Reviewer's note : Lumintop TD16 was provided by Lumintop for review.
Lumintop has recently released TD16 which is the new 1x18650 (2xCR123A) member of Lumintop TD series of lights.
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The light comes in a basic packaging. Included in the case was the light with removable clip (attached), rubber grip (attached), holster, lanyard, two spare o-rings, tailcap rubber boot, user manual (The manual is available for download on Lumintop website.)
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Manufacturer Specifications from Lumintop website & manual :
• 99% high-transparency tempered glass with anti-reflective coating.
• Stainless steel crenelated Strike Bezel.
• Superb heat release system provides excellent heat transport capacity.
• Front side switch.
• Aerospace aluminum body. Mil-Spec hard-anodized. O-ring Sealed.
• High ductility steel clip provides multiple carry options.
• Combat Ring with anti-rolling design.
• Tactical tailcap switch, press for momentary-on, click for constant-on.
• Output / Runtime :
High (1000lumens / 1.5hr), Med. (220lumens / 6hr), Low (35lumens / 40hr)
• Length 5.97inches (153mm)
• Bezel diameter 1.50inches (38.5mm)
• Body diameter 1inch (26mm)
• Weight 5.46ounces (156g)
• Battery type 2xCR123 / 1x18650
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The hard (type III) anodizing is a matt black and consistent throughout with no blemishes of other faults to be found on its surface. Anodizing is good on my sample. There are identification labels on the body only. The labels are sharp, clear, and bright white against the black background. There is no knurling on the light. but grip feel is better than expect, due to a lot of features such as cooling fins, clip and grip ring.
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The light has 3 parts (i.e. head, body, and tailcap).
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The light has a deep stainless steel crenelated bezel allowing light to shine through when left placed head down. There are seven cooling fins on the head. There is a raised positive contact spring in the head, so flat-top 18650 batteries should work fine. The light has reverse polarity protection to protect from incorrect battery installation (i.e., the electronics of the TD16 has in-built reverse polarity protection). I think the light has neither low-battery warning function nor over-discharge protection function from my runtime test. I'd recommend you use the protected 18650 cell. The distinctive aspect of the light is the dual-switch control in the head and tailcap of the light. The mode-changing side switch is electronic switch, with a clear and audible click. It has the same textured switch boot as a tailcap switch. The working voltage of the light is 2.8~8.4V. You can use 2xRCR123A. However, the manufacturer does not suggest you use 2×RCR123A (3.7v 16340 rechargeable cells), as the nominal capacity of 16340 is only 600~650mAh, and the max. current of the light is 2~3A (which is above twice the capacity of ordinary 16340 cells) on High output level.
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The light uses a clear (transparency : 99%) and tempered AR coating lens. The purple hue is reflected on the lens. The aluminum reflector has a smooth pattern. Surface finish on the reflector was perfect from visual inspection, with very fine radial machining lines running down the reflector cup, and well-centered XM-L2 T6 LED sits at the bottom of the reflector cup.
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The body has two flat faces where manufacturer & model name are printed on and one flat face where the clip is touching. The rubber cigar grip ring is removable and is on the end of the body. It acts as an anti-roll feature so the light doesn't accidentally roll off and it helps when holding the light in a cigar-style grip. The battery tube has notch on the end where the removable clip can be attached. The clip & cigar ring help enhance grip as well. Overall grip is reasonably good. The wall thickness of the body is 2.4mm (at thin side) and 3.1mm (at thick side). The light feel very solid. The inner diameter of the body is not so wide (18.7mm), the wider protected 18650 cells may be a bit snug. I didn't experience any issues with shorter unprotected 18650 or longer protected 18650 cells. All types (i.e., true flat-tops, wide and small button-tops) of 18650s work fine. As noted above, I'd recommend you use the protected 18650 cell.
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The removable grip ring is securely on the body end and it holds the clip. It can be removed without removing the o-ring on the body. The stainless steel clip is very substantial than typical in this class.
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The screw threads on both ends are square-cut of good quality, with those on the rear end being anodized which allows the light to be locked-out when the tailcap is slightly loosened. Threads on either ends on the body mate well with the head and tailcap with no issues of cross-threading or grinding.
