# Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 Review



## selfbuilt

*Warning: far more pic heavy than usual. :sweat:*

Thrunite has sent me final engineering samples of their newly revised for 2014 Neutron series. I had previously reviewed the original 2011 Neutrons here. As you will see, a lot has changed for these new models – including a new user interface. The new 2A and 2C models are tested here – but as you will see, these effectively double as 1A/1C models thanks to the removable body extension tubes.

2A






2C





As usual, I will start with a description and overview of the common build, user interface and circuit functions. I will then provide detailed testing and comparison of each model relative to its respective peer groups.

Buckle up, this is going to be a long ride … 

*Manufacturer Reported Specifications:* 
(note: as always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides – scroll down to see my actual testing results).

*Common Neutron 2014 Series Specs*

LED: CREE XM-L2 U2 (Cool White and Neutral White to be available)
There are five brightness levels: low, middle and high.
These levels can be memorized when the light turned off; two special modes: Firefly and Turbo mode will be activated by below:
Under off status, single click will turn on the light, quick double clicking can get turbo mode, while long time press enable Firefly mode.
Under on status, long time press enable low, middle and high mode.
Side switch button 
Timer controlled step down from Turbo.
Package includes: Flashlight with extension tube, User manual , Holster, pocket clip, Spare O-ring
*2A Specs*

Working Voltage: 0.9 - 5V 
Output/Runtime on 1x AA (NIMH 2400MAH): Turbo : 480 lumens /80 minutes - High: 230 lumens / 90 minutes - Mid: 70 lumens / 3 hrs - Low: 11 lumens / 72 hrs - Moonlight:0.04 lumens/33 days
Output/Runtime on 2x AA(NIMH 2400MAH): Turbo: : 800 lumens / 200 minuts - High: 230 lumens / 215 minutes - Mid: 70 lumens / 7 hrs - Low: 11 lumens / 7 days - Moonlight:0.04 lumens/68 days
Peak Beam Intensity: 8540cd
Max beam distance: 185m
Dimensions: Length: 146.5mm - Diameter: 25.4 mm - Weight: 73g (excluding battery)
Please Note: 2 x 14500 Batteries Can Not Be Used in Neutron2A v2.
MSRP: $55.95
*2C Specs* _(reviewer's note: I am still waiting on confirmation of specs from Thrunite)_

Battery: 1x18650/16340/18350, 2xCR123A/16340/18350
Voltage Range: 2.7V ~ 8.4V
Max Output: 1000 lumens (2x18350/16340)
Details are still limited at the moment. I don't have an official spec sheet from Thrunite for the 2C - I have presented above what I was given from David, and what I have found online with Thrunite. For those of you familiar with AA lights, the output specs above look a little hard to believe. But scroll down to see my actual testing results … 

I don't know what packaging will look like, but it will probably be similar to other Thrunite offerings.

I will provide separately below size comparisons photos and testing measures for each of the four possible configurations (i.e., 1x and 2x, for each model). But first, I will start off with a discussion of the common physical build and user interface/circuit functions.

*Common Build*

Neutron 2A:













































Neutron 2C:













































Physically, the new Neutron lights are very similar to one another – indeed, the heads look almost identical. But they are completely different from the original 2011 Neutron series, which had a "classic" tailcap clicky-switch build, with very aggressive knurling and crenelated stainless steel bezels. The 2C 2011 model had a narrow body width though, preventing 18650 cells from being used.

The new Neutrons for 2014 have a larger common-sized head, but with only a small side-mounted electronic switch (i.e., no physical clicky). Knurling is mild in comparison to before. The lights also have a fairly "plain" look to them (e.g., flat aluminum bezels, fair smooth, no aggressive styling, etc.). Body tubes have a generous internal diameter though, allowing all modern high capacity cells to be used. Basically, this is a completely different design.

Hand feel is ok, but I would prefer some additional elements to help with grip and anti-roll (e.g., I believe clips will be included, but I haven't seen them yet). The 2A is a bit better in this regard, as the battery tube segments are fluted in segments (i.e. it uses thinner AA-category cells). 

The side-mounted electronic switch has a typical feel for a small button switch. But I would prefer a more prominent switch that is easier to access by touch alone (i.e., raised and enlarged). :shrug: Switch function was ok for all mode-changing features (see User Interface discussion below).

The only difference on the heads of these units is that the 2A has the classic reverse-polarity feature that is common on the circuit boards of many AA-based lights (i.e., only small button top can be used). The 2C lacks this feature, and so will take flat-top cells just fine. 

Screw threads are anodized, allowing head lock-out on either model. Both models come with a removable section for the second AA or CR123A cell (i.e., remove the middle body tube piece, and the 2A becomes a 1A, and the 2C is a 1C). I personally like this design, as it gives you the flexibility to switch between 1x cells for ease of carry and 2x cells for maximum output and runtime. :thumbsup: Note that the 2C does not fully support 1xCR123A however (more on this later).

The lights can tailstand, and there is a split-ring/lanyard attachment hole on the side of the tail.

At the base of the battery tube there is flat contact plate on top the spring (which will save your batteriess from any potential scratching). A nice touch. 

The new Neutrons use a flat bezel design. Reflectors are smooth finish, and of about typical dimensions for this class. Centering of the emitters was good on my two samples. There seemed to be a bit of damage at the base of my 2A reflector (this didn't affect the beam, though). 

Scroll down for specific beamshot comparisons for each model/battery config.

*Common User Interface*

Turn the lights on by a single click of the electronic switch (i.e., rapid press release). Turn the lights off the same way.

There are three main output levels controlled by a press-and-hold of the electronic switch. Mode sequence is Lo > Med > Hi > Med > Lo, in a repeating loop (i.e., ramps up, then down). Personally, I would prefer a more consistent Lo > Med > Hi repeating sequence. :shrug: Let go of the switch at any time to select the mode your want. The light has mode memory, and retains the last level set when you turn it off/on.

Double-click the switch to jump to Turbo. You can return to the main sequence modes by a press-hold of the switch (or click for off). There is no memory for Turbo.

Press-and-hold the switch from off to access Firefly. Again, you can return to the main sequence modes by a press-hold of the switch (or click for off). There is no memory for Firefly.

You can lock out the lights by a turn of the head.

There are no flashing strobe modes on the new Neutron series lights. 

*Video*: 

For information on the lights, including the build and user interface, please see my video overview:



As with all my videos, I recommend you have annotations turned on. I commonly update the commentary with additional information or clarifications before publicly releasing the video.

*PWM/Strobe*

The new Neutron 2014 series lights are both current-controlled – there no indication of pulse width modulation on any mode. :thumbsup:

I was able to detect a very faint noise signal on the Med and Hi levels of the 2C:






It is quite common to see circuit noise on current-controlled lights – it does not affect the visible perception of the beam in any way. Rest assured, the new Neutron series lights are flicker free in use.  This is significant upgrade for the 2C, which had quite visible low-frequency PWM on its initial 2011 release.

There are no strobe modes on the new Neutron lights.

*Standby Drain*

As the switches are electronic in a nature, a standby current drain is always present when a battery is installed and the head fully connected. These currents were negligible on the new Neutron series lights. For the 2A, I measured this as 56uA on 2xNiMH. For the 2C, I measured 5.3uA on 1x18650. For typical capacity cells, that would translate into over 4 years on the 2A (for 2000mAh NiMH) and 66 years for the 2C (on 3100mAh 18650) before cells would be drained.  

Note that you can always lock out the lights by a quick turn of the head, relative to the body. This will also prevent accidental activation.

*Testing Method:* 

All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, as described on my flashlightreviews.ca website. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling.

I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values (ROV) to estimated Lumens. See my How to convert Selfbuilt's Lightbox values to Lumens thread for more info. 

*Throw/Output Summary Charts:*

My summary tables are reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Please see http://www.flashlightreviews.ca/FL1.htm for a discussion, and a description of all the terms used in these tables. Effective July 2012, I have updated all my Peak Intensity/Beam Distance measures with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter (orange highlights).

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Individual Comparisons

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*Neutron 2A – 1xAA size*













From left to right: Panasonic Eneloop Pro NiMH AA; Thrunite Neutron 2A 2014, Olight S15; Zebralight SC51; Sklihunt DS15; Fenix LD12; Thrunite T10.

All dimensions directly measured, and given with no batteries installed:

*Neutron 2A (1xAA form)*: Weight: 57.6g, Length: 95.6mm, Width (bezel): 25.6mm
*Olight S15 1xAA*: Weight: 46.4g, Length: 87.0mm, Width (bezel): 23.1mm
*Nitecore MT1A*: Weight: 54.6g, Length: 104.6mm, Width (bezel): 22.7mm
*Nitecore SENS AA*: Weight: 26.1g, Length: 82.7mm, Width (bezel): 19.8mm
*Lumintop ED15*: Weight: 59.7g, Length: 100.2, Width (bezel): 21.9mm
*Rofis ER12*: Wright: 35.5g, Length: 96.2mm, Width (bezel): 18.6mm
*Skilhunt DS15*: Weight: 52.0g, Length: 92.1mm, Width (bezel): 24.0mm
*Xeno E03:*: Weight: 48.1g, Length 96.7mm, Width (bezel): 21.5mm 
*Zebralight SC52*: Weight 39.5g, Length 79.0mm, Width (bezel): 22.6mm, Width (max) 25.4mm

For white-wall beamshots below, all lights are on Max output on an NiMH or 14500 AA-sized batteries. Lights are about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences. 

1xAA Sanyo Eneloop NiMH





























































1x14500 (AW Protected 14500) Li-ion 









































































































_*UPDATE August 19, 2014*: Here is what repeated restarts on Turbo looks like. I manually restated the Turbo after ~4 mins of the step-down Hi, repeatedly._






Impressively, the light is able to maintain a fairly well regulated Turbo mode - up until the point where the battery is nearly exhausted.

And here is a shorter time comparison of the effect of fan cooling (my standard process) and uncooled runs, on Turbo on 1xAA alkaline and Eneloop Pro:






As you can see, cooling has (surprisingly) relatively little effect on output over the timescales shown.

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*Neutron 2A – 2xAA size*













From left to right: Panasonic Eneloop Pro NiMH AA; Thrunite Neutron 2A 2014; Olight S15 with extender, ST25; Eagletac D25A2; Nitecore MT2A, EA2.

All dimensions directly measured, and given with no batteries installed:

*Neutron 2A (2xAA form)*: Weight: 73.46g, Length: 146.2mm, Width (bezel): 25.5mm
*Eagletac D25A2*: Weight: 54.8g, Length 148.5mm, Width (bezel): 21.0mm
*Foursevens QAA-2 X* (Tactical tailcap): Weight: 60.1g, Length: 149.1mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm
*Olight S15 2xAA*: Weight: 59.2g, Length: 137.9mm, Width (bezel): 23.1mm
*Jetbeam BA20*: Weight: 70.2g, Length: 156.4mm, Width (bezel) 23.2mm
*Nitecore MT2A*: Weight: 66.9g, Length: 154.3mm, Width (bezel):22.7mm
*Nitecore EA2*: Weight: 68.9g, Length: 134.4, Width (bezel): 26.1mm
*Sunwayman D20A*: Weight 118.4g, Length: 102.6mm, Width (head) 20.9mm, Height (head) 35.1mm

For white-wall beamshots below, all lights are on Max output on 2xNiM AA (Sanyo Eneloop). Lights are about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.

























































































Note: the 2A shut down around ~45 secs on the Turbo Alkaline mode run - so the light was restarted on Hi.










Note: the 2A shut down after ~2 secs on the Turbo L91 mode run - so the light was restarted on Hi.

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*Neutron 2C – 1xCR123A/RCR size*













From left to right: Rayovac CR123A; Thrunite Neutron 2C; Olight S10 2013; Sunwayman C10R; Skilhunt DS10; Armytek C1; Eagletac D25C.

All dimensions directly measured, and given with no batteries installed:

*Neutron 2C (1xCR123A/RCR form)*: Weight: 63.0g, Length: 87.7mm, Width (bezel): 25.5mm
*ArmyTek C1 XM-L*: Weight: 43.0g, Length: 80.2mm , With (bezel): 23.1mm
*Eagletac D25C Clicky*: Weight: 30g, Length: 76.0mm, Width (bezel): 20.0mm
*Foursevens QTLC*: Weight 36.4g, Length 84.1mm, Width (bezel) 22.1mm
*Jetbeam PC10*: Weight: 50.5g, Length: 93.6mm, Width (bezel): 22.6mm
*Lumintop ED11*: Weight: 44.1g, Length: 83.7, Width (bezel): 21.8mm
*Olight S10 (2013, XM-L2)*: Weight: 40.5g, Length: 70.8mm, Width (bezel): 23.1mm
*Skilhunt DS10*: Weight: 47.0g, Length: 76.1mm, Width (bezel): 24.0mm
*Sunwayman C10R*: Weight: 57.3g, Length: 76.2mm (no lanyard plug), 82.3mm (with plug), Width (bezel): 25.6mm, Width (head at widest part): 28.6mm

For white-wall beamshots below, all lights are on Max output on an AW protected 18650 battery. Lights are about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.

1xRCR/18350



























































































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*Neutron 2C – 2xCR123A/RCR 1x18650 size*













From left to right: Keeppower Protected 18650 3100mAh; Thrunite Neutron 2C 2014, 2C 2011; Olight S20 (2013), Zebralight SC600-II, Skilhunt DS20; Eagletac D25LC2.

All dimensions directly measured, and given with no batteries installed:

*Neutron 2C (2xCR123A/RCR form)*: Weight: 71.2g, Length: 117.7mm, Width (bezel): 25.5mm
*Skilhunt DS20*: Weight: 53.8g, Length: 110.0mm, Width (bezel): 24.0mm
*Olight S20 (2013, XM-L2)*: Weight: 52.4g, Length: 106.5mm, Width (bezel): 23.1mm
*Eagletac D25LC2*: Weight: 50.0g, Length: 116.3mm, Width (bezel): 22.5mm
*Foursevens Quark Q123-2 X* (Regular tailcap): Weight: 44.6g, Length: 112.7mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm
*Jetbeam PC20*: Weight: 60.0g, Length: 127.5mm, Width (bezel): 22.6mm
*Skilhunt K11*: Weight: 120.5g, Length: 129.6mm , Width (bezel): 34.1mm 
*Sunwayman C20C*: Weight 57.6g, Length: 104.8mm. Width (bezel): 25.6mm
*Thrunite TN10*: Weight: 154.7g, Length: 145.5mm, Width (bezel): 35.1mm
*Zebralight SC600*: Weight 87.2g, Length: 107.8mm, Width (bezel) 29.7mm

For white-wall beamshots below, all lights are on Max output on an AW protected 18650 battery. Lights are about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.






















































































Let's start with a comparison of my standard AW protected 2200mAh to protected NCR18650A 3100mAh:






And now on my standard cells:
























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*Potential Issues*

The new Neutron series for 2014 use an electronic switch, and therefore require a small stand-by current when fully connected. However, the standby drain was completely negligible on both models, on all batteries – with multi-year (or decades) before batteries would be drained. 

Accidental activation is always a potential concern with electronic switches. However, you can physically lock out the lights by a twist of the head. 

The switch button is small, and may be hard to locate by touch alone.

On the 2C, 1xCR123A is not fully supported (i.e., no Hi or Turbo, and Med is a lower direct-drive-like mode).

On the 2C, 1x16340 is not recommend on Turbo, unless you are using IMR chemistry. The Turbo discharge rate on a single cell is too high for standard ICR chemistry.

On the 2AA in 2xAA form, only 2xNiMH would provide the full 4 mins of Turbo mode before step-down. Alkaline cells lasted less than 1 min on Turbo (before shut-down), while fresh L91 cells wouldn't last more than a few seconds before shut-down (may be a voltage issue with new cells).

On the 2AA in 2xAA form, the light abruptly terminates without warning when the cells are nearly drained (i.e., no gradual drop-off in output). This applies to all batteries, including primary alkaline and L91.

On 2AA in 1xAA form, the light shows a gradual drop-off in output as the cells are nearly depleted – but with intermittent low voltage warning flashes beginning as soon as the light falls out of regulation.

