Thrunite T10 in aluminum...

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AA / 1 x 14500 Flashlights
1

I recently bought a Thrunite T10 in aluminum from the Thrunite store. Since I haven’t seen a review of the “base” aluminum version, I thought I’d share my views on it.
This is my first Thrunite light, as other lights from other brands were higher up on my want list. The T10 arrived in the same packaging and with the same accessories as the T10S (from the numerous T10S reviews out there). The emitter, an XP-G2, looks to be a cool white tint. Nowhere on Thrunite’s website does it say this, and only after ordering the T10 did HKEquipment list the T10 in Cool White and Neutral White. I think the only remedy is to order a T10 NW and gift the one I currently have. :slight_smile: Truthfully, even if it wasn’t available in NW, I would likely order another one to gift.

Build: 5/5
My first thought after liberating the T10 from its package was that it was very well put together. I immediately twisted the head off to insert an AA cell and noticed the threads were very smooth, with very little play. They were also lubed from the factory.

The anodizing was even and without any blemishes. It is less shiny than the Eagletac TX25C2 or the Nitecore EA4 that I gifted to my brother. It is very similar to the finish on various Fenix’s I have (E12, E05, etc.)

The clip, although a bit thin, seems to work well and it is not too stiff (like my Zebralight SC52).

There is a bit of rattle with an Eneloop. I don’t think it is a flaw, more of a way to accommodate varying sizes of AA cells.

Design: 5/5
The T10 is a handsome light. The six machined grooves on the head and the slight tapering of the bezel are tastefully done. A little reminiscent of the Tank007 E11.

I prefer the look of aluminum version over the Stainless or Titanium since the body tube of the T10S/T are a bit plain for my tastes. A bit of knurling and some machined flats add a bit of interest. Plus, the stainless bezel and tailswitch are a nice contrast to the black anodizing. The matte pocket clip is the only odd element with its ‘X’ cut out and its odd shouldering.

The screwed-on clip and lanyard hole are an ideal combination. I think all tail-clickie AA lights should be done this way. There isn’t a need for 2 lanyard holes like on my Fenix E12.

I’m glad that Thrunite chose to fit an XP-G2 on the T10. There isn’t much noticeable difference in output between an XM-L2 and XP-G2 in a single AA light. And since I like a bit of throw, the XP-G2 complements the smaller reflector, allowing the T10 to carry quite nicely. My Zebralight SC52, although short and very well-designed, is not an easy light to clip/unclip from a pant pocket, or any pocket for than matter.

Thrunite’s mode spacing is the perfect for a 3-mode light. 0.2, 20, and 169 lumens are noticeably different, making the T10 useful in all kinds of scenarios. Selfbuilt on flashlightreviews.ca measured 205 lumens on the T10S, which seems right to my eyes. The T10 is no slouch in the max lumens department.

Tail-stand is possible, although be careful to install the pocket clip flush with the bottom of the T10 or else tail stand could be a bit wobbly.

Unfortunately, the T10 is does not support 14500. I’ve heard others say it works fine with it but I’m afraid to try.

Value: 4/5
I paid $29.95 + ~$3.00 shipping… Very good value, when you consider it against the very similar D25A (which I don’t have). It seems like it is more than a match. Against the Fenix E12, I think the T10 is a better buy. It is marginally longer but it has better mode spacing, the pocket clip, diffuser, and nice stainless elements. When compared against the Solarstorm SC01… well, it’s twice the price, so maybe it isn’t a much of a bargain. It’s a better light, but twice as good? Maybe.

In summary:

  • Excellent mode spacing
  • machining is perfect
  • threads are smooth with no play
  • lubed from the factory
  • good looks!
  • fixed clip
  • tailstand
  • Good value
  • excellent anodizing
  • anodized threads for lockout
  • very bright on max

- slight rattle with Eneloops

  • pocket clip is a little cheap

T10 in anodized black aluminum…

Nicely centered XP-G2…

Nice smooth threads…

Stainless clicky switch…

Moonlight mode (0.9 lumens)

Wait a sec… something is not right here…

Size comparision…

Beam shapes and colors…

Definitely gets an A+ in my book.

