Thrunite TC15 The Outsider Edition Flashlight Review

Thrunite made a special edition of the TC15 with YouTuber The Outsider. This is a neat e-switch light with a tactical feel. Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Thrunite TC15 The Outsider Edition Flashlight product page.

Versions

There are two versions – NW and CW (though the NW version doesn’t seem to be in stock – maybe not even made yet?)  I have the CW version.  The package includes a cell, too, and there doesn’t seem to be a package without the cell.

Price and Coupon

This one goes for $49.99 on Amazon right now.  That is an Amazon referral link.

Thrunite is also offering a free Ti3 keyring torch worth $13.95 for the 100 honest reviews on Amazon.  You’ll need to message Thrunite on FaceBook for that deal, though.

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Short Review

This light still churns out the lumens.  It hits its claimed output and throw easily.  Charging is good, too.  It’s a very good light!  The finish is probably what you’ll buy this one for, though, and I can say it’s a nice change of pace.  It’s not glossy black like most flashlights.  It’s a matte brown.  So if you want to support The Outsider, and/or have a matte brown light, then this is a great choice!

Long Review

The Big Table

Thrunite TC15 – The Outsider
Emitter:	Cree XHP35 HD (NW)
Price in USD at publication time:	$49.99 on amazon.
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime	High Runtime
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (A):	0.00004
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Chargetime
Power off Charge Port with no Cell?	2 modes. Also 2 modes while charging.
Claimed Lumens (lm)	2300
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	2313 (100.6% of claim)^
Claimed Throw (m)	246
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	824lux @ 5.174m = 22059cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	297.0 (120.7% of claim)^
All my Thrunite reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer:  Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

What’s Included

• Thrunite TC15 The Outsider special edition Flashlight
• Thrunite protected 18650
• Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)
• Lanyard
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Spare switch rubber
• Spare charge port covers (2)
• Pocket clip
• Nylon pouch
• Manual and paperwork

Package and Manual

The light ships in the Thrunite standard slip-fit box, with foam inside.

The manual is also very Thrunite.  Perfectly adequate.

Build Quality and Disassembly

Like the original TC15, this light is well built.  I like the color and finish of this edition too.  The matte really adds extra grip and would be great with gloves.  I also like the logo, aside from its association with The Outsider.  It’s just a nice touch!

This edition does bring up a good point about Thrunite and special editions.  The Outsider has 360k subscribers.  Hopefully, when zeroair.org has 360k subscribers we can have our very own special edition, too!  Or maybe just when r/flashlight hits that number, we can make something happen.  🙂

The tailcap doesn’t have a magnet and has a spring that is fairly soft.  The head doesn’t have a spring at all; just brass contact points.

The threads on the cell tube are square-cut and thick, and anodized.  This allows easily mechanical lockout.

Size and Comps

• Dimensions: 122.5mm (length) x 27mm (body diameter) x 24mm (head diameter).
• Weight: 71g (excluding battery)

This is not a short light.  Diameter is normal for a tube light (maybe even a little thick) but then, the TC15 does add charging and a side switch.  That said, I’d like to see this light be a little shorter.

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+.  Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple.  A very nice 18650 light.

And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light.  I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.

Retention and Carry

Thrunite includes a nylon pouch with a plastic D-ring.  The pouch has stretchy sides and accepts the light bezel up or down.

The pocket clip fits only one end of the cell tube, but the cell tube is reversible.

There’s also a lanyard included, which will primarily attach on the tailcap.  There’s a (small but unusually generously sized) hole on the end for attachment.  The pocket clip also has the appropriate holes, but I don’t like to trust friction clips for this task.

Power and Runtime

A single 18650 powers the TC15.  Thrunite, fortunately, includes a very high-quality protected button top cell.  The light will work with unprotected flat tops, but the cell tube is so long, and there ends up being so much extra space, that the cell can bounce around a little in there.  Couple that with the soft spring and no spring on the head; I’d just stick with the included cell generally.

In any case, the included cell is quite capable of powering this Cree XHP35 HD.  The peak output (initial turn on) on Turbo is around 2700 lumens (!!!), and begins to drift downward for around a minute.  I measure the 30-second output at around 2400 lumens, which is above the claim.  The light then begins a quick descent to just below the High output, where it stays in a very regulated state until an abrupt shutoff due to LVP.  It’s a 12V emitter, so the boost circuit probably can’t boost the cell to the required Vf much below 3V anyway.

