Taotronics TT-TF02
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★
Summary:
| Battery: | 1 x 18650 battery or 2 x CR123 battery |
| Switch: | Forward Clicky |
| Modes: | 2 Groups both with Memory : H-M-L or H-M-L-Strobe-SOS |
| LED Type: | Cree XM-L T6 |
| Lens: | Uncoated Glass Lens |
| Tailstands: | Yes |
| Price Paid: | Available for 59.99 from Amazon |
| From: | Amazon |
| Date Ordered: | 4/04/13 |
Pros:
- Amazing design
- Good machining
- Quality holster and lanyard included
- Good UI with a proper implementation of memory
- High quality anodizing
- Cooling fins
- Well driven
Cons:
- Outdated LED (XM-L T6)
- To easy to switch from one mode group to another
- Expensive
Features / Value: ★★★★☆
Heather contacted me earlier this month about reviewing the light. I was eager to review it, but from the beginning I thought that it may have been a bit overpriced. I would personally say it is a good value, and a very nice light. It came with: an extra switch boot, a plastic case, a holster, a lanyard, a magnet so as to allow use of flat top cells, and a manual.
It has 2 mode "groups": High-Medium-Low and High-Medium-Low-Strobe-Alarm-SOS, (alarm is .5 second strobe, .5 second off) both with memory. I personally use it on the 3 mode group, mostly because it gets annoying to have to switch through a strobe mode, but this still gives the option of various flashing modes if they are needed. One can change the mode group by turning the light on to low mode, from there wait until it blinks (a few seconds) and then turn it off.
Design / Build Quality: ★★★★★
The build quality on this light is impeccable.
Spotless anodizing with a well designed tailcap that can tailstand. (The white specs are dust, not anomalies in the anodizing)
The threads on this light are amazingly nice square threads which came pre-lubed from the factory.
Add Thread Picture Here
The reflector is a medium orange peel that is 28.5mm diameter and 26mm deep.
Thanks to the orange peel reflector on this light the beam quality is amazing, here a white wall shot is to demonstrate this.
It should be fairly easy to mod this light, one can easily remove the plastic covering under which you will find the LED star, ready to be replaced with an XM-L2 U2. :)
The light has cooling fins to provide surface area to help keep the light cool, they are shielded from the outside by the head assembly, thus ensuring you can't get burned on them. To me this seems to actually be a very smart and unique design. (Sorry about the slightly blurry picture, I will try to get a clearer one)
The light comes with a clip, however the clip is not optimally placed. Due to the fact that it is not at either of the ends of the light, the light will stick out of ones pocket if you were to try to clip it in your pocket. However, this issue is easily remedied by the inclusion of the holster.
Battery Life: ★★★★★
This light draws 2.9 amps on high, so with a 2900 mah battery one would get approximately an hour of runtime. This is suitable for a light of this size, considering it's high output.
Light Output: ★★★★☆
In my integrating bathroom this light put out approximately 650 lumens, a decent amount higher than the rated output. This is surprisingly fresh compared to many lights which overrate their output, while this one actually underrates it.
All of these shots were taken at 75 yards, well within the range of this light.
First the light on high.
Now to compare, a XM-L C8 that has been modified for direct drive.
Summary:★★★★★
Overall this is a great light and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a higher quality single 18650 light. The quality is impeccable, and I will be using this one and relying on it for many years to come.