We review and recommend you flashlights that we have tested, and proven is good bang for the bucks. Which one to buy, where to buy and where to get coupon codes!
There goes our famous Glo-Toob AAA PRO, not sure if you heard of it before, but this is the newest gadget that replaces our glow-sticks! These little babies runs on a single AAA battery, be it a normal AAA or a NiMH. However, a little note here - if you are using NiMH, you will need to put an oring on the back of the battery to make the light work properly, or else the light cannot turn off.
In the picture above, you can see the lights in green, blue, red, orange, and white. You might wonder why the orange one look different - that is actually the older version, the non-PRO version. The new design is MUCH better and you can actually turn it on and off or change mode while even in the water, everything is VERY sealed up and water-proof!
In this picture you can see Glo-Toob(S) with a slim pen, nice size comparison. The aluminum tube in the body is actually nice, it reflects the light all the way back up and make the whole tube look like one light.
Fun enough, you do not twist the cap, you twist the middle of the cap, that "ring", to turn it on or off, or switch modes! There are 3 modes, low, high and flashing for signal!
The whole body is completely sealed up by that hard plastic and is strong enough to be used 200m under the water, so it is a nice diving light too!
this is how you can put the o-ring on the battery's butt.
You can see how the cap works, the middle section screws in and out, so it touches the battery then the light turns on.
This is a NexTorch attachment / gadget for the Glo-Toob, which is actually VERY useful for me somehow!
The screw can be adjusted using the ring on the Glo-Toob's cap!
When you screw it tight, the Glo-Toob is secured in place, and this is meant for helmets or tac-vest, but I used it on my camera strap, and man.. it's a super nice light for up-close shots! Floody beam!
There goes the back of the attachment, you can see the strap opens up like this, you can add this to your headlamp's strap too!
Thrunite T01 Giveaway for anyone who subscribed to my channel, liked this video below, and comment on the video page to say you want to win and why you like the light. Aug 7, 2016 will be our draw date, do whatever you need to do to get the prize! Amazing flashlight for free, and free shipping for you no matter where you are! Just hope you don't live on the moon or Venus...because Canada Post don't deliver there..! WOW! Join now and win a light!
Thrunite T01, 125 lumens keychain light on sales for $6.95! What do I need to say on top of "awesome, get a few!!!"? I have no idea why they can do this to knock the market's bottom line! People have been selling lots of cheap lights here and there, but none of them are really quality flashlights. There are $3-4 crap-lights on ebaey, but they sucks and they have no quality control, bad LED and beam profile, and most important, they don't give a crap about customer service, no warranty, no customer care. Thrunite is a reputable company, and they care about their customer, if anything, contact them and they will take care of you. I like to buy from trusted and ethical company only, and so should you! Never trust a crap-light for something that is so important. When you need a flashlight the most, it's probably an emergency time, and you don't want the light the have any chance of failure. Thrunite will not disappoint you. GET A FEW!
DO NOT use those big box stuff like duracell, panasonic, energizers etc.
Those rechargeables never last as long and love to self-drain all the
time. I only like Sanyo and Eneloop PRO these days for a good solid
reason, trust the experienced guy!
First of all, the Thrunite T01 is inexpensive, yet it is not cheap. You can see everything is nicely packaged just like their Thrunite Ti3 (one of my favorite!). The light comes in a nice aluminum/tin container, nicely packed and tightly held together with the cardboard "wrap-around" piece. It's secured and you won't hear a single rattle inside.
Open it up, the package is just like a perfect gift package, with the light placed perfectly in the right spot, and there is a keychain "chain", 2 spare o-rings, manual, welcome card, and such. The only thing missing is one freebie AAA battery, which I really wish Thrunite can do that to their products, then it will make it superb on top of awesome.
There are two different options for the beam color, cool white and neutral white. The neutral white is awesome! GET THAT! The cool white seems bright to the eyes, but neutral white is the thing you want for actual use, because it is so comfortable to the eyes, and it's addictive to look at! I cannot say more than GET IT today. Sorry, it's too awesome!
The LED and TIR lens! They look like a pair of yellow eyes, lol! I like the diffused beam, very clean looking to me, and a very comfortable beam profile.
The body is well constructed, and you do not have a pocket clip with the T01, yet you have a keychain thingy included. Well, if you want you can always clip your Ti3's pocket clip on this one if you really need a clip. To me, it's just fine!
I forgot to mention, the thickness of the "wall" of this tube is pretty decent, which means, it's tough and it is for sure strong enough to withstand any crazy abuse. The Thrunite T01 is really alike with the Ti3, but there IS a difference!
Some people complained about the Thrunite T01 having a shallow thread cutting? Not with mine! All my Tbrunite T01, Ti3, Ti Hi are all good after months of use, and they hold strongly together as new. Never a problem with mine, you can be ensured!
Nice texture showing up! Grippy!
From left to right - Thrunite T01, Thrunite Ti Hi (Ti3), Olight i3e, Lumintop Worm, Nitecore T5s, Thrunite T01 again, Lumintop Tool AAA.
