Trustfire TC50 Camping Flashlight Review
The Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight has many features, including throw, flood, a reading light option, USB-C charging and red and blue. Read on for testing!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a referral link to the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight product page.
Versions
There’s just one version of the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight.
Price
Initial MSRP for the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight was around $150, but the current sale price is $99.99. Trustfire sent a coupon for 21% off their store, which should work on the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight as well. The code is: KL20.
What’s Included
- Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight
- Trustfire 5000mAh 21700
- Charging cable
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight is a solid light and feels well built. It’s also a nice flashlight to hold. Plenty grippy, and the flare on the tailcap aids in keeping a solid grip.
The threads are unanodized but still smooth enough. There’s a beefy spring in the tailcap, too.
The head end also has a spring, but the body doesn’t unscrew from the head.
Size and Comps
158mm x 54mm x 30mm
281.3g (including battery)
If the flashlight can headstand, I’ll show it here. If it can tailstand, I’ll also show that here!
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!
Also in the photo above, my Standard Reference Material (SRM) flashlight is the Hanko Machine Works Trident, an 18350 light. While I have not reviewed or tested the Gunner Grip version seen here, I have tested a Hanko Machine Works Trident Total Tesseract in brass. I love the Trident, and it’s a striking contrast to the inexpensive Convoy S2+, another great SRM.
Retention and Carry
There’s a tripod-suitable threaded hole in the tailcap of the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight.
In the tailcap is also a magnet, which is very strong – strong enough to hold the light!
There’s no lanyard and no place to attach a lanyard, and there is no belt clip.
Power and Runtime
The Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight runs one 21700 lithium-ion cell. A 5000mAh cell is included. It’s a button top.
The cell goes with the button (positive end) toward the head of the light.
Below are a sampling of runtime charts for the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight. Output on flood is the most reliable to measure – it’s very hard to get accurate readings for output on the spot modes. So consider how the profile looks more than the output numbers for those charts.
The temperature lines in these charts are included as general context, not precise measurements. The values represent the range (min to max) during testing, but should not be taken as exact readings. Temperature sensors are attached however feasible and not always on the bezel or hottest spot (assuming that can even be clearly defined). Even with ideal placement, too many variables affect temperature to definitively state a specific max value.
Charging
The Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight uses USB-C charging. Stated clearly in the manual is that the USB-C power source should be 5V (not 9 or 12 or 20 or whatever else). Voltage other than 5V will destroy charging (or worse), so pay special attention here.
Trustfire includes a USB to USB-C charging cable.
Charging at 5V proceeds just fine.
C to C charging is a bit quicker, but both work just fine. Even the C to C peak of around 2.5A is just fine for this 5000mAh 21700.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm Light (Rear-facing) Extreme Bright | 1000 | 230m | – | 2.64 |
| Warm Light (Rear-facing) High | 250 | 480m | – | 0.54 |
| Warm Light (Rear-facing) Medium | 35 | 40h | – | 0.08 |
| Warm Light (Rear-facing) Low | 10 | 160h | – | 0.01 |
| Warm Light (Rear-facing) Moonlight | 1.5 | 600h | – | [low] |
| Floodlight Extreme Bright | 5100 | 110m | 4119 (0s) 3479 (30s) |
4.5++ (couldn’t read it exactly) |
| Floodlight High | 1200 | 140m | 1039 (0s) 1032 (30s) |
1.96 |
| Floodlight Medium | 300 | 600m | 245 | 0.39 |
| Floodlight Low | 30 | 80h | 27 | 0.03 |
| Floodlight Moonlight | 3 | 500h | 2.4 | [low] |
| Spotlight High | 1000 | 180m | 319^ | 4.95 |
| Spotlight Medium | 300 | 320m | 94^ | 0.86 |
| Spotlight Low | 80 | 20h | 10^ | 0.19 |
| Floodlight + Spotlight High | 1100 | 150m | 370^ | 5.09 |
| Floodlight + Spotlight Medium | 420 | 240m | 207^ | 10.05 |
| Floodlight + Spotlight Low | 200 | 13h | 150^ | 0.34 |
^ The spot is very intense, and my calibrated setup is not well suited to measuring throw. So focus more on the throw values and runtime profiles than the actual output numbers.
