A while back Thrunite released the TC15, a 18650 light with built in charging and an indicating switch. I reviewed it here. Thrunite made a special edition of the TC15 with youtuber The Outsider. Check out that channel here. I’ve never heard of it but to be honest it looks pretty cool. Here’s a test of the customized The Outsider edition of the Thrunite TC15!

Since these lights are practically the same, much of the text will be recycled from that review.

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the official product page.

Versions

There are two versions – NW and CW (though the NW version doesn’t seem to be in stock – maybe not even made yet?) I have the CW version. The package includes a cell, too, and there doesn’t seem to be a package without the cell.

Price and Coupon

This one goes for $49.99 on amazon right now. That is an amazon referral link.

Thrunite is also offering a free Ti3 keyring torch worth $13.95 for the 100 honest reviews on Amazon. You’ll need to message Thrunite on FaceBook for that deal, though.

Short Review

This light still churns out the lumens. It hits its claimed output and throw easily. Charging is good, too. It’s a very good light! The finish is probably what you’ll buy this one for, though, and I can say it’s a nice change of pace. It’s not glossy black like most flashlights. It’s matte brown. So if you want to support The Outsider, and/or have a matte brown light, then this is a great choice!

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 TC15 The Outsider special edition Flashlight

Thrunite protected 18650

Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)

Lanyard

Spare o-rings (2)

Spare switch rubber

Spare charge port covers (2)

Pocket clip

Nylon pouch

Manual and paperwork

Package and Manual

The light ships in the Thrunite standard slip-fit box, with foam inside.

The manual is also very Thrunite. Perfectly adequate.

Build Quality and Disassembly

Like the original TC15, this light is well built. I like the color and finish of this edition too. The matte really adds extra grip and would be great with gloves. I also like the logo, aside from it’s association with The Outsider. It’s just a nice touch!

This edition does bring up a good point about Thrunite and special editions. The Outsider has 360k subscribers. Hopefully when zeroair.org has 360k subscribers we can have our very own special edition, too! Or maybe just when r/flashlight hits that number, we can make something happen. 🙂

The tailcap doesn’t have a magnet, and has a spring that is fairly soft. The head doesn’t have a spring at all; just brass contact points.

The threads on the cell tube are square cut and thick, and anodized. This allows easily mechanical lockout.

Size and Comps

Dimensions: 122.5mm (length) x 27mm (body diameter) x 24mm (head diameter).

Weight: 71g (excluding battery)

This is not a short light. Diameter is normal for a tube light (maybe even a little thick) but then, the TC15 does add charging, and a side switch. That said, I’d like to see this light be a little shorter.

Retention and Carry

Thrunite includes a nylon pouch with a plastic D-ring. The pouch has stretchy sides and accepts the light bezel up or down.

The pocket clip fits only one end of the cell tube, but the cell tube is reversible.

There’s also a lanyard included, which will primarily attach on the tailcap. There’s a (small but unusually generously sized) hole on the end for attachment. The pocket clip also has the appropriate holes, but I don’t like to trust friction clips for this task.

Power and Runtime

A single 18650 powers the TC15. Thrunite fortunately includes a very high quality protected button top cell. The light will work with unprotected flat tops, but the cell tube is so long and there ends up being so much extra space, that the cell can bounce around a little in there. Couple that with the soft spring and no spring on the head; I’d just stick with the included cell generally.

In any case, the included cell is quite capable of powering this Cree XHP35 HD. The peak output (initial turn on) on Turbo is around 2700 lumens (!!!), and begins to drift downward for around a minute. I measure the 30 second output at around 2400 lumens, which is above the claim. The light then begins a quick descent to the just below the High output, where it stays in a very regulated state until an abrupt shutoff due to LVP. It’s a 12V emitter, so the boost circuit probably can’t boost the cell to the required Vf much below 3V anyway.

Just like other Thrunite cells (and the original TC15), the wrapper is a little transparent…. it’s possible to make out the “30Q” text on the original (flat top, unprotected) cell’s wrapper. That’s a good choice – 30Q’s are great cells!