To be honest, Thrunite T01 is not the smallest yet, but it is the 2nd smallest beside this Olight i3e. While the Olight i3e is nice and smaller, the beam from the Thrunite T01 is much brighter and nicer. It's hard to choose, but I will pick the Thrunite T01 over the Olight myself, because I like more lumens in my pocket. LOL! My spouse chose the Olight i3e because she likes something that is not just black or silver in color. Well, personal preference!
The Thrunite T01 vs the Ti Hi / Ti3. The Ti3 or Ti Hi is a tiny bit bigger, and with a clip for your pocket if you care about that. The clip can be snapped onto the T01 if you like.
After all, I can tell you that the Thrunite T01 is definitely a winner, and a legend in flashlight history. It's an inexpensive light, when on sales - only $6.95! While it's inexpensive, it's not cheap at all. You can bring this light to compare with any keychain light on the market and call this a winner. It's bright, it's simple and practical. If anything, contact Thrunite and they will take care of you, which is what you cannot get from buying a crap-light from ebay and such. Customer care from a good company is important, because it means they care about your safety and won't design a light that will be potentially dangerous for you and your family! Not only that, you are ensured to have the light WORK when you need it to work. Don't buy crap-light guys, stick to good ethical company with a good reputation! I strongly recommend the Thrunite T01, no matter it's on sales or not.
Why buy a single mode flashlight such as the Thrunite T01? I know the Ti3 is fancy and it has all sorts of modes, but the Thrunite T01 is simple, and during a real-life situation when you need a light, you mostly want it to just turn on and light up the place. You will not want to turn the head 3x to get your high mode! Most of the time, brighter is better, and it's never too bright. Some people say if you are just walking around the house or tents at night, you don't want to disturb everyone, and you want a lower lumen mode? Well, then you might want to get a Ti3 instead. This T01 is a keychain light that goes to your car keys and such. Just in case of anything, you need a light to help you get out of something or read a map, there goes the light. It's tough, it's simple, and you will not have any issues operating it under any stressful moment. Try it, you will love single mode AAA lights! It takes time to really enjoy a single mode light, but eventually you will - when you put it to real use!
DO NOT use those big box stuff like duracell, panasonic, energizers etc.
Those rechargeables never last as long and love to self-drain all the
time. I only like Sanyo and Eneloop PRO these days for a good solid
reason, trust the experienced guy!
Lumintop SD4A is another crazy good, oh wait, it's now my BEST 4xAA sub-compact flashlight! I have to tell you guys that this is not like any other 4xAA light you can find in the market! I have a lot of love for Thrunite's light and their TN4A, but this one made it better by using a smaller body, and has the D cell compatibility in case you run out of AA batteries! That's right, you can use a single D cell in the light as a replacement of the 4x AA battery too. This light outputs 1000 lumens with just 4x NiMH, and if you buy the XP-L Hi version, it claims 950 lumens, but is actually much brighter than that in reality. I remembered someone from another forum tested the lumens of these lights and they are actually all over 1000 lumens in his test. No matter what the number is, I cam just tell you that it's stunningly bright! I have no more words in my brain that can describe this light's brightness, but with 4x AA battery, it cannot get any brighter! Before we go on with the review, check out the links below to buy yours!
First of all, let's take a look at the size of this Lumintop SD4A, it's what I call a sub-popcan size flashlight. The light is very slim and feels very solid when put together. Everything fits tightly together and it seems like the light can even be a pocket-friendly light too. I tried carrying it on my jacket's chest pocket, it is okay and feels comfortable enough for a short walk.
There goes the head to head comparison. You can't imagine a 4x AA flashlight is that small eh? We used to call those pop can lights "tiny monsters" and what about this one now? I think we can call it Micro-monster? MM Light?
The design on this Lumintop SD4A is pretty slick. The knurling is not the best for grippy texture, but it does provides you some anti-slip texture. The light is not really anti-roll, but you can use the landyard for the job. I like how they have rubberized buttons. It took me a while to learn the UI though. I am too used to working with Thrunite and Nitecores these days. If you are new to flashlight, this UI can take you a while to get used to, but it's not too complicated. Some people like 2 buttons operation more than one, such as my spouse. She likes it when power and mode is separated!
See where the landyard loop is? The light is nicely balanced when you hang this by your wrist. It feels so comfortable to carry this light around when I walk around the block at night. It's just so slim, so small, and so comfortably balanced!
Mine is the XP-L Hi version, which gives me a super-batman beam, outputting over 1000 lumens of light and a tight beam that shoots out 450+ meters, dude, this is a 4xAA flashlight, we aren't even touching the 3.7v batteries here! Insane! Most people will not believe any AA battery flashlight can be that stunningly bright and throwing 450m!
When disassembled, you can see the light is like this, with a nice and sturdy battery holder in the center, which is designed to prevent any reversed polarity issue. You can put it in either way and it will still fire up the light. Putting a D cell in for the replacement of a AA holder is a nice touch, but my D cell (rechargeable) is not working well, so I have to put a piece of folded aluminum foil under the cell to make it fit. Maybe the normal D cell works better, or maybe it's just my crappy Trenergy cells that is too small? Not sure why!
