Lumintop GTA Flashlight Review
Lumintop has released the Lumintop GTA flashlight, a thrower of a flashlight in the form of a Tool AA. It runs on both AA and 14500 cells, and is very throwy!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Lumintop GTA flashlight product page.
Versions
As far as I can tell, there is only one version.
Price
The Lumintop GTA flashlights are selling for $34.95 without a 14500 cell. With a 14500 cell, the price jumps to $45.95. I’d probably just grab a cell or two elsewhere – that 14500 price seems a bit high.
However, at NealsGadgets.com the price with cell is only $41.95, so a better overall price than from Lumintop Direct. Get the Lumintop GTA with Vapcell at NealsGadgets.com.
Short Review
This light is basically a Lumintop Tool with a thrower head. It’s great for that! The Tool AA 2.0 has a great size, and this GTA does as well. Not only that, but the GTA (like the Tool 2.0!) supports AA (1.5V) and lithium-ion (4.2V) cells.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Lumintop GTA Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | OSRAM KW.CSLNM1.TG |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $34.95. These are available at NealsGadgets.com. |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 550 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 424 (77.1% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 228.8 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 585 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 3010lux @ 5.164m = 80267cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 566.6 (96.9% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 7000-7200 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | NealsGadgets.com |
| All my Lumintop reviews! | |
| Lumintop GTA | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | OSRAM KW.CSLNM1.TG |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $34.95. These are available at NealsGadgets.com. |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Not really |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 240 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 252 (105% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 214.3 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 1435lux @ 5.206m = 38892cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 394.4 |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6200-6700 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | NealsGadgets.com |
| All my Lumintop 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
- Lumintop GTA
- Lanyard
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Build quality here on the Lumintop GTA is much like we see on something like the Tool 2.0. It’s good, and certainly “good enough” for $35.
The head has deep and thin cooling fins, and with this small body handling over 4A in some cases, that’s a good thing.
The bezel is knurled. Since you don’t really ever need to unscrew the bezel, this seems like extra knurling to me. But it’s definitely not bad.
Both the head and tail are removable.
Below you can see the long spring in the tailcap. The head has only a little brass button (no spring), but this shouldn’t be an issue.
Size and Comps
Size 36mm x 19mm x 113mm
Net weight 60g (aluminum)
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll try to show it here. If the flashlight will tailstand, I usually show that here, too.
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine is 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.
To further the association between the GTA and the Tool AA 2.0, here they are side by side.
The parts are interchangeable. One difference is that the Tool has a tail switch with backlighting (when used with a 14500). The GTA does not offer that. (But the lighted tailswitch from the Tool does work on the GTA when a 14500 is installed.)
Retention and Carry
Lumintop uses its standard pocket clip on the GTA. The clip is a friction-fit and has holes into which a lanyard (included) may be attached.
It’s nothing special, but then you probably won’t be carrying this light (with its big head) in pocket-carry style anyway.
Also included is a lanyard. That lanyard attaches through one of these two holes in the tailcap. It can also attach in the pocket clip hole if you’re brave enough to trust the connection to the friction-fit security of the pocket clip.
Power and Runtime
The Lumintop GTA 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!
The cell goes into the GTA in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head.
Here are some runtime graphs.
Modes and Currents
Lithium-ion output levels:
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@4.2V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 550 | 45m | 424 | 2.31 |
| High | 230 | 1h40m | 216 | 0.93 |
| Medium | 55 | 6h | 52 | 0.21 |
| Low | 10 | 48h | 10 | 0.04 |
1.5V current levels:
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime (for NiMH) | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps (@1.5V) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 240 | 40m | 252 | 4.20 |
| High | 95 | 1h | 93 | 0.72 |
| Medium | 25 | 12h30m | 25 | 0.15 |
| Low | 3 | 60h | 3 | 0.02 |
Pulse Width Modulation
Unfortunately, all modes have PWM, and in some of those modes, it’s visible to the naked eye. It’s by no means the worst PWM, though. Interestingly, PWM is seen even on TURB,O which would suggest the light isn’t a direct drive – may be surprising since the output is so high with a 14500 on Turbo.
14500:
AA (NiMH):
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single mechanical tailswitch on the GTA.
The switch is accessible from two sides but sits low enough that tailstanding is possible.
The action is: very clicky.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | On (Mode Memory, if light has been on mode >2s) |
| On | Press | Mode advance (LMHT) |
| On | Click | Off |
| On | Press 6x | Strobe |
| Strobe | Press | Low |
The manual also mentions that the light may be used in twisty format, but that’s just not something that you’re going to do on a titanium thread light. It’s too gritty, unenjoyable, and you’ll end up dissatisfied. Stick with the click. And twisting still requires the click (the light will never be “on” without the mechanical switch being in the “on” position).
LED and Beam
Lumintop put an Osram KW.CSLNM1.TG emitter in this little thrower. The reflector that Lumintop uses is deep and wide and smooth – all around great for a thrower.
The knurled bezel mentioned above also has some shape that allows light to escape when headstanding.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
We can see something interesting here about how emitters work, and how they work at different voltages and powers. The 14500 cell provides a much higher voltage. At higher voltage, the CCT goes toward the blue. So if 7000K bothers you, just stick to using 1.5V cells like NiMH or primary alkaline cells. That way you’ll really peak at around 6700K which is still definitely cool, but not nearly as bad.
14500:
AA (NiMH):
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
14500:
AA (NiMH):
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.
14500:
AA (NiMH):
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Supports AA and 14500 cell types
- Simple user interface
- Very good throw (hits the throw claim!)
- Small in size
- Low cost
What I don’t like
- On a 14500 cell, the CCT is very cool (>7000K)
- Could have the lighted tailswitch as is on the Tool AA 2.0
Notes
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