Thrunite Archer Pro V2 Blue Flashlight Review
Thrunite introduced the Thrunite Archer Pro V2 Blue flashlight. It features a built-in 14500 cell, ramping output selection, and USB-C charging. Read on for more!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Thrunite Archer Pro V2 blue flashlight product page.
Versions
This is version 2. I also tested version 1 of the Thrunite Archer Pro a while back. Version 2 is available with only one emitter but in a number of body colors: Black, Blue (seen here), Red, and Orange.
Price
All body color options sell for an MSRP of $24.95 and are available on Amazon.
Short Review
The Thrunite Archer Pro V2 blue flashlight is a nice update and upgrade and even a companion to the Archer Mini. This is a sleek light and USB-C charging works well. I like the bookend standard modes of Firefly and Turbo, but the addition of ramping in the middle is nice. I would love to be able to swap the built-in 14500.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Thrunite Archer Pro V2 blue flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SST-20 Cool White |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $24.95 |
| Cell: | Internal |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | ? |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | Two modes only |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 950 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 762 (80.2% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 13.1 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 187 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 384lux @ 5.047m = 9781cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 197.8 (105.8% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 5000-5900 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 Pro V2 blue flashlight
- Charging cable (USB to USB-C)
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
I said “disassembly” up there in the heading, but I didn’t do any disassembly of the Thrunite Archer Pro V2 blue flashlight.
It’s quite resistant to disassembly anyway, but has a good build quality overall.
Size and Comps
98mm x 21mm and 65g. These dimensions mean it’s 2mm longer than the previous version.
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in 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.
Also above is 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.
Nothing else is included for carrying the Thrunite Archer Pro V2 blue flashlight.
Power and Runtime
A single cell powers the Archer Pro V2. It’s not [really] removable, and according to the documentation, is a single 1000mAh 14500 cell.
Here are two runtime graphs – Turbo and the highest ramping mode. I think they call this “Infinite High.”
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 Pro V2. 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 in the photo on the right. This indicator is red while charging is happening, and switches to blue when charging is complete.
Both types of charging (A to C and C to C) work fine, but Thrunite includes an A to C cable.
Charging proceeds at around 1A, and looks great.
When charging is complete, the indicating LED on the head turns from red to blue.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 950+190 | 70s+146m | 762 @initial 643 @30s |
| Infinite High | 430+190 | 4m+140m | 398 @initial 375 @30s |
| Infinite Low | 13 | 37h | |
| Firefly | 0.5 | 15d |
Pulse Width Modulation
There’s no PWM on the specific four modes. I did not test the intermediate ramps.
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 Pro V2 flashlight. It’s a tail switch and has a rounded cover.
Despite the appearance 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 it comfortable to click.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Hold | Firefly |
| Off | Click | On (Mode Memory) |
| On | Click | Off |
| Firefly | Hold | Lockout to Off |
| Lockout | Hold | Unlock to Firefly |
| Any | Double Click | Turbo |
| On (Except Firefly) | Hold | Ramp up or down^ |
| Any | Click 3x | Strobe |
^The ramp here is fairly logical except for one thing – the direction is remembered, and the next iteration of ramp is opposite to what it was before. So if you ramped up then turned the light off and turn it back on again later, the ramp will be down this time. Seems like a reset to “ramp up” after 15 seconds or whatever would be more logical (and not essentially emulate “ramping mode memory”.) As it is, if you hold the switch with the light on, it’ll ramp up and down over and over. That part of the ramping is great. The light blinks at both ends to let you know it’s reached maximum or minimum.
LED and Beam
One (and maybe the major) change from V1 is that the V2 uses a Luminus SST-20 emitter and a TIR.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
Thrunite doesn’t make any CRI or CCT claims that I can see (aside from “cool white” in the chart). The emitter here is in the neutral-to-cool range, and cooler the higher the output. CRI is also low, at around 70.
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
- A nice companion to the Archer Mini
- Simple user interface
- USB-C charging (with C to C working, too)
- The rounded switch and tail end of the light are comfortable to press.
What I don’t like
- Not a mechanical clicky (potential for parasitic drain)
- The internal 14500 cell is not replaceable
- Stepdowns on the higher levels are fairly dramatic
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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