Thrunite T2 Flashlight Review
The Thrunite T2 is a bigger flashlight, but similar to the T1. It’s a 21700 e-switch light, with USB-C charging, and more. Read on! I’ve been excited about since I first reported about it in the PhreakyBriefing, another site I write for. Subscribe to that mail here!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Thrunite T2 Flashlight product page.
Versions
There’s only one body, but it’s available with both CW and NW (seen here) temperature Cree XHP70.2 emitter. With the T1, we ended up seeing other body colors – maybe we’ll see that here too.
Price
These list for (what I consider) the very reasonable price of $79.95.
And on Amazon right now it’s $10 off! Get to Amazon here (referral link), for $69.95$
Short Review
It’s really a beast. The output is incredible – the NW light meets the output spec (which is almost certainly written for the CW version!). A cell is included (aka “complete package”). USB-C charging at 2A is fantastic. All in all, I think this is a great package light
Long Review
The Big Table
Thrunite T2 Flashlight | |
---|---|
Emitter: | Cree XHP70.2 (NW) |
Price in USD at publication time: | $79.95 $69.95 on Amazon right now! |
Cell: | 1×21700 (proprietary is included; proprietary is not required, see below) |
Turbo Runtime | High Runtime |
LVP? | Yes |
Switch Type: | E-Switch |
Quiescent Current (A): | ? |
On-Board Charging? | Yes |
Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
Charge graph | |
Power off Charge Port with no Cell? | Lowest two modes (With or without cell) |
Claimed Lumens (lm) | 3757 |
Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 3699 (98.5% of claim)^ |
Candela per Lumen | 2.1 |
Claimed Throw (m) | 158 |
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 375lux @ 4.95m = 9188cd |
Throw (Calculated) (m) | 191.7 (121.3% of claim)^ |
All my Thrunite reviews! |
^ Measurement disclaimer:Â 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 T2 Flashlight
- Thrunite 5000mAh 21700 (proprietary – but a regular 21700 works in light if it’s long enough)
- Nylon pouch
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Spare charge port cover
- Lanyard
- Charge cable (USB to USB-C)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Thrunite’s build quality is great. Also this light is a bit of a chunk in hand – remember it’s a 21700 light (not 18650!). So the step up from the T1 (which was 18350) to the T2 completely skips the 18650 size. (Note that the 18650 size is essentially captured in the Wowtac A6 light, though).
The size and shape (and of course the overall build quality) of this light somehow appeals to me. It lacks the “flashlightyness” of a larger head, but it still fits that niche for me.
The head has minimal depth cooling fins.
The body doesn’t have knurling but has ridges that provide grip. I believe this also adds to the overall higher build quality feel of the T2.
The charge port cover is very well fit into the charge port opening.
The threads on the head end are square-cut, very smooth, and not too long. It is difficult to remove the head without clicking the switch, but that’s just something you’ll have to deal with.
The tail has a nice big spring. The head has only a brass button contact.
This button is quite long, though.
That button is necessary for fitting the Thrunite proprietary cell. More on this cell later.
Here’s the T2 with the Voodoo2 by PhotonPhreaks!
Size and Comps
Officially: 112mm x 30.5mm x 26mm
Weight: 87g (excluding battery)
Retention and Carry
Thrunite provides a nice nylon pouch. The T2 will fit in either orientation, and there are no holes in the top or bottom for use while in the pouch.
Also included (and installed) is a two-way deep carry friction fit pocket clip. The clip is not reversible and can only go on the tail, but again, it’s a two-way clip. Bezel down the light is flush with the pocket. Bezel up, there’s around 1.5″ out of the pocket. (To wit, there’s no good reason to bother with a two-way clip here, since so much will stick out of the pocket in a bezel-up carry.)
Also included is a standard lanyard, which attaches through a hole in the tailcap.
Because of the clip setup, the light could reasonably be used on the bill of a cap (“hatlight”) but overall the light is probably too heavy to do this very well. But it would work.
Power and Runtime
The T2 is powered by a single lithium-ion cell. One is provided, seen below. It’s a 5000mAh 21700, with a proprietary connection on the positive end. This connection has both positive and negative terminals. See below but read now: there’s actually no reason for these proprietary connections!
