Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 Flat Flashlight Review
The Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight offers a white LED, ultraviolet (UV), and green laser all in one! It has a 1500mAh battery and USB-C charging!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight product page.
Versions
Just this cool white version of the Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight is available right now, but a neutral white option is listed (not available!)
Price
The Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight sells for $75.95 and is available now.
What’s Included
- Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight
- Charging cable
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The standout feature of the Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight is, of course, that it’s flat. Well, maybe that’s unfair – it also offers UV and laser (along with a white LED), all in one convenient package.
That package is not easily disassembled, though. There are a few screws on the back and the light can certainly be opened this way, but not in a way that you’d swap the cell in the field.
There’s a sticker on the side describing the laser. It’s a class 3R laser!
Size and Comps
118mm x 29mm x 22mm and 108g.
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
A two-way pocket clip is attached with two screws to the back of the Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight.
I didn’t pursue it, but these two screws also appear to hold the back cover on, too.
A magnet in the tailcap securely holds the Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight.
Power and Runtime
The Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight is powered by a built-in 1500mAh LiPO cell. The cell is not replaceable in the field, and may not even be user serviceable (on a workbench).
A four-LED battery indicator can be seen just above the switch.
Output below turbo is nice and flat, but seems to fall a bit short of the claim. That’s a little unusual for Thrunite.
Charging
The Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight offers a USB-C charging port on the front side. There’s a press-in cover to protect it.
Thrunite includes a USB to USB-C cable for charging.
Charging is over 1C (2A current/1.5Ah capacity=1.33C). That’s quick, but probably generally ok for this LiPO cell. Charging is complete in around 1.5 hours.
When the battery is near empty, the left-most indicator blinks red. As charging is advancing, the indicators turn green and blink until finally all four are green and charging is complete.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 1600-450 | 1h53m | 1463 (0s) 1371 (30s) |
| High | 420 | 2h30m | 328 (0s) 327 (30s) |
| Medium | 95 | 9h30m | 73 |
| Low | 20 | 59h | 15 |
| Firefly | 1 | 17d | 0.5 |
Pulse Width Modulation
None of the modes use PWM.
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’s just one e-switch on the Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight. Surrounding that e-switch is a rotary selector , which points to either white LED output, laser, or ultraviolet output.
The e-switch isn’t proud at all. The selector has a nub that helps flip between outputs, and also indicates which output is selected.
The rotary in the locked position is the only way to lock the light. So any action below depends on the light being out of lock. Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Selector on LED – off | Click | Mode memory |
| Selector on LED – off | Hold | Firefly |
| Selector on LED – off | Double click | Turbo |
| Selector on LED – off | Click 3x | Strobe |
| Selector on LED – on | Click | Off |
| Selector on LED – on | Hold | Mode advance (LMH) |
| Selector on Laser – off | Click | Laser on |
| Selector on Laser – on | Click | Laser off |
| Selector on Laser – any | Double click | Turbo LED and Laser combo |
| Selector on Laser – any | Click 3x | Strobe LED and Laser combo |
| Selector on Laser – Laser and LED on | Hold | LED advance (LMH) |
| Selector on Laser – Laser and LED on | Double click | LED off (laser stays on) |
| Selector on UV – off | Click | UV on |
| Selector on UV – on | Click | UV off |
| Selector on UV – on | Double click | Turbo LED and UV combo |
| Selector on UV – UV and LED on | Double click | LED off (UV stays on) |
LED and Beam
Thrunite doesn’t say what emitter is used for the white output, but it’s probably an Osram P9.
Both the white LED and UV emitter have a tiny reflector.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The emitter is stated as cool white, and that’s a fact. More than just being cool white, it gets very cool white on the higher modes. CRI is low.
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 Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight is a neat entry into the flat light market. I appreciate that it incorporates UV and Laser in one light. The Olight Arkfeld did this (but not until the Pro version, I believe.) The user interface is good, output is good (if cool white) and the build quality is solid. There’s a lot to like here! I do hope Thrunite eventually offers a neutral white version. And one more comparison to the Arkfeld Pro – the Thrunite Defender 3-in-1 flat flashlight offers USB-C charging, which is a huge plus!
The Big Table
| Thrunite Defender | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Unstated (Cool White) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $75.99 |
| Cell: | Internal |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Probably |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | All modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1600 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1371 (85.7% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 3.7 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 139 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 204lux @ 5.386m = 5918cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 153.9 (110.7% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6900-7500 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 I like
- Robust build quality
- 1500mAh capacity
- USB-C charging built in
- Possibility of a neutral white version
What I don’t like
- Very cool white
- E-Switch is slow to respond when accessing Firefly
Notes
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