  [*=left]Size:81mm*17mm.
  [*=left]Weight:17 gram without battery.

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The ThruNite Saber 1A is the updated version of the version of the Thrunite T10. The T10 used a XP-G LED and the output was 115 ANSI lumens, the new Saber 1A uses a XP-G2 with a output of 169 ANSI lumens.

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The first thing I noticed after taking the Saber 1A out of the box was how silky smooth the threads are, for some reason the older T10 was always stiff to tighten and couldn't be twisted on with 1 hand. I think that was party due to a thicker o-ring or perhaps the threads although they both look identical when to my eye. It has squared threads and come pre-lubricated with some light oil as you can see below.

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On the back of the driver you can see what appears to be glue, I would guess that the driver and pill is screwed in to the optimal position for the beam and glued in place to stop it from twisting with turning on and off and losing focus.

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If you are not familiar with the T10's (or Saber 1A) size it is pretty small and very light, I prefer to use lithium primary due to the weight. It nearly feels like you are holding a stick of chalk in your fingers, with a Ni-MH it feels noticeably heavier. Size comparison below.

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Wondering if you can even notice the difference in brightness between the T10 and Saber 1A?

Beamshots

Bonus Pics

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[derfyled]

Nice review with great pics!:thumbsup:

Are these really square threads ? They don't look like it on the picture but I'm looking from a tiny device...

 

[cyclesport]

Thanks for the excellent overview and pics of a light I've been considering. Also...nice third post!

 

[ezarc]

Thanks for the positive comments.

@ derfyled, they have squared edges but not totally square.

Something similar to this:

Like this arrow > with the edge taken off.

 

[MojaveMoon07]

Thank you

Great information and very helpful photos !

- how would you describe the tint ? Based on the photo, it seems like there is not much of the blue in a cool white tint; the tint of your Saber looks just white.

- is there any noticeable PWM in the lower modes ?

- since in the photo it looks like the Saber can throw pretty well, is the hotspot too tight for close-up use ?

 

[ZRXBILL]

Needs a med. mode around 50 lumens that will run for about 5 hrs. That jump from a low of 9 to a high of 169, with nothing in the middle, kills it for me.

 

[mcnair55]

Good set up for me just 2 modes plus firefly,but i can see why others would want a bit in the middle,but it is a twisty so it has be a thumbs down.:thumbsdow

 

[jamesmyname]

I'm tempted to check it out. I've been looking for an AA light to replace my ITP A3 (AAA) as an EDC, but I'm not sure I like the three modes and their spacing. I wish it had a two modes where you tighten the head to activate low, and then tighten a bit more to switch to high.

Anyone try a 14500 in one of these yet? That might bump up the low mode, of course it would also ruin the firefly if that was the case.

 

[InquisitiveInquirer]

Needs a med. mode around 50 lumens that will run for about 5 hrs. That jump from a low of 9 to a high of 169, with nothing in the middle, kills it for me.

I was thinking of picking this up too, but like you, the jump from 9 to 169 wasn't to appealing. I ended up opting for the L3 Illuminations L10. It has nice spacing of firefly(0.09lumens 147hours) -> Low (3 lumens, 30hrs ) -> Medium (30 lumens) --> High (120 lumens, 1.5hrs). It doesn't have as high a high as the saber, but for a light EDC, it's fine. On flip side, you get a longer runtime on the high (albeit at lower lumens)

 

[CreeCrazy]

Right T10 Saber 1AA XP-G2. Left Original T10 1AA XP-G. Both on high with Eneloop.

 

[reppans]

^^ Nice photo for comparing spill and the Saber's spill does look significantly brighter. Both hot spots are seriously over exposed so you really can't really tell much from them. If you keep stopping your camera down, until you can see some detail in the brightest hotspot, then they will be comparable (but spill will disappear).

 

[MT_155]

Nice overview Ezarc.

I have both the T10 and the Saber 1A and like both of them. While it sounds like there's a big jump in brightness between medium and high i find that in practice it works well, high tends to be the brightness i want when medium isn't enough. I've not yet found myself wanting a brightness in between the two levels, but as we know no two people use their lights in the same way so it could just be me.

With a 14500, on both lights the low mode seems to stay the same, it is still firefly with a 14500 which i love. Medium gets bumped up to around NiMH high, and high becomes super-high. Obviously there is much more of a gap between these modes, especially between low and medium, but without a 4th mode these will always be a compromise so kudos to Thrunite for providing 3 distinct, useable modes on a 14500.

I've done crude runtime tests on some of my lights including the T10, for high modes i basically point the light at a wall and take photos at regular intervals with fixed settings on a DSLR (1/350 @F4, white balance-5500K) which allows me to directly compare photos to spot a drop in brightness (the hotspot is not saturated). The time reported is the last time a photo was taken with no discernable drop in brightness.
For medium/low modes i leave the light running and check on it regluarly, the reported time is the last time i know it was still on with a brightness expected at the relevant mode.

I use Vapextech 2500 NiMH LSD cells which give ~2250mah when discharged at 350mah on my Technoline BL700.

For the T10 i got:
High - 55min
Medium - 10hr
Low - 80hr

For the Saber 1A i've only done high which also lasted 55 minutes. On both the T10 and 1A the decrease in brightness at 1hr is only noticable when directly comparing the photos, and is very slight.
The runtimes are very different to Thrunite's claimed times, i need to mail them at some point to find out how they got their times, especially on medium. While i'd love to have the claimed runtimes, given the size of the light the achieved runtimes work for me.

