“REVIEW”: Trustfire MiniX – 320 Lumens – USB-C – White + Red leds – Keychain light

Hi BLF!

This is my review of the Trustifire Mini X, a keychain flashlight!

The flashlight was sent by Trustfire in the sequence of their Giveaway, that I and other members won. Thanks Trustfire and Aurora for the GAW and for sending the flashlight! :+1:

More information about this flashlight can be find here (non-affiliate):

There is also a thread talking about the impressions on the MiniX, here: TrustFire Minix impressions . Check it for more/different opinions :wink:


GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Body Colour: Black (Cool Black) (* *)
Emitters (my version): White (Neutral/Cool) + Red (620nm)
Material: Aluminium alloy
Lens: TIR optics
Battery: Lithium Polymer 300mAh (not replaceable)
Charging: USB-C Built-in charging
Switches: E-switch
Low Voltage Indication: Yes
Max runtime: 152hours (White led) / 163minutes (Red led)
Max beam distance: 86 m(* * *)
Max output: 320 lumens
Candela: 1849 candela
Waterproofness: IP66
Impact resistance: 1m

(* *) Other versions available:
Colours: Ultimate Grey, Midnight Blue, Diamond Blue, Luxury Purple
Leds: White + UV (365nm)

(* * *)
The user manual also refers 42m as maximum range, so there is a conflict of information. See below for my considerations.


PACKAGE AND FLASHLIGHT

The Trustfire MiniX arrives in a small cardboard box, with some general information on the different sides. In one of the sides you can check your colour version and also the LEDs that your flashlight has.
In mine, the boxes “Cool Black” and “Red” are checked.


Inside we find: 1 Trustfire MiniX, 1 USB to USB-C charging cable, 1 split ring, 1 user manual.

Talking about the flashlight, here’s what it is:

- it is a small, compact and lightweight flashlight

- there are no machining flaws that can be seen and everything seems to be well put together

- most of the body is aluminium, except for the front (TIR) and the back (lanyard hole), which are plastic or other non metallic material

- in the front there is a TIR optic sitting above the 2 LEDs

- the TIR optics are not completely clear as the center seems to be a bit “frosted”, eventually to avoid beam artifacts

- below the TIR, there is a red o-ring that helps on water and dust proofing

- there is no information about the LEDs used, if on the Red LED I would bet on Cree XPE, I am not sure about the White LED (I can only say it seems to have a white part on it, like Osram Leds or XP-L HD) [See some ongoing discussion on this thread: Trustfire MiniX $15.70 on AliExpress ]

- in one of the smaller sides, there is the USB-C port, covered by a silicone cover which stays in place and is not removed easily/accidentally

- on the other side there are the engravings of brand logotype, CE, disposal, battery size (3.7V 300mAh) and also the Serial Number

- on the top side, there is the engraving of the brand/model and the switch button, which does not protrude that much

- there are also 3 small grooves (let’s call it “knurling”) that can be used to distinguish the top side from the back, and that also help on the grip

- on the back side, there are only 3 longer grooves that help on the grip

- the tail of the flashlight is made of plastic, it is not flat (so the flashlight doesn’t tailstand), and it has a hole for a split ring or a lanyard, also serving as the “cover” to hold the internals in place


How do I feel about these “physical” features?

  • the grip is good, not slippery, although the light feels small - as it is - in the hand (I am using a lanyard for better support :smiley: )

- although the switch button only protrudes slightly, it can be “easily” found either with the thumb or the index fingers (depending on how you hold the flashlight, of course)

- it would be nice to have it tailstanding, but that would make the light become a “brick” without forms, so that “protruding” part on the tail is not a bad design at all

- I do like that the silicone cover on the charging port is not accidentally “removed”, so it stays in place very well and the port is not exposed

- given that there is no glass above the TIR, the TIR optic is prone to scratches, which already happened in mine, without major consequences on the beam, though

- my light already felt to the ground some times (from above 1m) and the only damage it took was a slight bruise in the corners of the head, provoked by the impact

- concerning body scratches, so far, there are none.

And now let’s see some more of this light, namely weight and dimensions.
Like I said, small and lightweight!

ACESSORIES

After the flashlight, the accessories!

The split ring to be used in the tail. Not much to say about it!

The USB to USB-C charging cable, 30cm long.