*Preliminary Observations*

Ok, that's a LOT of data. :sweat: Given the complexity of this review (and the range of battery options per model), I am going to break my comments down into an analysis of the lights separately, and then come back to some general build comments.

Neutron 2A

Max overall output is generally very consistent with the Thrunite specs – almost unbelievably so, in the case of the 2A. oo:

I am reproducing some of the key summary tables below, where there are interesting findings (again, scroll back for the complete set of tables):














The main point above is that the 2A is MUCH brighter on Turbo than any other light I've tested in the 1xAA/14500 or 2xAA classes. 

As always, I don't insist on the _absolute_ value of the lumen estimates in my lightbox (although I encourage you to review my methodology – including the number of sources used for generating the calibrations). But the _relative_ comparisons are entirely consistent across reviews. _EDIT: see post #19 for a further discussion._

So, for example, whatever you think the Zebralight SC52 produces in terms of max ANSI FL-1 output, my Neutron 2AA 2014 (on 1xAA) exceeds my SC52 sample by nearly an additional ~60%! Similarly, my Neutron 2A 2014 (on 2xAA) exceeds my Foursevens Quark AA-2 by ~70%. These are unheard increases in output for the AA class. oo:

Of course, due to the heat produced and the drain on the cells, it 2A won't stay at those turbo-charged levels for long. The light automatically steps down from Turbo after 4 mins runtime, but you can always manually re-activate. While the 2A performed consistently in the 1xAA form testing, the higher output of the 2xAA form was an issue for alkaline and L91 cells (i.e., only NiMH would reliably produce the 4 mins of Turbo before step-down). I understand there is a circuit feature to prevent over-heating, which may be at play on the 2xAlkaline runs (e.g., I noticed the light flashed briefly twice before shutting off, in less than 1 min).

To learn more about how the 2AA performs, you will need to scroll back up to the actual runtimes. In general terms, output/runtime performance is excellent for the 2A. With the exception of Turbo, you get very flat stabilization at all levels. And overall efficiency is outstanding – the 2A is typically a top performer among the current-controlled class! :thumbsup:

Neutron 2C

Like the 2A, the 2C can be run on 1xCR123A/RCR form – but a single CR123A is not fully supported. Again, from the summary tables earlier in this review:











The 2C is a good performer for the 1x18650, 2xCR123/RCR class. Max output is in keeping with other lights in this class. And as you will see in the runtimes above, the 2C shows flat stabilization and excellent output/runtime efficiency. 

When it comes to running the 2C in 1xCR123A/RCR form, you need to be aware of a few limitations. Due to the incredibly high output on Turbo, I strongly recommend you do not run the 2C on standard 1x16340 (aka RCR), as this will exceed discharge specs for ICR. Instead, you will need to use IMR chemistry 16340 or 18650 cells for Turbo (note that these cells are unprotected, so you would need to take care not to over-discharge). Also, 1xCR123A is not really supported – you lose Hi and Turbo, and Med is a lower output direct-drive-like mode. :shrug:

General Build

The new Neutron lights for 2014 have a serviceable build – if a bit "plain vanilla" in styling. 

The one thing I would like to see is a more pronounced switch that is easier to find by touch alone. I would also prefer a more consistent (and typical) Lo > Med > Hi sequence. Otherwise, I am fine with the user interface as it is – I personally do not use high frequency strobes in my everyday life.

I don't know what extras will come with the lights, but I presume the standard Thrunite accessories will be available. Similarly, I don't know final price – but I expect Thrunite will keep these very competitive, just as they did for the revised TN12.

I generally like the range of output levels - especially the inclusion of a true "moonlight" mode. Note that there is some variability in output levels depending on the battery configuration, so please refer back to the lumen summary tables in this review.

End of the day, the new Neutron models have a significant upgrade in max output – unbelievably so for the 2A. oo: Yes, the lights step down to Hi after 4 mins on Turbo – but you can always restart at the highest level (with a few exceptions - scroll back up for a discussion of the 2A). Thrunite has also managed top-in-class efficiency levels across the board - on both models, on all supported batteries. 

The 2A is a real standout for me - I still can't believe how much brighter it is on 1xAA compared to other lights (including when run on plain old alkalines). Circuit-wise, this is definitely an impressive accomplishment in the AA battery class. :wave:

----

Neutron 2A and 2C 2014 were provided by Thrunite for review.


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## cyclesport

460L with 1X NiMH, and 810L with a single 14500 Li-ion...along with cutting edge effiency, wow...pretty impressive design! And...just when I thought production XM-L2/1 X AA lights were reaching thier practical limits in output and efficiency...the bar is raised dramatically!


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## Wolf359

would it be possable to configure as 3X AA if you had an extra extention tube ? higher output and extended runtimes ?
I would preffer the TN12 config side switch and forward clicky, option to buy an extention with a clicky maybe ? 

Once again thanks for another great review.


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## 18650

Excellent and thorough review of what looks to be an impressive AA light.


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## Mr. Tone

Wow, that is hard to believe the output on 1xAA, that is fantastic. It is good to know that circuits exist that can drive an LED from 1xAA and produce these kind of results. Thanks for another great review, especially since Thrunite's lumen claims on these were being doubted on the forum. Until now, nobody has gotten this kind of output from a single AA to my knowledge.


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## Swede74

Thanks for the review. The maximum output in both AA configurations is indeed impressive. A small light from Thrunite, but a giant leap...no, I won't go there. 

If they do listen to feedback and change the sequence to low - med - high I think these lights will become popular among Zebralight fans. One particularly eagle-eyed fan, by the way, happened to notice that the Zebralight in the side-by-side picture of single AA-lights looks like a SC50 or SC51 but is referred to in the caption as SC52.


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## selfbuilt

cyclesport said:


> 460L with 1X NiMH, and 810L with a single 14500 Li-ion...!


Yes ... although I wouldn't recommend extended Turbo on standard 1x14500. That would be hard for ICR chemistry (i.e., likely to exceed max discharge rates)



Wolf359 said:


> would it be possable to configure as 3X AA if you had an extra extention tube ? higher output and extended runtimes ?


That's an interesting idea. It may be possible, but it depends on what the absolute max voltage range of the 2A circuit is. I would have to check with Thrunite.



> I would preffer the TN12 config side switch and forward clicky,


Yes, I suspect you are not alone there. 



Mr. Tone said:


> Thanks for another great review, especially since Thrunite's lumen claims on these were being doubted on the forum. Until now, nobody has gotten this kind of output from a single AA to my knowledge.


Yes, I have to say I was quite surprised myself when I started compiling the data (especially on 1xAA). It is certainly a jump from other lights I've tested. :thinking:



Swede74 said:


> If they do listen to feedback and change the sequence to low - med - high I think these lights will become popular among Zebralight fans.


Agreed, that really is important to me as well. I would also like to see a more prominent button.



> One particularly eagle-eyed fan, by the way, happened to notice that the Zebralight in the side-by-side picture of single AA-lights looks like a SC50 or SC51 but is referred to in the caption as SC52.


Good catch, I just fixed the legend - you guys are fast.


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## Mr Floppy

Wow, so to get 750 lumen from an XM-L2, it is around 2.6A to the LED, and the boost from 2.4V to 3.3V, must be pulling over 3A from the batteries. I don't suppose you could zoom in on your Eneloop Pro and regular Eneloop 2xAA max graphs around the first drop down could you?

Just think about what the 1xAA would need. So to get 450 lumen, it needs to be around 1.3A to the LED. Boost to 3V from 1.2V, must be looking at close to 4A from a single battery!


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## Trevtrain

Thanks for another fantastic review Selfbuilt!

Would there be any chance of tailcap current readings (especially for the AA models?) I know we can probably estimate from the runtime graphs but it would be nice to know.

Also, another slight correction....
In your photo lineup of CR123 lights, the Olight model is the S10 I think and not S15 as captioned?

Great to finally see someone taking advantage of the performance capabilities of good NiMH cells rather than keeping output artificially low for those who insist on running alkaleaks! I hope Thrunite spell this out in their marketing and specs to avoid a potential backlash from those who know no better.

I've always had a high regard for Thrunite lights and the 2AA looks like being added to my wish list.


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## joshjp

Thanks for the review, i want this light but i gotta say its an ugly light, i wish the switch was black then it would look better.


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## Javora

IMHO these lights needs a forward clicky and all the modes need memory. The output is fantastic though.


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## amaretto

Thank you selfbuilt for your great review (as always). May i add some informations based on my review in TLF?

This is the output with 1x NiMH (Eneloop XX) with restarts. Output on turbo remains on the same level even the voltage drops.





Final version comes as follows:






The Neutron 2C comes with additional 18350!





Pricing for us-customers will be ~ $49,95 for both versions.
For eu-customers 49,95€, group-buy 39,95€

One thing i have to criticize in your reviews: in my opionion your lumen readings are to high. I don't know any other reviewer with comparable high lumen readings.
You measure even higher lumens than manufacturer ratings. ;-)

Here are some info about current:





Both (Neutron 2A + 2C) are available in cool and neutral white.

I am with you when you say, the switch should be more prominent. This is the only weakness i see so far.


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## BWX

Nice review, and pretty nice lights.


So I guess I can't EDC it because it will constantly be switching on in my pocket(s)? 


That's one thing the SC600 does well, not turn itself on.


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## amaretto

loosen the tailcap/body


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## TEEJ

SB - Now THAT'S a review!

That must have taken freekin FOREVER to compile it all, REALLY thorough job!

:thumbsup:

I also noticed your 18350 data, and the impact on the turbo mode out put....the combination of the 18350 IMR's ability to supply the amps and voltages seemed to be the winner in turbo. 

As deduced a few posts up, the light could be drawing 3-4 amps in turbo, and the ICR and 16340 etc, are hard pressed to keep up. It was also interesting that the L91 could not support turbo as long as the Alkaleaks, albeit neither could support it long....but you think the new L91 cells were the issue? New L91 have not reached full ability until allowed to run longer? Am I understanding you correctly? I am not familiar with this yet...please school accordingly. 



Ironically, my old SC600 used to do the hot pocket routine a lot, but the new design with a more recessed button only activates in-pocket once in a while....mostly from other crap in there finding the button, etc. A twist of the tail cap to lock lights out is the way to go when in doubt.

Pants with thick pocket fabric help too. (Duluth Firehose Pants are excellent in that regard...)




It does sound like a teeny light with a teeny side switch COULD benefit from a morphology that leads the finger to the button....perhaps a depression/finger pocket in the body with the button nestled where the finger would naturally come to rest/glow in the dark/illuminated button?

Or just add the tail switch? (Would add length though, so, I get the logic of the side application)


----------



## Wolf359

http://www.thrunite.com/neutron-2a-v2/

First line of the specs states Working Voltage: 0.9 - 5V so 3X AA Alkline or 4X AA Nimh is possable it appears, assuming you have the extra tube and 2/3 extentions fit together, now all that is needed is a forward clicky :wave:.

BTW selfbuilt i got an email from Thrunite pointing me to this review, dude you are famous


----------



## selfbuilt

Mr Floppy said:


> I don't suppose you could zoom in on your Eneloop Pro and regular Eneloop 2xAA max graphs around the first drop down could you?


Sure, except I only take measurements at 30 sec intervals, so there is not much more to see. To make this interesting, I decided to add non-cooled runtimes to my 1xAA Eneloop Pro and alkaline runs (in 1xAA form only so far):






Personally, I'm actually a bit surprised that heat doesn't play more of a role in the first 4 mins on 1xAA. Since I always use a cooling fan in my runtimes, it's hard to know what non-cooled performance would look like (unless I specifically test for it).



Trevtrain said:


> TWould there be any chance of tailcap current readings (especially for the AA models?) I know we can probably estimate from the runtime graphs but it would be nice to know.


I don't do tailcap readings since I know that my consumer-grade DMM (or cabling) introduces too much resistant at higher current draws.

The problem is that people often assume this factor to be negligible (without actually measuring it), because it appears negligible at lower draws. While that may be true with a Fluke and excellent leads, I know my Uni-T (and other similarly-priced DMMs <$60 meters that I've tried) are not accurate once we get into the higher lumen outputs (i.e. typically above a couple of hundred lumens). I know this because I can do concurrent output measures while taking the tailcap current readings. If I do, output drops (sometimes by up to 50%). That means that the current draw readings are inaccurate.

Frankly, unless someone specifies the DMM they are using, and has concurrent output measures while doing the tailcap draws, I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the numbers at high outputs. I certainly don't have the setup to do with any guarantee of accuracy. 

In contrast, low current draws are typically quite consistent, even with inexpensive meters.



> Also, another slight correction....In your photo lineup of CR123 lights, the Olight model is the S10 I think and not S15 as captioned?


Good catch, fixed



> Great to finally see someone taking advantage of the performance capabilities of good NiMH cells rather than keeping output artificially low for those who insist on running alkaleaks!


The flip side to that is it's important to warn people not try and use alkalines on Turbo! :shakehead Certainly in the case of the 2xAA form, the high output causes an abnormal termination within about 1 min (i.e., I get a double-flash, and the light shuts off).

While it is nice to have a circuit feature to shut-down the light when excessive heat is detected, I would never want to rely on that in actual use. So I would hope to see a warning that alkalines are at a minimum "not recommend" on Turbo mode (or better yet "banned", to use one maker's language). Alkalines seem fine on Hi modes on down, of course.

-------

Lot's more questions from last night to get back to, but I need to take a break. Back in a few mins ...


----------



## markr6

Rediculous output on this 2A!!! Tempted to try, but I don't see the neutral white for sale...yet. Quite a bit larger/heavier than the SC52, but still interested.

I'll be patient


----------



## selfbuilt

amaretto said:


> Thank you selfbuilt for your great review (as always). May i add some informations based on my review in TLF?


Nice review. Trusting google translate,  it looks we have come to generally similar conclusions (i.e., the stand-out nature of the 2A specifically, the limitations of the small button). You also seem to have gotten more official specs from Thrunite - and actual shipping packaging. I will try to confirm the official specs with them, as there seems to be a few differences with what I was told (which was more limited in comparison).

I was glad to see you did repeated restarts on Turbo ... I've been meaning to do the same, and will try to get to it today.



> One thing i have to criticize in your reviews: in my opionion your lumen readings are to high. I don't know any other reviewer with comparable high lumen readings.You measure even higher lumens than manufacturer ratings. ;-)


That's pretty funny from where I sit, given that in the last 3 months I have had two manufacturers - and a group of users about a third manufacturer - complain to me that my readings were too low for their lights. :laughing:

More seriously though, I tend to agree that the my middle-lumen estimates (i.e., ~300-800 range) seem to be a bit higher than current norms suggest. The problem, as always, is what is everyone basing their lumen estimates on? As I explained in the methodology section, my lightbox calibration is based on ~150 samples across ~40 lights in what was considered 3 reputable sources at the time (plus three sets of manufacturer data - again considered reputable at the time, and consistent in my own testing). I don't know what everyone else is using, since many don't go into details (although I have seen a couple of people over the years report hyper-precise lumen estimates based on home-made setups and lights from manufacturers that I know to be a lot more inconsistent in relative specs). 

In my ongoing testing, I can tell you the calibration standard still holds up quite well against Fenix published specs for more recent lights I've tested (and they claim to use a proper flashlight-calibrated ANSI FL-1 integrating sphere). It certainly still does well for <300 lumen measures - although I am noticing a somewhat consistently elevated result for my calibration in the ~300-800 lumen range, by about ~10% or so (which is similar to the difference I note in my readings from your setup on your samples). Of course, even if the numbers are off by that much, that could still fall within expect variation between samples. :shrug: Again, I am only getting a single light from the manufacturers normally (and cannot be sure they are not "cherry-picking" higher output ones). 

But as I always emphasize, the value to my consistent calibration is that it allows readers to make _relative_ comparisons across all lights tested in my reviews. This is where the true value lies at present. There is no point in revising the calibration until I can ensure it is truly _accurate_. And the ONLY way to resolve that is for me to test the actual samples that I have on hand in a proper flashlight-calibrated ANSI FL-1 rated integrating sphere (which typically cost ~$25K or so). I have as yet not been able to source one locally for testing. There is also the issue of costs, as these places typically charge a pretty penny (i.e., I've seen ~$100 a measure quoted at one distant site with such a setup).

