The manufacturer BronteLight is updating its product line with new interesting lights and provided me the smallest model the BT01 for test and review.
This is a small aluminum alloy flashlight,powered by one AAA battery(no Li-Ion compatible) designed to be if not the brightest,one of the brightest AAA flashlights in stock form,on the market.
According to the manufacturer's data,the BT01 could reach 150Lm output. In my tests I got 130 lumen initial output with a rechargeable AAA battery.
Below is a comparison with some of the AAA flashlights I own.
The BT01 is really small,even for an AAA light.
Excellent tailstand capabilities.
As you already may noticed,the BT01 is the only AAA flashlight in my comparison with a pocket clip.
Looking at the design,many people will find the form somewhat familiar.
Yes,there are at least one flashlight from other brand,which shares the same design.
Lacking enough info about the intersection point of the different brands,I will pass over the fact and will discuss the flashlight as something new to me.
(I don't have any of the competitor lights,so I can't do anything different).
The BT01 can be disassembled on two main parts.Battery tube and head.
The Duracell Duralock battery,that I use fit well.However,lower quality batteries with not so good wrapping may stay too tight causing problems when comes the time to pull out the battery.
Machining is good,without visible flows. My sample is most likely a prototype,so some imperfections are acceptable,but yet,I did not find such. My only critique could go to the tail design.
The way of cutting the lanyard hole is causing some sharp edges,which may be very uncomfortable when operating the flashlight with one hand.
This should not be a problem in the end production variant,as the manufacturer is promising to take care of the tail edges.
Here is a close up of the head.
Black matte anodizing. Triangular cut threads,also anodized.
The pocket clip extends the options for carrying the flashlight,a lot. However I found the clip a little too loose for secure attaching to pockets on thin clothes.
Maybe it will stay better on a belt.
Below is a picture of the packaging.
Bronte BT01 comes in a luxury metal box. You can see the accessories and spare parts included.
A picture from the Instruction sheet.
User Interface
The BT01 has 4 modes total. Mid-High-Low constant light modes and Strobe mode.
Tighten the head to turn On the light. Loosen the head to turn Off the light.
You can change the mode by quickly turning the light Off,then On.
Doing this operation quickly,two times in a period of 0.25sec will activate Strobe mode.
Below is my Run/time test of the Bronte BT01.
The BT01 performs pretty well in my tests,delivering impressive lumen output for such a small flashlight.
About 129 lumens initial output on High mode. 122Lm 30sec later.
~49 lumens initial output on Mid mode. 46Lm 30sec later.
I am happy to report the presence of Low voltage warning and over-discharge protection.
Battery used for the test Duracell Duralock NiMH 1.2V
I did not test the BT01(yet) with an Alkaline battery to see how it will react on the higher voltage.
Cree XP-G2 LED. Well centered. Glass lens without coating.
Orange peel reflector-greatly appreciated choice for people that prefer well mixed beam with smooth transition between hotspot and spill.
The light from the XP-G2 LED is cool white with no visible tint in normal use.
Yet,as with most cool white lights,if you compare it to a neutral white light,it may look a little bluish.
Comparing it to similar AAA flashlights,the beam does not differ much in color temperature,so it is not better,nor worse.
Thanks to the orange peel reflector,all zones of the beam are well blended.
The hotspot is well defined,yet there is still enough useful spill.
Except the sharp edges on the tail,which will be redesigned,my impressions of the BT01 are only good.Compact and practical form factor make the flashlight easy to carry and operate.
Big plus is the pocket clip-often overlooked by many manufacturers,but it gives much more options for carrying the flashlight safely and also helps for easier twisting the head. The clip can be attached in reverse position.
Build quality is good. Beam profile is good for everyday use. The driver features low voltage warning.
Low mode is really low.No PWM use/flickering detected in my tests.
Thanks for reading! Thanks to BronteLight for providing the Bronte BT01 for test!
Nice review, I’m planning on purchasing few of these for myself and for birthday/holiday gifts.
If you would please tell me how does the low voltage warning works?
Nice review. I have the Bronte RA01, and it is a very nice light for the price.
It seems Bronte can hold it’s own in this very crowded AAA product space.
Looks nice. What about dimensions? The only thing I don’t like is mode order - I prefer L-M-H to preserve night vision/not disturb others. Hidden strobe is a nice feature. Is it normal fast strobe or slow beacon? In AAA sized light beacon would be useful, fast tactical strobe not so much.
One thing to correct:
Do you mean there’s no easily detectable off-white tint shift? Cause you cannot have LED with no tint at all…
Does it have memory mode?
Found BT01 on Amazon:
Thanks for reading!
When the voltage is very low,the light starts something like Strobe with frequency of about 2Hz.
Thanks for reading! The BT01 and especially its driver is well designed.
No memory mode. Always starts on Mid mode.
Some of the info is in the picture of the original Instruction Sheet.
66mm long, 14mm head diameter, 10gr without battery.
Strobe frequency 10Hz (according to the manufacturers data and confirmed by me).
Defining tint is very hard.You have to adjust your eyes to something neutral,which is hard. The light will appear as white to most users,as they will not notice yellowish,greenish or bluish tint,if they do not compare it to a cooler or warmer white sources,than the BT01’s LED.
Thanks for reading!
Looks like a nice little key chain light, thanks for the review.
Promotion for the NEW Amazon store.BT01 is on sale now. The small keychain light Bronte BT01is a good choice for EDC,gift.
The flashlight will be shipped out by post. It takes 7-15 days to USA.
Quantity is limited.
Thanks for your attention.