The User Manual.
It is written in different languages (English, Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish and French). It is well written and describes the main features and specs of this light. Still, it lack information about the LEDs used. It has some conflicting information, though, as mentioned above.
Click for bigger images




USER INTERFACE / BATTERY LEVELS & CHARGING / OUTPUT & RUNTIME

Moving on to the User Interface, it is quite simple, but still has some nuances!

The flashlight has 4 levels for the White LED (Moonlight > Low > Medium > High) and 2 levels for the Red LED(constant Red and blinking Red).

It also has memory for the White LED levels, so it will memorize the last used level.
There is also an electronic lockout mode.

This is how the Trustifire MiniX is operated:

  1. Turn the flashlight ON (if unlocked): press & hold the switch for 0.5s
  2. Turn the flashlight ON (if locked): click 2 times on the switch > the light unlock and turns ON in the last used level
  3. Turn the flashlight OFF from any level: press & hold the switch for 0.5s
  4. Change levels (White or Red levels): single click when ON to advance from ML > L > M > H > ML… OR Constant Red > Blinking Red > CR…
  5. Change between White and RED (or UV) LEDs: when ON, press & hold 1.5s to alternate between the type of LEDs

Concerning the electronic lockout:

- Lock: 2 clicks from OFF > the lights locks out and the White LED blinks 2 times

  • Unlock: 2 clicks from OFF > the lights unlocks and turns ON in the last used level

While the flashlight is locked, it one clicks or presses the switch, the flashlight led will blink 2 times.

When turning ON the flashlight, the led indicator on the switch button will turn ON and show the light colour correspondent to the battery level (see below).

———///////———

Concerning the battery levels, according to specs the switch button will warn about it by having different colours when turning the flashlight ON. So:

GREEN: battery is between 100-80%
YELLOW: battery is between 80-20%
RED: battery is between 20-5%
BLINKING RED: battery is below 5%

Of course, we know that when the battery is red or blinking red, it is time to charge it!!

I tested the flashlight during a while (maybe an hour) when it was red and blinking red, and it could only be used in the Moonlight level.
It took a while before the light completely shut OFF, so you know that despite the low level of power, it will not leave you in the complete dark that soon. Still, it is convenient to charge it before it runs that low.

Unlike in the other levels, when the battery is below 5%, the led indicator in the switch will keep ON and blinking while the flashlight is ON.

As for charging, after running it to a very low level (not depleted) I charged the flashlight and it took around 50 minutes to charge. I expect that if fully depleted it will take some minutes more at around 1hour.

While charging, the led indicator will be RED, and when charged, it will turn GREEN.

Charging rate (beginning) and mAh charged (end):

———///////———

Last on this section, the Output VS Runtime!
Again, according to specs this is how the MiniX is supposed to act:

Level Lumens Runtime Range (m) (*) Candela
Moonlight 1lm 152hours NA NA
Low 30lm 327 minutes 27m 182cd
Medium 90lm 136 minutes 51m 650cd
High 320lm 56 minutes 86m 1849cd
Constant Red 136mW 163minutes NA NA
Blinking Red NA NA NA NA

(*)
Concerning the range/distances, I would like to say that, even without a meter to measure it, the levels have a good illumination range at:

  1. Moonlight: 2-3 meters
  2. Low: ~10 meters
  3. Medium: ~20 meters
  4. High: 45-50 meters (the user manual states both 42m and 86m for this level, and even if the total range is around 60m, depending on how dark it is, the useful beam will not be above 45-50m. I tested it during the night, outdoor, and beyond that the light can still reach some points, but don’t expect it to be a powerful light)

Concerning runtimes, I made a 10 minutes test to check how the light behaved on High and my “results” are that the HIGH decreases during 1.30 minutes, and after that it started to stabilize, with slights “ups and downs”, during at least 10 minutes (time of the test).

The light got a bit warm, but not too much. This lets me know that with a full battery the flashlight will probably hold the medium level during quite a while so I will not lose illumination all of a sudden.

Again, this is a small flashlight, with a small battery and body, so don’t expect incredible runtimes on it if using it for long periods of time.


FLASHLIGHT COMPARISON

Here is some size comparison between the Trustifire MiniX and other keychain and not-so-much-keychain flashlights and also with 2 batteries!

This flashlight is really small and despite being larger than other “tube” lights, it doesn’t become awkward due to that, when carried on a pocket.

I will be honest that I didn’t carry it in a keychain yet, only loose in a coin pocket or in the regular pockets, along with other stuff. Using a lanyard makes it easier to pull it out but without that it could still be found.

