Throwing Flashlight?

sunny747 · Apr 12, 2018

Hi All,

I had a Thrunite TN30. I loved that light.. I lost her somewhere. Recently I bought a Thorfire. It's a piece of junk compared to my Thrunite.

I use my light for work. I do a lot of work in attics and crawl spaces. Often I want to clearly see an area of an attic from 30 feet away. Might I be desiring a throwing flashlight? Or are they more for searching in the woods etc?

I think what is best for me is to have a direct beam of light rather than a flood-type light. This allows me to see contrast and focus on areas that could be a problem. (Water stains etc.) Rechargable is a must..

Thrunite seems to be the best value when it comes to quality lights, but am open to other brands. I don't want to spend a whole lot then lose it again.

I'm looking at the following.

TC 10 v3 which seems to have a good balance of size, lumens and throw
TC 12 v2 which has more lumens and less throw than the TC 10
Catapult mini. This is the grandaddy thrower and very high lumens.

Any input would be much appreciated. I guess my main question is what type of light pattern does a thrower give off at relatively close distances of 20-50 feet..

Thank you..

MikeSalt · Apr 12, 2018

I have an Olight M2X-UT Javelot for throwing duties running on a rechargeable 18650 cell. It is clear that everything about it was designed for throw, from its factory de-domed emitter (reduces effective emitter size) to the large, highly polished reflector. It really is a laser of light.

Unusually, for something with such a smooth reflector, the beam is free of artefacts when used at close range. Also, some people report a slight 'green' tint due to the lack of emitter dome, but I find mine to be very white.

Cobraman502 · Apr 12, 2018

sunny747 said:
Hi All,

I had a Thrunite TN30. I loved that light.. I lost her somewhere. Recently I bought a Thorfire. It's a piece of junk compared to my Thrunite.

I use my light for work. I do a lot of work in attics and crawl spaces. Often I want to clearly see an area of an attic from 30 feet away. Might I be desiring a throwing flashlight? Or are they more for searching in the woods etc?

I think what is best for me is to have a direct beam of light rather than a flood-type light. This allows me to see contrast and focus on areas that could be a problem. (Water stains etc.) Rechargable is a must..

Thrunite seems to be the best value when it comes to quality lights, but am open to other brands. I don't want to spend a whole lot then lose it again.

I'm looking at the following.

TC 10 v3 which seems to have a good balance of size, lumens and throw
TC 12 v2 which has more lumens and less throw than the TC 10
Catapult mini. This is the grandaddy thrower and very high lumens.

Any input would be much appreciated. I guess my main question is what type of light pattern does a thrower give off at relatively close distances of 20-50 feet..

Thank you..

Emisar d1S is a fantastic thrower, excellent build quality and UI is very useful. All at $40. Check out mtnelectronics.

KITROBASKIN · Apr 12, 2018

Emisar D1 may be more suitable for interior use, and very compact. The excellent D1S performs admirably at medium long distances outside, giving more versatility. Their ramping interface is so nice for dialing in just the right amount of light for your immediate need. Very easy to get back to a low setting by clicking off then briefly clicking on. Maximum is easily attained by double clicking. Double clicking again will get you back to the previous mode. Or maximum will come on first next time if a user turns the flashlight off while on 100%. This may sound more complicated than it really is. Very useful flashlight.

If color rendering is important, a Nichia emitter may be warranted: Emisar D4 would work, but is an area light.

Timothybil · Apr 12, 2018

I really like my Nitecore P30. It takes a single 18650, and has a little larger head so that it can throw a beam several hundred meters if needed. It also has a very nice spill pattern that complements the central beam.

When you say rechargeable, do you mean just uses rechargeable cells, or that the light itself has a USB port so that the cell(s) can be charged while still in the light? If the later, Nitecore has a whole series of lights, the MH series, that offer varying capabilities as lights, use normal LiIon rechargeable cells, and have the capability of being recharged via USB without removing the cell(s).

pc_light · Apr 12, 2018

sunny747 said:
Any input would be much appreciated. I guess my main question is what type of light pattern does a thrower give off at relatively close distances of 20-50 feet.

A dedicated thrower might have too tight a hot-spot at short distances, although at 20-50 feet most throwers will have enough useable spill at higher levels to be effective.

Two option when both close and far are needed include (1) a throwy light with flip-up/down diffuser, or (2) a quality variable focus light. One of the latter type I have is the Fenix FD41 with is very similar in size to the TC10 you are considering.

davemp · Apr 12, 2018

I have a Streamlight HL-X, which is a pretty throwy light. Maybe that would work out for you. It's not a big light, just 5.43" long and 1.44" head dia. and a 1" body dia. It comes with a 18650, 2600mah battery with built in usb charger and charging cord. I would use that battery as a back-up and buy a 3500mah battery to get longer run times.
The intensities are as follows: 1000 lumens-27'000cd/ 400 lumens-10'000cd/ 65 lumens-1'600cd.
I thought it might be worth your time to take a look at this one. Streamlight seems always overlooked. I like mine....davemp

sunny747 · Apr 12, 2018

Thank you everyone.. You guys are always so informative... I'm going to take a look at all of the suggested lights..

sunny747 · Apr 12, 2018

You know what's funny? I logged on to check my messages on here after work and I was looking for my post.. I saw a post name "Throwing Flashlight" And thought to myself.. "Who the heck would want to throw their flashlight????" then I realized it was my post

JoeRodge · Apr 12, 2018

I would much rather have a floody Zebralight than a thrower in an area of that size. Especially one of their 4100k high CRI variants. Everything will look great, nothing will br washed out.

