Anyone with Thrunite tc12 ? thoughts .. or any other good 18650 recommendations ?

Hey i am new to the forum, my first post actually. I've read a few threads here and there the past few months, but i don't know a lot of the terms you guys use so please don't get too upset if my post isn't that good. I'm just curious if anyone has the new Thrunite tc12, and wants to share with me their opinions on it. The pros and cons.
I bought a little Bushnell 50 lumens flashlight with a cree led a few months ago at Walmart, and i had no idea how much i actually use it .. almost everyday. Its about the size of chapstick and holds one triple A battery, i can't remember the exact model name tho. But it is a great little light, i love it ! i decided its about time to upgrade tho, I watched a few youtube videos and decided to get the tc12, mainly because i quit smoking and started using electronic cigarettes that all use 18650 batteries so I'm pretty accustomed to them. i have already 8 cells and nitecore i4 charger (which i would highly recommend BTW). the tc12 isn't hear yet, i just ordered it yesterday on amazon for $70. but i would love to here your guys thoughts on it !! plus if you have any more recommendations on any other good 18650 lights i would love to here it !!! thanks !!

Hi there. Congratulations on your new light, and welcome to the site (just leave your wallet at the door ).

It's a very friendly place, so you're not going to get flamed if you get something wrong.

I don't have a TC12, but from what I've read you should find it a well-balanced, practical light. Did you get neutral or cool white? I have some other Thrunites, and like them all with one exception.

As for other 18650 lights, well, the sky's the limit. It all depends on how much or how little you want to spend, what you plan to use them for, and what you like. Some people chase max lumen output or max throw, some go for lower-output emitters with good color rendition. Some folks only buy neutral white tints, and others could care less. It took me a while to figure out what I like, which is single-cell lights with neutral white tints, and direct access to low- and high-modes. (That means that I like Zebralights.)

It can all get pretty complicated, but after a few weeks with your TC12, you'll have a better sense of what you want. More throw, more flood, different tints, etc.

If you haven't already, check out the reviews section and look at videos by Selfbuilt, or his site. He's a thorough, highly respected reviewer here. He has recommendations listed by battery type.

There's a budget brand called Convoy that's quite well regarded. You can order them with a choice of power levels and a wide range of tints for under $20 each. That would be a good way to figure out what sort of tint you like. (There are fakes out there, though, so buy from reputable dealers or the main Convoy store on aliexpress.) The S2+ model is probably your best bet, driven to 2.1A.

On the higher end of production lights, look at Zebralight. If you want to go crazy, then there's modded and semi-custom lights, or full-on customs.

Welcome to CPF!! I believe you made a good decision with the TC12. Thrunite overall is incredible as most of what they offer is just as good as their competition at near half the price I currently own 5 Thrunites and all of them are solid as a rock and meet or beat their advertised performance claims. When it comes to micro USB rechargeable lights the number of them being introduced continues to grow. I personally have at least a half dozen micro USB rechargeable lights small to big. I rarely use the micro USB feature on these lights as they just take longer to charge. I use a Xtar VC4 separate charger. Only occasionally do I use the built in micro USB features on those lights.

TC12 looks solid as a rock and has outstanding performance at a price that cannot be beat. Good choice. Im sure the micro USB feature will work fine it will just take longer to charge than a stand alone charging unit. You said you are familiar with 18650's since you vape. Okay that is cool but 18650's for vaping are usually very high amp low capacity cells on top of usually being flat tops. To get the best out of your TC12 the new 3500mah NCR18650GA 10 amp cell and the new Olight 3400 and 3600mah button top cells would net you best run time out of the light. These cells provide more than enough amps as well. I am not certain if flat top cells will work in the TC12. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

I'm liking mine a lot!

It's running on an Eastshine 3500mah battery and gets amazing run times!

My biggest niggle is with the lanyard holes. They don't allow for the lanyard to pass through the side of the tailcap - it passes over the rim, so when you try to tail-stand the light the cord gets in the way & makes the light super tippy.

I was messing with the lanyard today and found that a short piece of ball chain (around 2-3 inches) wrapped through the lanyard hole on the TC12 makes an excellent attachment point for a lanyard! The best part is that the ball chain moves out of the way when you tail-stand the light!

I would really like to have a version of the HC50 with a switch that allowed for lowering the lumens with a long half-press like the BLF A6 does.

Awesome light though!

Me likey!
Aldon

Oh, and here's a link to a very short thread I created about the TC12 not too long ago:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/416330

Keep us posted on how it's going with yours!
Aldon

Thank you all for your input !!

kudzu

I ended up just ordering the cool white version, i don't have a preferance yet but ill soon figure it out lol. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the zebra light sc600 mk iii, i think that will be my next light for sure ! And what do you mean by modded lights if you don't mind explaining or just sending me to some links ?!

celticcross74

As far as the my battery knowledge goes.. i was unaware i needed button tops, whoops !! Looks like I'm going to have to pick up some batteries lol, thanks for the recommendations !

limuhead

im glad you like yours , and thanks for sharing your opinions ! i don't think the lanyard will be a very big deal for me, i probably won't use it lol. But I'm going to take a look at your review. thanks !!

The most basic mods are probably emitter swaps - changing the LED to get more output, different tint or beam profile, etc. Then you can get fancier and add heat sinking, change switches, you name it. I wouldn't want to point to any one person over another, so just check out the modding section of the site to see what's on offer.