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The tailcap switch is a forward clicky. The negative terminal at the tailcap has a nice elastic spring covered with a small metal flat disc to increase surface contact area and have no risk of scratching battery. The tailcap has several longitudinal grooves, and has removable scalloped stainless steel bezel ring at the end. The black rubber push button cap is recessed within the tail end, so the light is able to tailstand. The switch has average tension with short travel and tactile clicking feedback.
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There is a small hole for lanyard attachment. Technically, the light can tailstand, but it's rather unstable due to the small area of the switch cap relative to the body size.
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User Interface
Turn on-off by the tailcap forward clicky switch (press-on for momentary, click for locked on).
There are two modes (i.e., general mode & flashing mode).
On-off is controlled by the tailcap switch and output mode switching is controlled by the side switch on the head.
1) General mode
Output changing is controlled by the electronic side switch. Click and release to advance through outputs, which proceed in sequence from Low -> Med. -> High, in repeating sequence. The light has mode memory, and remembers the last output level used when you turn the light off and back on, (even after a batteries change).
Note that you cannot set the output level while the light is off. The electronic side switch only works when the light is powered on by the tail switch first. As such, there is no standby current on the TD16.
2) Flashing mode
The “hidden” Flash, Slow Flash, Strobe are accessed by clicking and holding the side switch for more than 1 sec at any general mode. The light will move between Flash, Slow Flash and Strobe when you click and release the side button. To return to the general mode, hold the side switch for more than 0.5 sec again. Note that flashing mode has mode memory, and remembers the last mode used when you turn the light off and back on, (even after a batteries change).
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TD16 comes with a nylon holster with a velcro strap on the head. The light fits in the holster head-up only. The holster has a loop allows to carry it in horizontal position.
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From left to right, VicLite 18650(2600mAh) protected, Nitecoer SRT7, Rofis TR31, Lumintop TD16, Olight M22, Armytek Viking v2.5.
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The head size & light weight excluding battery of five lights are as follows :
SRT7 - 40.0mm / 174g, TR31 - 39.7mm / 165g, TD16 - 38.5mm, 159g, M22 - 41mm / 148g, Viking v2.5 - 39.4mm / 160g
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It is good size to hold and can be used as a tactical light. Overall grip is fine. Overall build quality is very high.
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Measured Dimensions & Weight
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PWM
The lights show no sign of PWM at any output level. The light is constant current controlled. I notice there is no buzzing sound at any levels.
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Runtime
The runtime to fall to 10% of its initial output from 30 seconds after the point the light is first turned on (i.e., based on ANSI FL-1) for High output is as follows :
1) 1xVicLite protected 18650 (2600mAh) : 108 min.
2) 2xPanasonic CR123A : 69 min.
TD16 steps down on High output after 4.5 mins runtime, and this seems to be a timed drop-down, not a thermal sensor feature. Regulation is maintained nicely through High.
I couldn't see the light is flickering or turned off near the end of run. I guess the light doesn't have low-battery warning function or over-discharge protection function. I'd recommend you use the protected 18650 cell.
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Beamshot
1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door)
- ISO100, F/11.0, 1/200sec, Auto white balance
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- ISO100, F/11.0, 1/320sec, Auto white balance
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- ISO100, F/11.0, 1/500sec, Auto white balance
The light has a middle sized bright hot spot. The hotspot is very well focused, perfectly circular with a defined edge. A soft corona surrounds the hotspot. The spill beam region is relatively dim compared to the hot spot, and its profile is not perfectly round due to the deep crenelated bezel ring. The beam shows cool tint.
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2. Indoor beamshot (about 7m from the target)
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1/4sec, Auto white balance
- M22 (XM-L2)
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- TD16 (XM-L2)
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- TR31 (XM-L)
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- Viking v2.5 (XM-L2)
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3. 55m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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- M22 (XM-L2)
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- TD16 (XM-L2)
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- TR31 (XM-L)
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- Viking v2.5 (XM-L2)
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4. 60~65m Outdoor Beamshot
- ISO100, F/2.8, 1sec, Auto white balance
- Control Shot
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- M22 (XM-L2)
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- TD16 (XM-L2)
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- TR31 (XM-L)
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- Viking v2.5 (XM-L2)
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Thanks for watching!