Nitecore TIP 2017 > Trustfire MiniX > Nitecore Tube

RovyVon A8U > Trustfire MiniX > Lumintop GT Nano

AA battery > Trustfire MiniX > 10440 battery

Sofirn C01 > Trustfire MiniX > Sofirn CO1R

RovyVon E200u > Trustfire MiniX

The only lights I use as keychain flashlights, from these posted above, are the RovyVon A8U and the Nitecore Tube.


BEAMSHOTS

I have to say that I wasn’t able to take some outdoor beamshots to show how this MiniX flashlight works outdoor. Even knowing that it will not be an EDC size flashlight, a keychain flashlight can be a life saver, so you need to know how it behaves if you have it in the pockets. I will try to update that part later.
Despite this, I mentioned above the “real range” for each level (eye measurement if useful beam).

So far, what I can show you is the beam pattern and compare it with other “competitors”.

Concerning PWM, it is not visible in the camera or at naked eye, only with the camera above the LED, both for the White and Red LEDs.
Nothing like the RovyVon A8U :disappointed:

Beam pattern. It has some artifcats, some of them not visible here on the photos but present at naked eye. To remove them, the best way is to “frost” the lens, by adding some kind of adhesive DC-Fix or similar.
Those are mainly “rings” and some yellowish part in the outer spill. This is probably related not only with the LED used, but also with the clear part of the TIR (except its center).

Here’s a comparison with the Nitecore TIP 2017 (LEFT)

Here’s a comparison with the Sofirn C01R (LEFT), on its 3 levels of red

Here’s a comparison with the RovyVon A8U (LEFT), with that nasty PWM in 3 of the 4 modes. It will soon be replaced :innocent:


OVERALL APPRECIATION

In general, the Trustfire MiniX is a well built flashlight, lightweight and compact, that can be used in a keychain or loose in a pocket/coin pocket.

Despite its small size, it provides good and useful illumination within certain ranges, being useful for short to middle range contexts, but not for long ranges.

Given the “simple” UI, it can be gifted to non enthusiasts without many issues.


What I like?

  • Overall building quality, without machining flaws, providing good grip and overall functionality

- The secondary Red LED, even if this one will be used with less frequency. I also believe that the UV can be useful, although I do not have one to say this with 100% certainty.

- The switch doesn’t protrude, which means that it can avoiding accidental activation (like those I have in the Nitecore Tube all the time… :zipper_mouth_face: )

- USB-C rechargeabilty, just because I already carry the cables for my phone, since this MiniX charges quickly


What I’d change?

  • The inaccessible battery, for eventual future replacement (although I know this will take a while to be completely unusable, so it’s actually not that relevant IMO)

- The White led, so that it could be Neutral white and High CRI

- The TIR optic, to avoid artifacts on the white and red LEDs

- The UI, by replacing :
a) the “press & hold for ON/OFF” by “single or double click for ON/OFF”, and , consequently,
b) the “single click to change modes” by “press & hold to change modes”.
c) “memory mode” by “always starts on the lowest”, or something mixed like the Nitecore TIP
d) the “press & hold for ON/OFF” by “press & hold for momentary High”

Actually, the UI is what bothers me the most in this flashlight. I do get that it doesn’t need to be similar to other flashlights on the market, but that is probably the thing that I would change the most in the Trustfire MiniX.
The other aspects mentioned, are something I can live with and will not affect substantially my use of this flashlight.

The good aspects are above the negative ones in this flashlight, clearly! And it made me realize that Trustifire may have some other interesting options to explore in other lights.

Still… I guess it will not replace the RovyVon lights as my favourite keychain flashlights !! :stuck_out_tongue:


Thanks again to Trustfire and Aurora for the GAW and for sending the flashlight.

As for your, readers, leave your comments if you want to :beer:

You can also find my video review on the Trustfire MiniX on YT:

:+1:

They offered me this to review only to never hear from them again….oh well, I’ll focus on other brands

I think the light labelled “Nitecore Thumb” is actually a Tube. The Thumb is bigger, has two main leds, and the front part is on a hinge.

Do you have a Skilhunt E3A you can get into one of the pics? Alternatively, maybe a Sofirn SC01 or Astrolux M01? These are Minix’s general price range. Thanks.

The inaccessible battery is the deal blower. Would be awesome if it had 1 or 2 removable CR123’s.

Y’know, I’ve never been into keychain mini lights but this one is pretty neat and you’ve done a great review here and in the video. Sold. The dark blue looks really nice…would have rather gotten that with the UV but seems only available with the red for now. Got an extra in grey that will end up as a dirty santa gift at work.

