rickypanecatyl
Enlightened
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2009
- Messages
- 913
I just got Thrunites V2 Scorpion w/turbo head and wanted to jot my thoughts down. I usually only write reviews on products I love or hate as those are the ones I feel warrant mention. The scorpion is neither for me. Bottom line I really like it but at the same time there are lots of things that could be improved.
Before I comment on the scorpion let me just say I was looking for an "XL size EDC" with as much bang for the size as I could get. I also wanted multiple output levels for use in all kinds of tasks. I wanted a simple UI AND the ability to choose which output level the light was coming on in BEFORE turning it on. I'm not very dainty with my tools and so I need a rugged, dependable light as well.
So here are my thoughts on what's hot, what's not and what could be improved with the scorpion.
What's hot!
- It has amazing power for it's size! I was just comparing it to my 2,100 lumen copper varapower with my wife and of course the varapower is brighter but the scorpion is so impressive for its size! It beats the 65 watt, H4 bulb on my motorcycle (though that made me think I should throw a relay in there).
- Very nice gradual transition from hot spot to corona with no donut.
- Good throw. I would have preferred a bit more but I sure can't complain. For my "XL EDC" category I was looking for a light with a +/- 1.8" bezel (Deree DBS size). This is smaller than that but it does throw great for a 1 5/8" bezel. FWIW I can carry it around without noticing its there in a SAP pocket.
- Clip is good and I'm not worried about losing the light.
- The reflector seems to work really well with this LED.
What's not!
- The UI is really complicated. To make matters worse, the spinning tailcap adjuster, spins just from brushing it. I haven't yet figured out how to access the lockout mode.
- Tail cap button FEELS kind of chinsy. I'm not saying it is but it doesn't inspire confidence. The light can come on very easily while in my pocket. My thumb brushing against it while walking for instance can turn it on/off multiple times as well as changing the modes. On a long walk I just did I probably turned it on 4 of 5 times and it went from firefly to strobe any number of times. Put it in your pocket and go for a run and you may see your pocket strobing etc.
- Output levels are pretty limited for an "infinitely variable" light. Of course there is no such thing as infinitely variable. I know this disagrees with others #'s but I'm going to guess that the firefly mode is about 3 lumens and the lowest of the "infinitely variable" ramping stage is about 60 lumens. For reference on the firefly, my varapower has 3 modes which are lower; it falls between the moonlight and low on the Maelstrom G5 but much closer to low than the moonlight. I was concerned it would be enough light to read in bed at night. Its far more than enough and in fact bother's my wife.
- Ramping mode is very slow. It takes quite some time to go from low to high. It does blink when it reaches both the highest and lowest settings.
Random UI thoughts
As long as you don't loosen the metal tail cap, in the "infinite variable mode" it comes on at the last level you left it in. I've got my light set up so that it comes on at the lowest level which I'm guessing to be 60 lumens. (Selfbuilt on his test said his was 37 I believe. My guess is there is not that big a difference between lights high modes but there are big differences in low modes sometimes. I've noticed when he tests 2 of the same lights sometimes there are huge differences in the 2 different samples of the same lights moonlight or low modes.)
In trying to make my light as practical as possible I've got it set to come on at the lowest setting of the infinite adjustable mode. Thus when the mode ring is all the way counter clockwise and I turn it on it comes on at 60 lumens. Next click clockwise it comes on in firefly mode, next click is momentary strobe (have to hold the button down) and finally is turbo. I'm fine with the jump from 60 to turbo; if 60 lumens isn't quite bright enough for the task I'm doing, 700 will not be too much. Consequently I don't bother with the ramping mode – it's too slow. Of course it's important when you don't want to hold the button down anymore. I basically treat the light like a selector ring light with the exception that in order to change output levels you have to turn it off then switch and then turn it back on. So with the selector ring all the way counter clockwise, as I turn it clockwise it goes from:
Medium (60 lumens), Low 3 lumens, Momentary strobe, Momentary Turbo (700 lumens).
It does seem to be a bit large of a jump between firefly and lowest adjustable; and I could could go for a lower low than the firefly as well.
For those wondering once you have the light turned on in either firefly or adjusting/infinitely variable mode you can spin the tail cap ring all you want and it won't change the mode until you turn it off and turn it back on.
