[New][Review] Nitecore TUP - 1000 lumen keychain light

fran82 · 2018-11-12T16:35:46.000Z

Great review.

Two li-ion batteries… are they in series or parallel?

I dont like the non-replaceable cells.

And too expensive

pc_light · 2018-11-13T02:40:09.000Z

@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

teacher · 2018-11-13T03:13:20.000Z

Excellent review!! Thank you…… :+1:

mrheosuper · 2018-11-13T04:41:11.000Z

65$, with a gooood coupon it may drop to under 50$, so yeah, good price

Cereal_killer · 2018-11-13T05:31:49.000Z

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!

Cereal_killer · 2018-11-13T18:07:17.000Z

fran82:

Great review.

Two li-ion batteries… are they in series or parallel?

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.

bmengineer · 2018-11-13T12:23:34.000Z

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.

CRX · 2018-11-13T16:11:57.000Z

Interesting light, thanks for the review
Shame it’s so fugly though

Noctiluco · 2018-11-13T21:08:27.000Z

Very interesting light, thanks for the good review. I would like to see some beamshoot.

Agro · 2018-11-13T21:39:21.000Z

bmengineer:

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.

Who said they are not replaceable?

alibaba.com

This product is no longer available.

DBSS · 2018-11-13T21:43:21.000Z

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.

bansuri · 2018-11-16T07:05:06.000Z

Thanks for the thorough review and teardown!
Got in on the Illumn group buy, I love these USB non-cylindrical lights.

realista · 2018-11-18T01:06:19.000Z

Agro:

bmengineer:

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.

Who said they are not replaceable?
This product is no longer available.

alibaba is not ok for 1 piece, aliexpress is better

Jerommel · 2018-11-18T01:31:12.000Z

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.

bmengineer · 2018-11-18T01:36:16.000Z

Guess I’ll have to take it apart again and check for you!

Jerommel · 2018-11-18T01:37:17.000Z

Only if you’re as curious as i am.

Lexel · 2018-11-29T19:36:25.000Z

still in this size a waterproofing would be possible, but not as easy to manufacture

bansuri · 2018-12-01T19:08:31.000Z

Got mine for Illumn yesterday, it was exactly as I expected (but was hoping to be surprised).
It’s a carry nightmare unless you lock it out, and if its just in your pocket it is a big lump that sticks out.
Buttons are hyper-sensitive, they are so ready to click, it’s kinda funny. No way it’s NOT coming on in your pocket.
Power button is almost as far away from your thumb as possible when holding it.
There’s just no carrying this in the real world without locking it out.
The weight of it makes me wonder if it’s empty. It works, so I guess not.
Clip is great, but everything is so cramped on this light you’ll probably turn it on trying to use the clip.

In spite of all of that, it’s a cool little light! Got a great GB price on Illumn, I’ve know people to spend 2x that and only have a hangover to show for it.
I’ve bought all of the tubular lights one could ever want so I’m usually all-in when a new light that is any other shape is released.
I’ve been struggling to find a use for the “coulda been great” Lumintop Geek, finally found something: clip to belt and it makes a fantastic belt light that has no competition!
The Tup will remain on my desk until I find it’s true calling. Despite all the negatives, there’s a lot to like.
UI is decent.
Button functions are logical and easy to remember, despite too sensitive.
Stock tint is usable.
Has a strong, fixed clip.
USB port has a boss dust cover.
The screen, the glorious screen!!! Pretty cool having a readout to give you some useful information. We should tell the vape makers there’s money in flashlights and watch what happens.
Will update when I find the perfect use for the TUP.

Oh yeah, I was able to file down the metal tops of the switches on the TIP and make it more pocket-friendly, don’t think I’ll be able to do that with the TUP because it doesn’t have rubber buttons.

pc_light · 2018-12-01T23:53:49.000Z

+1 @bansuri’s observations for me as well.

I like the TUP UI (similar to the TIP UI, one of my favorite), nice display, nice clip, nice mode spacing, nice battery capacity and light weight.

I can live with the size which is bulkier than typical keychain lights but comparable to a small cr123a pocket light. But those buttons are simply way too prone to accidental activation. One would have thought Nitecore applied the lessons learned about accidental Button Press from the TIP

The Lock-1 feature is relatively easy to activate/deactivate but it would be nice not to have to do so. I actually don’t have a problem with the TIP’s buttons, but for those who do/did, stay clear.

My first tweak will be to do something about those buttons. Either raising the area surrounding the buttons or lowering the button height, to reduce accidental button presses taking the light in/out of pocket or clipping/unclipping.

FWIW, here are some photos for size and tint comparison against the TIP CRI. The slight green tint is not nearly as pronouced as appears on screen, but the beamshot image (1-ft distance) is fairly accurate otherwise. Larger cool white TIR-type hotspot with less spill than the TIP.

TUP (on left), TIP CRI (on right)

edit:
TUP after a little Magenta Correction of the TIR for Green

Kindle · 2018-12-02T00:21:10.000Z

bansuri and pc_light are spot-on in detailing the problem areas for the light. It’s a fun light, I don’t regret buying it but no way is it getting carried in a pants pocket.

For now it’ll be close to hand on my desk to grab when I need a quick blast of light (until something else catches my fancy).