As you can tell from the above, I am working on these possibilities - and hope to be able to produce a newer (and more demonstrably accurate by direct testing) set of measures in the future. In the meantime, I suggest people focus on the relative comparisons within any given reviewer's data (unless they actually have direct access to a properly calibrated integrating sphere rated for flashlight ANSI FL-1 testing).



BWX said:


> So I guess I can't EDC it because it will constantly be switching on in my pocket(s)?


I would be worried about accidental activation as well if carried that way - you would need to lock it out by a head twist.



TEEJ said:


> SB - Now THAT'S a review! That must have taken freekin FOREVER to compile it all, REALLY thorough job!:thumbsup:


Indeed, I don't want to try and count up the hours do all the runtime testing and graphing. :sweat: It was much worse that I anticipated, because I didn't know until I received the lights that they supported smaller 1x forms (i.e., this was like testing four lights, in every conceivable battery format).



> I also noticed your 18350 data, and the impact on the turbo mode out put....the combination of the 18350 IMR's ability to supply the amps and voltages seemed to be the winner in turbo.


Yes, you will see that I didn't report runtimes for standard ICR 16340 (RCR) on Turbo. The reason for that is the light tries to produce >900 estimated lumens at the start, and rapidly drops off. So I aborted the test after 30 secs (by which time is was already down to ~750 estimated liumens). That was clearly way too hard on the cells. I recommend everyone stck to IMR 16340 or 18350 is they want to try Turbo on that size.



> It was also interesting that the L91 could not support turbo as long as the Alkaleaks, albeit neither could support it long....but you think the new L91 cells were the issue? New L91 have not reached full ability until allowed to run longer? Am I understanding you correctly? I am not familiar with this yet...please school accordingly.


Ah no, I expect something else is going on there - likely due to how the circuit interprets the higher voltage of L91. I have seen a number of multi-power 2xAA lights that don't want want to run on Turbo initially on fresh L91s. Often, letting the cells drain a little bit at a lower setting does the trick, and the light will then keep a sustained Turbo. But in this case, I tried jumping back up to Turbo repeatedly over the first ~2 mins or so on Hi, and the light kept shutting off. :shrug: It could be that it just needs longer to lower the cell voltage, but I haven't tested that. 



Wolf359 said:


> http://www.thrunite.com/neutron-2a-v2/
> First line of the specs states Working Voltage: 0.9 - 5V so 3X AA Alkline or 4X AA Nimh is possable it appears, assuming you have the extra tube and 2/3 extentions fit together, now all that is needed is a forward clicky :wave:.


Ah, those specs are new - I haven't seen them before (and they differ a little from what I was told by Thrunite). Thanks for the link, I will update the official spec portion of the review.

And yes, it therefore seems that 3xAA would be fine (assuming an extra battery tube is available, and fits appropriately).


----------



## wjv

Dang you Selfbuilt. . . . . You're going to cost me $50 plus shipping


----------



## SuLyMaN

My jaws dropped and broke.... Thankfully such a review was not posted on the 1st of April or I would not believe it 
How floody is it compared to the Quark X 2AA version sb?
Thanks for the great review as usual.


----------



## markr6

Just sent e-mail to Thrunite asking about a NEUTRAL WHITE option.

EDIT - their site was just updated with NW option.


----------



## Swedpat

Thanks Selfbuilt for another great review!

I have to say that the head of Neutron looks very similar to the head of Fenix PD12. May the body fit to PD12 head?


----------



## phantom23

markr6 said:


> Just sent e-mail to Thrunite asking about a NEUTRAL WHITE option.


There's a group buy going on on German forum and NW is one of the options.


----------



## selfbuilt

Ok, here's a repeated restart runtime on the 1xAA form of the 2A, using an Eneloop Pro (2550mAh) battery. I manually restarted the Turbo after ~4 mins of step-down Hi (just to be consistent with overall time spent at both levels).







Excellent overall runtime. I am also impressed to see that it keeps a fairly well regulated Turbo mode output level (up until the point when it drops out of regulation). :thumbsup:



SuLyMaN said:


> My jaws dropped and broke.... Thankfully such a review was not posted on the 1st of April or I would not believe it


You are not alone there - I wouldn't have believed those specs if I hadn't tested the sample myself! 

I certainly encourage a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to manufacturers specs (indeed, that is why I do my reviews in the first place - to provide independent testing, under consistent conditions). In this case, the output specs seem surprisingly accurate.

I should point out that although the ~60% increase in max output on the 1xAA form (compared to my previous top performer, the SC52) sounds impressive, it is not that noticeable in real life. Yes, you can certainly see a difference when the two lights are side by side (e.g., look at my standardized beamshot comparisons in this review). But given the non-linearity of our visual perceptions, it's not like you would really take that much notice when handling the 2A alone. 



> How floody is it compared to the Quark X 2AA version sb?


You can directly pull the beamshots from that review, to compare to the ones above. The 2A is more relatively "throwy", thanks to its larger and deeper reflector.



Swedpat said:


> I have to say that the head of Neutron looks very similar to the head of Fenix PD12. May the body fit to TN12 head?


No, it's completely different threading. The new Neutrons use standard fine triangular threads (and relatively few). The TN12 use thick square-cut threads.


----------



## Swedpat

selfbuilt said:


> No, it's completely different threading. The new Neutrons use standard fine triangular threads (and relatively few). The TN12 use thick square-cut threads.



Sorry, I wrote wrong and I corrected it. Of course I meant PD12. Otherwise I had expressed it really confusing...
But I see that PD12 also uses square-cut threads.


----------



## markr6

phantom23 said:


> There's a group buy going on on German forum and NW is one of the options.



Well then, I'm on my way over to Germany!!!!!


----------



## amaretto

selfbuilt said:


> Ok, here's a repeated restart runtime
> ...
> Excellent overall runtime. I am also impressed to see that it keeps a *fairly well regulated Turbo mode output level* (up until the point when it drops out of regulation). :thumbsup:
> 
> 
> You are not alone there - I wouldn't have believed those specs if I hadn't tested the sample myself!
> 
> I certainly encourage a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to manufacturers specs (indeed, that is why I do my reviews in the first place - to provide independent testing, under consistent conditions). In this case, the output specs seem surprisingly accurate.


Great, thank you very much for your additional runtime graph. This kind of graph is imho more praktical and useful than your usual runtime graphs. Why? Because in my experience it is not a normal use to fire up a flashlight and let it run until the batteries are fully drained. I think it is more realistic to use a flashlight for some time. And perhaps the next hour/day again for some time and so on. It is therefore more useful to know how powerful a torch would be depending on battery voltage each time you switch it on. By the way you could use a handful of batteries too with different voltage to verify the output instead of continuos restarts. By this means heat does not matter.

The addition runtime graph with restarts (+ cooling fan) overlayed by the "regular" runtime graph is perfect. It completes your great review. Wish you would add this graph in future to all your reviews. :twothumbs


----------



## selfbuilt

amaretto said:


> This kind of graph is imho more praktical and useful than your usual runtime graphs. Why? Because in my experience it is not a normal use to fire up a flashlight and let it run until the batteries are fully drained. ... The addition runtime graph with restarts (+ cooling fan) overlayed by the "regular" runtime graph is perfect. It completes your great review. Wish you would add this graph in future to all your reviews.


I fully agree - both types of graphs provide a lot of very useful information. But they are also more labor intensive to complete (especially the repeated restarts one).  As it is, my lightbox is almost constantly in use every day (and most nights for longer runs).

Typically, the main goal of my runtime testing is really to provide a consistent comparison of output/runtime efficiency and regulation patterns over time, across multiple levels. I try to supplement with the additional context-specific testing whenever time permits - especially on lights where this would be most relevant (i.e., high or rapid step-downs, high output with thermal-controlled circuits, etc.), as well as lights where there is a lot interest. I think these models qualify on both fronts. :laughing:


----------



## BWX

I forgot to mention, I was trying to buy a TN12 and two 18650 batts at the Thrunite store "http://www.thrunite-store.com/" last week. There was no payment option popping up during checkout on three different browsers and two different computers.

Trying to contact them by email or phone was useless. 
You click on "support" and get this error:

*
"There has been an error processing your request

Exception printing is disabled by default for security reasons.

Error log record number: 1249493523"*

http://www.thrunite-store.com/flashlights/support

Pretty lame, and not confidence inspiring. I almost decided to go with a different flashlight after that.



I ended up having to buy different brand of batts and the TN12 (which was a gift from someone else, to someone else) at Amazon and couldn't get the Neutral version.

So not sure what's going on there, as that is how I bought my TN12 quite a few months ago. The store seems very slow, and you cannot complete checkout.


----------



## markr6

BWX said:


> I forgot to mention, I was trying to buy a TN12 and two 18650 batts at the Thrunite store "http://www.thrunite-store.com/" last week. There was no payment option popping up during checkout on three different browsers and two different computers.
> 
> Trying to contact them by email or phone was useless.
> 
> 
> I ended up having to buy different brand of batts and the TN12 (which was a gift from someone else, to someone else) at Amazon and couldn't get the Neutral version.
> 
> So not sure what's going on there, as that is how I bought my TN12 quite a few months ago. The store seems very slow, and you cannot complete checkout.



I wonder if there is any real difference between that and www.thrunite.com?


----------



## BWX

markr6 said:


> I wonder if there is any real difference between that and www.thrunite.com?



Last week I had same issues with both. 
Now I tried going through checkout on http://www.thrunite.com and it seemed to allow for paypal checkout, but I did not go through with it so not sure if it works or not.
Not sure I want to buy things directly from China though, I liked having the stuff shipped from US to US like at thrunite-store.com (at least that's how I thought it worked back when I bought my TN12 there).


----------



## Wolf359

I ordered off there new website paying with paypal lastnight

http://www.thrunite-store.com has become or is becoming there european store i believe


----------



## Mr Floppy

amaretto said:


> Here are some info about current:



So is that the current draw from the battery? Because 2xAA only drawing 2A and still getting 650 Lumen means some how it needs to boost voltage to 3V so not sure I understand if that can work. 



selfbuilt said:


> Sure, except I only take measurements at 30 sec intervals, so there is not much more to see. To make this interesting, I decided to add non-cooled runtimes to my 1xAA Eneloop Pro and alkaline runs (in 1xAA form only so far):



[strike]The cyan and orange lines, is that Alkaline or Eneloop?[/strike] edit: never mind, the gradient of the slope confused me. 

Looking at the high on a regular Eneloop, is that flatter than the Eneloop pro?


----------



## Quality

This is the 14500 light to beat. Its been a long time since I've seen something that legitimately runs on 14500s and actually pushes the envelope. Very nice.


----------



## selfbuilt

Mr Floppy said:


> Looking at the high on a regular Eneloop, is that flatter than the Eneloop pro?


No, I would say there is no significant difference.


----------



## pepekraft

Nice, thanks!

I might be missing something in the 2C beamshots .. all I see is 2xRCR form shots I think, with 18650. Did you shoot short 2C shots?

I'm mostly an AA/14500 guy anyway, and wow. just wow. those are nice.


----------



## Mr Floppy

selfbuilt said:


> No, I would say there is no significant difference.



From your first two graphs, I can see the Eneloop pro has a higher relative output and more of a bend than the regular Eneloop. Probably not signigicant but I wonder how a pair of Elite 1700's will go.


----------



## markr6

Had a neutral white 2A in my cart...but talked myself into waiting! As usual, "I don't need another light" keeps going thru my head.


----------



## selfbuilt

pepekraft said:


> I might be missing something in the 2C beamshots .. all I see is 2xRCR form shots I think, with 18650. Did you shoot short 2C shots?


No, I didn't do specific 2xRCR shots (or 1x16340/18350 for that matter). There is not much visual difference between these cells.



Mr Floppy said:


> From your first two graphs, I can see the Eneloop pro has a higher relative output and more of a bend than the regular Eneloop. Probably not signigicant but I wonder how a pair of Elite 1700's will go.


I wouldn't read too much into that - subtle differences like that don't usually hold up on repeated testing with different cells. And in this case, my Eneloop Pro was new, while the regular Eneloop was older, which could also contribute. I would consider them equivalent (you certainly couldn't see a difference).


----------



## Phaserburn

Where can the neutral white variants of these lights be ordered? Confused.


----------



## timbo114

Phaserburn said:


> Where can the neutral white variants of these lights be ordered? Confused.


http://www.thrunite.com/neutron-2a-v2/

When I checked the site yesterday, the price was $49.95 and no neutral version was available... hmm.


----------



## joshjp

And now they jacked up the price.


----------



## ice_man

I have been thinking of getting the Nitecore SRT3 as another EDC light. Would you recommend this new Thrunite Neutron 2A over the SRT3?


----------



## Anders

I tried to order yesterday with no succeed. Came to Paypal but no more.
I couldn't choose tint.
Today I ordered one *2A v2*, all went just fine, I could choose tint but I think the price went up a bit...

Anders


----------



## wjv

joshjp said:


> And now they jacked up the price.



Yup! Jut a day or so ago it was $49.95. . . 

Guess SelfBuilt gave it too good of a review! :shrug:


----------



## selfbuilt

ice_man said:


> I have been thinking of getting the Nitecore SRT3 as another EDC light. Would you recommend this new Thrunite Neutron 2A over the SRT3?


The SRT3 is a nice light, but it is a whole different interface (i.e. clicky switch with continuously-variable control ring) and feature set (colored modes, CR123A or AA, etc). It is also quite a bit larger than the 2A in 1xAA form - basically, the SRT3 in 1xAA form has almost exactly the same dimensions of the 2C in 1x18650 form.  If you like the SRT3 tailcap clicky and control ring interface, I would also consider the Sunwayman V11R (with AA extender) - it is a bit more compact.



wjv said:


> Yup! Jut a day or so ago it was $49.95. . .
> Guess SelfBuilt gave it too good of a review! :shrug:


:laughing: More to the point, I think they tried to rush getting the website ordering up to coincide with the release of the review. I see some of the specs have been updated as well (i.e., they now list the 2xAA form as 800 lumens max). :shrug:

I'm sure things will settle down soon, but at least it does now look like people can order the 2A (with desired tint) directly from Thrunite. Hopefully the 2C will be released soon as well.


----------



## ice_man

selfbuilt said:


> The SRT3 is a nice light, but it is a whole different interface (i.e. clicky switch with continuously-variable control ring) and feature set (colored modes, CR123A or AA, etc). It is also quite a bit larger than the 2A in 1xAA form - basically, the SRT3 in 1xAA form has almost exactly the same dimensions of the 2C in 1x18650 form.  If you like the SRT3 tailcap clicky and control ring interface, I would also consider the Sunwayman V11R (with AA extender) - it is a bit more compact.
> 
> 
> :laughing: More to the point, I think they tried to rush getting the website ordering up to coincide with the release of the review. I see some of the specs have been updated as well (i.e., they now list the 2xAA form as 800 lumens max). :shrug:
> 
> I'm sure things will settle down soon, but at least it does now look like people can order the 2A (with desired tint) directly from Thrunite. Hopefully the 2C will be released soon as well.




Thanks for the input selfbuilt. I didn't realize how much more compact the Thrunite is. I also don't have any preference when it comes to a clicky switch or variable control ring. 

However, I am more interested in build quality, handling, throw distance and firefly mode. I will take a look on your suggested Sunwayman V11R.


----------



## Mr Floppy

markr6 said:


> Had a neutral white 2A in my cart...but talked myself into waiting! As usual, "I don't need another light" keeps going thru my head.



Well, it would be good to see what neutral LED they chose. Shame the price went up, had one down to be modded with XM-L2 S6 90+ CRI 2900K 7C3


----------



## amaretto

selfbuilt said:


> I think they tried to rush getting the website ordering up to coincide with the release of the review.


There was already a review two weeks ago, so that should'nt be the case. The release of the website completed the group buy of 2A and 2C and after that their website is used for the EU-Store.


