Hello all,
Thorfire has asked for a review of their new TK4A flashlight. It is a single XP-L light that runs off of 4x AA batteries.
According to the User Manual, the light on turbo puts out 1100 lumens. I find this to be pretty close by my comparison to some other similar rated output lights.
This is the box the light arrived in. Pretty standard packaging from Thorfire.
The light came protected by some foam in the box. Inside, there was the “Happy” card that Thorfire sends with each of its flashlights, a small bag with a lanyard and some spare o-rings, the light itself in a bubble wrap bag, and a holster.
User Manual
Here is the light in my hand. I have fairly large hands, but the light feels good to hold. Not too big, not too small. Good knurling on the battery tube ensures a decent grip.
A closeup of the XP-L emitter. As you can see it has the dome on so it isn’t as throwy as the XP-L HI. It makes this light more of a general purpose light opposed to a dedicated thrower. The lens also appears to have an AR coating on it.
Here is the battery end. As you can see it has four round areas to fit the four AA batteries. Be careful inserting them as each slot doesn’t hold the battery tight and they can slide out of alignment as you are putting them in.
A size comparison to my other multi-AA lights. On the left if the Thorfire, then a Blackshadow Padme, followed by the Nitecore EA41 Pioneer. The light is a biot shorter than the other two. I measured the diameter of the light to be 1.610”, and the length at 4.415”.
(Some more close ups)
Operation reminds me of the Skillhunt headlamps, it has a momentary switch on the side. One press turns the light on. It has last mode memory, so if you leave the light on in one mode for >3sec, then the light will come back on in that mode. When ON, one short press will cycle through the 4 normal modes, low, med, high, and turbo. A double click from ON will put the light into strobe mode, another short click will return to the previous mode. Hold the switch from ON for 2 sec and the light will turn OFF. From OFF, hold the switch and the light will go into a moonlight mode. One more short press will turn it back off. The UI is fairly intuitive and easy to use. There is a little light inside the switch that activates when the light is turned ON and blinks twice when the light is turned OFF. I am not sure if it is a battery indicator light or not as I have no other batteries to test with. Edit: I put some fresh AA’s in the light and now the switch lights up green instead of red. It is a battery indicator.
(The little light in the switch)
I will take some beam shots tonight after it gets dark to show the profile a bit more.
I don’t believe this light is available for sale yet, but I will update this review when it does list.
I had a bit of trouble with the light after using it a little bit. I noticed when setting it down on the counter with the LED facing up, it would blink. I am thinking that there is an aluminum reflector and it is possibly coming into contact with the lead wires from the shock of being set down. The head is sealed unit and I cannot access the internals. Thorfire does state the light cannot be disassembled by the user in the manual. It is pretty solidly glued in place. This may just be a review sample and there won’t be this issue on the final run, but I am contacting Thorfire to let them know of the issue.
Overall, this light is a winner in my book, even with the issue. The modes are very well spaced and the user interface is easy to learn and use. I do not know how much the lights costs as of yet, but I will post here as soon as I know.
Thanks for looking!
-Tru3s1lv3r
Edit: Thanks to RobertB for some investigative work who found the light on Amazon.com for list price of $99.
I was hoping for $30-$40, hence, a reasonably priced alternative to the Nitecore EA41, especially after I got their PF04 penlight that was quite impressive for $20 (compared to my $50 retail 4sevens Preon P2……mind you I did NOT pay $50 for that light).
for us Dutchies 
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