Thrunite has a new headlamp on the scene. It’s one they tout as “the brightest headlamp with a single 18350 battery.” This is the Thrunite TH01, and here’s some testing and thoughts about it!

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the official product page.

Versions

The TH01 is available in NW and CW. No other options exist.

Price

The TH01 retails for $49.99, but can be had on amazon for $39.99. (referral link)

Short Review

There’s a lot to like in this lightweight package. No surprise though; Thrunite makes a good product.

Long Review

The Big Table

* Measurement disclaimer: I am an amateur flashlight reviewer. I don’t have $10,000 or even $1,000 worth of testing equipment. I test output and such in PVC tubes!! Please consider claims within 10% of what I measure to be perfectly reasonable (accurate, even).

What’s Included

Thrunite TH01 Headlamp

Headband

Spare silicone light holder for headband

Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)

Spare o-rings (2)

Spare charge port cover

Manual and papers

Package and Manual

The box is a typical Thrunite box, and quite small for this tiny light.

Same for the manual – typical Thrunite. That’s good; Thrunite makes good manuals.

Build Quality and Disassembly

This is a tiny headlamp, and it’s nice to see a 18350 headlamp being made. The build quality is good.

Since it’s not a “right angle” light, it’s decidedly a dedicated headlamp.

The knurling on the tailcap is quite aggressive, and on both caps. Only the non-switch cap is removable, though.

The body has a little bit of surface area dedicated to cooling.

The tailcap has a spring, and the threads are nicely short.

The positive terminal (inside the body) is only a button; no spring. No issue there, as you’d not be using this as a weapon light anyway. Since the 18350 wrapped by Thrunite is quite long, this could conceivably cause fitment issues with normally sized 18350 cells (more on that later.)

The switch end of this light didn’t budge, though I’m sure ultimately it’s just threaded on. Probably some Loctite keeping it in place.

Size and Comps

Officialy:

Weight: 52g without battery & head-strap

Dimensions: 64mm (Length) x 33.6mm x 28.5mm

The included cell weighs 27g.

The included headband weighs 53g.

It is a diminutive light!

Same cell fits these two lights below!

Retention and Carry

The only included way to carry this light is the headband. It’s a very stretchy band, and has an over-head strap as well. The over-head strap is not removable, as the back connection forms an integral part of the headband.

The light fits into the silicone holders either direction.

And since the switch is on one end, the TH01 is well suited to left- or right-handed setup.

The cell may be easily accessed even while the light is in the headband.

Power and Runtime

The TH01 runs on a single 18350 sized cell, and an appropriate one ships with the light.

It’s a 1100mAh cell, and is longer because of protection added by Thrunite.

The terminal is button top-ish, but the button just barely sticks up.

Even though the included cell is quite long, and there aren’t springs on both ends of the internals, even the shortest 18350 (ie a 35mm long one) does work fine in the light.

Here’s a runtime on Turbo. The initial output is nicely held for over 3 minutes. The subsequent stepdowns hold for a time, and ultimately the light shuts off with LVP. The initial stepdown is to 1000 lumens (or so), which is more than twice that of the next level. This intermediate level – the first stepdown – being much higher than “High” sort of means we can consider “Turbo” to last around 17 minutes, which isn’t bad (note that’s not at all how Thrunite phrases it; just an interesting thought.)

Runtime on high is very stable, and lasts for around an hour, which is grossly less than Thrunite’s claim of 3 hours. Even including the stepdowns, the spec isn’t met here. Not sure what happened.

Note that in both runtimes the light does what the manual says – the main emitter blinks to indicate low voltage. Then the light shuts off entirely. Also while running, the switch indicates blue –

As mentioned, the TH01 has on-board charging. The charge port is directly beside the switch, and covered by a press-in silicone cover.

An appropriate cable is included: USB to micro-USB.

Charging is very consistent, at around 0.55A, and requiring around 2.5 hours. These are reasonable specs; more importantly, the charge graph looks very well regulated.

During charging the indicating switch is red. When charging is complete, the indicating switch turns blue. If charging is abnormal, the switch will be purple.

Modes and Currents

Mode Mode Claimed Output (lm) Claimed Runtime Measured Lumens Tailcap Amps Turbo 1500/430 5m/80m 1684 3.34 High 450 3h 505 0.76 Medium 85 6.5h 90 0.13 Low 9 44h 6 0.02 Firefly 0.6 20d ~ ~

PWM

No PWM! Modes below are Lowest to Highest.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. And here’s the worst PWM light I have ever owned. Also one of the very first lights I ordered directly from China!

User Interface and Operation

The TH01 has a single e-switch, on the tail. Or head – I suppose it’s a matter of perspective. The switch is very proud, and very easily differentiated from the charge port cover. There’s also some grip.

Here’s a UI table!

State Action Result Off Click On (memory, LMH only) Off Hold Firefly Any Double Click Turbo Any Triple Click SOS On Click Off On Hold Mode cycle (LMH only)

Notably (and thankfully) absent is a Strobe, though a beacon might be welcome.

LED and Beam

The emitter here is a Cree XHP50 in CW. NW is also available, and that’s what I’d likely recommend (even though this CW is not bad.) The reflector is shallow and broad, and has a very light orange peel texture.

These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.

Tint vs BLF-348 (Killzone 219b version)

I compare everything to the Killzone 219b BLF-348, because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Conclusion

What I like

Complete package light

Good build quality

Lightweight

What I don’t like

Knurling is a bit aggressive – much more than needed (reeding would be an even better choice here)

Runtime on High is confusing(ly short)

Notes

This light was provided by Thrunite for review. I was not paid to write this review.

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