2

look nice.
the reason why i don’t buy AAA light too often because they are so small that i sometimes forgot where i put them except my TANK007 E09 that hang around my key holder

3

Great review for a fantastic light. Your picture above reminds me how much I love the tint on my SF5 NW. The NW version for the T10 aluminium also available from HKE.

4

Good review. Thank you.

Looks almost like a Piston Driven light. I am guessing it isn’t, but would be cool if it were a PD.

I kinda like that light. A tad expensive, Group buy could possibly help there. Light has potential for sure. I like the look of it & the solid looking clip.

Cheers.

5

I’m really interested in this light. While I have a SolarStorm SC01, Spark SF5NW and Olight S15 on the way to hold me back in the AA department, a Group Buy would be more than welcome :wink:

6

Thanks for the kind words guys! I inquired about a group buy so we’ll see what happens. :slight_smile:

Zelee - I like the AAA lights because they are so small. I’ve carried a Maratac AAA for the last 2 years and I fortunately haven’t lost it yet. There were some close calls though! And although I have quite a few different AA and AAA lights, that is the only one I’ve ever really EDC’d… until now. I am carrying the T10 as I write this!
The Tank007 E09 is another great light. I think the only drawback was the short runtime on high. Had a few of those and they were given away.

Harry - Yes, the tint on the SF5NW is awesome. Exactly why I want to try the T10 in NW!

RicFlair - Yes, it does look like a PD light, but it is not. I’ve never owned a PD light. I guess this being budgetlightforum it is a bit pricey compared to the sub $10 or $20 lights but I think it is worth it. The build quality is really good and it has some nice features.

Xelario - Those are all great lights you have on the way. I miss the S15 (gave it away) for the magnetic tail, the great UI, and really nice build. Plus, it is quite small. The SC01 is very similar except for the UI. I have the Spark SF5NW as well, and it arrived less than a week before the T10 did. Another great light especially if you got it during the group buy.

7

Me too. The tint on my SF5 is warmer than the L10-219 I have! I also own the T10S and the E12 and I’m going to see if the E12 head fits on my T10S.

HKE also has the T10T in NW. Titanium goodness.

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Racer, the E12 head should fit, but the T10 head won’t fit on the E12 body. The diameter of the threads on the E12 body are slightly larger.
How do you like your E12 in comparison to the T10S. I think the mode spacing, among other things, is much better on the T10.

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I like the E12 because it is very compact, and the TIR is neat. But I really prefer the T10S, especially since so far it’s the only light that those DLG flattop 14500 cells fit into. It’s just a great all around light, and I’m seriously considering getting the T10T since the SS version is a little heavy. And I’m not really impressed with the D25A Ti which I recently got. But that’s OK because the SF3 NW and the SF5 NW have turned out to be gems. Looks like your SF5 is as warm as mine is.

EDIT: where are my manners … I forgot to thank you for the review! Looks good, but your photos would look better if you cropped them. Someone also suggested something called ‘focus stacking’ to me and it’s turned out to be wonderful to have every bit of every photo be in focus if you put in the extra work.

Here’s what I’m talking about with focus stacking. I’m still a rookie, but you can get the basic idea. The shot below is blended from 7 different photos if I remember correctly:

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I’m in pursuit for single AA lights now after playing with SF5. I would certainly buy the t10 as well if only money not an issue right now. I also carry SF5 with mule reflector. I really like the simple flood beam with the warm tint. Almost like carrying a good headlamp. Again, no :money_mouth_face: for a decent headlamp so this is pretty much a cheaper option for me. Simon from Convoy also offered me an AA light almost similar in shape to the Convoy S6. The driver is from eoslamp and the price is a little below $20.