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the modes really have PWM, but there’s a bit of SMS ripple on a few. You will never see this with your eyes, though.
Click here to 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 are two ways to control the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight. First is this selector switch, which has three stages. Off, Flood (which is the “rear” emitters – those on the hand-side of the light), and Flood/Spot (forward output.)
Once that selection is made, you can change modes with this indicating e-switch (seen indicating in green below.)
Action on this e-switch is great!
Here’s a user interface table! First, you’ll need to move the selector switch into the appropriate selection of your choice. Once that’s done, use the e-switch.
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Selector in off position | Click | Battery indicator |
| Selector in off position | Double click | Rear red and blue flashing (slowly) |
| Rear red and blue flashing mode | Click | Rear red and blue flashing advance (Rear red and blue flashing (slowly) > Rear red and blue flashing (quickly) > Red flashing > Blue flashing) |
| Rear red and blue flashing mode | Hold | Off |
| Selector in rear output position | Click | Output advance (through all 5 levels of warm white) |
| Selector in rear output position | Hold | Advance through rear color options (White > Red > Blue) (Red and blue are not memorized – switching to middle position always gives warm white) |
| Selector in rear output position – red or blue | Click | Advance through mode color options (Color > Color flashlight slowly > Color flashing quickly > Color SOS) |
| Off | Slide selector to front output position | Front emitter and mode memory |
| Slide selector to front output position | Click | Mode advance (whichever emitter – through all the modes (5 for flood, 3 for spot, or both) |
| Slide selector to front output position | Hold | Emitter advance (Flood > Spot > Both) |
| Slide selector to front output position | Long hold (after emitter advances) | Strobe of advanced-to emitter^ |
^ This is really the fly in the ointment of this user interface. A continued hold should obviously advance through emitter options and not advance to strobe of the next emitter selection. This means the only way to get to strobe with flood is to start in “both” and hold.
LED and Beam
I don’t see anywhere that Trustfire has stated what emitters are used in the TC50, and I did not chase down that information. below, the 6 flood emitters have a TIR of their own, and the spot emitter is in the center.
The rear-facing lantern COB has both white output and red and blue output.
The front emitters can be used individually (spot or flood) or together.
I don’t see it in the manual but the “both” setting seems to just advance the spot through its three levels. The flood channel seems to stay on a fairly low output level through all three modes.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
Below you can see characterization of the rear white (top row), front flood (middle 5), and front spot (last row, but the highest level was too intense for a reading.) All the white options are low CRI. At least the warm white option (the lantern-y one) is around 3000K!
CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) refers to the measurement of the color appearance of light, expressed in Kelvins (K), which indicates whether the light is warm (yellowish) or cool (bluish). A lower CCT (below 3000K) is considered warm light, while a higher CCT (above 5000K) gives cooler, bluish light.
CRI (Color Rendering Index) is a measure of how accurately a light source renders colors in comparison to natural sunlight. Scored on a scale from 0 to 100, higher CRI values indicate that colors appear more true to life and vibrant, similar to how they would look under the sun.
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. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Summary and Conclusion
The Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight is a neat light. There are some other similar lights, but with the recent price drop to around $100, the Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight is a reasonable consideration. And if the coupon above takes off another 21%, then this is a very nice contender! I like the warm white flood rear channel. It’s great for lantern-style usages. Some higher CRI and/or warmer flood (front) emitters would be great, but I can deal with a cool white very throwy spot emitter. The light should negotiate charging better – even if it charges at 5V, 9, or 12 shouldn’t kill it. Still, it’s a very well-built, solid light that is worth considering!
The Big Table
| Trustfire TC50 camping flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Unstated ((Multi-channel)) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $99.99 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes – with on-cell protection |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | All but the highest white options with or without cell and/or tailcap |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 5100 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 3479 (68.2% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 0 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 500 (spot only) |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 1435lux @ 6.129m = 53905cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 464.4 |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | Lantern: 3000 Flood: 6000-6200 Spot: 6900-7000 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Trustfire |
| All my Trustfire 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 I like
- Build quality
- Warm white emitters – 5 levels!
- 5V USB-C charging works great (as long as you stick to 5V!)
- The user interface offers a lot
- Very strong magnet
What I don’t like
- The user interface offers a lot.
- Some weirdness in the user interface, when switching between front white emitters
- Cool white flood channel
Notes
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