Thorfire sent me this TK4A out of the blue. It has been reviewed by user tru3s1lv3r back in September, and there’s not a whole lot to add except my opinion of it.
This is the only 4xAA light I own. Actually, the only AA light I own that doesn’t use a Li-ion 14500. I bought a set of Energizer Lithium primary batteries just to test in this, but will get a set of Eneloops when these die. Do not use 4v 14500s or you will blow the driver.
The TK4A is a stout little light, a little shorter in length than a Convoy S2+, and 1.6 inches (41mm) in diameter. It comes in the standard Thorfire box with a lanyard, 2 o-rings, a manual, and a holster. The holster is rather flimsy, but works good as a protection bag for the light to toss in a backpack or the glove box of a car. The belt loop is sewn with a single stitch seam, and wouldn’t trust it as a belt holster.
The battery tube is a machined or extruded type holder, a swiveling tail cap with the direction pins so you can’t screw it on wrong. Straight forward & simple.
When you turn the light on with fresh batteries, the small LED indicator on the button is green. It turns to orange when the batteries get to around 60 or 70%, and red when it’s time to charge. Seems to be constant current though and detected no PWM. According the the manufacturer, the run-times are… Low (30lm) 48hrs — Medium (200lm) 3hr 45min — High (600lm) 1hr 25min — Turbo (1100lm) 45min. The turbo run time is cumulative since it steps down after 3 minutes. After it steps down, you can click the button again to return to turbo and so on. I have no idea what batteries Thorfire used for these results.
The UI is simple click to on, click through the modes, and hold for off. 3 seconds in any mode is memorized. Double click for the blinky while light is on or off. While light is off, hold button for 1sec, and it goes into the 1 lumen moonlight mode. Nothing more to it than that.
The TK4A uses an XPL emitter and appears to be cool white. It’s a nice clear white with no blue tint. Shining on a wall, the hot spot has some very slight reflector distortion but you certainly can’t see it outdoors. It’s such a tiny amount that my camera can’t really pick it up.
And finally, a couple outdoor shots. Thorfire claims 1100 lumens. I have no way of testing this other than to take another light of similar claimed lumens and compare the two. The bottom picture is an Acebeam EC35 with a claimed 1200lm. This particular EC35 has a 4000k XPL HI in it, so it’s probably closer to around 1000 to 1100lm and it has a little more throw than flood. As you can see, the two are not so different, so I believe Thorfire’s claimed output is about right. + or -
Thorfire TK4A
Acebeam EC35 XPL HI 4000k (sorry about the steam cloud in the photo. my furnace decided to kick on just as I was taking the pict, and it was cold outside)
Overall, I do like this light. This will live in my vehicle’s glove compartment. I personally won’t leave a rechargeable lithium ion flashlight in the vehicle. I believe temperature extremes are not good for those types of cells. However the TK4A using primaries is great for this application, and nice to have a 1000lm flashlight running primaries in the car. Just make sure you either use lithium primaries (that won’t leak), or change out the alkaline’s once in a while. If you get an alkaline that leaks in this thing, it will be very difficult to clean it out. The battery tube does not separate from the head.
Cheers!