TH20 or H40

buck91 · 2019-02-28T04:32:58.000Z

So I’ve been using a ThruNite TH20 NW as my primary headlamp for car work, camping and general purpose headlamp stuff for the past couple years. Its been a great lamp and has tons of life left. That said, all my other headlamps are significant dated and I would like to pick up a second unit. I found the Acebeam H40 which is similar with some slight UI differences as well as a SST-20 high CRI in place of the NW Cree XP-L. Thoughts on which one to choose? I’m a sucker for high CRI but I do really like my TH20…

nokoff · 2019-02-28T06:16:41.000Z

I love my TH20. Ramping UI works easily and perfectly. Beam is wide and lights everything up. Nothing better for close up work headlamp. I like hi cri too but meh

mountainair26 · 2019-03-16T04:33:28.000Z

Bump for same question. Would love to hear opinions on functionality of th20 vs two different versions of H40. I hate cold light colors, but the lower output of the sst-20 is also a trade-off. Do they have any usefulness at a distance of 70 yards or so, or both mostly best for closeup work?

BlueSwordM · 2019-03-16T04:35:38.000Z

Ah, that’s what’s nice about the SST-20.

The SST-20 has quite 30% more throw per lumen output for the XP-L HI. It’s even higher for the XP-L HD.

Meaning the H40 will have less lumens yes, but have much more usable throw, meaning the lumen difference isn’t as large as it might seem.

mountainair26 · 2019-03-16T04:35:50.000Z

Has anyone tried dedoming the Xp-l in either light to increase throw and warm the tint up? Any idea how easy it is to open these up?

HONDARIDER · 2019-03-16T05:04:47.000Z

I bought a TH20 and it is ok. Output doesn’t seem as high as I expected. Still great,for car stuff. Best headlamp I have is an HO3. The TIR lens makes for a great smooth beam. I also bought one with the OP reflector and I like the TIR lens better for up close work. Very broud beam I’d say.

mountainair26 · 2019-03-16T05:23:09.000Z

Thanks, not to hijack the Op’s thread, but what I’m looking for is probably the wowtac a2s or something similar where I can then swap in a de-domed emitter or xp-l hi.

bansuri · 2019-10-16T04:07:18.000Z

My personal opinion is that the H40 doesn’t go low enough for personal use so I’m taking that one to work.
Neither get crazy bright and that’s fine by me considering the size and battery type.

The spill from the SST-20 HCRI in the Acebeam is beautiful, I find the heavily tinted spot a distraction. Will harvest the emitter for a floodier application.

Both are, IMHO, great headlamps. I’m sick with flashoholism so I have strong preferences so I’ll use them where they’ll work best for me.
I would’ve loved to have ANY of them 35 yrs ago climbing around in caves and under dashboards, etc.

buck91 · 2019-05-16T02:04:45.000Z

Received an acebeam h40 sst-20 in the mail recently. I will say that I haven’t had a fair chance to compare but I still like the th20 quite a bit. The H40 offers a nicer tint and cri but lacks a good low/moonlight mode. Plus the beam is a bit too throwy for a task headlamp. Seems like it would be great for trail running or hiking. Honestly it’s a very useable beam but the th20 with the xpl is just a better pattern.

The acebeam does seem a little better quality with beefy square threads, but it also has what seems to be an e-switch as opposed to mechanical. All in all I’m very happy with both and need to play around with each head to head before I can really choose my favorite!

Pavlo · 2019-10-13T21:57:08.000Z

@buck91, and any other owners of both H40 and TH20,
have you noticed a difference in weight and how comfortable it is on your head?

I have the TH20 and I find the light feels a little heavy or bounces around when in movement.
The TH20 weights 76g without battery, vs the Acebeam H40 specs 34g, which is a significant difference.

Thanks

aswang · 2019-10-14T00:41:47.000Z

mountainair26:

Has anyone tried dedoming the Xp-l in either light to increase throw and warm the tint up? Any idea how easy it is to open these up?