Then there's the whole P60 scene - lights that follow an old Surefire pattern and use something called P60 drop-ins, which are self-contained packages of reflector, emitter and driver that you can swap in and out. You get a lot of flexibility, but they can have some issues with heat buildup because of the way they fit together. They're fun, but some see them as obsolete. Like everything else, drop-ins and hosts range from the dirt cheap to the extremely expensive, but you can customize a light for less than $40.

Kudzu said:

The most basic mods are probably emitter swaps - changing the LED to get more output, different tint or beam profile, etc. Then you can get fancier and add heat sinking, change switches, you name it. I wouldn't want to point to any one person over another, so just check out the modding section of the site to see what's on offer.

Then there's the whole P60 scene - lights that follow an old Surefire pattern and use something called P60 drop-ins, which are self-contained packages of reflector, emitter and driver that you can swap in and out. You get a lot of flexibility, but they can have some issues with heat buildup because of the way they fit together. They're fun, but some see them as obsolete. Like everything else, drop-ins and hosts range from the dirt cheap to the extremely expensive, but you can customize a light for less than $40.

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i was taking a look at some of the old maglite mods and they are awesome ! But my tc12 just came in today, and i honestly could ask much more from a light, super bright in turbo (which ill probably not use much) but i like all the modes. i like the firefly mode a lot, and medium is said to put out 180 lumens for 10 hours which is plenty of light for most things. i love it. The zebra light sc600 mk 3 will be my next purchase for sure to keep in my duramax. i don't know if i want neutral white or cool white yet tho, but i don't mind the shade of thrunites cool white.

LimuHead said:

I'm liking mine a lot!

It's running on an Eastshine 3500mah battery and gets amazing run times!

My biggest niggle is with the lanyard holes. They don't allow for the lanyard to pass through the side of the tailcap - it passes over the rim, so when you try to tail-stand the light the cord gets in the way & makes the light super tippy.

I was messing with the lanyard today and found that a short piece of ball chain (around 2-3 inches) wrapped through the lanyard hole on the TC12 makes an excellent attachment point for a lanyard! The best part is that the ball chain moves out of the way when you tail-stand the light!

I would really like to have a version of the HC50 with a switch that allowed for lowering the lumens with a long half-press like the BLF A6 does.

Awesome light though!

Me likey!
Aldon

Click to expand...

You can also use a small split ring to do the same thing with the lanyard and allow for tail standing.


http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?203723-Nitecore-D10-lanyard-attachment

Bob

jasonsc95 said:

i was taking a look at some of the old maglite mods and they are awesome ! But my tc12 just came in today, and i honestly could ask much more from a light, super bright in turbo (which ill probably not use much) but i like all the modes. i like the firefly mode a lot, and medium is said to put out 180 lumens for 10 hours which is plenty of light for most things. i love it. The zebra light sc600 mk 3 will be my next purchase for sure to keep in my duramax. i don't know if i want neutral white or cool white yet tho, but i don't mind the shade of thrunites cool white.

Click to expand...

That's great - glad you like it.:twothumbs On the Zebra, go neutral. There's no downside, and a lot of potential benefit.

OP I am not 100 percent certain the TC12 needs button tops to work. That being said one of the new excellent high MaH cells out now with button tops (Keeppower, Orbtronic, Olight etc.)will work for sure. Just got the ZL MkIII HI and well.....I now have NO excuse to buy another light for a long long time. I have dozens and dozens of lights from small to huge etc. and have spent far to much money on the hobby over the past couple of years from lights to the best cells to chargers etc. Have the 2016 TN12 and it is simply awesome. Best micro USB light is the Fenix UC35 as the USB port is waterproof even with the cover open and charges on the quicker side vs my other micro USB lights.

OP for your TC12 a protected button top cell is wisest. That and hell now with the new 3500mah cells coming out and Olights truly impressive next gen 3400 and 3600mah protected cells(next gen as the protection circuit is a new design and is only on the positive end)you get solid run times. The 3400mah Thrunite cell is a good solid cell it is a Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mah cell with protection circuits added and its cheap. Your high amp low capacity vaping cells wont power the TC12 long(I am assuming your high amp vape cells are no more than 1500-2000mah?)the huge amperage they have wont boost anything as the light is regulated.

The Thrunite TC12 page is a bit confusing. There is key info missing. Best case scenario would be that the TC12 has all the necessary built in protections as well as springs at both ends of the tube that would allow an unprotected flat top cell to be used. My new ZL MkIII HI I ordered with the unprotected 3500mah Sanyo 10 amp cell as the light will not fit protected cells. So far so good the light has all the necessary built in protections and seems to charge a bit quicker without having protection circuits in the way. Good luck and one thing is sure TC12 is an awesome light is its supposed to be a rechargeable TN12.

Cannot say enough good things about Thrunite or Zebralight you cannot go wrong with either. Only drawback with the MkIII HI is that man...it has SO many modes, sub modes programmable PID etc. in order to go through them all and set this mode to X output etc you need to time pressing the switch perfectly and its way to easy to accidentally turn on a totally different function when trying to do something else. Love the ZL as the amount of tech, quality and sheer output of this paperweight little light is flat out amazing. I stick with the basic 3 modes though they do what I need them to do and I can double click any mode down a bit just like the MkII if I need to.

Am glad that Thrunite has not gone overboard on any of their lights UI leaving you with the interface of a Rubiks Cube.

Additional Tip: Orient the pocket clip so the opening points directly to the switch on the head. It makes it much easier to find the switch by touch alone. Just locate the pocket clip and follow its contour down to the button.
Aldon