Trustfire Mini-01
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★
Summary:
Battery:
|
1 x 16340 1 x CR123 |
Switch:
|
Twisty |
Modes:
|
3 (Hi, Low, Strobe) |
LED Type:
|
XML (cool white) |
Lens:
|
Glass |
Tailstands:
|
No |
Price Paid:
|
16.99 |
From:
|
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TrustFire-800Lm-mini-portable-Key-chain-CREE-XM-L-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Lamp-/170827626340?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item27c61eb764 |
Date Ordered:
|
5-12-2012 |
Date Recieved: |
5-25-2012 |
Pros:
- Very bright for size
- Works well with primaries
- Knurling placement works well for one-handed operation
- Better throw than expected
- Stainless Steel should be durable
- Useable low
- Solid keychain attachment point
Cons:
- Big for keychain duty
- Strobe
- Does not tailstand
- Gets hot quickly on high
- No mode memory (but starts on high if left off about a minute)
- Some surface flaws on my sample
Left to right: Duracell CR123, Trustfire Mini-01, ITP A3 EOS, Zebralight SC51, Sipik SK68
Features / Value: ★★★★
Pushing aside my desire for the Eagletac D25A, I decided to buy an unknown light that seemed to have potential to meet my wants in a budget fashion (and give back to the community with a review). This little hunk of steel did not disappiont. I was hoping for direct drive on high and I believe that's what I got. The modes aren't the best, but the low is plenty bright for any task. Just wish it had a really low low instead of the strobe. I was impressed with the performance on primaries, a big plus in my book. I thought stainless steel would be heavier, but this being my first SS light I didn't notice much of a difference. Might be significant if pocket carried, which I haven't yet.
A bad point is the mode memory. It doesn't have it. It will go to the next mode the next time you turn it on.... unless you leave it off more than a couple minutes. Then it will start again in high.
Design / Build Quality: ★★★
The light is a pretty simply designed twisty. It opens up into just two pieces. The body holds the battery, which has a rather large spring at the bottom. Any 16340 battery should have no trouble making contact. 18650 batteries will not fit. The threads were bone-dry, but with a touch of lube it turns quite nicely. At the bottom of the body is a solid attachment point which is a machined part of the body. While this ensures the light won't come off the keychain, it also means no tailstanding. The head is fairly deep with a LOP reflector. Though not a thrower by any means, it has a slightly smaller hotspot than my Zebralight SC600 even though the head is smaller. Nice! It takes four complete turns to remove the head from a fully tightened position. There are GITD o-ring on the body and behind the lens (which I personally enjoy). The light needs to be fully tightened to turn on. There is no "catch" when tightened. It won't easily come loose, but it doesn't take a lot of torque to turn it off. Sans battery the light weighs in at 44 grams. The dimensions are almost identical to the Olight i1, so it's little. The knurling is attractive and very handy. The dip in the light near the tail fits my middle finger very well, and the knurling at the head of the light gives good grip for index finger/thumb one-handed operation.
The bad thing with my sample is quite a few scratches. A few small dings even. You have to look closely, but once you see them they're pretty obvious. It still looks good, just not new. Like I say it's my first SS light, but I doubt this is normal. I'm pretty confident if you bought one of these from a trusted dealer it wouldn't be nicked up. My bet would be if it has the TF CR123 battery included (most of them do now it seems) it would have better QC. YMMV.
Battery Life: ★★
A light like this is not expected to be a long runner. In low mode it is pulling .21A so it should give at least 2 or 3 hours on low. On high it's a short term barnburner, good for impressing people or giving you some throw by sheer muscle... but it's not going to last long. You are going to quickly suck the life out of your batteries, but it will be fun doing it! I don't have any IMRs to try.
Light Output: ★★★★★
I think this light hits the limit of what you want to pull from a tiny 16340 battery, or CR123 primary for that matter. It draws 2.17A on my Sonshine RCR123. Yeah, over 2A from this little baby! The closest thing I can compare the high to is my ZL SC600 on H2 which is 500 lumens. It's a little brighter than that, but it doesn't touch the H1 mode of 750.... I'd say 550+ lumens?? The high on CR123 is just slightly lower than H3 on said ZL, so I'd guesstimate around 300 lumens. The low is .21A and to my eye it is around 50-60 lumens. Pretty nice general level for a little light, but I wish it had a low-low around 1-5 lumens instead of the frenetic strobe. There is also an obvious pre-flash of high mode when switching to low.
Summary: ★★★★
This is an attractive, well functioning and bright little light. It is a niche product in a niche market but I highly recommend it for the money. It's not perfect, hence it doesn't get 5 stars. The mode memory problems and questionable qc are downfalls. Things like heat buildup and short runtime go with the territory in these lights. What I bought this light for was a tiny photon blaster and it delievered!