If you wish to use your own 21700 cell, you may do so (it’ll work!) and charging will also work! You might have to lengthen your standard (flat top) 21700 in some way, though (I tested with two thin magnets, around 2-3mm total).
Below see the plastic shroud around the positive terminal.
And below is a better view of the positive (center) and negative (surrounding positive) terminals on the proprietary, along with the standard negative on the end opposite positive.
The cell fits with the positive end toward the head (which is the normal configuration).
Runtimes can be seen below. Turbo was claimed at 2 minutes for the high output with a stepdown to around 725 lumens. I see the stepdown at around 1 minute, but the stepdown is to much higher than 725 – around 1450 lumens. And the 1450 lumens last very stably for around 1.5 hours. This is extremely respectable output!
High maintains for well over an hour at the nearly-initial output. Again, extremely respectable. The light does get warm (hot? maybe), but you have to expect it.
Medium is again remarkably stable – greater than 400 lumens for over 7 hours. 7.5 hours is the claim, and this is very very close. Actually, the dropoff happens at 449 minutes – 450 minutes = 7.5 hours. So the medium runtime test is one minute under the claim (something like a fifth of a percent off the claim). This is a good performance. (It’s also noticeably over the 366-lumen claim, too!)
The light does exhibit low voltage protection, around. 2.8-2.9V. Even before that the indicating switch will turn red, then blink red to alert the user.
On bench power, the switch warning starts at about 2.6V, and then the light switches off.
Charging
Also built into the T2 is USB-C charging. The port is in the head (opposite the switch) and has a press-in rubber cover (there is a spare). This is a high quality port – something I don’t say all that often because it’s not always so evident. The port lines up perfectly with the opening.
There’s also a cable included for charging – USB to USB-C.
Charging proceeds at around 2A (just over, really) and it’s so absolutely consistent that below is actually two charge graphs but just looks like one! They match perfectly. Charging is very good.
Charging USB-C to USB-C does work just fine, but it charges only at 5V (not power delivery of 9V or 12V or whatever.)
Modes and Currents
Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
---|---|---|---|---|
Turbo | 3757/725 | 2m/216m | 3699/~1450 | 8.20 |
High | 1450/732 | 3m/223m | 1760 | 2.88 |
Medium | 366 | 7.5h | 417 | 0.55 |
Low | 30 | 77h | 40 | 0.06 |
Firefly | 0.3 | 9d | ~ | 0.01 |
Pulse Width Modulation
There’s no PWM on any mode.
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
The T2 has a single switch. It’s an indicating e-switch on the head, and just slightly proud. The cover is hard (but probably plastic, not metal) – still a great switch. It’s easy to differentiate between the switch and the charge port cover.
Indication is seen in blue below, but the switch can also indicate red, and “purple” (red and blue switching very fast.)
Here’s a UI table!
State | Action | Result |
---|---|---|
Off | Click | On (Mode Memory except Firefly, Turbo, Strobe) |
Off | Hold 1s | Firefly |
Firefly | Hold 3s | Lockout |
Lockout | Click | No Output (switch indicates red) |
Lockout | Hold 3s | Firefly |
On | Click | Off |
On (Except Firefly) | Hold | Mode advance (LMH only) |
Any | Double Click | Turbo |
Any | Triple Click | Strobe |
This is the same UI as other Thrunites. The T1, for example.
LED and Beam
The emitter in the T2 is a Cree XHP70.2. Seems like all the documentation says it’s XHP70, but clearly it’s 70.2 (see photo below). The reflector is a very shallow, lightly orange peel reflector. You’d expect it to be largely flood, and it is, but there’s still a hotspot.
These beamshots are always with the following settings:Â f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Complete package light
- Indicating e-switch
- UI consistency with other Thrunites
- Excellently stable output
- High build quality standard
- NW offered as well as CW
What I don’t like
- Can’t see any good reason to include a proprietary cell
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!
- For flashlight-related patches, stickers, and gear, head over to PhotonPhreaks.com!