I have a modded th20 with 2200K LH351D and DCFix. The bezel is just screwed in tight. If I remember correctly I used mousepad to remove it but you can also use split nose pliers since there are grooves on the bezel. After removing the bezel you have access to the mcpcb and led for you to dedome or reflow. Don’t have a h40 but based on zeroair’s reviews the bezel is screwed in but difficult to remove.

buck91 · 2019-10-14T19:53:18.000Z

Pavlo:

@buck91, and any other owners of both H40 and TH20,
have you noticed a difference in weight and how comfortable it is on your head?

I have the TH20 and I find the light feels a little heavy or bounces around when in movement.
The TH20 weights 76g without battery, vs the Acebeam H40 specs 34g, which is a significant difference.

Thanks

I have my H40 packed away in my “just in case of EMP” box so I can’t directly compare. My memory says the H40 did wear a little lighter, but it also has a top strap (which may be overkill on a 1xAA light). Not to say the TH20 is heavy at all, though. I keep the TH20 as my go-to AA headlamp because it fits my 14500 li-ion cells if I wanted to use them.

For the most part I use my Wizard Pro these days and save the 1xAA for lightweight traveling.

Pavlo · 2019-10-15T00:34:31.000Z

Thanks!

Edit:
I see the advantages of 14500 is much brighter turbo setting. How do you know when your battery is depleted on 14500 as it doesn’t have LVP?

aswang · 2019-10-15T00:38:55.000Z

Brighter on Turbo. If I remember correctly turbo with nimh is around 200+ lumens (top of the ramp) and 500+ lumens with 14500. But keep in mind only button top cells work. I put a magnet on my flat top 14500 to make it work with this light. It also has no low voltage protection and no warning whatsoever. You can easily deplete unprotected 14500 if you’re not careful.

Pavlo · 2019-10-15T00:47:55.000Z

Should be safe to use with a protected 14500 without worrying about depleting the battery right?

xenotar80 · 2019-10-15T00:59:13.000Z

aswang:

mountainair26:

Has anyone tried dedoming the Xp-l in either light to increase throw and warm the tint up? Any idea how easy it is to open these up?

I have a modded th20 with 2200K LH351D and DCFix. The bezel is just screwed in tight. If I remember correctly I used mousepad to remove it but you can also use split nose pliers since there are grooves on the bezel. After removing the bezel you have access to the mcpcb and led for you to dedome or reflow. Don’t have a h40 but based on zeroair’s reviews the bezel is screwed in but difficult to remove.

i have an h40, yep screwed in and had to use some rubber pad to unscrew it.

where did you get the LH351D in 2200K???

aswang · 2019-10-15T01:19:43.000Z

xenotar80:

aswang:

mountainair26:

Has anyone tried dedoming the Xp-l in either light to increase throw and warm the tint up? Any idea how easy it is to open these up?

I have a modded th20 with 2200K LH351D and DCFix. The bezel is just screwed in tight. If I remember correctly I used mousepad to remove it but you can also use split nose pliers since there are grooves on the bezel. After removing the bezel you have access to the mcpcb and led for you to dedome or reflow. Don’t have a h40 but based on zeroair’s reviews the bezel is screwed in but difficult to remove.

i have an h40, yep screwed in and had to use some rubber pad to unscrew it.

where did you get the LH351D in 2200K???

My bad, it was 351B. I got them from blf member AEDe last year.

drewski · 2020-03-05T02:06:23.000Z

I’m thinking about the sst-20 H40 as well. Anyone have any comparative beamshots of the th20 vs h40?

buck91 · 2020-03-11T15:00:20.000Z

drewski:

I’m thinking about the sst-20 H40 as well. Anyone have any comparative beamshots of the th20 vs h40?

I don’t have beamshots as my H40 is wrapped in tinfoil in the EMP box but the beam is noticably tighter. Not unreasonably tight but more than I prefer for a headlamp. Nothing DXfix wouldn’t handle, though.

RRPC · 2020-04-17T17:17:49.000Z

High at 8-10 feet, hicri sst. H40