----------



## ThruNite

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?316809-Neutron-series-light-group-buy


----------



## Martin L

Selfbuilt; Outstanding review as always. Thank you very much! Interesting lights indeed with an incredible output. A little big and not the best looking, but Thrunite has figured out something that other manufacturer badly wants regarding this outstanding output for sure... Lumens are always fun, but the UI, in the long run, can be more important. I have read your post (Selfbuilt) and on TN site regarding the operation of the light, but I am left in the dark with some questions. (Or, I am too dumb to understand :duh2.

Q1: You turn on the light with a short click. When you turned the light off last time the setting was medium and by its memory function you will get directly to medium mode? Correct? What are the options if you want to get as fast as possible to the Hi mode, the next higher setting?
- Press and hold will give you Lo-Med-Hi? This operation, if true, will take some time, but is a great UI if you want to lower the output from med :thumbsup:. Same UI as ZL in this regard?

Q2: Same as above, you are in Med mode and want to have a full burst (Turbo) to look at something interesting, what are the options?
- Will a double click get you directly to Turbo from both on and off? How to get back to previous setting? A single short click will turn the light off and a press and hold will probably get you to the Lo-Med-Hi, always starting at the Lo setting... You can not go between Turbo and Med?

Q3: You can only reach the firefly from off? From on, a long press will only ramp you through the Lo-Med-Hi-Med-Lo-Med-Hi... cycle?

I do not understand why people don´t write more about the UI's. It´s important stuff... :huh:

And my last 2 cents... Finally - the blinky modes are gone and the spacing on the AA looks promising! Thank you Thrunite! :thumbsup:

Thank you in advance,
Martin


----------



## amaretto

Martin, you can compare the Neutrons ui with Spark, not Zebralight. Only thing that is equal with ZL is activation of firefly.

Ramping is (1)low - (2)mid - (3)high - (4)mid - (5)low - (6)mid - (7)high ....

If you turn off the light in (2), it ramps to (3) next time.
If you turn off the light in (4), it ramps to (5) next time.

You only can reach firefly from off. How should electronics otherwise "know" if you want firefly or ramping?
Double click again for turning off turbo.


----------



## selfbuilt

Martin L said:


> I do not understand why people don´t write more about the UI's. It´s important stuff... :huh:


I agree - which is why I always write a specific User Interface section of the review, and spend a lot of time in the videos on it. The videos are especially helpful for this, as it is apparently difficult to write down an interface in words so that everyone understands it.

In case it's not clear, the main press-hold (from on) interface is Lo > Med > Hi > Med > Lo > Med ...etc. So you cannot predict the next level from Med unless you remember where you are in the sequence (you can of course always predict the next mode from Lo or Hi will be Med). I do not favor this, and prefer a consistent Lo > Med > Hi in repeating loop.

Double-click (from off or on) jumps you to Turbo - which is a mode that is not on the main sequence. Exit Turbo by a press-hold (or turn off and back on). Firefly is accessed by a press-hold from off only (this is common on many lights).


----------



## Martin L

Thank you for your answers. The sequence is not good. Better without the memory, always starting at low... I will have to pass. The Turbo feature and firefly seems to be convenient though...


----------



## GordoJones88

*
WOW!*





* at everything


----------



## Swedpat

Thanks for another great review Selfbuilt,

This seems to be really impressive; more than 1,5 hours flat output at 240lm with a single 2550mAh Eneloop. Did I get it right?


----------



## selfbuilt

Swedpat said:


> This seems to be really impressive; more than 1,5 hours flat output at 240lm with a single 2550mAh Eneloop. Did I get it right?


Yes, that is it exactly.


----------



## realista

generally a 18650 contains 3x watt of a nimh... right? because a 2500mah x 1,2v is 3watt total. a comparable 2600mah 18650 x3,6v is 9,3watt

reading on the site, the trunite tn12 2014 is rated at 280 lumens 5hours. but reporting to the equation 240lumens it is 5,8 hours.

here you said 1,5h. do it 3 times and have 4,5hours. *IS THE DIFFERENcE OF ABOUT 1 hours MORE (with 18650) given by the higher efficiency of the led(or driver circuit) ah higher voltage ?? ( 3,6v instead 1,2). *_i suppose yes....but correct me selfbuilt if i am wrong _


----------



## selfbuilt

realista said:


> generally a 18650 contains 3x watt of a nimh... right? because a 2500mah x 1,2v is 3watt total. a comparable 2600mah 18650 x3,6v is 9,3watt


That's right - the effective ability of a 18650 cell to do work is typically at least 3x that of a NiMH cell.



> IS THE DIFFERENcE OF ABOUT 1 hours MORE (with 18650) given by the higher efficiency of the led(or driver circuit) ah higher voltage ?? ( 3,6v instead 1,2).


There is not really much point in trying to understand/estimate runtime differences between specs - especially with such different types of cells. There are a lot of factors play here. Certainly, efficiency of the circuit at different input voltages plays a role. Also relevant is how the battery chemistry responds, especially under hi vs lo current draws. And not least of which is the regulation pattern, especially as the cells fall out of regulation. Recall that ANSI FL-1 runtime measures are given to 10% initial output, which favours things that have a slow drop-off at the low end (as opposed to an abrupt shut-down).

I would take all manufacturer runtime estimates as a rough guide only, and rely on actual output-over-time graphs to meaningfully compare the difference. Reducing runtimes to a single number is typically not useful, except in the very limited cases of perfectly flat regulation with complete shut-down..


----------



## realista

thank you very much for your reply..... i learn new things reading you.


----------



## Kaboby

2XAA = 700+ lumens 

is this even possible ?

i bought a olight ST25 not long ago , and it was claimed the best 2XAA ......at 550lumens ( more like 450 lumens )

omg...i think i need to get this now.........


----------



## selfbuilt

Kaboby said:


> 2XAA = 700+ lumens
> is this even possible ?


Yes, I think we were all quite surprised to see that. I certainly didn't expect it.



> i bought a olight ST25 not long ago , and it was claimed the best 2XAA ......at 550lumens ( more like 450 lumens ).


Yes, the ST25 is somewhat over-stated at 550 lumens (but only because of the rapid drop off). See my new review of that model.


----------



## michael3

kind of surprising that the neutron 2c has the same runtime on high with 18350 imr and 18650 aw, i would have thought there would have been significant increase when going from 3.7v and 700mah? to 3.7v and 2200mah. i would think at least some increase but it looks like from your charts they are the same. am i seeing this right?


----------



## michael3

i was looking to see which of the other lights on your chart were comparable to the neutron and i noticed that for max output on the eagletac d25c you have it at 770 lumens but the website for eagletac list it at 317 lumens. i was just wondering how there was such a significant difference in the output? thanks


----------



## selfbuilt

michael3 said:


> kind of surprising that the neutron 2c has the same runtime on high with 18350 imr and 18650 aw, i would have thought there would have been significant increase when going from 3.7v and 700mah? to 3.7v and 2200mah. i would think at least some increase but it looks like from your charts they are the same. am i seeing this right?


No, the runtime graphs show that the 2C lasted for 28 mins to 50% on AW 18350 IMR, and 1hr 23 mins to 50% on AW 18650 2200mAh. So that's effectively 3x longer (as you would expect for 2200mAh vs 700mAh rated specs).



michael3 said:


> i was looking to see which of the other lights on your chart were comparable to the neutron and i noticed that for max output on the eagletac d25c you have it at 770 lumens but the website for eagletac list it at 317 lumens. i was just wondering how there was such a significant difference in the output? thanks


That's because the original release of the D25C didn't fully support Li-ions - the light entered into direct-drive, at a maximal drive level. Subsequent editions of the D25C (after the review) have a different circuit, that limit max output but restored regulated performance at multiple levels.


----------



## michael3

selfbuilt said:


> No, the runtime graphs show that the 2C lasted for 28 mins to 50% on AW 18350 IMR, and 1hr 23 mins to 50% on AW 18650 2200mAh. So that's effectively 3x longer (as you would expect for 2200mAh vs 700mAh rated specs).
> 
> 
> That's because the original release of the D25C didn't fully support Li-ions - the light entered into direct-drive, at a maximal drive level. Subsequent editions of the D25C (after the review) have a different circuit, that limit max output but restored regulated performance at multiple levels.



i was speaking of high not max and both show a clear step down at close to 90 min.


----------



## selfbuilt

michael3 said:


> i was speaking of high not max and both show a clear step down at close to 90 min.


No, I never tested 18350 IMR on Hi specifically - the only data I ever showed was for Turbo on 1x18350. 

I haven't plotted it, but I have tested 2x18350 on Turbo, and got 59 mins to 50% (compared to the 41 mins on 2xRCR). I didn't bother plotting this though, since I don't have any other 2x18350 data to compare.

As an aside, I realize that one thing that might be confusing is the legend on the 1x form graph where I show Turbo for 1x18350 (specified), but my regular 1xRCR is used for Hi (unspecified). Unless otherwise specified, all the 1x form runtimes are based on RCR.
_
EDIT: in further discussion, I realized the issue michael3 was referring to - the Med mode run on 1xRCR was incorrectly labelled "Hi" on the Med-Hi 1xRCR runtime graph. The legend label has been changed to Med._


----------



## amaretto

Neutrons 2A (2014) arrived already. Thrunite told us 2C types will come a bit later.


----------



## Rick_R

Just ordered this light (via, Amazon), and 6 Efest IMR 14500-700Mah battery’s. This will be my forth Thrunite Flashlight. 
I have the TN12-2014, Lynx and Archer 1C (GF's purse light) in hand. I use both of mine every day, multiple times. Very happy with them.

The only other AA lights that I currently have is Nitecore MH-2A (550lm, With it’s proprietary 2x14500 li-ion) and Klarus XT1A (180? Lm) and of corse many Maglight 2xAA's. 

I’ve been in the market for a single AA light, that is side button activated, performs well with 14500’s, krazy bright with well thought out med. and lows. I think I found it, we will see. 
Was thinking about the Xtar ‘WK-41’ and Armytec ‘Partner’. Zebralights crazy/overly complicated UI, Olight was sorta okay, but no, not for me. All this looking around put me in a holding pattern, until I saw this review('humm, I allready use two other Thrunite's, might as well try this one, the price is right' I say to myself). 

Great job selfbuilt!

Next up the TN32 or Catapult V5. Decisions, decisions.


----------



## reppans

Just a quick and dirty cellphone pix for some of the tint and sub-lumen snobs out there. 

L > R: '14 D25A N219, '12 D25A NW XML1, Neutron 2A NW, QPA-XML1 NW, QPA-XML2 CW, SC52-XML1 CW

Top (tint): D25As on 7 lms, Neutron on 11 lms, Quarks and SC52 on 3 lms

Middle/Bottom (sub-lumen): D25As on an L91/Eneloop (full 0.5 lms output requires ~1.5V+), Quarks and SC52 on 0.3 lms


----------



## selfbuilt

Thanks for the comparison reppans. I only have the SC52 to directly compare to yours above, but the relative relationship of my SC52's "0.34 lumen" mode on 1xNiMH is similarly a little brighter than my Neutron 2A's moonlight (1xNiMH). On my estimate scale, I rate that level of the SC52 as ~0.09 estimated lumens, compared to ~0.05 estimated lumens for the Neutron. Of course, the SC52 has two even lower levels.


----------



## trey777

i've recieved my neutron 2A today. apparently the holster can only fit the light without the extension tube. :thumbsdow


----------



## GordoJones88

trey777 said:


> i've recieved my neutron 2A today. apparently the holster can only fit the light without the extension tube.




Well they would then have to include two holsters for each configuration.
It's a pretty inexpensive light.


----------



## mekquake

Received neutral one today from amazon - can't access turbo on eneloop , usually it starts 'random strobe' flickering , tint is greenish , works normal on 14500 most of the time , but not all the time - going to collect sc62w and sc62c in a moment - hope one rotten apple a day is enough .


----------



## Anders

Got it yesterday.
The first impression is that it must be some kind of light to see what you are doing when turn it on and off, it is very hard to feel the tiny button ...
This is not good at all.


----------



## markr6

Ouch two strikes! Too bad, I was really interested in this one.



mekquake said:


> going to collect sc62w and sc62c in a moment



I'm interested to see what you think about these. Please post your feedback if you get a chance - proabbly in the *SC62 First Impressions *thread


----------



## reppans

selfbuilt said:


> Thanks for the comparison reppans. I only have the SC52 to directly compare to yours above, but the relative relationship of my SC52's "0.34 lumen" mode on 1xNiMH is similarly a little brighter than my Neutron 2A's moonlight (1xNiMH). On my estimate scale, I rate that level of the SC52 as ~0.09 estimated lumens, compared to ~0.05 estimated lumens for the Neutron.




You should have the Quark AA2-X (QP2A-X) - that light regulates the same moonlight output on any batt. combination, but you could always run a dummy cell in the 2AA tube if you don't have a 1AA tube. I'm surprised you rate this Quark's moonlight at 0.13 lms - I have quite a few samples which are stone consistent. 



mekquake said:


> Received neutral one today from amazon - can't access turbo on eneloop , usually it starts 'random strobe' flickering , tint is greenish , works normal on 14500 most of the time , but not all the time - going to collect sc62w and sc62c in a moment - hope one rotten apple a day is enough .



Try cleaning the tube edge/brass contact ring in the head and tightening down the batt tube more. I notice the same behavior and found this light needed to be tightened down more than I normally would.


----------



## mekquake

Reppans - thank you for advice , seems it works properly now
markr6 - wait till it gets dark in uk


----------



## mekquake

damn it - it still needs gymnastics to get to turbo mode on eneloop


----------



## avion

mekquake said:


> Received neutral one today from amazon - can't access turbo on eneloop , usually it starts 'random strobe' flickering , tint is greenish , works normal on 14500 most of the time , but not all the time - going to collect sc62w and sc62c in a moment - hope one rotten apple a day is enough .


I have the same problem. The flashlight works well only with 14500 li-ion battery. With 2xAA (Eneloop) turbo doesn't works. With 1xAA only moonlight and low modes operate accurately. I wrote a email to Thrunite and I'm waiting for a response.

Ciao


----------



## joshjp

Anders said:


> Got it yesterday.
> The first impression is that it must be some kind of light to see what you are doing when turn it on and off, it is very hard to feel the tiny button ...
> This is not good at all.


Move the clip to point at the button so you can find it.


----------



## joshjp

avion said:


> I have the same problem. The flashlight works well only with 14500 li-ion battery. With 2xAA (Eneloop) turbo doesn't works. With 1xAA only moonlight and low modes operate accurately. I wrote a email to Thrunite and I'm waiting for a response.
> 
> Ciao


This doesnt sound good at all, please share what they have to say. TY


----------



## Rick_R

Hello all, I have received my “Neutron 2A-V2/CW”. All I can say is “WOW,” is this magic! The output is simply phenomenal, for this size light.
One of the first things I did was to drop-in a AW 14500 battery and check it out. Then, a Eneloop XX. It worked in all modes, including Turbo and Firefly. In 2xAA format, it worked well also. When I got this light I never intended to use any flavor of primary batteries, just nimh and Li-Ion’s for max output in this form factor. It has delivered that.
 
I have read in this thread, some are having problems of not operating properly, I think this routine my help, as I employ this in all my lights:
1- Clean all contact points with alcohol (rubbing or denatured).
2- Apply “Deoxit – Red” to all electrical contact points (i.e. – battery tube end(s), tail cap, etc.) 
This has minimized any erratic operation/behavior, especially tightening / loosening head types.
 
Now that I have it in hand there are some draw-backs that can e improved on.
* The on/off/mode button is a bit small, and needs to be “raised” just a bit (1-2mm), for locating it easier.
* A more aggressive knurling on the body. It’s current level is just to slippery. 
* Firefly is way to low. Even in very dark environments, firefly is useless at this output level.
* The UI should step high/med/low, repeating loop.
 
This is a very good light, build, beam profile are great. Thrunite defiantly raised the bar in the AA class in output and runtime. We will see how the others respond.
Thank you SB for this review. What I read, was just what I received. As you mentioned, I would not have believed the performance of this light just on the specs alone. In hand testing shows the ‘real deal’.
 
Rick R.

P.S. Thrunite now needs to introduce a “right angle/headlamp” that mirrors this light.


