ThorFire sent me their yet-unreleased TD26 Diving Flashlight for review. It arrived yesterday, and since it arrived at a time when it will be a week or more until I get photos with it under the ocean, I will fill the time by giving you an above-water first impressions review.
Amazon link preview: Amazon.com
Specs:
The TD26 uses a Cree XP-L emitter and a 26650 battery. (An 18650 adapter sleeve was also included in the box.)
Modes are described as follows (with a 5,000mAh 26650 ThorFire battery):
Low: 30 lumens for 48 hours
Mid: 200 lumens for 2 hours and 45 minutes
High: 500 lumens for 1 hour and 25 minutes
Turbo: 1,000 lumens for 45 minutes
All of these output levels seem pretty accurate to me. With those run times, I suspect that ThorFire measures the length of time those light levels are actually maintained, as opposed to the ANSI measurements other manufacturers use where they continue to count run time after the light has stepped down to lower light levels (but still above the 10% cut-off).
Distance: 350m
Beam intensity: 9800cd (Typo? The hotspot is less than half the size of the Nitecore MH20’s)
ThorFire claims the light is waterproof to 100 meters and drop resistant to 1 meter.
Listed size specs:
Length: 148mm
Head diameter: 50mm
Body diameter: 35mm
What’s in the box:
The flashlight itself was protected by a bubble-wrap sleeve. Also in the box were ThorFire’s “Happy?” card, the manual, two spare O-rings, a lanyard, and an 18650 adapter sleeve. It also comes with a 5,000mAh ThorFire branded INR 26650 protected battery and a ThorFire branded charger (model NK-905), rated for 1A and 4.25 volts. I haven’t used it, however, since every cheap charger I have gotten from companies like Thrunite or ThorFire has charged batteries to 4.28 to 4.3 volts, while I like to keep my batteries below ~4.2 volts for longevity.
Size comparison:
L-R: Thrunite T10 XP-L 252 lumen (2016), Nitecore MH20, ThorFire TD26, Thrunite TN12
Feel:
At about 375 grams with a 26650 battery, this light is a beast. However, it feels good in the hand, and the aggressive ribbing on the handle gives you a very strong grip on the light. Its mass also does a great job as a heat-sink, so I have been using the light on turbo without heat being a problem.
The magnetic side-button has smooth travel with about a pound of spring resistance that doesn’t stack very much as the button is depressed. The button’s travel ends when it is about flush with the light. Ergonomically, it’s pretty nice to use, even with gloves on.
Of course, the light tail-stands very stably.
Control:
There is only one control on the light, a magnetic side switch. Press the switch to turn it on to the last mode it was in. (There is no way to turn it on to anything other than its memorized mode.) Press the button again to cycle through the four modes. Double-press it to switch to the strobe, and press it again to return to the last used power level. Hold the switch for about a second to turn the light off. There is a small delay between releasing the switch and the light coming on. It’s pretty short, but it still resulted in me blasting my eyes with light the first time I used it as I checked to see if the light was actually coming on. The delay between releasing the switch and the power level changing is about half a second, which actually is kind of annoying.
Overall quality impressions:
The machining is nicely done and the edges are nicely broken while still providing good grip. The anodizing is even and consistent over the whole light.
There are two O-rings to facilitate the light’s 100m waterproof rating:
The threads are trapezoidal cut, but are well lubed and smooth to use:
There are springs at both ends:
Beam shot/tint:
The hotspot is definitely smaller than the MH20’s. Colors aren’t as rich as those from a neutral white emitter, but they really aren’t bad.
Left: Nitecore MH20 Neutral White
Right: Thorfire TD26
More pictures:
More to come once I actually get this light under the ocean!