The runtimes below are notably similar to the original (except turbo lasts much longer – as long as you’d expect it to, in fact).

A runtime on High looks equally stable, but also lasts much longer because there’s not massive hit from the 6.5A turbo. Shutoff is similar though, stopping abruptly at 2.95V.

Using bench power, the light goes off at 2.5V with switch warning. (In practice as seen above, the light shuts off sooner.)

The TC15 also has built in charging. This is possible using micro-USB (and a USB to micro-USB cable is included.) The charge port is in the head of the light, opposite the switch.

Charging is respectable, at around 1.1A during the CC phase. The charge process takes around 3 hours. If nothing else is improved from the original edition, charging certainly is. It’s faster, and more steadily at >1A for longer. This makes it quicker, too.

The indicating switch displays charge information, too.

During charging, the indicator is RED

After being fully charged, the indicator will be BLUE

When indicator flashes purple, it means abnormal charging

Only firefly and low mode is available during charging.

The light has LVP, and the indicating switch has some indicating functions, as follows:

Battery capacity: >20%, Blue light will be ON.

Battery capacity: 10%-20%, Red light will be ON.

Battery capacity: <10%, Red light will flash and remind to charge the battery immediately.

After being fully charged, Blue light will be ON.

Note: the battery capacity indicator will not work at Firefly mode, or when the battery capacity is 0%.

Modes and Currents

Mode Mode Claimed Output (lm) Claimed Runtime Measured Lumens Tailcap Amps Turbo 2300+820 2m+83m 2449 9.05 High 1050 90m 1144 2.22 Medium 250 6.5h 0.40 Low 25 68h 0.04 Firefly 1 41.5d 0.00

PWM

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

Thrunite’s standard metal side e-switch graces the TC15. It’s well documented that I really like this switch, and fortunately for me, Thrunite uses it often.

Here’s a UI table! The UI is exactly the same as on many other Thrunites with this switch, including the TN42!

State Action Result Off Hold Firefly Off Click On (Mode Memory except Turbo/Firefly/Strobe) Any Double click Turbo Turbo Double click Strobe On Hold Mode cycle (LMH)* On Click Off

* There’s a mode cycle that’s hard to explain in table form. When the light is on, the only way to get to High is to cycle from low. If you turn the light on to Medium, and hold the switch to advance, the advance is to Low first, then Medium then High. In fact any time you’re in medium, and you release the switch, the next advance upon holding the switch, will be low, whereby you need to cycle through low and medium to get to high. I found this to be quite cumbersome.

I like that the UI is reused from light to light. If you’re a brand loyal type person, it’s nice to know that you can get the same UI on different type lights, and always know exactly how to do what you want to do, without memorizing a bunch of different UIs!!

LED and Beam

The emitter of choice here is a Cree XHP35 HD, in CW. (A NW version may be available at some point, or now, even, but is currently listed as out of stock.) The reflector is very smooth, and deep.

XHP35 HD is probably an excellent choice for a light intended to produce 2300 lumens. Typically CW lights put out a little bit more lumens too, so again, probably a good choice.

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!

Random Comparisons and Competitive Options….

Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com. There just aren’t a ton of comparable tube lights with this emitter and this feature set. And what is available is more of a tactical feature set, which this light is (thankfully) not. so for a non-tactical light with this feature set, the TC15 is a great choice! At a very reasonable price, too.

Conclusion

What I like

Output hits specification

Throw hits specification

Built quality is good and the custom edition of it all makes is nice!

Complete package light (literally everything you need including cell and charging!)

Side switch only (separating itself from the tactical crowd of lights)

What I don’t like

Light is overall too long. (I’d trade some reflector depth for a shorter light. And such a long battery compartment, too).

Pocket clip isn’t deep enough for me.

Notes

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

This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!

Whether or not I have a coupon for this light, I do have a bunch of coupons!! Have a look at my spreadsheet for BangGood and GearBest coupons. Please subscribe and get notifications when the sheet is edited!!