ThruNite Catapult SST-50 Thrower Review: Pics, Comparisons, Beamshots, and more

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I read that review also. Excellent review!

Flashlites R Us, how would you describe the tint of your light? Neutral, cool, or warm?
 
Up till recently I have owned/used incandesants with a Streamlight Strion (krypton) being my EDC for the last five years. I do own a few much older led's but they all throw out ugly blue tinted beamshots.

Comparing between my halogens/kryptons, my old led's and my Catapult the Cat's tint looks neutral to my eyes.

People who own many of the new generation lights with various brands/manufacturers of led's may think otherwise.

Hope I have been of some help.
 
Flashlites R Us said:
Up till recently I have owned/used incandesants with a Streamlight Strion (krypton) being my EDC for the last five years. I do own a few much older led's but they all throw out ugly blue tinted beamshots.

Comparing between my halogens/kryptons, my old led's and my Catapult the Cat's tint looks neutral to my eyes.

People who own many of the new generation lights with various brands/manufacturers of led's may think otherwise.

Hope I have been of some help.
Click to expand...


Thanks! 🙂
Actually, that helps a lot. You have a fresh prospective on the tint game. I prefer warm tints, but it seems it is a waiting game for those. A neutral to warm tint would be my preference for a light that is used outdoors.
 
redflash said:
Thanks! 🙂
Actually, that helps a lot. You have a fresh prospective on the tint game. I prefer warm tints, but it seems it is a waiting game for those. A neutral to warm tint would be my preference for a light that is used outdoors.
Click to expand...

virtually all my LEDs are neutral. the only exception is a Dereelight pill w/ a CREE Q4, 5A (it might actually be a Q3 but i'm not sure) and the Catapult. The Q4, 5A is very warm, it has somewhat of an orange color and the Catapult is yellow, almost greenish which sounds bad but i think the glare off the leaves and trees looks less artificial than the Q4 emitter or any of my other neutral lamps. its definitely not white colored...i don't think i've seen any beamshots, even ones i've taken, that accurately convey what the color is. it would definitely look neutral compared to some of the older cooler emitters.
 
Selfbuilt now has one of his excellent reviews up for this light.:twothumbs
It really helps to see reviews from a lot of different people.
 
Wow, That is an insane mix of lights. I love it!!!!!!!!!!!
The website is posted on the side of the video so I'm going to see
if I can get some high quality pics to compare with.
 
45 ACP said:
Can anyone tell me where is the best place to order this light? I want it in time for Xmas, but battery junction is backordered and predicting to get more in on the 20th. Thats cutting it kinda close for an Xmas present.

Can someone please advise? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I ordered mine through CFR Lights. (http://www.cfrlights.com/servlet/StoreFront)

Although since Thrunite didnt list them as authorized dealer I don't know if they are. The shipped UPS day after I paid, scheduled to arrive Wednesday. :twothumbs
 
My Catapult arrived today and I am impressed with the build of the light.

I have a couple of questions though.

I seem to have an off centre emitter or something. The hot spot seems OK but around the corona there is part of it missing if I shine it on the wall? I will test it outside at range in a while when it's dark and report back but is anyone else's not uniform?

Also when I unscrew the reflector housing and look at the plastic surrounding the LED, should most of it be white like the OP's picture of his with a couple of dark spots? I suppose this is some sort of thermal paste under the plastic. Mine has two white blobs either side of the LED and the majority is dark, unlike the OP's who's plastic looked almost all white?


Steve.
 
I nearly blinded myself shining my Cat off the wall, looking :duh2: I cannot see any abnormallity in the beam of my Catapult, everything looks perfect. Is the base of the reflector seated flat around the led or is it misshapen in any way?
Someone who posted on another thread sent his TC back because he wasn't happy with the yellow corona ring around the spot, I personally don't care, It's a great flashlight and is probably down to the type of led used, the SST-50. I'm happy with it. Can anybody else offer their opinion on this :popcorn:
 
Right it is now dark and I have had a play with the new torch with two AW 18650's in it. As for the beam pattern, it is very nice outside and I have no problem with it and don't notice the missing corona. The close in wall shots were not uniform but I won't be shining this light at walls close in so no problem.

The beam is not that floody but certainly has more than enough flood for me, but it is definitely a thrower and why I bought it and it out shines all my lights bar the aspheric A9 at 64 yards tested so far!

The tint is a yellow with purple bits when viewed close in. Shining this on green trees and grass gives a nice image and brings out the green better than my TK11 R2 which has a more orange light.

As for the UI, I like it! I like it coming on in high every time and it is easy to go down in brightness levels if I want to. Plus it is easy to avoid the strobe altogether if you don't want it. (The strobe is a little quick but perfect for impromptu raves!!) Just leave the light off in whatever mode your in and it goes back to high-lovely!!
I am a lower low lover and would have liked some sort of really low output for night vision preservation for close range work, but as is it is O.K as I understand this is primarily a throwing search type light.

This light is and feels solid and the knurling is excellent. It feels well balanced to me and is much easier to handle than say a Mag 3D. The body is thinner than a mag-lite which I prefer.

The tail switch is easy to operate if you get your finger between the two raised bits that allow it to tail-stand. It may not be the best design for someone in a hurry for light. If you don't get your finger between the raised bits it is a little uncomfortable to use especially with the lanyard fitted which was a tad tight to push through the slot but once through is great.

My threads and O-rings were bone dry but I have remedied this with some moly oil. I am surprised you don't get any spare O-rings though?

I must go over the fields to try this out properly with all my other lights and get a proper feel for this light.#

This size light still isn't outside the realms of a gun mounted lamp IMO so maybe a remote switch could be potentially offered? Hunters opinions welcomed!!