Couple bucks less on ebay than amazon, everything shipped from overseas. On their ebay store they have one listing at $17.99 and one at $19.99 but they appear to be the same items. A tad less on their official aliexpress store.

If this had a sofirn ramping firmware that would be awesome. And I wish that cap were aluminum instead of plastic - I will likely mill the loop off of it if it looks like it might actually tailstand decently. The one thing I really wish is that they had a diffused lens for at least the red emitter. I don’t use red a lot but in so many lights it’s just a harsh ringy artifact-laden “beam” that is just horrible for up close use and especially for reading. Maybe some dc-fix will improve that. It would also be nice if the button were recessed, like a concave dimple kind of thing. This will be my one and only non-accessible battery light but I figure as long as it doesn’t catch fire it’ll last me long enough in run time and lifetime.

The marketing on their page, though. lol. Strong penetration. Has the effect of mosquito repellent. Allows me to enter my house at night. Uses the international patent latest generation led. I mean this light is Perfect! And it’s the size of a 9v battery! Type-C will be convenient since this will mostly be in the car I think. The penetration is worrisome, though…

Thanks for adding your great review!

It would be hard even for Harry Potter to get a 16x34mm battery into a 12mm body.

EDIT: sorry, but I could not help adding these pictures:

1 Thank

Shrinkus batterium!

Thanks for the size comparison!

Hum I hope you hear from them soon, and hopefully you can show some of their new lights, which would be appreciated :+1:

Thanks for the heads-up on the “Thumb”, I replaced the name for “Tube” as it should be :wink: I made a mistake there although I know what I have :person_facepalming:

Concerning the E3A, I don’t have one and I compared it with the C01 and C01R! I believe you missed that photo :wink:

EDIT: Only now I noticed you said SC01 and not C01 :person_facepalming: Too much letters :weary:

Thanks again!! :+1:

Hum, I guess that the inacessibility of the battery may be a draw back for some people, but I wouldn’t call it a deal breaker!
C’mon, that will last for years before it stops working ! Like the Ni-MH, it will only stop working, probably, after many charges and use :wink:
And if it was a CR123a battery, it would certainly be big enough to not be a keychain light !

Thanks for your words Correllux! :+1:
Yeah, the Red emitter could use a diferent texture on the TIR, but I guess that using some diffuser (see Boaz threads) glued uppon the TIR will solve the problem! That would be an improvement, although it decreases the range it illuminates !

And I do admit - and mentioned - that a different UI would be nice! Anduril here would be top notch, although a more well thought UI would also work. I feel that the long press for on/off could be improved !

Thanks stephenk :+1:


I will try to show how it works outdoor soon :wink:

Very nice review. Thank you. :+1:

You’ve got some competition.

Ahah, I guess this one has more edition than mine, though :stuck_out_tongue:
Always good to have different inputs in different languages (maybe I should start doing mine in Portuguese language :stuck_out_tongue: ) :wink:

Thanks for this review, MascaratumB. I had high hopes for this Trustfire Mini… but the UI doesn’t sound any better than a Rovyvon Aurora.

Have you tried out the Sofirn SC01? It’s a simple 2 mode twisty keychain EDC. But it’s beautifully done. The only drawback is that it comes in stainless steel—no lighter metal options. It’s rather heavy. But the beam is a nice tint and the 2 brightness levels quite usable. And it has a removable 10180 cell! Heck, if Sofirn can do it, Rovyvon and Trustfire should be able to do it. The Aurora A8 is wonderfully small, but in all seriousness it’s almost too small. No reason why they couldn’t have made it 10180 compatible.

Btw, in your comparison to the A8U… is this a newer one, or your older one from a couple of years ago?

Thanks xevious! :+1:

Well, despite all the goods of the MiniX, the UI is what really bothers me the most, and actually I consider the ones of some of the RovyVon lights slightly superior, despite not perfect.

I expressed what I’d prefer for the UI, although its probably not going to happen :stuck_out_tongue:

The SC01, I haven’t tried it, and I guess I will not try it! Not just for the weight, but mainly because I prefer to have some buttons and the RovyVon gives me that option. Also, because the capacity of the battery is far superior on the RovyVon (130mAh or 330mAh on the X/Pro versions VS 80mAh of the Sofirn), and the output is much higher too.

As I mentioned above, I do get that having replaceable batteries can be a plus to most of us, but I guess that the built-in batteries that they come with will last for “a while” too!