Nice and sexy, period.
Fired up the light and you get you nice sexy 450m of throw. There are many modes there, but the strobe mode is the hardest one to get it working. I just learned it after I made the review. It's a good thing that they have this lock-out feature too, which prevents the light from accidentally turning itself on. I also like how the light feels very light weight in the hand when compared to a similar product such as the JETBeam SR40 and the Thrunite TN4A. The Lumintop SD4A is indeed the best 4xAA light in my collection now, and I think anyone going on a trip or flight might want to just pick one up. AA battery is easy to find, which makes the light a great choice if you have to go away for a longer period of time. Sometimes you just cannot find a place to charge your 3.7v li-ion cells.
I used to love my Thrunite Ti3, and I still do, but this Lumintop Tool AAA is just too stunning, I need to make a post about it and tell you guys to get one! First off, it's a mini TACTICAL LIGHT, using just one AAA battery and output to about 120 lumens of light, with a clicky tailcap! The package also comes with a magnetic tailcap too, which is also great for those who likes to stick it around, fridge, car, doors, etc... what we need is just a nice tiny diffuser and I think the light is the best package in the market so far for a keychain light. You can't go wrong, this is really amazing! The 120 lumens might not seems a lot to you, but I have tested it and it is very legit, and is kind of about the same as my Thrunite Ti3. Before we dig into the review, you may purchase one from the links below. I am including a few links s you can see which place give you the best deal, and sometimes if no one is doing a big sales, you can use my discount code at gearbest too!
DO NOT use those big box stuff like duracell, panasonic, energizers etc. Those rechargeables never last as long and love to self-drain all the time. I only like Sanyo and Eneloop PRO these days for a good solid reason, trust the experienced guy!
Here goes the tailcap clicky, you can change modes easily by semi-clicking the button or what I used to call it"bouncing" the button. Three modes only, but very practical and useful. I like how Thrunite has more modes and a strobe, but I think the 3 modes on this lumintop tool AAA is fine and very practical. Actually, less is better sometimes, when we use it for real purposes. Sometimes more modes is just hard to choose and navigate through the cycle.
You can just easily change the tailcap out with the magnetic tailcap and there goes the sticky instead of clicky. I like both, and I choose the magnetic over the clicky if I am using it for my EDC, because I like things that sticks! Keep in mind that the magnet is pretty good, you can stick it to your car and use it to help you do repairs and maintenance while it shines down. Good stuff!
Orange peel reflector, very smooth beam, but let me tell ya, this light does have some decent throw power for a keychain light. See my video review at the end, it's amazing and stunning to see an AAA light giving out that much light!
Light's on! Party time!
There is also a glow in the dark o-ring there, which is a nice touch and very helpful in the dark when you just need that ring to help you find the light. I personally like this and I would like to have a glow in the dark reflector too, why no one does that? The glow in the dark reflector mod will give the light a warmer tone too, I wish people will start doing that!
Here is my Sanyo AAA. I tried duracell and is sick and tired of it, they just love to self-drain over time. Sanyo and Eneloop PRO is the best. The light comes apart in 3 sections just like a normal tactical light, which is a great idea if you want to train your baby or kid to play with tactical light style lights. Give them a click and one TD16 for daddy, lol!
I was trying to take a picture to show you how useful the light is with the magnetic tailcap but somehow it doesn't work out too well eh?
Well you can read the paper here at least... but not too convinced? No problem.
What did I do? now this is impressive!
Can you see me here?
That's right, you can reverse the clip and clip the light to your cap! The light is so light weight and small, which does not put any weight on your cap too. You can totally just walk around like this and feel very natural. If you dislike the little metal chain you can just take it off or put the light on the top side of the beak so you don't have this thing hanging down your face. Swcheeet!
The lumintop tool AAA has been super impressive. The more I use it, the more I like it and feel happy with it. The flashlight has nice power and I like how you can interchange your preference with the tailcap depending on your mood of the day. It's so easy to change your setup, and if you are just tired of using the light as a light, you can always put the bulb part away and screw both ends together with one side clicky and one side sticky, then use the hollow tube in the center for putting a secret note or whatever you like inside and hang it on your neck lol! I think it's a great pendant tube if you ever need one for whatever reason. Not forget that it sticks and it's slick! Get one!
My video review on YouTube is always fun to watch!
Thanks for reading and watching, and I hope you will get one too. It's a super fun and powerful flashlight, and for less than 20 bucks, you can't go wrong. Stop buying those streamlight and maglite stuff, they are outdated junk today. It's time to embrace the new world of powerful flashlights, even a single AAA gets us 120 lumens, holy cow!
DO
NOT use those big box stuff like duracell, panasonic, energizers etc.
Those rechargeables never last as long and love to self-drain all the
time. I only like Sanyo and Eneloop PRO these days for a good solid
reason, trust the experienced guy!