One thing i noticed on the T10 is that towards the end of the battery's life when it still manages to give a bright high mode, i can turn the light off and it won't turn back on again which means i can't visually discern when a battery is close to empty. On the Saber the high mode drops to around medium before it won't turn on again, so i get some warning which i prefer.
Both lights are well regulated but once it started to dim the Saber took about half hour to turn off whereas the T10 took less than 15 minutes, so as an uninformed guess i'd guess the driver has been tweaked on the Saber to give a bit more warning.

 

[reppans]

I use Vapextech 2500 NiMH LSD cells which give ~2250mah when discharged at 350mah on my Technoline BL700.

For the T10 i got:
High - 55min
Medium - 10hr
Low - 80hr

For the Saber 1A i've only done high which also lasted 55 minutes. On both the T10 and 1A the decrease in brightness at 1hr is only noticable when directly comparing the photos, and is very slight.
The runtimes are very different to Thrunite's claimed times, i need to mail them at some point to find out how they got their times, especially on medium. While i'd love to have the claimed runtimes, given the size of the light the achieved runtimes work for me.

Thanks for the runtime tests, I always wondered how my T10 would do... your numbers for high and medium (39 hrs ??) seem much more realistic than the company spec. I do measure ThruNite's lumens to be accurate/conservative though (125/13/0.11 lms).

I am surprised by the firefly runtime though, a Quark will push ~250 hrs from an Eneloop on a brighter 0.17 lms moonlight.

 

[MT_155]

Cheers for the brightness info reppans, good to know. I thought the brightness ratings were conservative too, which i put down to being unfamiliar with the ANSI FL1 spec.
Ezarc's outdoor brightness comparison pic between the T10/Saber is a good representation to my eyes, there's a definite increase with the Saber on high.

I've just learnt that the FL1 spec is measured down to 10% brightness which may explain the high runtime, but not medium/low. With the same set of batteries i got 224 hours from my Eagletac D25A XP-G2 moonlight mode (1hr30 on turbo, 2hr35 on high) so i'd expect longer from the T10 too.

Incidentally, i've been having to use the Saber head on the T10 body as the Saber body is too narrow to take my Vapextechs, as well as my AW 14500s. Currently communicating with the Thrunite-Shop to determine why this is and will post details once this is concluded.

 

[reppans]

Yeah, I have the D25A XML NW and found it equally efficient as the Quark XML in some random runtime tests - I got 2:28 on high, ~ same as you. The D25A XML and QAAX moonlight both measure ~ 0.33 lumens for me, and so are quite a bit more efficient, it seems, than the TNs ( that really surprises me) ... Your 200+ hrs sound right - I got 50 hrs in the Quark from 1xAAAA (out of a 9V) which has about 1/4th the capacity of a AA.

Also, FYI, Thrunite, Eagletac, and Foursevens seem to be on the same lumen scale, which I calibrate to, so all their modes meet spec, more or less (ZL is way out in left field - but that's a whole other story).

Nice to triangulate some numbers, gives some verification. Thanks for sharing.

BTW.. just noticed you have a DSLR... if you're interesting in using it as ambient light meter let me know by PM. Calibrate it once, and you can measure any light, any mode (subject to 1/3rd stop increments, of course)..... that's what I'm using, and you sound like the testing type ;-)

 

[Dubois]

Nice overview ezarc. I have one on the way, and hoping the threads are as smooth as the Ti on my keychain.

 

[roadkill1109]

So it is confirmed that this light can take a 14500 cell? Gotta add this to my list then. :D

 

[Bumble]

Cheers for the brightness info reppans, good to know. I thought the brightness ratings were conservative too, which i put down to being unfamiliar with the ANSI FL1 spec.
Ezarc's outdoor brightness comparison pic between the T10/Saber is a good representation to my eyes, there's a definite increase with the Saber on high.

I've just learnt that the FL1 spec is measured down to 10% brightness which may explain the high runtime, but not medium/low. With the same set of batteries i got 224 hours from my Eagletac D25A XP-G2 moonlight mode (1hr30 on turbo, 2hr35 on high) so i'd expect longer from the T10 too.

Incidentally, i've been having to use the Saber head on the T10 body as the Saber body is too narrow to take my Vapextechs, as well as my AW 14500s. Currently communicating with the Thrunite-Shop to determine why this is and will post details once this is concluded.

the vapextechs or aw 14500s dont fit ! in particular the vapextechs !!! mine is on its way from the thrunite store and if pretty much "standard" nimh batteries dont fit ... they will be getting it straight back as selling me something which is "not fit for purpose"

do they seriously expect people to ONLY run it on alkalines ? as i take it they must fit !!. this is going to kill the sales of this light if it turns out to be alkaline only.

just noticed in review above "with a Ni-Mh it feels noticably heavier" , i wonder which Ni-mh he used ? is it going to be a Ni-Mh lottery with the sabre 1a ?????

EDIT!! i see creecrazy has posted some beamshots above with both sabre 1a and t10 using an eneloop....

 

[ezarc]

@ Bumble, I have about a dozen kinds of batteries, mostly LSD NiMH and only 1 kind wouldn't fit. That was the Turnigy LSD batteries from Hobby King.

 

[Bumble]

thanks for the info ezarc, much appreciated :)