Thrunite Archer Mini Flashlight Review

Thrunite has introduced the Archer Mini, a flashlight featuring a built-in 10400 cell, two modes, and USB-C charging. Read on!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Thrunite Archer Mini flashlight product page.

Versions

There’s just one version.

Price

The going price of the Thrunite Archer Mini flashlight is $25.95. That seems to be the MSRP, so maybe street price will be just a bit lower.

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Short Review

I very much appreciate the idea of this light. A small, simple, two-mode light in an AAA-size format. USB-C charging is great (and works C to C!). I would rather that the cell be removable, and also prefer that the light could accept AAA (1.5V) cells. The beam profile is great, but the tint is just a bit green. Still, at around 5500K, it’s not a bad emitter.

Long Review

The Big Table

Thrunite Archer Mini Flashlight
Emitter:	Luminus SST-20
Price in USD at publication time:	$25.95
Cell:	1xInternal 320mAh 10400
High Runtime Graph	Low Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	Yes
Claimed Lumens (lm)	405
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	345 (85.2% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	5.3
Claimed Throw (m)	87
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	114lux @ 4.438m = 2245cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	94.8 (109% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	–
Measured CCT Range (K)	5500 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	Thrunite
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 Archer Mini flashlight
• Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

 

Size and Comps

83mm x 16.7mm
34g

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.

Retention and Carry

There’s a two-way pocket clip attached on the tail end. The clip can’t go on the head end, but again, it’s a two-way clip.

While the clip can be removed, the light does look a bit naked without it.

Nothing else is included for carry of the Thrunite Archer Mini flashlight.

Power and Runtime

A single cell powers the Thrunite Archer Mini flashlight. It’s not [really] removable, and appears to be a single 320mAh 10400 cell.

The light has just two modes, and here are runtime graphs for both.

You can see after the very flat regulated output stops, the light begins blinking to indicate the cell voltage is low. Eventually the light does shut off.

Charging

Thrunite put USB-C charging on the Archer Mini. To reveal the charging port, one just unscrews the head.

The head is “captured” though – it doesn’t unscrew all the way off. It unscrews to the point you can see below. You can also see the charging indicator. This indicator blinks blue while charging is happening, and switches to solid blue when charging is complete.

Both types of charging (A to C and C to C) work fine.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
High	405	2.8m+52m	345	–
Low	18	7.5h	11	–

Pulse Width Modulation

Low has PWM that’s surprisingly slow. It’s visible if you typically find PWM visible, but surprisingly doesn’t seem all that bothersome in this light.

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

A single switch is used on the Thrunite Archer Mini flashlight. It’s a tail switch and has a rounded cover.

Despite appearances of being a mechanical switch, I’m fairly sure this is an e-switch of some sort. I reason this because when you hold the switch down, the light will come on after about a full second. A mechanical switch would not do this.

The dome of the switch and also the rounded shoulders you can see above make

I will add that I had a number of accidental activations in my pocket during use. You’ll probably want to use the lockout feature.

Here’s a user interface table!

State	Action	Result
Off	Click	Low
Low	Hold	Lockout
Lockout	Hold	Unlock
Any (Unlocked)	Double Click	High
Lockout	Click	Single Low blink to indicate lockout
Any (Unlocked)	Click 3x	Strobe
On	Click	Off

LED and Beam

Thrunite uses a Luminus SST-20 emitter and a TIR optic.

The bezel is smooth so no light escapes when headstanding.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

Thrunite logs this as a cool white emitter. I measure it at around 5500K, which is sort of “barely” into the CW realm.  It’s quite positive in the dUV though, which readily explains the green nature of the output. CRI is fairly low, too.

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.

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

• Inexpensive
• Simple user interface
• Just two modes
• USB-C charging (with C to C working, too)
• Beam profile provided by this TIR
• Rounded switch and tail end of the light are comfortable to press.

What I don’t like

• Green tint in the beam
• Not a mechanical clicky (potential for parasitic drain)
• The internal 10400 cell is not replaceable
• 10400 cell is a weird size anyway, even if it’s not replaceable

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Notes

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