Trustfire has the Mini 2 keychain flashlight similar to the SC01 and many other twisties on the market. As for RV, I am not sure if wanting them to go towards 10180 cells is the right move, but I may be lacking perspective.

As for another keychain light I may used instead of those, is the DQG Slim Ti, in the short version would be better for me, It can use rechargeable 14250 batteries, that come with 300mAh, which is still superior to the 10180.
But these are preferences only, of course :wink:

The A8U is my older one! The one that is on its’ way is the A8X, that will replace my A5R on the main keychain, that will replace my A8U in my small tools keychain, that will replace the Nitecore Tube in my work’s keychain :smiley: :partying_face:

RovyVon > Trustfire > DQG Slim Ti

As promised, here are some outdoor beamshots of the Trustifire MiniX.
The beam is more pleasant outdoor than against a white wall, since the artifacts “blend” with the environment.

The MiniX:

1) has a narrower beam if compared to the Nitecore TIP 2017; these have more or less the same output

2) has a wider beam than the Sofirn C01S, but the tint and CRI is clearly better on the C01S; the MiniX is more powerfull

3) has a more or less similar beam to the RovyVon A8U, and the tint and CRI is clearly better on the A8U; the MiniX is less slightly less powerfull than the RovyVon A8U, but the MiniX doesn’t have PWM

4) has a more or less similar beam to the RovyVon A5R, but the A5R is more powerful and that is noticeable in the range

Here they are:

Trustifire MiniX - 4 modes (White LED)+ 1 Mode (Red LED)

Comparison with the 4 modes of Nitecore TIP 2017 (on the left)

RED MODE
Comparison with Sofirn CO1R (on the right)
The C01R is more powerfull and has a deeper red on max output. The MiniX is more comparable to the medium mode of the C01R.

Comparison with 4 Keychain flashlights.
LEFT = Trustfire MiniX
RIGHT = Nitecore TIP 2017 > Sofirn CO1S > RovyVon Aurora A8U > RovyVon Aurora A5R

COMPARISON
LEFT = Trustfire MiniX

Vs Nitecore TIP 2017

Vs Sofirn CO1S

Vs RovyVon Aurora A8U

Vs RovyVon Aurora A5R

:beer:

Got mine a couple days ago and have played around with the blue one (I’m keeping that one). The blue is a really nice deep darker color with that metallic-texture from the anodizing. The red is entirely too bright…would rather see a high-low with that instead of a high-blinkie…also has odd shadows in the beam which look like bond wires (they’re in the middle so I don’t think they’re artifacts from the edge of the tir). Can’t really see in there to the diodes very well. Seems like a nice 5000-5500 color temp, thankfully not as cold as I feared. :slight_smile: Charges just fine with a USB-C to USB-C cable from a PD wall wart. Takes about the same charge time with that as it does from a 500mA USB 2.0 port on a computer and I was seeing around 480mA charge rate from both sources. I think I’ll go ahead and mill off the bottom to make it able to tail stand, but I’m also thinking about using a thin neodymium plate magnet now, too. There’s enough meat there to cut a groove and insert the magnet rather than just gluing it over the top (if I can find one the right size).

Now get this. I show it to a friend and he says to his wife, hey wifey, can I see your keys for a minute? And on her keychain was a Fenix E03R. These are the exact same lights - exactly the same other than the housing (the Fenix is one-piece all metal). Same exact UI, appear to be the same emitters as near as can be seen, same optic. Looking at them together they appeared to have the same brightness at all levels as well. The button on hers felt a little softer but she’d used it quite a bit since she got it a year ago.

Looking at the specs online, the Trustfire appears to use a bigger battery (300 vs 200) and claims more lumens. If this is honest then it would appear that Trustfire made it cheaper and better (and with colors!) but again, side by side in person I really couldn’t see a difference. Zeroair reviewed the Fenix and its claimed lumens were pretty accurate other than the peak turn-on in high mode with fast fall-off. It’d be interesting to see what numbers he would get with the Trustfire for comparison (i.e. using the same equipment/technique).

Other than the bright red mode, the two other things that I think would really improve this light are a concave button (divot) for easy feel in the dark, and while I am not a hat-light guy, I actually think that a removable clip would be fantastic on this particular light (for hats, car visors, perhaps clipboards, etc). That and a glass lens over the optic. If the glass and button changes would require more space I think it’d be worth it and perhaps even a slightly larger cell pouch could be used in that process. Good little light, imho.