The only other kind of light in that situation that I like is my Fenix PD35.

My EDC with a good amount of throw/flood is my Zebralight sc600sw IV Plus. Works great for all conditions.

My dedicated small size thrower is my D1S. But like someone already said the D1 would be better suited for your needs.

e1000 · Apr 13, 2018

Acebeam L16? I'm looking for a thrower too.

pc_light · Apr 13, 2018

sunny747 said:
You know what's funny? I logged on to check my messages on here after work and I was looking for my post.. I saw a post name "Throwing Flashlight" And thought to myself.. "Who the heck would want to throw their flashlight????" then I realized it was my post

Oh that's a completely opposite relationship - one gets better throwing distance with a smaller light but better spill [

] with a larger light.

bykfixer · Apr 13, 2018

The modern thrower (circa 2016+) is vastly different than ones from say, 2013 due to much higher output from those modern LED's.

Before 500+ lumens were the norm a thrower used a pencil beam where most of the light shot forward like out of a snoot with enough spill to light your footsteps.

These days the beam is typically more of a triangle with a brighter hotspot than the edges yet lots of light to the sides. In some cases updated models don't throw quite as far (you'll see a lower cd number than previous models).

I'd say look for a thrower with a medium setting for times when 20 feet or so is all you need to light up.

mobilerd · Apr 13, 2018

You loved the TN30, as do I. Why wouldn't you just buy another TN30?

wjv · Apr 13, 2018

pc_light said:
Oh that's a completely opposite relationship - one gets better throwing distance with a smaller light but better spill [] with a larger light.

If you tie a string around the light and spin it really fast you can throw it even farther. . .

But staying on topic here. . . If you don't mind a "soda can" type of light, the Olight SR52UT is a GREAT thrower for the price with really good run times. 4 hours on max with no step-down using 3,400 mAh batteries. Two additional lower levels with even greater run times. 800+ meter range. Lots of reviews on Youtube.

domho8 · Apr 13, 2018

MikeSalt said:
I have an Olight M2X-UT Javelot for throwing duties running on a rechargeable 18650 cell. It is clear that everything about it was designed for throw, from its factory de-domed emitter (reduces effective emitter size) to the large, highly polished reflector. It really is a laser of light.

Unusually, for something with such a smooth reflector, the beam is free of artefacts when used at close range. Also, some people report a slight 'green' tint due to the lack of emitter dome, but I find mine to be very white.

Yes I have this and I like the throw.
It's v white for me.

row111 · Apr 18, 2018

MikeSalt said:
I have an Olight M2X-UT Javelot for throwing duties running on a rechargeable 18650 cell. It is clear that everything about it was designed for throw, from its factory de-domed emitter (reduces effective emitter size) to the large, highly polished reflector. It really is a laser of light.

Unusually, for something with such a smooth reflector, the beam is free of artefacts when used at close range. Also, some people report a slight 'green' tint due to the lack of emitter dome, but I find mine to be very white.

For that Olight, it does not look like you plug the entire unit in to recharge - also the mfr website says "optional charger." So, "charger" must not be built in if optional. I saw no picture or information on this charger. So, if you go this route, you may just want to use a good charger you pick, separately.

IlluminationDomination · Apr 19, 2018

sunny747 said:
You know what's funny? I logged on to check my messages on here after work and I was looking for my post.. I saw a post name "Throwing Flashlight" And thought to myself.. "Who the heck would want to throw their flashlight????" then I realized it was my post

lol!!! Here is a reason why!! TRUE story.

A few weeks ago I got a light back from repair. It was having trouble changing modes and also was flickering[I cleaned contacts]. This continued. Out of Frustration I threw the light and it bounced off of my TK75 case and landed softly on the carpet. It has been working flawlessly since then! lol!! :crackup:

:twothumbs

Fireclaw18 · Apr 27, 2018

IlluminationDomination said:
lol!!! Here is a reason why!! TRUE story.

A few weeks ago I got a light back from repair. It was having trouble changing modes and also was flickering[I cleaned contacts]. This continued. Out of Frustration I threw the light and it bounced off of my TK75 case and landed softly on the carpet. It has been working flawlessly since then! lol!!:twothumbs

Hahaha. I saw "throwing flashlight" and was thinking "hm... should it have fins on the back to make it fly straight?"

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