D wolf, I am unsure if the base is seated flat but even if it isn't I ain't sending it back to the states as I don't have a problem at the ranges this will be used at. I too have a yellow flower petal like pattern corona when shone on a close wall but I don't shine on close walls often!

So far 9/10 score from me. Would have got a 10 if the LED was centred and a lower low was present.


Nice!


Steve.
 
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ateallthepies said:
Also when I unscrew the reflector housing and look at the plastic surrounding the LED, should most of it be white like the OP's picture of his with a couple of dark spots? I suppose this is some sort of thermal paste under the plastic. Mine has two white blobs either side of the LED and the majority is dark, unlike the OP's who's plastic looked almost all white?
Click to expand...
hey steve..
from the lighting, the "blobs" didn't show up on the pictures. that is fine, but I'm unsure about the miscentered LED.
 
ateallthepies said:
My Catapult arrived today and I am impressed with the build of the light.

I have a couple of questions though.

I seem to have an off centre emitter or something. The hot spot seems OK but around the corona there is part of it missing if I shine it on the wall? I will test it outside at range in a while when it's dark and report back but is anyone else's not uniform?

Also when I unscrew the reflector housing and look at the plastic surrounding the LED, should most of it be white like the OP's picture of his with a couple of dark spots? I suppose this is some sort of thermal paste under the plastic. Mine has two white blobs either side of the LED and the majority is dark, unlike the OP's who's plastic looked almost all white?


Steve.
Click to expand...

that plastic cover on mine looks semi-transparent as you describe, means nothing. as far as being off center...mine was absolutely perfect when i got it but the emitter eventually popped free because the head can be over tightened...the bottom of the reflector will push down on that plastic cover just beyond the edges of the emitter. it also bent the reflector upwards a little. i still have the reflector and was sent a new emitter for free. now my hotspot is slightly off center, i'm sure its the distortion in the reflector. i might get another reflector in the future but i'm more than pleased at this point. its impossible to notice such a tiny flaw in the field anyways. you're the first i've heard having the hotspot off right out of the box. might be for the same reason mine is, either way just be aware that it is possible to over tighten the head.
 
Oh and scrub my comment about not having any spare O rings. I found the pack with them in along with a spare switch, on the floor where they must have fell out as I tore the packaging open in a new light frenzy😀

Around my LED there is four metal tags that the reflector housing, when screwed home sits on. I assume this is for heat sinking?

I would have thought the housing would not even touch the plastic surround if screwed down tight as it would have to get past these tiny metal tags first?


Steve.
 
First off thanks to CSSHIH for the review and Thrunite for following.

Just got my Catapult today and love it. I don't have a very technical review and this is my first "quality" light, but this light seems top notch. The beam is very bright and well focused. I would say it is illuminating really well at 250+yds. The pictures of the flashlight itself don't do it any justice. This light is a nice looking flashlight, so don't let the looks factor sway you toward another light.

I was also thinking about buying the m1x for three reasons: better UI, better looks (which I dunno now since I am holding my catapult), and its been on the market longer i think, but I bought the Catapult because of the higher output, supposedly nicer beam (havent directly compared), and Thrunites dedication to these threads. They seem to have really good customer service.

Quality wise I have only found one minor flaw, and that is a little (very little) bump or glob in the very bottom of the reflector. I dont think this is effecting my beam, so no big deal. Other than that all contents of the package were flawless. It came with ex tube, lanyard, extra o-rings, extra switch, one sheet manual, and warranty card all in a nice box.

The only functional thing I don't care much for in the light is the switch (UI). I was expecting a "soft touch" to cycle modes, but you must cycle the switch completely to switch modes. With this type of switch I think a memory would be nice. I generally dont prefer a memory though, just takes a little longer to cycle with this type of switch. Also, I liked JetBEAMs custimizable UI, but catapult won in the end and I am happy with my $150 flashlight.

Rating: 9.5/10

Side Note: would unprotected (18650) 2200mah samsung laptop cells be ok to use in this light since the light has a voltage cutoff? They seem to hold a charge at 4.18 volts and work well in my cheapy flashlights so far. I don't want to blow up my new light and I'm a little unclear on the protected circuits on the batteries and the lights themselves.

:thumbsup:
 
BigT504 said:
Side Note: would unprotected (18650) 2200mah samsung laptop cells be ok to use in this light since the light has a voltage cutoff? They seem to hold a charge at 4.18 volts and work well in my cheapy flashlights so far. I don't want to blow up my new light and I'm a little unclear on the protected circuits on the batteries and the lights themselves.
Click to expand...

I would not recommend using unprotected 18650s in a multicell light with large current draw unless you go educate yourself on Li-ion cells over in the battery section. It's best you learn all the possible risks and the ways to reduce danger before using unprotected cells in a multiple cell light.

I'm currently using Sanyo unprotected cells in quite a few of my lights. 😗
 
One 18650 is Good. we have defind the max output is 70% of the Max output. so it the current is less. so it is very safe. we define the current will be 70% when the voltage is less than 4.2v. so the light is still safe,we have considered it before!
 
Nice looking light. I too would prefer to have one output, wide open. I could always swap in a HipCC or a SharkBuck for that. :naughty:
 
Was looking for a decent thrower looks like I have found one.
Wondering has any one mounted one of these on a hunting rifle as yet?
Currently using a WE sniper 260 and finding the throw a little limited, so looking to upgrade to a bigger and better torch. Unless any one as any other suggestions?
BTW thanks for the review and critiques of the torch, even if most seems to be in a alternate language.
sledge
 
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