Thrunite TN12 Pro Flashlight Review

The Thrunite TN12 Pro is a new flashlight on the market offering a Luminus SFT-40 emitter in cool white, USB-C charging, and two switches!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight product page.

Versions

I believe there’s just one version. The website lists a neutral white option, but I’d be surprised if that actually exists.

Price

The Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight comes in at under $50. I’d recommend buying the Thrunite TN12 Pro on Amazon (referral link)!

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Short Review

At $50, the Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight is a great way to get into the Luminus SFT-40 emitter. It’s cool white (maybe “very cool white”) but the dual switch interface is nice and also consistent with other Thrunites. Throw on this one is great, too!

Long Review

The Big Table

Thrunite TN12 Pro
Emitter:	Luminus SFT40 (Cool White)
Price in USD at publication time:	$49.99. Available on Amazon (referral link)
Cell:	1×18650
Turbo Runtime Graph	High Runtime Graph
LVP?	Switch warning only
Switch Type:	Both
Quiescent Current (mA):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	with cell: Firefly only without cell or tailcap: no modes
Claimed Lumens (lm)	1900
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	1839 (96.8% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	24.6
Claimed Throw (m)	380
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	1239lux @ 5.807m = 41781cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	408.8 (107.6% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	“Cool White”
Measured CCT Range (K)	5900-7000 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	Thrunite
All my Thrunite reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer:  I am an amateur flashlight reviewer.  I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment.  I test output and such in PVC tubes!!  Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).

What’s Included

• Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight
• Thrunite 3400mAh 18650
• Pocket clip
• Nylon pouch
• Replacement e-switch cover
• Replacement charge port cover
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Lanyard
• Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
• Manual etc

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

Build quality is just fine here on the Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight.

The tailcap gets a nice beefy spring. In fact, it’s a double spring. The threads here are unanodized, but square cut and lubed appropriately. You can see the inner sleeve tube just poking out above the threads there. This doesn’t come out but is what facilitates things like charging from the head end.

The head has a spring as well.

Size and Comps

Dimension: 131.5mm x 27mm x 25.5mm
Weight: 85g (NOT including the battery weight)

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

First, but probably not most important, is the pocket clip. This is a friction fit pocket clip, which goes only one direction, and only on the tail end of the light.  So bezel down carry only.

The included lanyard fits in the tailcap loop.

A nylon pouch is included.  The light will fit in either orientation, but there are no holes in either end.  So the light must be removed for use.

Power and Runtime

The Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight runs on a single 18650 lithium-ion cell.  A proper cell is included – a 3400mAh button top.  However, even the shortest flat top unprotected cell seems to work just fine in the light.

The cell is installed in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head.

Here are a few runtime graphs.

During use, the switch indicates approximate cell voltage. When “ok”, the switch is blue. When the voltage gets low (in the 3V range), the switch is solid red. When the voltage gets very low (around 2.7V and below), the switch blinks red.

Charging

The Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight has on-board charging too, in the form of a USB-C port in the head.  This port is opposite the e-switch.

An appropriate cable is included:  USB to USB-C.

USB (A) charging cycle:

USB-C charging cycle:

While charging, the switch is red. When charging is complete, the switch turns blue.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	1900-477	7m-130m	1839	5.91
High	550	2.5h	476	1.68
Medium	220	9h	239	0.51
Low	50	46h	58	0.12
Firefly	0.5	37d	0.4	0.00

Pulse Width Modulation

Surprisingly the middle three modes have PWM. And on the Low mode, the PWM is quite slow – you might be able to see this during use.

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, with 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 are two switches on the Thrunite TN12 Pro flashlight.  First is the mechanical tail switch.

This tail switch is very clicky and proud but shrouded on two sides by the tailcap.  This allows tailstanding while also allowing easy access while wearing gloves.

Next is the indicating e-switch on the head.  Note that this one has a metal cover.  (Metal, or plastic, either way, it’s not rubber and soft.)

Thrunite makes a good e-switch, and this one is too.  There’s even an indicating feature in the center.

Here’s a UI table!

State	Action	Result
Any (Unlocked)	Click Tail Switch	Turbo
Any (Unlocked)	Tap Tail Switch	Momentary Turbo
Off (Unlocked)	Click Side Switch	On (Memory Mode (LMH only)
Off (Unlocked)	Hold Side Switch	Moon
Moon	Click or Hold Side Switch	Off
On (except Moon)	Click Side Switch	Off
On (except Moon)	Hold Side Switch	Mode advance (LMH)
Moon	Long hold Side Switch	Lockout (Switch turns red when clicked)
Lockout	Long hold Side Switch	Unlock
Any (Unlocked)	Double click Side Switch	Turbo (Really it’s “previous mode then Turbo”)
Any (Unlocked)	Triple click Side Switch	Strobe

LED and Beam

This Thrunite has a Luminus SFT-40 as the emitter option.  The reflector is smooth and deep. Note in the photo below how small the actual emitting area (the yellow part) is. This is part of why the TN12 Pro throws so well! (And has such a remarkably high cd/lm ratio.)

The bezel has some shape, so when the light is headstanding some light escapes. Also, note the switch indicating in blue here. It can also indicate in red.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

The (single!) emitter is driven at around 6A on the highest output level, and we can see the CCT creep toward the blue in that case. The CCT starts at around 5900K and goes up from there. Also check the CRI, which is low at around 70.

Beamshots

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 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

• Very throwy!
• Complete package with high capacity 18650
• Good user interface
• Nice use of an indicating switch
• Good to have USB-C
• Charging is overall quite good
• C to C charging works

What I don’t like

• Cool white CCT
• Low CRI
• Cell is slightly undercharged (anyway this is better than overcharging the cell)

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Notes

• This content originally appeared at zeroair.org.  Please visit there for the best experience!
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