----------



## mikekoz

I got one of these on Saturday and am having the same problems with it some of you are having. It will sometimes not turn on, not go into turbo mode, etc. I ordered a new one and am returning the defective. Hopefully the replacement will be OK. If it has the same problem, I will just get a refund and just blame it on bad quality control from Thrunite. I love the size and feel of it though and REALLY hope the new one works.


----------



## joshjp

mikekoz said:


> I got one of these on Saturday and am having the same problems with it some of you are having. It will sometimes not turn on, not go into turbo mode, etc. I ordered a new one and am returning the defective. Hopefully the replacement will be OK. If it has the same problem, I will just get a refund and just blame it on bad quality control from Thrunite. I love the size and feel of it though and REALLY hope the new one works.



Sorry your having problems, there's been alot of problems with this light, I hope your nee one is better. I will not be getting this for awhile ad there is way to many problems.


----------



## mikekoz

joshjp said:


> Sorry your having problems, there's been alot of problems with this light, I hope your nee one is better. I will not be getting this for awhile ad there is way to many problems.



You are smart! My addiction, however, is dictating my actions!!! LOL :devil:


----------



## GordoJones88

First impressions for my Neutron 2C CW.

The tint is nice.
The reflector is deep, unmarred, and very shiny!
The LED is well centered
I like the UI.
The beam profile is good.
While it is somewhat floody,
it has a slightly smallish hotspot that has some throw.
It works with my Eagletac 3400mAh 18650 and AW IMR 16340.

One thing I noticed is that the reflector goes down and around the LED.
Are there any other lights quite like this?
I like it.


----------



## mikekoz

Oddy enough, I cleaned the inner part of the head where the lip of the battery tube makes contact with it, with some old Radio Shack tuner / contact cleaner and it has been working fine ever since! I used it all yesterday evening around the house and it worked fine this morning. I have a replacement coming today from Amazon, and I may just end up keeping both!! :devil:


----------



## avion

mikekoz said:


> Oddy enough, I cleaned the inner part of the head where the lip of the battery tube makes contact with it, with some old Radio Shack tuner / contact cleaner and it has been working fine ever since! I used it all yesterday evening around the house and it worked fine this morning. I have a replacement coming today from Amazon, and I may just end up keeping both!! :devil:


I cleaned the inner parts too and... wow... the flashlight runs in all mode with 1 and 2 Eneloop (classic), 1x14500, 1 and 2 AA Amazon Basic High Capacity. It's wonderful. A lot of light with only one or two AA.
On the new one I suggest to clean well the grease and the dust on contact surfaces.

Ciao

PS: sorry for my bad english


----------



## espresso

Does Neutron 2A have any safety features regarding li ion overdischarge? I suppose if it's able to work on 1 AA, there's no way it will warn you about overdischarged 14500?


----------



## espresso

double post


----------



## selfbuilt

espresso said:


> Does Neutron 2A have any safety features regarding li ion overdischarge? I suppose if it's able to work on 1 AA, there's no way it will warn you about overdischarged 14500?


Normally, I would assume not (for the reason you mention) - the low-voltage warning flash visible on the 1x standard cell AA runs would certainly be way too low for Li-ions (i.e, AAs are nominal 1.2-1.7V cells to start, depending on chemistry) .

That being said, it is always possible that the circuit could be programmed to respond differently to various voltage sources, based on voltage at time of activation. If you look at the 2xAA runs (which being in series are twice the resting voltage as above), you'll see the runtime pattern is very different, with complete shut-down occurring at a certain point (instead of the usual gradual drop-off). This makes me think it is at least possible that there is low-voltage shut-down feature for Li-ion as well. Unfortunately, I don't have any unprotected 14500 to test this. Someone else will have to give it a try - or contact Thrunite directly to see what they say.


----------



## joshjp

mikekoz said:


> You are smart! My addiction, however, is dictating my actions!!! LOL :devil:



I'm addicted also, I just got into lights about a month ago, I love them soooo much.


----------



## joshjp

mikekoz said:


> Oddy enough, I cleaned the inner part of the head where the lip of the battery tube makes contact with it, with some old Radio Shack tuner / contact cleaner and it has been working fine ever since! I used it all yesterday evening around the house and it worked fine this morning. I have a replacement coming today from Amazon, and I may just end up keeping both!! :devil:



Wow that's great you got it working again, can you post a picture of what parts you cleaned? Thank You


----------



## espresso

selfbuilt said:


> Someone else will have to give it a try - or contact Thrunite directly to see what they say.


Yes, that would be great. Please, if anyone has a chance to test whether overdischarge protection for 14500 exists, I would be grateful. Even the manual doesn't mention anything more about 14500 (e.g. runtime) except that two of them shouldn't be used in series.

This is the light I would actually use all the time. I also have bigger flashlights and it's not that I regret buying them, but I very rarely have a chance to use them. This, however seems like a perfect flashlight to carry with me all the time.


----------



## Rick_R

espresso said:


> Yes, that would be great. Please, if anyone has a chance to test whether overdischarge protection for 14500 exists, I would be grateful. Even the manual doesn't mention anything more about 14500 (e.g. runtime) except that two of them shouldn't be used in series.
> 
> This is the light I would actually use all the time. I also have bigger flashlights and it's not that I regret buying them, but I very rarely have a chance to use them. This, however seems like a perfect flashlight to carry with me all the time.



I would have to say that there is low voltage cut-off in place. Monday evening while using the light, it flashed, then about 30 seconds later flashed again, about 15 seconds after that, it flashed 2-3 times and turned off. Checked the voltage at 3.4 volts (AW / IMR / 700mah / 14500). 
Recharged it and another (that I felt was about depleted) in a Nitecore i4 charger. Both completed charging within seconds of each other. So I would say the light has ‘low voltage cut-off’. I don't believe that one cell got into it's protection circuit.


----------



## espresso

Thanks, that's great news. If it's IMR, I guess it doesn't have a protection circuit. The red AW IMR cell?


----------



## mikekoz

joshjp said:


> Wow that's great you got it working again, can you post a picture of what parts you cleaned? Thank You





My joy was short lived! Last night and this morning the light was up to its old tricks. If you loosen and tighten the head, it will start working normally again for a while. I received my 2nd one, and so far it is working great. I also learned that the first one I got, the bad one, is a neutral white model, not a cool white. The box is mislabeled. The light apparently has an electrical problem in the head.


----------



## selfbuilt

Rick_R said:


> I would have to say that there is low voltage cut-off in place. Monday evening while using the light, it flashed, then about 30 seconds later flashed again, about 15 seconds after that, it flashed 2-3 times and turned off. Checked the voltage at 3.4 volts (AW / IMR / 700mah / 14500).


Thanks for the confirmation on the 2A on 1x IMR 14500 - that certainly makes sense, and is fully consistent with the abrupt shut-down on 2x primary AA cells.

As an aside, the 2C clearly has a low-voltage warning feature and shut-down. You can see this fairly clearly in my runtimes. I just wasn't sure about the 2A, as I hadn't been watching for flashes before shut-down on protected 1x14500 in my lightbox (and runtimes are only sampled at a 30sec rate).



mikekoz said:


> My joy was short lived! Last night and this morning the light was up to its old tricks. If you loosen and tighten the head, it will start working normally again for a while. I received my 2nd one, and so far it is working great. I also learned that the first one I got, the bad one, is a neutral white model, not a cool white. The box is mislabeled. The light apparently has an electrical problem in the head.


Sorry to hear about the dud first one. Sounds like a connection problem inside the head alright.


----------



## Rick_R

espresso said:


> Thanks, that's great news. If it's IMR, I guess it doesn't have a protection circuit. The red AW IMR cell?



Yes, 
AW Li-Mn / 14500 / 3.7v / 700mAh / V2 / Protected. 
I ordered these at the same time as the light (Amazon), because of the high drain, and wanted to try this cell chemistry at a reasonable price. 
I have lots of 18650 Li-Ion’s but no lights that strain them (maybe my TN12?)


----------



## Rick_R

selfbuilt said:


> Thanks for the confirmation on the 2A on 1x IMR 14500 - that certainly makes sense, and is fully consistent with the abrupt shut-down on 2x primary AA cells.
> 
> As an aside, the 2C clearly has a low-voltage warning feature and shut-down. You can see this fairly clearly in my runtimes. I just wasn't sure about the 2A, as I hadn't been watching for flashes before shut-down on protected 1x14500 in my lightbox (and runtimes are only sampled at a 30sec rate).
> 
> 
> It was a fluke that I caught it. As I was getting dressed for work as a room light (on med., no other lights on) It flashed. I got curious and kept my eye on it. That’s how the times were guesstimated and number of flashes prior to shutdown.
> I don’t usually run cells down that far, especially with light that is a little vague or unknown in letting you know when voltage is low.
> 
> Just so everybody knows, with Li-xx battery cells it is better to charge often at 50% - 70% of used capacity, than at say 85% - 100% of the cells capacity. There not ni-mh/ni-cad. They like to be ‘toped-up’.
> 
> SB, I take it that the AW / 14500 / 750mAh was not IMR chemistry?


----------



## selfbuilt

Rick_R said:


> AW Li-Mn / 14500 / 3.7v / 700mAh / V2 / Protected.


Sorry, can you re-confirm that? The typical red-label AW "IMR 14500" cells are 600mAh and unprotected (all IMR chemistry is unprotected). What does the actual wrapper label say?



> ]SB, I take it that the AW / 14500 / 750mAh was not IMR chemistry?


That's right, my 14500 are the standard black-label protected ICR chemistry 14500, 750mAh.


----------



## Rick_R

selfbuilt said:


> Sorry, can you re-confirm that? The typical red-label AW "IMR 14500" cells are 600mAh and unprotected (all IMR chemistry is unprotected). What does the actual wrapper label say?
> 
> 
> That's right, my 14500 are the standard black-label protected ICR chemistry 14500, 750mAh.



Sorry, 
I had just looked at some AW’s when I made that post (flip-flopped the name). The cells are: Efest / Red Wrap/Silver Label – IMR / 700 mah / 14500’s / Protected - Button Top / V2. (From: Amazon)


----------



## GordoJones88

Rick_R said:


> Sorry,
> I had just looked at some AW’s when I made that post (flip-flopped the name). The cells are: Efest / Red Wrap/Silver Label – IMR / 700 mah / 14500’s / Protected - Button Top / V2. (From: Amazon)



Those are not Protected.

You say the light gave you a low voltage flash warning before shutting down,
so that sounds like the light has over-discharge protection, maybe.

http://www.efestpower.com/Product/5278695323.html
*
Caution Notes**:*
*- Do not over-discharge*

*We do not recommend unprotected batteries in devices that they're not recommended to be used in*.


----------



## GordoJones88

*DOUBLE!!*


----------



## Rick_R

GordoJones88 said:


> Those are not Protected.
> 
> You say the light gave you a low voltage flash warning before shutting down,
> so that sounds like the light has over-discharge protection, maybe.
> 
> http://www.efestpower.com/Product/5278695323.html
> *
> Caution Notes**:*
> *- Do not over-discharge*
> 
> *We do not recommend unprotected batteries in devices that they're not recommended to be used in*.



Thankyou for the info. These cells were listed as “protected” by the seller on Amazon. I will contact them to correct there listing description/specs.
Funny, Efest's description notes 'V1', while the photo's show 'V2'.
I went with the IMR chemistry because this is a ‘high drain device’ (in my opinion), 
The Neutron 2A (in 1A format) that I have, must have over-discharge protection. As I have on two occasions checked the voltage after shut-down at 3.71V – 3.73V (completely discharged). Need to find a routine and check volts often, like one of those USB volt-meters, hack/moded to a single cell charger.
Now to find find IMR 700-750 mah, 14500’s with protection (If they exist!)


----------



## selfbuilt

Rick_R said:


> Thankyou for the info. These ells were listed as “protected” by the seller on Amazon. I will contact them to correct there listing description/specs.


Yes, it is in fact quite common to find mistaken entries online (even among some of the larger vendors). I suspect the problem is partly due to the large number of different cells (plus their rapid proliferation into new variants) - a lot of these places are probably using an older entry as a "template" for new pages, and not correcting all the errors. That said, it is surprising to me see just how often unprotected cells get labelled as "protected" specifically ... making me think more than just a honest mistake is occurring in some cases.



> Now to find find IMR 700-750 mah, 14500’s with protection (If they exist!)


I don't think they do. The point to protection circuits is not just to provide an under-voltage cut-out - they also provide an over-voltage protection, and protection against excessive current drain. Since IMR cells can handle a much higher drain, circuit protection would likely interfere with this key function of IMR cells. I would have to leave it to the battery experts to discuss further, but I can't recall having ever seen truly circuit protected IMR cells.


----------



## GordoJones88

Neutron 2C in 1x16340 form:

Tested an AW IMR 16340 Red Label that measured 4.2 volts.
On High mode it started flashing at 25 minutes, 
every 10 seconds about 20 times and went out.
It was very dim, about the 14 lumen low mode.
No button presses would activate any mode, not even firefly.
It measured 2.8 volts.

Tested an AW ICR 16340 Protected Black Label that measured 4.2 volts.
On High mode it started flashing at 27 minutes,
every 10 seconds about 20 times and went out.
It was very dim, about the 14 lumen low mode.
It measured 2.8 volts.

It appears the Neutron 2C has over-discharge voltage protection for Li-Ion.


----------



## MarzanTac

Great Review, I'm waiting for mine to arrive. I'll be using it as my back-up light here @ Afghanistan with Eneloop Pro's.
Thanks


----------



## Rick_R

selfbuilt said:


> I don't think they do. The point to protection circuits is not just to provide an under-voltage cut-out - they also provide an over-voltage protection, and protection against excessive current drain. Since IMR cells can handle a much higher drain, circuit protection would likely interfere with this key function of IMR cells. I would have to leave it to the battery experts to discuss further, but I can't recall having ever seen truly circuit protected IMR cells.



I will check HKJ's Battery test forum/site for any idea's.
Or, I'll try your; AW standard black-label / protected / ICR-chemistry / 14500-750mAh.

My main concern with li-(whatever chem.) is under volting, then charging them. This is where I think the hazard lies. If it were just under-volt protection, I'd be satisfied.

I really like using this light. the form factor is just right, the output is beyond fantastic. Heck, I mainly use low and med., but I have big horsepower when needed.
Now if _Thrunite_ would make a 'right-angle' head model like this one, With the same performance. I would buy it yesterday.


----------



## SuLyMaN

Where are you guys getting this flashlight? It says starting to arrive in October?


----------



## Rick_R

I got mine through Thrunite's Amazon store. If it's not available there, go to Thrunite.com, and order direct.


----------



## SureAddicted

I'm not sure if it's been covered or not, but the 2A has a mechanical reverse polarity protection, the 2C has an electronic reverse polarity protection.
Overheating protection on the 2A and 2C.


----------



## Rick_R

Funny condition. The lat couple of times that the light flashed (low voltage warning), I changed out the cell (14500), and I could not get it to come back on??
Changed the 14500 to NiMh, it came back on (all modes). Switched back to the 14500 and it works. Almost like it needed a reset to a lower voltage before a 14500 function. 
Strange. Anyone else notice this?


----------



## Richwouldnt

I wish someone had some current readings with these lights. 480 Lumens on one AA has to take some amps at 1.2 volts nominal. Per a post on BLF the latest packaging for Eneloop Pro AA batteries has a new warning about use in some lights. the warning reads "*“Do not use in waterproof flashlights or any device with air tight compartment” *. Are we starting to get lights which exceed the safe current draw from Eneloops?


----------



## Rick_R

Richwouldnt said:


> I wish someone had some current readings with these lights. 480 Lumens on one AA has to take some amps at 1.2 volts nominal. Per a post on BLF the latest packaging for Eneloop Pro AA batteries has a new warning about use in some lights. the warning reads "*“Do not use in waterproof flashlights or any device with air tight compartment” *. Are we starting to get lights which exceed the safe current draw from Eneloops?



I wondered about the current draw, being that SB's testing that alkaleaks and L91's dont work out so well. I have seen scattered reports about Ni-Mh's having 'venting' issues. That's why I run 14500's. All in all, with the current driver electrics in use today, I'm not so sure.
I have noticed that there is preasure build-up in my two Nitecore EA4's, that you can hear released through the tail-cap when cracked open. I do not store Ni-Mh cells in them, becouse of this.