Just like other Thrunite cells (and the original TC15), the wrapper is a little transparent…. it’s possible to make out the “30Q” text on the original (flat top, unprotected) cell’s wrapper.  That’s a good choice – 30Q’s are great cells!

The runtimes below are notably similar to the original (except turbo lasts much longer – as long as you’d expect it to, in fact).

A runtime on High looks equally stable but also lasts much longer because there’s no massive hit from the 6.5A turbo.  Shutoff is similar though, stopping abruptly at 2.95V.

Using bench power, the light goes off at 2.5V with switch warning.  (In practice as seen above, the light shuts off sooner.)

Charging

The TC15 also has built-in charging.  This is possible using micro-USB (and a USB to micro-USB cable is included.)  The charge port is in the head of the light, opposite the switch.

Charging is respectable, at around 1.1A during the CC phase.  The charge process takes around 3 hours.  If nothing else is improved from the original edition, charging certainly is.  It’s faster, and more steadily at >1A for longer.  This makes it quicker, too.

The indicating switch displays charge information, too.

During charging, the indicator is RED
After being fully charged, the indicator will be BLUE
When indicator flashes purple, it means abnormal charging
Only firefly and low mode is available during charging.

The light has LVP, and the indicating switch has some indicating functions, as follows:

• Battery capacity: >20%, Blue light will be ON.
• Battery capacity: 10%-20%, Red light will be ON.
• Battery capacity: <10%, Red light will flash and remind to charge the battery immediately.
• After being fully charged, Blue light will be ON.
• Note: the battery capacity indicator will not work at Firefly mode, or when the battery capacity is 0%.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	2300+820	2m+83m	2449	9.05
High	1050	90m	1144	2.22
Medium	250	6.5h		0.40
Low	25	68h		0.04
Firefly	1	41.5d		0.00

Pulse Width Modulation

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor.  Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find.  I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light.  Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms.  5ms.  2ms.  1ms.  0.5ms.  0.2ms.  In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line.  I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.

User Interface and Operation

Thrunite’s standard metal side e-switch graces the TC15.  It’s well documented that I really like this switch, and fortunately for me, Thrunite uses it often.

Here’s a UI table! The UI is exactly the same as on many other Thrunites with this switch, including the TN42!

State	Action	Result
Off	Hold	Firefly
Off	Click	On (Mode Memory except for Turbo/Firefly/Strobe)
Any	Double click	Turbo
Turbo	Double click	Strobe
On	Hold	Mode cycle (LMH)^
On	Click	Off

^ There’s a mode cycle that’s hard to explain in table form. When the light is on, the only way to get to High is to cycle from low. If you turn the light on to Medium and hold the switch to advance, the advance is to Low first, then Medium then High.  In fact, any time you’re in medium, and you release the switch, the next advance upon holding the switch, will be low, whereby you need to cycle through low and medium to get to high.  I found this to be quite cumbersome.

I like that the UI is reused from light to light.  If you’re a brand loyal type person, it’s nice to know that you can get the same UI on different type lights, and always know exactly how to do what you want to do, without memorizing a bunch of different UIs!!

LED and Beam

The emitter of choice here is a Cree XHP35 HD, in CW.  (A NW version may be available at some point, or now, even, but is currently listed as out of stock.)  The reflector is very smooth, and deep.

XHP35 HD is probably an excellent choice for a light intended to produce 2300 lumens.  Typically CW lights put out a little bit more lumens too, so again, probably a good choice.

These beamshots are always with the following settings:  f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I compare everything to the Killzone 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options….

Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com.  There just aren’t a ton of comparable tube lights with this emitter and this feature set.  And what is available is more of a tactical feature set, which this light is (thankfully) not.  so for a non-tactical light with this feature set, the TC15 is a great choice!  At a very reasonable price, too.

Conclusion

What I like

• Output hits specification
• Throw hits specification
• Built quality is good and the custom edition of it all makes is nice!
• Complete package light (literally everything you need including cell and charging!)
• Side switch only (separating itself from the tactical crowd of lights)

What I don’t like

• Light is overall too long.  (I’d trade some reflector depth for a shorter light.  And such a long battery compartment, too).
• Pocket clip isn’t deep enough for me.

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Notes

• This light was provided by Thrunite for review. I was not paid to write this review.
• This content originally appeared at zeroair.org.  Please visit there for the best experience!
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