thanks for the review!
it would be really good if they include clock function to it, first time i saw it i thought it has clock built it
btw, great light
Great review! I’d been looking forward to this one. I like that there may be emitter swap potential in this, looks like it needs some high cri :sunglasses:
Great review.
Two li-ion batteries… are they in series or parallel?
I dont like the non-replaceable cells.
And too expensive
@bmengineer, great review and take-a-part; thanks. It’s great that you included profile shots of the TUP which were lacking in other promo photos up to this point.
[Quote] … A non-momentary turbo option would be nice, …[/Quote] Too bad about that, I think Turbo via pres&hold of Mode button while ON would have been ideal.
That would have been a nice tweak to the NC TIP’s UI which is my personal favorite. With the TIP, Turbo is momentary from any mode while ON but non-momentary when activated directly by press&hold of the Mode button from OFF. Changing it up to momentary from OFF but non-momentary during ON would have been perfection.
FWIW, my TIP is defaulted to memory mode on Medium, that way I have direct access to Low (long press On button), direct access to Medium (short press On button) or direct access to High (long press Mode button).
edit - The TUP has gone live in the U.S. for MAP $64.95
Excellent review!! Thank you…… :+1:
65$, with a gooood coupon it may drop to under 50$, so yeah, good price
I can not believe it doesn’t have a clock function! It’s obviously got a RTC (real time clock) if it’s giving you an at all accurate count down timer.
Nitecore please do a simple FW update adding a time telling mode so I can buy one!
Well specs state 1200mAh capacity and cells are marked 600mAh so it’s parallel.
Btw I definitely am not arguing against your point that non-standard [cylindrical] batteries suck but LiPO’s like that arnt hard to source at all should they fail and Nitecore warranty not cover you (unlikely if it’s not user caused). That’s probably a <$5 pack from a trustworthy vendor like RMRC or other small business US owned RC hobby shops.
A few quick points:
- The $65 price point sounds completely reasonable to me, putting it in direct competition with the Olight S1 lineup.
- The two cells being in parallel is smart. This means half the current is drawn from each cell, so they shouldn't have as many issues as the Olight cells tend to.
- It's a bummer that the cells aren't replaceable, but the proprietary cells used by the competition really aren't much better, and to be honest I don't think I've ever heard of anyone replacing a 16340 - if it happens, it's the vast minority.
- Nitecore has confirmed that, since the primary goal of this light is to get as much light out of a tiny package as possible, there is no high CRI model planned at this time.
Interesting light, thanks for the review 
Shame it’s so fugly though 
Very interesting light, thanks for the good review. I would like to see some beamshoot.
Who said they are not replaceable?
Very nice review. I am still on the fence about this light, mostly because of that screen and the cost…adding a clock function might make it slightly more interesting, and I would very likely get one if I could get it about the $50 mark.
I’m not totally buying the keychain option, but inside a bag, clipped to the key holder in a maxpedition for example and used as a bag light or emergency back up light, I think that it would be pretty darn good.
Thanks for the thorough review and teardown!
Got in on the Illumn group buy, I love these USB non-cylindrical lights.
alibaba is not ok for 1 piece, aliexpress is better
A shame the TIR sucks a little…
But i guess they wanted to give this light both a fairly tight beam and some spill.
Very deep TIR by the way.
I wonder what kind of driver it uses.
TIP uses a buck driver.
But this has a high Vf LED, so maybe they use a linear driver.
If so, the max output should be lower on a partially depleted cell.
1200 mAh is a nice bunch of capacity for this size light. 
Attractive thingy, silly name though…
Tupperware…
Bit pricey i.m.o. and i don’t really need a display in a flashlight.
A clock and an MP3 player would have been nice additions, justifying the display.
Thanks for the review and tear down.
Wonder if you have a pic of the electronics.
If there’s an inductor on the PCB it’s probably a buck driver, or maybe linear / boost.
Guess I’ll have to take it apart again and check for you!
Only if you’re as curious as i am.
still in this size a waterproofing would be possible, but not as easy to manufacture