----------



## realista

GordoJones88 said:


> Neutron 2C in 1x16340 form:
> 
> Tested an AW IMR 16340 Red Label that measured 4.2 volts.
> On High mode it started flashing at 25 minutes,
> every 10 seconds about 20 times and went out.
> It was very dim, about the 14 lumen low mode.
> No button presses would activate any mode, not even firefly.
> It measured 2.8 volts.
> 
> Tested an AW ICR 16340 Protected Black Label that measured 4.2 volts.
> On High mode it started flashing at 27 minutes,
> every 10 seconds about 20 times and went out.
> It was very dim, about the 14 lumen low mode.
> It measured 2.8 volts.
> 
> It appears the Neutron 2C has over-discharge voltage protection for Li-Ion.


So, the non IMR battery does limit the lumens of the flashlight at high mode. Right? And imr can release just little more mah to the driver. If you repeat same test with medium mode maybe runtimes will be equal.


----------



## Tapis

Interested in the 2C until I saw it jumps from 11 lumens (low) to 220 lumens (mid). I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous!


----------



## RBWNY

Tapis said:


> Interested in the 2C until I saw it jumps from 11 lumens (low) to 220 lumens (mid). I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous!



I know it sounds like a lot (it did to me too)... but in reality I don't really find it that objectionable.


----------



## Tapis

I find that my Fenix E05 which produces 27 lumens is a bit low and my old Surefire 6P LED at 80 lumens a bit strong for most tasks I am doing around the house. So I am quite sure the 2C in reality would not fit my needs. Happy to see it fits yours


----------



## DeltaStrikeOp

Hi All,

Just joined CPF because I'm having problems w/ my Thrunite Neutron 2A V2.

I've noticed that when the light experiences impact on the tailbase, the light turns off. This is very annoying to me, because whenever the light falls, the light will turn off unexpectedly, potentially leaving a user in the dark. Is everybody experiencing this problem, or is it just me? 

I've also noticed very strange battery drain. A single, freshly charged eneloop (1900 mAh min version) will only last 2 days in the flashlight, even when the flashlight isn't used, when the head is fully tightened. I've noticed that after 1 day, the flashlight fails to step up to 480 lumens in 1AA configuration. 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

DeltaStrikeOp


----------



## Tapis

I'm interested in knowing how the 2A compare to Olight S15. I want to buy one of them, but remain undecided. Perfer flood over throw.


----------



## selfbuilt

DeltaStrikeOp said:


> I've noticed that when the light experiences impact on the tailbase, the light turns off. This is very annoying to me, because whenever the light falls, the light will turn off unexpectedly, potentially leaving a user in the dark. Is everybody experiencing this problem, or is it just me?


That is not an uncommon issue with lights with electronic circuits. Anything that causes a momentary break in the contact will cause the light to turn off (and stay off). The advantage of physical clicky switches in this context is that you would just get a momentary "blip" in output (as the switch is still physically in the on position when power is restored). 

Typically, dual springs are used to provide improved recoil resistance. So aside from soldering an extra spring to contact plate in the head, there probably isn't much that can be done.



> I've also noticed very strange battery drain. A single, freshly charged eneloop (1900 mAh min version) will only last 2 days in the flashlight, even when the flashlight isn't used, when the head is fully tightened. I've noticed that after 1 day, the flashlight fails to step up to 480 lumens in 1AA configuration.


It sounds like your light has a much higher standby current than mine. Do you have access to a digital multimeter to test? You could try cleaning all the contact surfaces (including the spring), in case something is causing a partial short. But realistically, the problem is likely to be with the circuit in the head. 

Oh, and :welcome:



Tapis said:


> I'm interested in knowing how the 2A compare to Olight S15. I want to buy one of them, but remain undecided. Perfer flood over throw.


Well, the S15 is included in all the output tables and the runtime graphs here. If you want to compare the beamshots, you can bring up the ones from my S15 review to directly compare (all white wall beamshots are done under the same conditions, and with the same settings).


----------



## DeltaStrikeOp

selfbuilt said:


> It sounds like your light has a much higher standby current than mine. Do you have access to a digital multimeter to test? You could try cleaning all the contact surfaces (including the spring), in case something is causing a partial short. But realistically, the problem is likely to be with the circuit in the head.



Sadly, I do not have a multimeter to test the flashlight. I have written emails to thrunite, but they aren't responding when I asked for an exchange due to the fact my light's standby drain is much higher than expected. My latest test had the flashlight completely discharge an eneloop in single battery configuration in a day without any use. I have yet to test the phenomenon in dual battery configuration, but I don't see myself carrying the light in 2x AA configuration much anyways.

I've noticed that leaving the light in firefly mode with a freshly charged battery for 12 hours will drain the battery to the point where the 480 lumen Turbo mode won't activate anymore.



selfbuilt said:


> That is not an uncommon issue with lights with electronic circuits. Anything that causes a momentary break in the contact will cause the light to turn off (and stay off). The advantage of physical clicky switches in this context is that you would just get a momentary "blip" in output (as the switch is still physically in the on position when power is restored).
> 
> Typically, dual springs are used to provide improved recoil resistance. So aside from soldering an extra spring to contact plate in the head, there probably isn't much that can be done.


I used to own a Jetbeam PA10, but it wasn't durable at all and fell apart by half a year. It had a physical switch though, which was why I was really alarmed when the Neutron V2 turned off when it experienced tailbase impact. Thanks for the answer! It seems on this light, it doesn't have the dual springs. I've noticed the contact point of the spring already has a flat plate on it, however.


Thank you for the warm welcome, and the quick response! Hopefully my unit is just a lemon, and doesn't reflect the performance of every Neutron V2!


----------



## DeltaStrikeOp

The light completely died today after about 24 hours of firefly mode. This is completely unacceptable. I'll try to get a replacement and report back the results ASAP


----------



## Shuutr

DeltaStrikeOp said:


> The light completely died today after about 24 hours of firefly mode. This is completely unacceptable. I'll try to get a replacement and report back the results ASAP



That is no good. I just bought my first (second and third) thrunite a Neutron 2c. I hope they respond well.


----------



## DeltaStrikeOp

Oddly enough, the company stopped responding to my messages after I requested an exchange for my defective unit.

They were communicating with me while I was reporting to them the battery drain problem on the light. Not sure if it's a weird holiday over in China or something


----------



## phosphor

DeltaStrikeOp said:


> Oddly enough, the company stopped responding to my messages after I requested an exchange for my defective unit.
> 
> They were communicating with me while I was reporting to them the battery drain problem on the light. Not sure if it's a weird holiday over in China or something


Sorry to hear this. I had a horrible experience with Thrunite customer service attempting to resolve a flickering issue. Communication was not their strong suit.


----------



## DeltaStrikeOp

phosphor said:


> Sorry to hear this. I had a horrible experience with Thrunite customer service attempting to resolve a flickering issue. Communication was not their strong suit.



Communication is definitely not their strong suit. It's been 2 weeks since I've received an email from them. I'm going to return this light and hope they fix the battery drain problem soon.

I've noticed that my unit's LED will glow faintly when fresh batteries are inserted and the light is tightly screwed on. Can somebody verify if this is happening on their light? I can only notice it when it's in 2AA mode. It's probably doing that in 1AA mode too. 

I think it's stupid how I only get 1 day of runtime on firefly mode when they claim I should get 33 days in 1AA mode. The slow response time makes me want to not buy another thrunite product again.


----------



## Ageemos

Hello,

My experiences with this light.

Yes, it IS bright. And will get hot.
BUT...

I have tried *2 pieces *of this light, *both* of them had problems.

- When trying to turn off light, it does not. It will stay at moonlight mode. Head must be screwed open to turn off!
- Turbo mode do not switch on at all. On other light it will. Maybe...
- Switching modes, not working correcly all the time.

No locking for switch, accidental activation in pocket possible.

I do not recommended this flashlight.

Why they sell so unfinished flashlight at all !.


----------



## selfbuilt

Ageemos said:


> Hello,My experiences with this light.


:welcome:

Sorry to hear of your experiences with mode switching on this model. What kind of batteries are you using, and what shape are they in? The Turbo mode is exceptionally bright (and high drain), so you may be experiencing battery issues on that front.


----------



## SuLyMaN

I hope when the one I ordered for my brother arrives it will be ok....


----------



## ChrisGarrett

I've been following this light since SB's initial review and then I stopped at page 1, or 2 and filed it in the back of my mind until I recommended it in a couple of posts and somebody informed me that there have been a lot of problems, so I revisited pages 2, 3, 4 and 5 and ehhh, I'm going to guess that the consensus is that this light has too many bugs?

I was even ready to buy one off of Thrunite's site before encountering the QC issues.

Chris


----------



## SuLyMaN

Would I be better off to cancel my order or the lights quality issues have been fixed?


----------



## ChrisGarrett

SuLyMaN said:


> Would I be better off to cancel my order or the lights quality issues have been fixed?



I think that it's too new to have a bona fide 'revision,' but hopefully going forward, they've corrected the issues, but we're talking about things like parasitic drain, glitching modes, etc., which seems like a whole plethora of problems.

I'd buy that light in a New York minute, but I just don't feel like rolling the dice and being a guinea pig.

There are too many other AA lights out there with a proven track record, for me to bother with this until we hear back from Thrunite about the fixes.

Chris


----------



## Phatboyc

Somebody noticed they lowered the specs, runtime for moonlight mode, on their web store on the 23 of Nov. Perhaps they did a revision for this new batch coming in Dec 1st?


----------



## reppans

*Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



Phatboyc said:


> Somebody noticed they lowered the specs, runtime for moonlight mode, on their web store on the 23 of Nov. Perhaps they did a revision for this new batch coming in Dec 1st?



More like they're coming closer to reality. Their previous 1xNiMh Low spec was 11 lms for 72 hrs (nearly 800 lm hrs from a AA??), and interestingly same as their 2C V2 18650 spec. I also much prefer the lumen scale they used to use (ie, Neutron V1, T10 twisty days).

Too bad there seems to be so many QC problems - it's actually a quite a good light.


----------



## Phatboyc

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

Oh I see. Well a guy can dream. I was even hopping they change the button to the dual rubber button found on the Nitecore EA41.


----------



## DeltaStrikeOp

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



reppans said:


> More like they're coming closer to reality. Their previous 1xNiMh Low spec was 11 lms for 72 hrs (nearly 800 lm hrs from a AA??), and interestingly same as their 2C V2 18650 spec. I also much prefer the lumen scale they used to use (ie, Neutron V1, T10 twisty days).
> 
> Too bad there seems to be so many QC problems - it's actually a quite a good light.


I just hope they fixed the horrible parasitic drain on the light. I did like the convenience of having a flashlight that could work on one or two batteries.

Note that even the 1x AA mode revision still has higher run times than a FourSevens quark aa squared.

http://www.thrunite.com/thrunite-neutron-2a-v2/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/FOURSEVENS/?tag=cpf0b6-20


----------



## selfbuilt

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



DeltaStrikeOp said:


> I just hope they fixed the horrible parasitic drain on the light.


Sorry, which light are you referring to? There was no problem with the drain on my samples. Quoted from the review:



> These currents were negligible on the new Neutron series lights. For the 2A, I measured this as 56uA on 2xNiMH. For the 2C, I measured 5.3uA on 1x18650. For typical capacity cells, that would translate into over 4 years on the 2A (for 2000mAh NiMH) and 66 years for the 2C (on 3100mAh 18650) before cells would be drained.



There are other factors that affect runtime at the lowest level. Often, I find official specs are not very accurate (since they are rarely tested, and are based instead on theoretical). There is often a lot more variability between samples than at higher levels.


----------



## reppans

*Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



DeltaStrikeOp said:


> Note that even the 1x AA mode revision still has higher run times than a FourSevens quark aa squared.
> 
> http://www.thrunite.com/thrunite-neutron-2a-v2/
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/FOURSEVENS/?tag=cpf0b6-20



That Quark happens to be my primary light box calibration light. As I alluded to above, this lumen scale - which I believe to be true ANSI - is significantly different than what Thrunite is using lately (although it matches my earlier generation ThruNite's). On this scale, I meter the Neutron's low ~5.5 lms, med ~45 lms, and high ~160 lms. 

I do output/runtime tests on the lower modes I use most (just low for this light) and find its revised runtime to be about right for a 2000 mah Eneloop (although perhaps conservative on their spec'd 2450 mah batts). My efficiency smell test for AAs specs is ~200 +/- lumen-hrs (lms x hrs) per 2000 mah Eneloop, with a bell curve at the lowest and highest modes. 

So, with regard to the ~800 lumen-hours TN originally spec'd for low, half has been wiped with the new runtime, and another half is in the lumen scale difference.

BTW, my sample does not appear to have excessive parasitic drain either.


----------



## reppans

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



selfbuilt said:


> There are other factors that affect runtime at the lowest level. Often, I find official specs are not very accurate (since they are rarely tested, and are based instead on theoretical). There is often a lot more variability between samples than at higher levels.



It's quite a shame to hear this, and it is somewhat true, but in my experience doing some sub-/low- lumen output/runtime testing, I have found that the manufacturer's using - let's call it a more "conservative" ANSI lumen scale - are also more accurate (or "conservative") on their low lumen runtime specs which always seems to impress me... as opposed to disappoint me. However, 99.8% of the buying public won't make it past the spec sheets.


----------



## DeltaStrikeOp

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



selfbuilt said:


> Sorry, which light are you referring to? There was no problem with the drain on my samples. Quoted from the review:
> 
> 
> 
> There are other factors that affect runtime at the lowest level. Often, I find official specs are not very accurate (since they are rarely tested, and are based instead on theoretical). There is often a lot more variability between samples than at higher levels.


I am referring to the Neutron 2A V2. I had horrible parasitic drain on my unit when the head was fully tightened. I noticed that the light would only last ~24 hours on firefly in 2x Eneloops, compared to the previously stated 33 days.

Also, I noticed that the LED would very faintly glow once the light fully tightened. The only way to get it to stop glowing was if you unscrewed it halfway.

I ultimately returned my unit. I'll probably give thrunite another shot on December 5th (that's when the US Amazon page claims it will be back in stock). If not, I'll buy the FourSevens quark


----------



## selfbuilt

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



DeltaStrikeOp said:


> I am referring to the Neutron 2A V2. I had horrible parasitic drain on my unit when the head was fully tightened. I noticed that the light would only last ~24 hours on firefly in 2x Eneloops, compared to the previously stated 33 days.Also, I noticed that the LED would very faintly glow once the light fully tightened. The only way to get it to stop glowing was if you unscrewed it halfway.


Ah, that was definitely a faulty unit. Hopefully your replacement will work appropriately (i.e., as my review sample did).


----------



## dizrack

This light was at the top of my edc list, not so much anymore.


----------



## Ageemos

selfbuilt said:


> :welcome:
> 
> Sorry to hear of your experiences with mode switching on this model. What kind of batteries are you using, and what shape are they in? The Turbo mode is exceptionally bright (and high drain), so you may be experiencing battery issues on that front.



Hello,

I only use Eneloops (regular not PRO version), loaded to full power with Sanyo charger. Batteries are almost new (maybe 20 cycles from full to empty).

I have had 2 lights, in other light turbo mode does not switch on at all.

My current light has following problems

With *1 x AA* Turbo mode is not working. Turning off light works, but it takes 3 seconds before light is slowly dimming off.

With *2 x AA* Light is not switching off, instead it goes to moonlight mode. Turbo is working. It is BRIGHT and HOT! 

With this much lumens from Eneloops, is there risk that batteries will be damaged. What is maximum output for Eneloops?


----------



## selfbuilt

Ageemos said:


> With this much lumens from Eneloops, is there risk that batteries will be damaged. What is maximum output for Eneloops?


It is not a question of output per se, but of the maximum safe discharge rate for NiMH technology. I expect a standard 2C rate would be fine (i.e., discharging an AA in 30 mins). But you would have to check with the battery experts in that subforum for more info.

If your cells are in good shape and working normally, they should be able to handle the Neutron 2A. It does sound like the issue is with your light.


----------



## opus360

I really wanted to like this flashlight. But after reading the quality problems here and at Amazon, I am not sure if this a safe buy at this time.


