Thorfire JM07 review
Ok, so I got my hands on 2 of these JM07’s while they were on clearance for $10 each shipped from amazon. I realize someone else already got pictures of the teardown, but since i took the time to take the pictures I might as well add them here.
Ok, Size comparison time.
Thrunite TN15, Warsun CT95, JM07, Xintd C8, Convoy C8, BLF d80
Review:
Ok. What a bargain at $10 shipped. As you can see from the teardown there isn’t a ton you can do to mod the driver due to the side switch controller being integral. it is a 22mm board and is held in place with a retaining ring. The head has an integral shelf built into it very similar to the new Convoy C8 so there is no removeable pill. The threads are just ok, nothing special. There was some material left in the tail cap from manufacturing. The light can use 18650 or 26650. There is some rattle when you use the provided adapter for 18650. The modes are pretty simple. The instruction book says:
High 910 Lumens for 1hr 50 min
Mid 455 lumens for 4 hour
low 91 lumen for 24 hours
double click to access strobe.
claims max beam distance of 230m
impact resistant to 1m
ipx-8 waterproof standard.
Accessories:
lanyard, o-rings, lens, switch
As far as I’m concerned the 900 lumen high is pretty realistic. I was able to get 1 hour 59 min out of an 18650 battery so use of a 26650 and this
should exceed runtimes for that mode. I think mid mode is exaggerated. I’m guessing more like 300 lumens, but I could be wrong.
I think modding this guy will be tough due to the side switch, however switching the LED shouldn’t pose any problems. I also foresee switching from the OP reflector to smooth to give this guy a little more throw.
I found that the rear clicky is pretty solid and works great, and the side clicky is good as well. It is recessed into the frame, so it shouldn’t turn on during use. The button appears to be a hard plastic. The threads are annodized so you can lock out the flashlight with about a 1/4-1/2 turn of the tail cap. The light will definitely tailstand and the bezel is crenulated.
When you compare this light to other throwers it definitely falls short. It has more spill than most of the lights I compare it to, and the hotspot is bigger and fuzzier as well. Is this a deal breaker? no way! With a smooth reflector this could get pretty competitive if throw is all you care about. However, this thing handles the heat better than most of the lights on the list. Even after 2 hours of straight runtime on high it was only warm to the touch. This is important to me. I don’t have much use for a light that is too hot to handle after a couple of minutes.
BeamShots:
The Barn is 80 foot long. The treeline is about 55 yards
Beam Comparisons:
Warsun CT9T Vs JM07
Thrunite TN15 Vs JM07
BLF d80 Vs JM07
Xintd C8 xp-g2 Vs jm07
Defiant Super Thrower Vs Jm07
Convoy C8 Xml2 Vs Jm07
Runtimes:
Ok. So my testing methods are not top notch. I used a simple cell phone app lux meter to get a rough estimate of brightness. I’m sure it’s not calibrated in any way shape or form, but the results I get from it are consistent… which is what matters. I took an initial lux reading at the beginning and updated every 15 minutes until the light shut off. The light does appear to ramp down to a lower mode at about 3.30v +/- .05v. The results were very nice, and this light should definitely exceed the manufacturers runtimes with a good 26650. My testing was with 18650’s only!
Actual runtimes are:
Panasonic ncr18650B - 119 minutes
Samsung 30B - 83 minutes
Samsung 30Q - 96 minutes
So when it comes to batteries, the high drain batteries fell surprisingly short in runtime compared to the panasonic. Those extra mah definitely made the difference. As far as initial brightness is concerned I would say that they are equal given the level of error in my method of measuring lux.
As I mentioned before, the light does appear to have a shutoff at 3.30v +/- .05v. The light goes down to the lowest mode. It does appear to blink a second, but this could be my imagination as the modes switch.
Pros:
Does not get hot
exceed manufacturers runtimes
takes protected and unprotected 18650 batteries w/ adapter
good built quality
good spread on the modes
easy teardown
Cons:
can’t swap the driver
lots of spill (could be a pro for you)
fuzzy hot spot
might be a bit underpowered
Conclusion:
I would buy this thing again in at a heartbeat for this price. I’m really excited to see what other people have to say once they receive theirs. I’m definitely concerned it is a little bit underpowered. For the runtimes I’m getting it looks like high mode is drawing about 1.7a So this may be a candidate for some mods to bring that up and to bring this light to it’s true potential. Being a rookie to modding, I’m not even going to speculate. The brightness is definitely on par with other flashlights in the 800-1000 lumen range that I won. This isn’t really pocketable for a pair of jeans, but would easily fit into a coat pocket. It seems to fit commons belt sheaths for the c8 flashlight. In a head to head matchup the C8 is a better thrower, however this light stays cooler and has much more spill if that is what you are looking for.