11

Just got my t10 in aluminium today, not tried AA, but with a 14500 its very bright, in fact for normal use I can’t imagine anyone needing anything brighter
Very well built as well, its my new favourite light

Until my tn35 comes that is :bigsmile:

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Racer - Thanks for the ‘focus stacking’ tip. I’ve never heard of it before. Funny, I did crop the pics, but I didn’t put too much effort in the shots. I simply opened the blinds in my home office and placed two sheets of letter sized cardstock on my laptop computer and made a makeshift lightbox. I had the camera stopped down to widen the depth of field but since I was handholding the SLR, I could only go down to f5.6 or something like that. Next time I’ll put the proper lens on and use a tripod. :slight_smile:
I’m in agreement with you on the E12. By the sounds of it, a few other users have no problem with 14500s so I might try it out.
Its funny because I’ve been wanting the D25A for such a long time, but the price is a bit high for the amount of light it puts out. The D25A Ti is just way out of my budget. I hear the threads can be loose on the D25A. How are the threads on your sample?

Harry218 - Save for the T10. I think it is worth it. And enjoy the SF5 in the meantime. I had the misfortune (?) to have the T10 arrive a few days after the SF5 so the honeymoon period for the SF5 was shorter than most lights I have. :slight_smile:

Gouldy - I’m anxious to try the T10 with a 14500. The input voltage range is 0.9V-3.0V. I guess it is the same driver for their Saber 2014 which can use a CR123.

13

Wild… I never really thought about doing that. I don’t think my camera even has manual focus, so it’s not really an option… but I really like the idea. It’s the opposite of miniaturization photography, taking a large scene and blurring the foreground and background to make it look like macro photography (and thus make the scene look like a small model). Also, it kind of makes real object appear as if they were rendered — perspective but no depth of field.

I’ve done stacking to reduce noise and improve dynamic range, but somehow it never occured to me to use it for infinite focus.

In any case, I’m glad to hear there’s a cheaper aluminum version of the T10S, and that it comes in neutral white (even if we don’t know the actual tint yet). If the bezel comes off, maybe it can even have the emitter swapped. The SF5 looks like it makes that sort of thing trivial, since the emitter star is directly exposed while changing reflectors. It’s too bad I can’t do that to my ZL SC52… would be awesome with a Nichia 219 inside.

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FYI the E12 head fits on the SS version. The missus calls it “the cyborg”

Not the best shot, but you can see it looks interesting. One of my main gripes about the E12 for EDC use is lack of a clip, and this solves that problem.

15

Would someone please tell me if you can still operate the above combination like the stock T10, where you could leave it clicked on, loosen the head a little to turn it off, then turn it back on just by tightening the head back down (without having to click again)? I understand the stock e12 does not work like that, with its own body anyway.

16

Hi Leonard,

With the E12 head on the T10 body, it operates just as you imagine. If you leave the clicky switch ON, you can twist the E12 head and it will cycle through all 3 modes. If you leave the head tightened, you can cycle through the modes by clicking.

NLE

17

Awesome, thank you for the info & discovering that combination in the first place.

I plan to start with a stock T10, and see how easy its head is to turn one handed (while always leaving the clicky on & using it exclusively as a twisty). As much as I think the .2/20/169 mode spacing is perfect, I bet that knurled head is easier to grab & twist, and I love how your e12/t10 combo looks! Thanks again.

18

I find the T10 head turns very smooth, in fact, I use it mainly as a twisty. The flutes on the head are quite grippy for me. As much as I like the E12, I agree with you in that the spacing of the T10 is perfect.

19

I don’t have the aluminum version; I have a T10T NW instead. Gorgeous light, but it’s a bit awkward as a twisty. There seems to be enough wiggle room in the threads that I have to be careful not to accidentally activate it while twisting, or I end up with a brief flash and then the wrong mode. Twisties need really tight tolerances on the threads, but the T10T I have is a bit loose.

Also, and this might be why it’s a bit loose, it doesn’t turn as easily as aluminum (because titanium isn’t as smooth). It’s still not hard with one hand, but the play in the threads can make it a bit unpredictable at times.

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I just tried the E12 head on the T10T and it doesn’t really fit, which isn’t too surprising. I almost even cross threaded it, which I’m guessing would’ve destroyed the E12. But that’s fine because I’m stilll infatuated with my T10T NW version. In fact, I like the T10S and T10T so much, I’m going to get the T10(A). I also have the original T10 which was a twisty. It’s now called the Saber I believe.

Fenix is putting some more love back in their EDC lineup also. They’ve announced both a clicky L02 and a 3 mode SS version of the E05, both with upgraded emitters.