Review: Trustfire Mini-01

[UnreelWorld.com]

Everything came in today. Mini 1 & 2. Nitecore rcr and aw imr. It appears that both are just about equally bright with all batteries tested even though the mini 2 claims 480lumens whereas mini 1 states 280lumens. I think they both clock in at 480 or so with the rcr or imr… With cr123as they are both considerably less bright.

So since the aw imr does not increase brightness there would be no reason to use this battery over the protected RCR’s correct?

In the end, since they are roughly the same brightness, I like the mini 1 a little better. It looks nice and is plenty bright for $13 and is a wee bit shorter in length. Really nice small keychain light for brightness, look and price!

[alex21]

IMR’s have safer chemistry than regular li-on so that might be a reason but I am guessing would only be suitable for short burts to avoid running the battery down to zero.

Thanks for the tip on Nitecore will grab a couple of those on my next fasttech order.

[LSX]

Alright, I bought the mini-01 and it works fine with the battery it was supplied with and I ordered the Yezl 880mah 16340 to go with it.

When I use the Yezl, it works fine when it is on low mode but when I try to switch it to high it just flashes bright and turns off.

It is possible it is tripping the over-discharge protection on the battery?

Help please!

[Werner]

Order a nitecore 16340 from fasttech it’s cheap and very good.

I have a yezl too and it works but mine is older perhaps they have changed the protection circuit.

[LSX]

Thanks for the suggestion, funnily enough I actually went and ordered one about 15 minutes ago just to give it a try anyway.

Will report back when it arrives.

[Nightbird95]

@Werner

Be careful with non protected because the driver will deplete them very fast and as it is designed for 3V batteries you may not notice until it is too late…

The best battery is the nitecore 16340 protected…

Anyone removed the driver? it is kind of glued in in mine, the stock LED wire is very thin and should be upgraded.

+1 I have tested a pair of Nitecore 16340s on my Mini-02 last May 24 and both ran more than 36 minutes on high. I also changed the LED wires with 22 AWG wires.

Problems with Trustfire Mini-02 on 16340 cells *Fixed*

Hey guys, I received my Trustfire Mini-02 from Fasttech today along with a couple TF16340 cells. [image] When using it with the included TF CR123A Lithium battery it works fine, all modes are spot on. When using the TF16340 cells (pictured) only the low mode works sometimes, when I try to switch to other modes (high and strobe) it just flashes once and then turns off very fast. Has anyone else experienced this problem or know of what might be causing it? I don’t have any other CR123A or 1634…

One minor problem I encountered with the Nitecore 16340 is that one fits tight into the Mini-02 while the other fits just right.

[hank]

Anybody know the specification on the little O-ring for this Mini? Mine (original green ones) have all disintegrated in the past year, and I’m not finding anything at the local hardware stores. The originals may have had a flat rather than round cross-section, not sure. What I find that seems to fit is slightly too thick and makes it very stiff to turn.

[mr_exceso]

I bought these and I go very well
0-ring

[Werner]

I used similiar ones I ordered from DX in former times, just order some different sizes from fasttech…these are always handy to have

[DBSAR]

Is there still a location to find a 3-mode (low, medium, High) driver to fit these ?

[alex21]

Anyone know what the lumen reading is supposed to be on a stock Mini-01 CW with a fully charged AW IMR 16340? I normally just go by the retina test… just point it at my face and see how uncomfortable it is and how blurry my eyes are for the next few mins… well pretty darn uncomfortable and blurry I must say… (charged with a cotton pickers 200mah charger)

[MattSPL]

@alex21

Anyone know what the lumen reading is supposed to be on a stock Mini-01 CW with a fully charged AW IMR 16340? I normally just go by the retina test… just point it at my face and see how uncomfortable it is and how blurry my eyes are for the next few mins… well pretty darn uncomfortable and blurry I must say… (charged with a cotton pickers 200mah charger)

I seem to remember getting close to 3Amps with an AW IMR, so that should give an idea of output. I’ve no actual output testing figures though I’m afraid.

[alex21]

@MattSPL

@alex21

Anyone know what the lumen reading is supposed to be on a stock Mini-01 CW with a fully charged AW IMR 16340? I normally just go by the retina test… just point it at my face and see how uncomfortable it is and how blurry my eyes are for the next few mins… well pretty darn uncomfortable and blurry I must say… (charged with a cotton pickers 200mah charger)

I seem to remember getting close to 3Amps with an AW IMR, so that should give an idea of output. I’ve no actual output testing figures though I’m afraid.

Thanks mate,

Took it to the beach the other night and was even more impressed than in my backyard. Hope you doing well.

[MattSPL]

@alex21

@MattSPL

@alex21

Anyone know what the lumen reading is supposed to be on a stock Mini-01 CW with a fully charged AW IMR 16340? I normally just go by the retina test… just point it at my face and see how uncomfortable it is and how blurry my eyes are for the next few mins… well pretty darn uncomfortable and blurry I must say… (charged with a cotton pickers 200mah charger)

I seem to remember getting close to 3Amps with an AW IMR, so that should give an idea of output. I’ve no actual output testing figures though I’m afraid.

Thanks mate,

Took it to the beach the other night and was even more impressed than in my backyard. Hope you doing well.

I’d say it did a great job of flood lighting the beach

[alex21]

@MattSPL

@alex21

@MattSPL

@alex21

Anyone know what the lumen reading is supposed to be on a stock Mini-01 CW with a fully charged AW IMR 16340? I normally just go by the retina test… just point it at my face and see how uncomfortable it is and how blurry my eyes are for the next few mins… well pretty darn uncomfortable and blurry I must say… (charged with a cotton pickers 200mah charger)

I seem to remember getting close to 3Amps with an AW IMR, so that should give an idea of output. I’ve no actual output testing figures though I’m afraid.

Thanks mate,

Took it to the beach the other night and was even more impressed than in my backyard. Hope you doing well.

I’d say it did a great job of flood lighting the beach

Indeed it did

[alex21]

Well better late than never… Nothing you haven’t seen before, but anyhoo…here are my beamshots (first ever, be kind!) taken with my Samsung Tab

This is the stock version of the Trustfire Mini-01 off ebay running on a freshly charged AW IMR 16340, enjoy!

First up… the control shot ofcourse

Medium or Low:

Glorious High:

Apologies if Med/High look off kilt a bit as I had to drop the tablet to switch modes (always tricky with one hand…) and things might have moved a bit
The control wasn’t totally pitch black (as dark as you’re gonna get at 3am anyway)… I tried with the flash but it just lit up the area too much… the flash on this tablet is like a flashlight itself!

[MattSPL]

Nice work

[Don]

Mine still has the CR123 it came with in it. Must test it some day - against the TLF Mini-02. Personally, I prefer the styling of the -01.

[alex21]

@MattSPL

Nice work

Cheers mate

[alex21]

@Don

Mine still has the CR123 it came with in it. Must test it some day - against the TLF Mini-02. Personally, I prefer the styling of the –01.

I agree. Had it on and off the keychain, but decided it looks too perfect on there. More so than most AAA lights