Improvements
I think everything about this light is amazing with the exception of the chinsy feeling tail cap and the extremely complicated UI. If this light had a selector ring like a Fenix TA21 or a Jetbeam RRT1 it would be awesome! A 4 sevens Maelstrom G5/X7 UI would be great.
Keep in mind I love this light except for the UI, but just for fun, I had to put together a scenario of what its' like changing output levels on this light vs a selector ring light.
Good selector ring light – moonlight is all the way left, high all the way right; even a stoopid monkey in a panic - in a firefight, can figure out what output level the light is going to come on in. Need a bit more or less? Turn the ring lower or higher; watch it get brighter or dimmer.
Scorpion infinitely variable – First you set the tail cap selector switch in the infinite variable mode. Was that all the way left, or 1 click over from the left? It doesn't matter – just turn the light on and if you got it wrong, turn it off and carefully count back the correct number of clicks. You do remember the 5 settings correct?? OK… now we are in the right tail cap switch position – turn it on again. Good!! Oh is it flashing? You must've bumped it… no problem just turn it off and then turn it back 2 more clicks to the left (or was that the right). What's that? You can't see… got stars in your eyes…. Ok now that we are in the infinitely variable mode turn it off and turn it back on again. Don't like the output level – just hold the button down until it gets to where you like it. What it turned off? Oh, sorry, you need to know (very important this!) when you turn it on in the infinitely variable mode you can't take your thumb off the button until it gets to the output level you are shooting for. (NO!! You can't have a level below 60 lumens!) If you turn it on in that mode and take your finger off when you go to adjust it it will turn off.
Another advantage to set modes over infinitely variable is guestimating your runtime. You learn your light and you know approximately how many lumens you need for what task. 60 lumens with night adjusted vision is brighter than 600 lumens with shrunken pupils. Just saying that if I was night hiking on a well marked trail and I had a selector ring with a 4 lumen mode and it didn't seem bright enough I'd know the fault was my eyes not having adjusted not too little lumens.
If thrunite can't do the selector ring some smaller changes I think would help would be to speed up the ramping levels, offer a version with no strobe, have glow in the dark markings for the different modes.
Ruggedness
This is one of the most important factors to me in a light and I can't believe I've already had it 2 days and haven't even dropped it yet! I'm not going to go out of my way to hurt it, but I'll update this section as stuff happens.
Before I comment on the scorpion let me just say I was looking for an "XL size EDC" with as much bang for the size as I could get. I also wanted multiple output levels for use in all kinds of tasks. I wanted a simple UI AND the ability to choose which output level the light was coming on in BEFORE turning it on. I'm not very dainty with my tools and so I need a rugged, dependable light as well.
So here are my thoughts on what's hot, what's not and what could be improved with the scorpion.
What's hot!
- It has amazing power for it's size! I was just comparing it to my 2,100 lumen copper varapower with my wife and of course the varapower is brighter but the scorpion is so impressive for its size! It beats the 65 watt, H4 bulb on my motorcycle (though that made me think I should throw a relay in there).
- Very nice gradual transition from hot spot to corona with no donut.
- Good throw. I would have preferred a bit more but I sure can't complain. For my "XL EDC" category I was looking for a light with a +/- 1.8" bezel (Deree DBS size). This is smaller than that but it does throw great for a 1 5/8" bezel. FWIW I can carry it around without noticing its there in a SAP pocket.
- Clip is good and I'm not worried about losing the light.
- The reflector seems to work really well with this LED.
What's not!
- The UI is really complicated. To make matters worse, the spinning tailcap adjuster, spins just from brushing it. I haven't yet figured out how to access the lockout mode.
- Tail cap button FEELS kind of chinsy. I'm not saying it is but it doesn't inspire confidence. The light can come on very easily while in my pocket. My thumb brushing against it while walking for instance can turn it on/off multiple times as well as changing the modes. On a long walk I just did I probably turned it on 4 of 5 times and it went from firefly to strobe any number of times. Put it in your pocket and go for a run and you may see your pocket strobing etc.
- Output levels are pretty limited for an "infinitely variable" light. Of course there is no such thing as infinitely variable. I know this disagrees with others #'s but I'm going to guess that the firefly mode is about 3 lumens and the lowest of the "infinitely variable" ramping stage is about 60 lumens. For reference on the firefly, my varapower has 3 modes which are lower; it falls between the moonlight and low on the Maelstrom G5 but much closer to low than the moonlight. I was concerned it would be enough light to read in bed at night. Its far more than enough and in fact bother's my wife.
