Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow Flashlight Review
The Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow – yes, it’s what you think it is! A full glow body, AA-sized flashlight with a copper heatsink. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight product page.
Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow Versions
Versions, there are many! Mostly they differ in body glow color, so let’s list those first. Better yet, a photo:
There’s red, green, blue, purple, pink, and even at some point, there was a mixed glow option. I have the green glow.
Also available are two emitter options, though the product page doesn’t seem to list them (yet? or they’re already gone?). There’s Nichia 219c NW (seen here) and there is also a Cree XP-G3 CW option.
Price
The base price for the Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight is $69.95. If you want the tactical glow ring like you see in this post, add another $15.95. If you need a 14500 cell that works in the light, add $7.95. Those items are all À la carte, so add them one at a time.
Short Review
Wow does this thing glow! For that reason alone, it’s massively fun. It does seem to be turbo glow (and not regular glow) but I have no way to verify that. As far as the flashlight-ness of it, it’s very much a Lumintop Tool AA 2.0, which I liked.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219c (Neutral White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $79.95 |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 165 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 134 (81.2% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 5.4 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 125 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 112lux @ 2.988m = 1000cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 63.2 (50.6% of claim)^ |
| All my Lumintop reviews! | |
| Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219c (Neutral White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $79.95 |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 500 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 584 (116.8% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 5.7 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 125 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 512lux @ 3.024m = 4682cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 136.9 (109.5% of claim)^ |
| All my Lumintop 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
Since this light ships in a sealed package, and since there is a bit of exposed copper, I’ve included shots of “before” and “after” in a few places below. If there are two sets of the same type of image, it’s safe to assume one is “immediately after opening the sealed package” and the other is “sometime later.” Here’s the first example.
- Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow
- Tactical Glow Ring
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Lanyard
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
I’ve said it above, and I’ll start with it here – this is essentially a Lumintop Tool AA 2.0. I didn’t realize it at first – this light is a good bit bigger than the Tool AA 2.0. But (I’m guessing) the turbo glow body has to be thicker because it can be brittle. And this is essentially a turbo glow body over a Tool AA 2.0, so of course it’s bigger!
But how great does it look! That exposed copper cooling section, with the moderate depth fins, surrounded by all this glow.
It seems that the tactical ring is optional, or an additional purchase – I don’t think you can buy this light without the tactical grip ring. Not that you’ll use this as a tactical light, but just as a general way to hold the light – this is the right way.
There is no knurling on the body, and aside from a divot in the tail, and the copper section, the body is nearly featureless.
The copper ages very nicely. There’s a bit of branding too, but it’s faint.
This tactical ring isn’t keyed and will rotate with effort around the body. The tailcap removes easily even with the tactical ring installed.
Without the ring, it’s easier to see the aluminum body under the glow.
Here’s exactly the point that I realized this is a Tool AA 2.0. The contacts on the head are exactly like in the two Tool AA 2.0’s I have, including the Lumintop Tool AA 2.0 that I reviewed.
Most of the parts unscrew very easily. I only say “most” because I didn’t actually disassemble the tailswitch parts. I’m sure it’s not glued either, though.
Here’s why you want the tactical ring. If you don’t use it, you have a gap between the glow. There isn’t a pocket clip or any other thing to fill this gap. There’s no difference in water resistance between this and “with ring” but how unappealing does the light look this way?
Size and Comps
Size: 21mm in diameter, 88mm in length
Weight: 46.1g (excluding tactical ring and battery)
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
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.
Here’s the Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight with the two Tool AA 2.0’s I have. The one on the left has a Nichia 219b sw30 thanks to a friend…. Great nightlight!
Not only do the parts fit together, they also work completely.
Retention and Carry
As stated a bunch up above, there’s a tactical ring. It’s an extra cost, but you should plan to buy that. The light includes one tactical ring. You can purchase an extra for around $15 if you want. But one does come with the light! It provides needed grip on the Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight, and you’ll appreciate having it.
Remember, without the tactical ring, you have a gap:
That tactical ring is also the only place to attach the lanyard. Again, both are included.
Only one of the three wings has a hole for the lanyard.
There is no pocket clip, and really nowhere on the body to attach one, either.
Power and Runtime
The Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight can be powered by AA-sized cells, of all available chemistry. That is primary alkaline cells, NiMH cells (aka Eneloops), or 14500 cells. I tested the light with the two cells below. Note that those are both button tops – button tops are required!  There is physical prevention for flat tops on the head end of the light.
I’m not sure which is “the preferred” way to run this light, so from here on out I’m listing the AA option (that is, 1.5V) first.
Output on an AA cell is fairly stable after the initial stepdown. Low voltage protection was observed, by the light switching off completely.
Here’s the runtime on Turbo with 14500. Note that the output is higher than claimed (yay).  The output steps way down when the voltage is low, and that’s above 3V, which is good.
Modes and Currents
AA:
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo – AA (NiMH) | 165 | 1h20m | 134 | 1.09 |
| High – AA (NiMH) | 110 | 1h45m | 99 | 0.62 |
| Medium – AA (NiMH) | 18 | 14h20m | 18 | 0.09 |
| Low – AA (NiMH) | 1.3 | 150h | 1.5 | 0.01 |
14500:
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo – 14500 | 500 | 45m | 584 | 2.22 |
| High – 14500 | 300 | 1h15m | 333 | 1.16 |
| Medium – 14500 | 55 | 6h45m | 53 | 0.14 |
| Low – 14500 | 7 | 30h | 7 | 0.02 |
Pulse Width Modulation
PWM seems a little different than the Tool AA 2.0, but still present on the Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight.
AA:
14500:
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
There’s a single mechanical switch on the Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight. I say mechanical, but… I didn’t break the switch down. It acts like a mechanical switch but has this neat backlit feature (which only works with a 14500 cell).
The indicator feature only really serves as a locator – it does not indicate any aspect of the operation or state of the light, in any circumstance. When the light is off, the indicator is on (with a 14500 installed). When the light is on, the indicator is off. The indicator comes on momentarily during button presses (since technically the light is off then, too). Only with 14500. Unlike the Tool AA 2.0, this indicating in the tail with the 14500 isn’t through a translucent switch cover, it’s through the translucent glow body. The indicator seems to “breathe” RGB, and that’s pretty fun.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On‡, but: AA: Mode Memory, if light has been on mode >2s 14500: Mode Memory plus one mode |
| On | Press | Mode advance (LMHT) |
| On | Click | Off |
| On | Press 6x | Strobe |
| Strobe | Press | Low |
‡ The mode memory of this light is weird since it depends on what cell is in place. Also, mode memory plus one mode with a 14500 cell is very weird.
LED and Beam
My Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow flashlight shipped with a Nichia 219c emitter, which is the neutral white option for this light. This emitter is under a TIR, and this provides a great beam profile.
Since most of the body is glow material (including the bezel), and glow material is translucent, ample light comes through the bezel when the light is on.
Here are a few glow photos. Also, note the active LED tailcap.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
AA:
14500:
Beamshots
These beamshots are always with the following settings:Â f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
AA:
14500:
Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow 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.
AA:
14500:
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion on the Lumintop Gift-G1 Turbo Glow
What I like
- It’s a turbo glow flashlight (Oveready are you seeing this?)
- Runs on 1.5V and 4.2V cells
- Neutral white option
- So many glow colors!
- Great use of copper in the pill
- Fun RGB tail cap (but only with 14500)
What I don’t like
- Mode memory
Notes
- This light was provided by Lumintop for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Â Please visit there for the best experience!
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