I can get a TN31 for < $90 - is there a stock budget light which is on par (beam & quality) with the TN31 for <= $50 ?
Good question and I look forward to seeing if anyone has any good suggestions.
This isn't what you asked, but I hope you don't mind. I've had a TN31 for some time and it's a great light. I would, however, buy the TK61 instead if I was buying today. It's not much more in cost, but a lot more light. It has a bigger head and reflector, holds 4 cells (instead of 3), and is much easier to mod (based on what I have seen here). It appears to have better heat shedding capacity to me, but I don't know first hand.
@ImA4Wheelr - thanks for the info but I’d rather not derail the thread by discussing the Fenix and stay with the original question which is - is there a stock budget light which is on par (beam & quality) with the TN31 for <= $50 ?
No, absolutely not, not even close. For similiar performance (after a bunch of modding) you should consider the courui, about $33 plus about $20 worth of parts and some soldering (if you’re up for it) and you’ll have a similiar looking light that performs similiar but it can’t touch it in quality and you definitely won’t find all that with mag-ring control in that price range.
Instead of asking “on par with” why don’t you tell us what spec’d exactly you require as well as what exactly you want to buy- a turn key light (just stick batteries in it and click the button) or a light that needs built out of parts and a host (aka donor) light.
If you’re looking for something turn-key you’ll probably need to buy from a custom modder to get anything near TN31 level (plugging myself here, I can definitely do what you need).
Thanks Cereal_killer - exactly what I wanted to know. I’m after a decent thrower and like what I’ve seen of the TN31 and can get it for $89 - I was just wondering if there was anything substantially cheaper that I should also consider - seems not so I’ll go with the TN31. Now just got to decide between CW or NW - any opinions?
Is the TN31 XM-L or XM-L2?
ardvaark - yes, I’m sort of leaning toward NW. Anyone know what tint Thrunite use or is it a lottery?
southland - The latest ones use XM-L2 which at $89 makes it even more tempting considering they originally used XM-L and cost a lot more.
No shipping until March 6th - bummer
I say just get the TN-31, it is a very nice light, after resistor modding you won’t feel a big urge to get other throwers afterwards.
Where is the TN31 $89?
Amazon and available now.