----------



## Berneck1

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



DeltaStrikeOp said:


> I am referring to the Neutron 2A V2. I had horrible parasitic drain on my unit when the head was fully tightened. I noticed that the light would only last ~24 hours on firefly in 2x Eneloops, compared to the previously stated 33 days.
> 
> Also, I noticed that the LED would very faintly glow once the light fully tightened. The only way to get it to stop glowing was if you unscrewed it halfway.
> 
> I ultimately returned my unit. I'll probably give thrunite another shot on December 5th (that's when the US Amazon page claims it will be back in stock). If not, I'll buy the FourSevens quark



I thought I was going crazy, and thought it might have been my kids playing with the light. It seems like in a few days the batteries are drained. I think I may send it back after hearing that. I really love this light, but the switch is a bummer, and now the parasitic drain.




Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums


----------



## Ageemos

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

Amazon Customer Reviews

*2.7 out of 5 stars (11 Reviews)*

This pretty much confirms that this flashlight has real quality issues.
Not buying Thrunite products anymore.


----------



## DevBear

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

Anyone could update regarding to the replaced unit? everything works fine from day one until now?

Am interest in purchase a unit for home and hiking purpose. Configuration of 1AA & 2AA is the best for me.


----------



## Chay

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

I just ordered the Neutron 2C V2, hopefully the unit will work just fine, according to the reviews for it that is... Should be coming to my door step tonight!


----------



## Chay

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

I just recieved my Neutron 2C V2. The mode selection are a little different from what I'm used to though, since the mode goes from Low, Medium, High, then it goes backwards. Double pressing the button will put you in Turbo mode from off, long press from off will put you in Firefly Mode.

The extension tube is giving me problems. I don't think there's enough contact between it and the base/top of the light when trying to use 2 CR123As or an 18650. I'm trying to figure out this problem...


----------



## Chay

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

I found out what the problem was, according to this review http://www.amazon.com/review/R2A0XE44PUTQ97/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00PAKMSHS#wasThisHelpful the O-ring is too thick so there wasn't enough contact with the tube and the head of the light, removing it solved the problem but now it's not waterproof anymore...


----------



## selfbuilt

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



Chay said:


> I found out what the problem was, according to this review http://www.amazon.com/review/R2A0XE44PUTQ97/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00PAKMSHS#wasThisHelpful the O-ring is too thick so there wasn't enough contact with the tube and the head of the light, removing it solved the problem but now it's not waterproof anymore...


Have you tried the spare o-ring included in the package? I've noticed on some Thrunite lights that the spare o-rings can have different thicknesses to ones installed by default.


----------



## Snooker

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

Or, how to sell a kit lamp at the price of the finished product !...


----------



## Chay

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



selfbuilt said:


> Have you tried the spare o-ring included in the package? I've noticed on some Thrunite lights that the spare o-rings can have different thicknesses to ones installed by default.



Just tried it with the two spare O-rings, same results. Doesn't work.


----------



## lighten-the-darkness

I jumped the gun and bought the NW 2a v2 off amazon and i'll be getting it Wednesday. Reading about potential issues makes me a little weary now. I bought a cool white Ti3 a few months ago and within a couple days it wouldn't cycle through the modes properly and the lumens would be way off. I emailed thrunite and they sent me a new one. This time it was a neutral white. works perfect to this day. bought another cool white Ti3 to replace the other one and that one works great as well. All that being said, I'm hoping I'll have no issues with the 2av2. If I do I'm certain thrunites customer service will come through again. Not advertising just sharing my experience with them.


----------



## selfbuilt

lighten-the-darkness said:


> Not advertising just sharing my experience with them.


Good to hear your experiences, let us know how the 2A works out.

And :welcome:


----------



## DevBear

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



Chay said:


> Just tried it with the two spare O-rings, same results. Doesn't work.



Please do share your experience! I'm still interested to purchase 2A and I'm seeking for some positive user experiences.


----------



## Chay

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



DevBear said:


> Please do share your experience! I'm still interested to purchase 2A and I'm seeking for some positive user experiences.



This is my first Thrunite flashlight, even though it does have that problem where you have to take the O-ring off which makes it not water resistant anymore, I still find the light itself to be fantastic, granted, I am using it in its 1xCR123 "mode" that I leave in my car for emergency use. I like the fact that when the battery is low, the light will "blink" twice for every 10 seconds or so and will drop down its brightness level. This gives you time to find new batteries for it, while some other brands do not give you a warning and just turn off.

As an EDC light however, I'm not too sure about it, because the side button can be pressed by accident such as in your bag/pants pocket if you're not careful... The case is somewhat of a joke... In it's 2xCR123/1x18650 configuration, the case won't close. It'll only work with the extension tube off, on a positive note however, the quality of the case is quite good, I would say better than the ones that came with my other flashlights that I own.

Again this is for the 2C V2


----------



## lighten-the-darkness

selfbuilt said:


> Good to hear your experiences, let us know how the 2A works out.




Just received the 2av2 nw. Glad to say that it indeed does work perfectly in 1aa mode using a cheapy aa cell and a ultrafire protected 14500, 1200 mah battery. Along with two duracell non rechargeables. Its not dark here yet but, I just did a wall shot compared to my olight s15 on a 14500. I just can't believe that this light puts out so much more light compared to the olight. Very impressed.


----------



## Kalpn

Recently, I have bought the Neutron 2C before even reading the reviews. It is the most disappointing purchase among all the other Chinese brands I have bought. 

When I first got it, I am not able to get it to work with any battery type (flat top, button top and button top protected). After reading that someone got it to work by hitting the back of the torch, I managed to get it to work by doing the same. 

After 1 - 2 weeks later, I started to have problems switching off the light occasionally. Pressing the button will only change the mode instead of switching it off. The only way to switch off is to do take out the battery.


----------



## EnlightenedOne

I just received the Neutron 2A and all things seem to be working as described. I had no issues with turning it on or off or changing modes. I will keep track of the battery drain over the next few days. I have some of 14500s on the way. Seems to be a great light, at least initially...👍


----------



## selfbuilt

EnlightenedOne said:


> I just received the Neutron 2A and all things seem to be working as described.


:welcome:


----------



## EnlightenedOne

Well, there doesn't seem to be a noticeable drain so far after a few days with the 2500mah aa rechargeables in. However, the 14500s came in the mail and I had to crank on the light to get it tight enough to close. I mean, the battery ends compressed. The 14500s are Olight and I have had good luck with their other batteries in various sizes. I still like the 2500s alright, but I will not be able to use these protected 14500s in this light. Like it otherwise though.


----------



## DevBear

Had Neutron 2A V2 for about 2weeks, running with fresh Energizer Lithium AA. It turned off itself after few second with Turbo Mode (happened with both battery combination (1 x AA and 2 x AA)). Fresh Alkaline met the same problem. No chance of NIMH test cause I don't have it.
Firefly, low, medium and high no problem. 
It act the same like selfbuilts review on L91 lithium battery test.
Few days after the batteries being used, the turbo mode works perfectly. Maybe fresh Lithium/Alkaline AA just too powerful for it? 
2xAA Turbo mode turns it very warm after a minutes or two. Heat are from both heads and batteries.
The tint is nice, nice hot spot too. 
Smaller size than expected.
Turn itself on in pocket sometimes (not frequent). You can prevent it by twisting the head slightly to discon the connection.
My EDC since received it!


----------



## selfbuilt

DevBear said:


> Had Neutron 2A V2 for about 2weeks, running with fresh Energizer Lithium AA. It turned off itself after few second with Turbo Mode (happened with both battery combination (1 x AA and 2 x AA)). Fresh Alkaline met the same problem.
> Few days after the batteries being used, the turbo mode works perfectly. Maybe fresh Lithium/Alkaline AA just too powerful for it?


This very common with Energizer lithium batteries (L91) on 2xAA class lights. I've not seen it happen with alkalines though. Not sure what exactly the circuit is picking up as the issue with the L91s (note their voltage characteristics are different), but draining off a few mins capacity at a lower level usually resolves the problem.


----------



## Rick_R

DevBear said:


> Had Neutron 2A V2 for about 2weeks, running with fresh Energizer Lithium AA. It turned off itself after few second with Turbo Mode (happened with both battery combination (1 x AA and 2 x AA)). Fresh Alkaline met the same problem. No chance of NIMH test cause I don't have it.
> Firefly, low, medium and high no problem.
> It act the same like selfbuilts review on L91 lithium battery test.
> Few days after the batteries being used, the turbo mode works perfectly. Maybe fresh Lithium/Alkaline AA just too powerful for it?
> 2xAA Turbo mode turns it very warm after a minutes or two. Heat are from both heads and batteries.
> The tint is nice, nice hot spot too.
> Smaller size than expected.
> Turn itself on in pocket sometimes (not frequent). You can prevent it by twisting the head slightly to discon the connection.
> My EDC since received it!



Considering lithiums are 1.5v, and then x2=3.0v. It my mot know what is in there. It could be that it thinks a Li-Ion with low volts is in there. Don’t know what the threshold for ‘low voltage cut-off/warning is? 
Alky primary’s at 1.2v. Haven’t tried those in mine, just NiMh and 14500 Li-Ion’s.
In a earlier post, I reported using either NiMh or Li-Ion’s and hitting low voltage warning, I would change-out batteries (chemistry for chemistry) and it wouldn’t come back on. Wait awhile it might come on. Change chemistries, I got Light (but not always, weird).
There is something a ‘wonky’ in the driver when it comes to voltage detection I believe. I’m leaning towards a component not bleeding off the last volts it read. So when see's a different chemistry 'too soon', it just stops. Software can be an issue also.
I would suggest that you use rechargeables, but primary’s will get expensive. Hope this helps

This little light is to-much-fun (even with some hickups). I nicknamed it “The Cricket”, after the little ‘Blaster’ in the movie “Men In Black”.


----------



## reppans

I wonder if the li-ion protection circuit is monitoring sag - lithium primaries, rechargeables and alkalines all sag quite heavily under load while Eneloops do not. I personally would be fine with that, except for the way the default is handled - ie, full shut down. I consider that outright dangerous (eg, bicycling) a light should always stepdown.


----------



## Rick_R

reppans said:


> I wonder if the li-ion protection circuit is monitoring sag - lithium primaries, rechargeables and alkalines all sag quite heavily under load while Eneloops do not. I personally would be fine with that, except for the way the default is handled - ie, full shut down. I consider that outright dangerous (eg, bicycling) a light should always stepdown.



The shutdown seems to occur when you switch batterys (i.e. Li-Ion for Li-Ion). It will flash when voltage gets low. I havn't run it on 'turbo or high' for long periods to see if it steps down. At lower modes, you get a 'flash', a few seconds later a series of flashes. Then 'moon' mode, if I remember correctly. Will have to test this.


----------



## Rick_R

Thrunite has change the button/switch on these two models. At least the ones on their website. The Amason store still shows the V2's version in this review. Same model no.'s "V2"


----------



## reppans

Rick_R said:


> The shutdown seems to occur when you switch batterys (i.e. Li-Ion for Li-Ion). It will flash when voltage gets low. I havn't run it on 'turbo or high' for long periods to see if it steps down. At lower modes, you get a 'flash', a few seconds later a series of flashes. Then 'moon' mode, if I remember correctly. Will have to test this.



I'm referring to the full shutdowns using ~3V batt configs - 2x L91s/Alks and 1x CRAAs.


----------



## Rick_R

reppans said:


> I'm referring to the full shutdowns using ~3V batt configs - 2x L91s/Alks and 1x CRAAs.



Sorry.
I've only used my light in a 1x environment. Short test on 2 x NiMh.


----------



## EnlightenedOne

Hi Selfbuilt. Wondering if there is a 14500 battery that is short enough to fit without really having to crank on the cap to get the flashlight to work? Or is there some workaround that allows the light to function without complete tightening of the cap. As I mentioned before, I used Olight 14500's. I crushed the battery when I tried, and although it functioned, the battery was damaged (the protection circuit seemed crushed).


----------



## selfbuilt

EnlightenedOne said:


> Hi Selfbuilt. Wondering if there is a 14500 battery that is short enough to fit without really having to crank on the cap to get the flashlight to work?


You would have to check around for reviews of 14500s where the height is measured. I haven't tried many different brands, so I can't really advise.

But this is an issue with a lot of lights that take 14500. I had the same issue on my recent Olight S15R - even the bundled Olight 14500 seems too long for the light, requiring a fair amount of force (i.e., more that I would like, but still worked). :shrug:


----------



## EnlightenedOne

Thanks for responding. I will post if I find a short one.


----------



## reppans

I use an AW 14500 IMR... AW is a quality name and seems consistent / strict with its length. You really should be running an IMR for the heavy Amp draw of the Neutron.


----------



## DevBear

selfbuilt said:


> This very common with Energizer lithium batteries (L91) on 2xAA class lights. I've not seen it happen with alkalines though. Not sure what exactly the circuit is picking up as the issue with the L91s (note their voltage characteristics are different), but draining off a few mins capacity at a lower level usually resolves the problem.



Thanks selfbuilt. I will get another fresh lithium to try again with draining off few mins to see if it works every time. BTW, did you know what is the current it drains from the batteries when it's on turbo mode?


----------



## selfbuilt

DevBear said:


> BTW, did you know what is the current it drains from the batteries when it's on turbo mode?


No, I don't do tail current draws as I find they are always not accurate with my general purpose Uni-T DMM. I know from doing concurrent output testing that tail current measures sometimes reduce the output level (suggesting internal resistance of the DMM and/or leads is adding measurable resistance during current testing). It's typically only a potential issue at higher levels of heavily-driven lights, but I don't report any measures if I am not fully confident as to their accuracy.


----------



## Mr Floppy

selfbuilt said:


> Nmy general purpose Uni-T DMM.



Wow, I am a little surprised by this but for the price, I rate those Uni-T DMM's, but yes, not the best for current testing.


----------



## DevBear

selfbuilt said:


> No, I don't do tail current draws as I find they are always not accurate with my general purpose Uni-T DMM. I know from doing concurrent output testing that tail current measures sometimes reduce the output level (suggesting internal resistance of the DMM and/or leads is adding measurable resistance during current testing). It's typically only a potential issue at higher levels of heavily-driven lights, but I don't report any measures if I am not fully confident as to their accuracy.




Ya, accuracy are most important. :thanks:


----------



## DevBear

Rick_R said:


> I would suggest that you use rechargeables, but primary’s will get expensive. Hope this helps



Well ya, I'll buy rechargeables soon!


----------



## Rick_R

Efest IMR 14500's work very well also. No fitment issues.


----------



## EnlightenedOne

I have some AW IMRs coming and the size is right with an appropriate charger. I did notice the light switch on in the pocket once and have not seen the batteries drain while off to any extent.


----------



## EnlightenedOne

IMR's working great and no problems with the light. A favorite of mine.


----------



## John7Boy

I have had my Neutron 2a v2 for some months now and it has superseded my Olight S15. Its massively brighter using Olight 14500 batteries on both flashlights. Like the double click on Thrunite to get turbo, worked a treat in movies the other day when someone had taken our legroom seats, two clicks-turbo *at the floor* and very polite "We have these two seats booked, Thanks" the red seats parted and we moved in no arguments at all........Great EDC whether for safe trip to Lu during dark spots in movies or clearing your seats. I'm convinced- it hasn't let me down yet! Big bite for such a small flashlight. Both will turn on in your pocket by mistake -especially S15, this used to bother me until forum advice to turn tail cap out half a turn or so light then will not turn on by mistake and cook your leg.


----------



## david57strat

I'm hoping not to have skipped over this; but does anyone know what the rated run times are, for the Neutron 2A V2, using the single 14500 battery? I know the outputs are different than that of the AA (alkaline, or NiMh), but what about the run times on all the modes?

Also - why does ThruNite make mention of the use of a 14500 battery in this light? It would be a great selling point for the high performance battery user, without having to use the battery extender.

If I have missed this in earlier writings, my apologies for not seeing it sooner.

Thanks, in advance, for any replies!


----------



## selfbuilt

david57strat said:


> I'm hoping not to have skipped over this; but does anyone know what the rated run times are, for the Neutron 2A V2, using the single 14500 battery? I know the outputs are different than that of the AA (alkaline, or NiMh), but what about the run times on all the modes?