- Use my amazon.com referral link if you’re willing to help support making more reviews like this one!
- Please support me on Patreon! I deeply appreciate your support!
The T2 does not have a magnetic tail cap, like its smaller version (T1)? I ask because the magnetic tail would seal the deal for me.
T2 does definitely not have a magnetic tailcap.
I wonder how it would compare to the very similar Sofirn SP33V3?
Thank you so much! I loved your review. Boy, all the work you put into this! It is so wonderful of you to spend hundreds of hours of your own time, and then to share it to make the world a better place. Thanks again. I really liked the state chart to show how to use the switch. Question: Isn’t there a way to get it into Lockout? The chart only shows ways to get it out of Lockout, to some other state. I look forward to reading other reviews by you –Eben Visher
Thanks Eben!
The third row shows how to get into lockout – From firefly, hold the switch for 3s. That should enter lockout!
Oh, BTW, I believe you call the 21700 a “proprietary” battery. It is the new industry standard that replaces the older 18650. Companies have switched because of its many advantages. Such companies include Tesla, power tool manufactures, etc.
I’m very familiar with 21700 cells (see other reviews), but this cell in particular is proprietary – see the top edge? There’s a plastic shroud around the positive terminal (which prevents charging in bay chargers) and also there’s a negative terminal on the positive end too. So it’s definitely proprietary (and not just because it’s 21700).
Note that this cell isn’t required for operating the T2, but any other 21700 (even non-proprietary) would need to be longer than the standard 70mm to work!
Is the proprietary 21700 Thrunite battery similar with Nitecore NL2150DW battery (used in R40 V2 light) and Olight ORB-217C50 battery (used in M2R Warrior Pro) ? Are these 3 proprietary batteries interchangeable?
I don’t have a Nitecore NL2150DW, so I can’t say for certain.
Yes it’s very much similar to the ORB-217C50. I mentioned this in my review of the Olight Warrior X Pro. They’re somewhat interchangeable, but not entirely. I wouldn’t really rely on this.
Can you also charge the flashlight with a USB-C to USB-C cable?
Yes, USB-C to USB-C works just fine. But it’s only 5V, not higher voltage Power Delivery or anything.
I just got a T2 in Ocean Blue, and it does NOT charge over USB-C to USB-C. I tried multiple USB-C power sources and cables, all of which work fine with other devices. The only way I got USB-C power sources to work was to use the included USB-C to USB-A cable plus a female USB-A to male USB-C dongle to connect to the USB-C power source. Obviously not an ideal setup, but it does seem to indicate that charging via “native” USB-C doesn’t work, even though stepping down to USB-A along the way does. I also saw this limitation mentioned in YouTube review of a Black T2, although some commenters on the video said that USB-C to USB-C works fine.
So I wonder if there was a production change somewhere. Even though I just got the Ocean Blue unit today in 2022, it seems that it was a limited edition that launched somewhere in late 2020, judging by a YouTube video about Ocean Blue and Desert Tan colors posted by ThruNite. So maybe the limited editions all used an older design rev, whereas the Black units have been updated?
I’ve read a review of the T2 on BLF that indicated this light has no ramping …just individual steps. Your review mentions the ramping from infinity low to infinity high as is the ui with some other Thrunites. Can you clear this up? Does the T2’s UI have a ramping option or no?
btw, Thanks for these reviews. I find them to be a great balance between visuals,descriptive information, and length.
This is my mistake. I did have the UI table incorrect, but I have corrected. It is NOT a ramping light. When the light is on holding the switch only cycles Low Medium and High.
Sorry for that mistake, and thank you for catching it!
Can you run this light purely on USB power?
The table at the top of the post covers this:
Q: Power off Charge Port with no Cell?
A: Lowest two modes (With or without cell)
Thank you. I overlooked that.
The review for this light on BLF (https://budgetlightforum.com/node/73848) states it can’t be charged with a C to C cable. Can you comment on that?
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Just FYI, the button is the same aluminum as the bezel, not plastic.
Ah, great to know, thanks!
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Do you know why your light did not step down after a few minutes to the approx. 730 lumens as stated in the Thrunite specs for turbo and high?