- Ramping mode is very slow. It takes quite some time to go from low to high. It does blink when it reaches both the highest and lowest settings.
Random UI thoughts
As long as you don't loosen the metal tail cap, in the "infinite variable mode" it comes on at the last level you left it in. I've got my light set up so that it comes on at the lowest level which I'm guessing to be 60 lumens. (Selfbuilt on his test said his was 37 I believe. My guess is there is not that big a difference between lights high modes but there are big differences in low modes sometimes. I've noticed when he tests 2 of the same lights sometimes there are huge differences in the 2 different samples of the same lights moonlight or low modes.)
In trying to make my light as practical as possible I've got it set to come on at the lowest setting of the infinite adjustable mode. Thus when the mode ring is all the way counter clockwise and I turn it on it comes on at 60 lumens. Next click clockwise it comes on in firefly mode, next click is momentary strobe (have to hold the button down) and finally is turbo. I'm fine with the jump from 60 to turbo; if 60 lumens isn't quite bright enough for the task I'm doing, 700 will not be too much. Consequently I don't bother with the ramping mode – it's too slow. Of course it's important when you don't want to hold the button down anymore. I basically treat the light like a selector ring light with the exception that in order to change output levels you have to turn it off then switch and then turn it back on. So with the selector ring all the way counter clockwise, as I turn it clockwise it goes from:
Medium (60 lumens), Low 3 lumens, Momentary strobe, Momentary Turbo (700 lumens).
It does seem to be a bit large of a jump between firefly and lowest adjustable; and I could could go for a lower low than the firefly as well.
For those wondering once you have the light turned on in either firefly or adjusting/infinitely variable mode you can spin the tail cap ring all you want and it won't change the mode until you turn it off and turn it back on.
Improvements
I think everything about this light is amazing with the exception of the chinsy feeling tail cap and the extremely complicated UI. If this light had a selector ring like a Fenix TA21 or a Jetbeam RRT1 it would be awesome! A 4 sevens Maelstrom G5/X7 UI would be great.
Keep in mind I love this light except for the UI, but just for fun, I had to put together a scenario of what its' like changing output levels on this light vs a selector ring light.
Good selector ring light – moonlight is all the way left, high all the way right; even a stoopid monkey in a panic - in a firefight, can figure out what output level the light is going to come on in. Need a bit more or less? Turn the ring lower or higher; watch it get brighter or dimmer.
Scorpion infinitely variable – First you set the tail cap selector switch in the infinite variable mode. Was that all the way left, or 1 click over from the left? It doesn't matter – just turn the light on and if you got it wrong, turn it off and carefully count back the correct number of clicks. You do remember the 5 settings correct?? OK… now we are in the right tail cap switch position – turn it on again. Good!! Oh is it flashing? You must've bumped it… no problem just turn it off and then turn it back 2 more clicks to the left (or was that the right). What's that? You can't see… got stars in your eyes…. Ok now that we are in the infinitely variable mode turn it off and turn it back on again. Don't like the output level – just hold the button down until it gets to where you like it. What it turned off? Oh, sorry, you need to know (very important this!) when you turn it on in the infinitely variable mode you can't take your thumb off the button until it gets to the output level you are shooting for. (NO!! You can't have a level below 60 lumens!) If you turn it on in that mode and take your finger off when you go to adjust it it will turn off.
Another advantage to set modes over infinitely variable is guestimating your runtime. You learn your light and you know approximately how many lumens you need for what task. 60 lumens with night adjusted vision is brighter than 600 lumens with shrunken pupils. Just saying that if I was night hiking on a well marked trail and I had a selector ring with a 4 lumen mode and it didn't seem bright enough I'd know the fault was my eyes not having adjusted not too little lumens.
If thrunite can't do the selector ring some smaller changes I think would help would be to speed up the ramping levels, offer a version with no strobe, have glow in the dark markings for the different modes.
Ruggedness
This is one of the most important factors to me in a light and I can't believe I've already had it 2 days and haven't even dropped it yet! I'm not going to go out of my way to hurt it, but I'll update this section as stuff happens.
it just that it doesn't fill in all the gaps. Was the gladius really able to stop on all lumens inbetween ie 2,3, 7 etc?
