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Thursday, June 11, 2015

Thrunite TN36: 6510 lumens Monster light!


It wasn’t that long that a good friend of mine sent me a Surefire G2 flashlight from USA to Argentina. OK, maybe it was almost ten years ago, but I do remember how amazed I was by it. This “tactical” flashlight used two CR123A batteries, it had a hi-tech Xenon light bulb and it produced… 100 lumens! It was incredible. It put to shame the large Maglite I had back then that used 3 large C type batteries and yet it was so small that the G2 fit in your pocket.
Today, the flashlight world is a completely different universe. My keychain LED light produces 162 lumens. The Thrunite TN36 that I’m reviewing in this article? The turbo mode produces 6510 lumens. Yes six thousand.

The Thrunite TN36
Let me explain what its like to handle a 6000 lumen flashlight. The Thrunite TN36 bright. As in, really bright. As in, it doesn’t matter so much that it doesn’t have a lot of throw, with 6000 lumens everything in front of you just lights up as if the sun just came out. 6000 lumens is so bright that it will burn your hand if left in front of the reflector. It’s so bright that the reflection on white or pastel colored walls hurts your eyes, and direct expose with dilated pupils will cause permanent eye damage. How’s that for “tactical” applications?
If you want to put out a wall of light in front of you that will turn night into day this is it. 6000 lumens will get the job done and even though it’s a flood light, being so bright objects a couple hundred yards away are still illuminated.

So as to achieve this, the TN36 packs some serious hardware under the hood: You’ve got three Cree MK-R LEDs powered by 4x 18650 3400MHA Li-ion batteries. The flashlight is well machined out of aluminum, displaying a quality high end finish all around. The user interface is classic Thrunite, which I’ve learned to appreciate due to its simplicity and quick access of modes. If you just want a bit of light, a long press turns it on in moonlight mode (1.6 lumens for 33days) while double clicking turns it on in turbo mode (6510 lumens for 119 minutes). Double clicking again goes to strobe, also 6510 lumens but for 137 minutes. A 6000 lumen strobe will definitely be highly disruptive for anyone glancing your way. A simple click will turn it on in either low (116 lumens for 54 hours), medium (785 lumens for 587 minutes) or high (2280 lumens for 194 minutes)depending on which one was last used thanks to the memory mode. To cycle through these three simply keep the side switch pressed. The maximum beam distance is 299 meters and the TN36 is also waterproof to IPX-8 standards and drop tested to 1.5 meters.

At 390gr. the TN36 isn’t exactly light, it feels more like a can of coke. Thankfully, the holster (included) makes it easy to carry around. Other accessories include spare 0rings, a lanyard and spare switch cap.

The Thrunite TN36 is simply a monster of a light capable of blinding anyone in front of it. The different modes allow you to use it for extended periods of time if needed but this flashlight is clearly intended for those looking for maximum brightness in a still relatively compact form factor.
At $199.95, the TN36 presents a great value, including a 24 month free repair warranty and lifetime limited warranty.
http://thrunite.com/
Thrunite TN36 in Amazon
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

question about flashlights: would it be better to wait until the next generation?
here's what i mean...flashlight tech is progressing very fast. as you say:
"Today, the flashlight world is a completely different universe." so...
i could buy 4 LED flashlights, each using a single AA battery producing 162 lumens
for the same amount of money as ONE Much Bigger flashlight requiring multiple batteries.
your call.