No, it is only the max output that is different between 1xAA and 1x14500 - as you will see in the measured lumen table in my review, there is no difference on the other output levels.

The ability to do work for a 14500 and AA is about the same, therefore runtime is about about the same as well. Work = power * time, and power = current * voltage. So, a 750mAh 3.7V nominal cell gives you ~2775 work units, compared to ~2400 for a 2000mAh (standard eneloop) at 1.2V. 

The only difference in runtime is in the Hi mode (given the different outputs), and those runtimes are in the review. :wave:


----------



## david57strat

selfbuilt said:


> No, it is only the max output that is different between 1xAA and 1x14500 - as you will see in the measured lumen table in my review, there is no difference on the other output levels.
> 
> The ability to do work for a 14500 and AA is about the same, therefore runtime is about about the same as well. Work = power * time, and power = current * voltage. So, a 750mAh 3.7V nominal cell gives you ~2775 work units, compared to ~2400 for a 2000mAh (standard eneloop) at 1.2V.
> 
> The only difference in runtime is in the Hi mode (given the different outputs), and those runtimes are in the review. :wave:



Excellent information to have. Thanks, selfbuilt!

I've very much enjoyed reading and viewing your light reviews. Superb work. Thank you, most kindly for sharing this with all of us. It's very much appreciated


----------



## CreepyThinMan

Rick_R said:


> Thrunite has change the button/switch on these two models. At least the ones on their website. The Amason store still shows the V2's version in this review. Same model no.'s "V2"



Does anybody have experience with the new button vs the "old" button? Any significant difference?


----------



## MingJae

Hello, do someone here had any mode defective in Neutron 2A v2?
I had a cw and nw version from Thrunite, they sometimes flick on high mode, or sometimes cannot perform high mode (only lo-mid-firefly)
me try using both 1xAA and 2xAA NiMh format and they act the same problem, but sometimes they are not. :thinking:
(I am using a freshly charged eneloop or at least has good enough battery remain)

I try to replace them with fresh Alkaline batteries (1xAA & 2xAA), but the problem also happened.
so I tried a 1x14500, it works, good low-mid-high-firefly, but on high or turbo modes, it suddenly turned off after a sec.
and what makes me frustating: after using a 14500, I replace it to a freshly charged 1xAA eneloop, but it won't turns on, but after 3-5sec it can turns on with all modes accesible, but again, sometimes it flicks on high mode.

me contact Thrunite and making videos about the problem, they replace them, but the problem also happened, the same problem.:sick2:
maybe I can say the first products is 25% mode defective.
the products after replacement is 10% mode defective.

What actually the problem is? Do my batteries defective?
me also have a Fenix e25 and Xtar WK41 no problem at all using the same Eneloop and the fresh Alkaline batteries.

Can someone help me?


----------



## michael3

MingJae said:


> Hello, do someone here had any mode defective in Neutron 2A v2?
> I had a cw and nw version from Thrunite, they sometimes flick on high mode, or sometimes cannot perform high mode (only lo-mid-firefly)
> me try using both 1xAA and 2xAA NiMh format and they act the same problem, but sometimes they are not. :thinking:
> (I am using a freshly charged eneloop or at least has good enough battery remain)
> 
> I try to replace them with fresh Alkaline batteries (1xAA & 2xAA), but the problem also happened.
> so I tried a 1x14500, it works, good low-mid-high-firefly, but on high or turbo modes, it suddenly turned off after a sec.
> and what makes me frustating: after using a 14500, I replace it to a freshly charged 1xAA eneloop, but it won't turns on, but after 3-5sec it can turns on with all modes accesible, but again, sometimes it flicks on high mode.
> 
> me contact Thrunite and making videos about the problem, they replace them, but the problem also happened, the same problem.:sick2:
> maybe I can say the first products is 25% mode defective.
> the products after replacement is 10% mode defective.
> 
> What actually the problem is? Do my batteries defective?
> me also have a Fenix e25 and Xtar WK41 no problem at all using the same Eneloop and the fresh Alkaline batteries.
> 
> Can someone help me?



I had the same problem with the 2cv2. also 2 times. it was a driver issue. I cleaned everything and used multiple good batteries tested in other flashlights and determined that it had to be the driver.I contacted thrunite and they were very helpful. they asked me to ship it back and as soon as I gave them the tracking number they shipped me a new one. works great. I have been using this one now for a few months with absolutely no problems. I have had very good experiences with thrunite. even though there seem to be a few bad apples (flashlights) here and there, they are quick to respond and rectify the situation. I am sure they will continue to stand behind their product and send you one that works. I hope that helps.


----------



## sale

CreepyThinMan said:


> Does anybody have experience with the new button vs the "old" button? Any significant difference?



After a long consideration 2A is coming in next week. How do know if it has a old/new button?


----------



## phantom23

Are there still issues with Neutron v2? Are they finally reliable?


----------



## Berneck1

I got a replacement light. It does seem to work better, but turbo still cuts out with 2 AA's. I don't know for sure, but what I think is happening is after a short time the voltage isn't enough the drive the 800 lumens. When I have it in single AA mode and use a 14500 I don't have the issue. It is damn impressive to get 800 lumens out of a 2xAA light, but it's only for a very short time. All the other modes are fine in 2xAA mode.


Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums


----------



## Berneck1

CreepyThinMan said:


> Does anybody have experience with the new button vs the "old" button? Any significant difference?



The new button is larger and much easier to locate by feel. It also feels like it takes a little more pressure to activate the light, which is good as the other button was getting accidentally activated all the time. The larger button still has this issue, but seems a little less.


Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums


----------



## sale

I got it with new design button from amazon.de.

2xAA works like a horse, I like. Between turbo (800 lumens?) and high (230 lumens) it does not feel so huge difference than I thought. I'm only used to have less than 200 lumens lights - so I know nothing. Maybe that is why I also have ever seen a slightly brighter/whiter doughnut center in the beam (did not get this to photo). Otherwise NW is pleasant to look, slightly greenish but does not bother. NiMhs have to be at least almost freshly charged, otherwise no turbo.

1xAA is not working. Yesterday no matter what batteries/NiMhs I tried: power on --> one bighter blink and then only dim flickering. Today: moonlight and low + med is working.

It'll be a hard decision to make. I know I won't use it as 1xAA. Love 2xAA now, but if it fails too, I'm in trouble.


----------



## selfbuilt

sale said:


> 1xAA is not working. Yesterday no matter what batteries/NiMhs I tried: power on --> one bighter blink and then only dim flickering. Today: moonlight and low + med is working.


Hmmm, I wonder if it is a contact issue? The newer high-capacity NiMH can be a bit taller and thicker than the old ones (e.g. Eneloop Pro), and may work better in 1xAA form. Have you tried one of these?


----------



## sale

selfbuilt said:


> The newer high-capacity NiMH can be a bit taller and thicker than the old ones (e.g. Eneloop Pro), and may work better in 1xAA form. Have you tried one of these?




I haven't noticed this lengt "issue" before: thanks - now I know. Black Fujitsus (should be same than Eneloop Pro BK-3HCCE) have the same behaviour just like with Energizer Lithiums (the shortest I have) in 1xAA.

Now 2xAA has also had "no-turbo" behaviour and slight flikering a couple ot times. Maybe this was caused by not so freshly charged batteries. 

I noticed there is no "www.thrunite.com" -text in the tail of the selfbuilts reviewed Neutron. Mine has the text, so maybe it is also related to newer button design?


----------



## selfbuilt

sale said:


> Now 2xAA has also had "no-turbo" behaviour and slight flikering a couple ot times. Maybe this was caused by not so freshly charged batteries.


Hmmm, may be a circuit issue then. If a thorough clean of all contact surfaces (including body tube ends) does resolve the problem, you may need to return it.


----------



## sale

I was sceptical, because contacts seemed very clean, but I made careful wiping with isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Now and with straight-out-of-the-charger-NiMhs also 1xAA works like it should. THANKS!


----------



## ChrisGarrett

phantom23 said:


> Are there still issues with Neutron v2? Are they finally reliable?



I was here in this thread at the beginning and almost bought one before the major issues started cropping up. Without having read the last 4 pages, I'm thinking that things are a little better, but people are still having more glitches than should be expected.

I'm thinking the ZL SC52w, or the newer SC5w, to be frank.

Chris


----------



## MingJae

michael3 said:


> I had the same problem with the 2cv2. also 2 times. it was a driver issue. I cleaned everything and used multiple good batteries tested in other flashlights and determined that it had to be the driver.I contacted thrunite and they were very helpful. they asked me to ship it back and as soon as I gave them the tracking number they shipped me a new one. works great. I have been using this one now for a few months with absolutely no problems. I have had very good experiences with thrunite. even though there seem to be a few bad apples (flashlights) here and there, they are quick to respond and rectify the situation. I am sure they will continue to stand behind their product and send you one that works. I hope that helps.



I don't know... but I really upset and will blacklist Thrunite services on my Flashlight list
they already gave me 4pcs of defective neutron driver dude..
and a defective new TN11s with defective replacement.. through all the container box were all good.
oh.. also a TN30 mini with "flakes" on the reflector..

There are so many negative feedback on their website and I thought It was no joke..
no good QC? sh*tty company.. :sick2:


----------



## sale

I had to finally return the first candidate. The replacement is working 100% like it should. Its tint is a clear greenish, has no doughnut center (photo: replacemant in the left). 





The biggest issue now is the button feel. The first cancidate (with a newer button style) worked like this: the button clicked first and then moved downwards and powered on precisely after the clik. The replacement button works just the opposite: button presses down, clicks more silent and imprecise and then somewhere in the bottom the flaslight powers on. The seller took a look of the whole new batch he has and said they all has just the same touch in the button. Fingers crossed: third time's a charm...


----------



## lichan

There may be some light at the end of the tunnel. The user rating on Amazon has ticked up 2 tenths of a point recently. At least that's a positive sign. If it continues its upward trend, I may take a chance on trying one.


----------



## Trevtrain

lichan said:


> There may be some light at the end of the tunnel. The user rating on Amazon has ticked up 2 tenths of a point recently. At least that's a positive sign. If it continues its upward trend, I may take a chance on trying one.



Due to your low number of posts I can't quite work out if this is sarcasm?

I would definitely not be putting much trust in user ratings on Amazon. Unfortunately, a lot of Amazon users will be the type to just turn it on, see a bright light and give it a thumbs up. I've seen people post high ratings on products they haven't even used yet, simply because they look good coming out of the box. You know the type - a glowing review followed by "and I can't wait to try it out tonight". 

Lots of good info in places like this though. Some very detailed reviews done by members here, with hard science and repeatable methodology to back them up.


----------



## markr6

Trevtrain said:


> I've seen people post high ratings on products they haven't even used yet, simply because they look good coming out of the box. You know the type - a glowing review followed by "and I can't wait to try it out tonight".



WHAT IS WRONG with those people!? They definitely need punched in the throat. I can't stand those or the one's giving 1 star to a 99% 5-star product because of a shipping problem. Idiots.


----------



## Trevtrain

markr6 said:


> WHAT IS WRONG with those people!? They definitely need punched in the throat. I can't stand those or the one's giving 1 star to a 99% 5-star product because of a shipping problem. Idiots.



Ha Ha! Some of the Youtube "reviews" I've found when searching for stuff are even worse!


----------



## tjujos

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



Chay said:


> I just recieved my Neutron 2C V2. The mode selection are a little different from what I'm used to though, since the mode goes from Low, Medium, High, then it goes backwards. Double pressing the button will put you in Turbo mode from off, long press from off will put you in Firefly Mode.
> 
> The extension tube is giving me problems. I don't think there's enough contact between it and the base/top of the light when trying to use 2 CR123As or an 18650. I'm trying to figure out this problem...





Chay said:


> I found out what the problem was, according to this review http://www.amazon.com/review/R2A0XE44PUTQ97/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00PAKMSHS#wasThisHelpful the O-ring is too thick so there wasn't enough contact with the tube and the head of the light, removing it solved the problem but now it's not waterproof anymore...





Chay said:


> Just tried it with the two spare O-rings, same results. Doesn't work.



I have a similar problem. Just bought 2 Neutron 2C V2, both of them won't turn on when I use 2 CR123 or 1 18650. They can be turned on though, if I use just 1 CR123. I haven't tried removing the O-ring. Does anyone with 2C V2 have this kind of problem?

I had sent a note to Thrunite and still waiting for their reply.

hi Selfbuilt, I don't find anything about this in your review, could it be that Chay and I are just unlucky customers with bad units?


----------



## selfbuilt

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*



tjujos said:


> I have a similar problem. Just bought 2 Neutron 2C V2, both of them won't turn on when I use 2 CR123 or 1 18650. They can be turned on though, if I use just 1 CR123. I haven't tried removing the O-ring. Does anyone with 2C V2 have this kind of problem?


I would definitely try removing the o-ring, to see if that is causing the problem. Beyond that, it would really be up to Thrunite to resolve for you (likely with a replacement).

Good luck with it. And :welcome:


----------



## djmuzi

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

When I change from 2 AA to 1 AA operation or the other way I get problems.
I have to push the button on the Neutron 2A V2 befor I put batteries inside. Then the Neutron works OK.

There is a problem in switching from Buck to Boost Mode.
pressing the button when no batteries inside will empty the capacitor and the 2A will work fine again


----------



## eh4

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

selfbuilt's reviews are an irresistible force that always draws me back to CPF. 
Nobody else does what selfbuilt does.
-Long may you run.


----------



## kaichu dento

*Re: Thrunite Neutron 2A (1xAA/14500 2xAA) and 2C (1xRCR/18650 2xCR123A/RCR) 2014 ...*

Neutron 2A seems to be a little difficult to find online. Anyone know where they have them in stock with the neutral emitter?


----------



## J-mosh

So I have the neutron 2a v2. I've never used it much since I've owned it. Bought it sometime in September of 2015. I've always noticed that when I turned it on it would blink and after using for under a minute it would poop off and if have to unscrew the housing and reinstall batteries to get it to work again. I kind of thought it was a battery issue. But the batteries were brand new eneloop pros and were always charged. So the light looks brand new bc I never reach for it. I'm guessing they have issues. I didn't read the whole thread but I'm guessing I'm not alone. Should I try to send back to thrunite?


----------



## selfbuilt

J-mosh said:


> . Should I try to send back to thrunite?


Beyond the obvious things (ensuring all contact surfaces are clean, everything is secure, etc), it sounds trying to return it for repair would be your next step.


----------



## J-mosh

selfbuilt said:


> Beyond the obvious things (ensuring all contact surfaces are clean, everything is secure, etc), it sounds trying to return it for repair would be your next step.



Well it's been that way since new out of box. I'm beginning to think that maybe it has a parasitic drain and every time I reach for it the batteries aren't up for the task.


----------



## Berneck1

J-mosh said:


> So I have the neutron 2a v2. I've never used it much since I've owned it. Bought it sometime in September of 2015. I've always noticed that when I turned it on it would blink and after using for under a minute it would poop off and if have to unscrew the housing and reinstall batteries to get it to work again. I kind of thought it was a battery issue. But the batteries were brand new eneloop pros and were always charged. So the light looks brand new bc I never reach for it. I'm guessing they have issues. I didn't read the whole thread but I'm guessing I'm not alone. Should I try to send back to thrunite?



I had the same issue. I returned it and got another one that had a different switch, and still the same issue. All my other Thrunites worked fine, but I always had problems with the Neutrons. 


Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums


----------



## J-mosh

Berneck1 said:


> I had the same issue. I returned it and got another one that had a different switch, and still the same issue. All my other Thrunites worked fine, but I always had problems with the Neutrons.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Candlepowerforums



Figures. I have the neutron a tn32 and a tn36utvn. The neutron is the only problem light I have.


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## wildcatter

I have a 2c v2 and find it a great light, 18350 single or with the E-tube and a single 18650. This is my favorite EDC for hunting season. I like it so well, I just found a new 2a v2 and will post my thoughts after I receive it. I looked long and hard to find one, but out of the 5 Thrunites I own, I am very happy with every one of them. We'll see how the A2 goes!


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