Trustfire TR-J1 review

[jmneill]

Thanks for taking the time (and research) to post the above Doc.(previous page) That post helps shed some light (pardon the pun) on what was beginning beleaguer me. I am in Pensacola until this coming thursday, but upon returning home I'll get some comparison shots done and post. My buddy owns an indoor gun range right ten minutes from my home and is a Surefire dealer, so I will be able to post up 200lm, 600lm, whatever. I have a 160lm Streamlight I might throw in the mix just for the heck of it. However, I have never thought much of it aside from being cheap (for a weapon light anyway) and of good quality.
I can't believe this thread hasn't drug any Surefire guys with more knowledge than myself out of the woodwork. In any case Doc, your post is enlightening.

 

[Ed Palma]

Looking forward to those shots in the firing range (pardon the pun )

During the course of my research, I came across the M6LT at 900 "surefire" lumens, that's why I was intrigued, knowing how they rate their lights. That thing must be one hell of a light!

 

[sucnip]

Hi guys,

Drivers are typically anywhere from 70 to 95% efficient. It depends what is under the hood really. My guess is that there is are four 7105 constant current drivers delivering ~1400ma to the LED. 7105's with a single LiIon cell are around 90% efficenit. The modes are provided by a small microprocessor which quickly turns the led on and off using pulse width modulation.

Of course this is all speculation - will let you know once mine arrives and I get a chance to tear it apart. ;-)

dp

 

[Ed Palma]

Speaking of drivers, after testing this, and my primary light, and video lights, I've decided to buy a whole load of 8x7135 drivers to maximize the XMLs capability. The TR-J1 however will remain stock with its 1.7A driver since its still just going to be my back-up.

 

[chrpai]

Did a dive tonight where I was able to comare a Dive Rite 10watt HID, the TrustFire TR-J1 and my new DRIS 1000 light.

First I'd say that in the water they all seemed basically comparable. What I did notice though was that about an hour into the dive, the DRIS 1000 with it's 3C ALK batteries was putting out a solid punch still and the TR-J1 seemed like it was on low or medium setting. Still putting out good light but noticably dimmer.

My plan is to use the TR-J1 as my backup / need less light torch so I think this will work out nicely. I spent $70 (DRIS) and $45 ( TrustFire) on these lights and that seems like a good value to me.

 

[Ed Palma]

Chrpai, what kind (brand, Ah rating) of battery did you use for your light? One hour on high seems within spec for the light. Do you have a multimeter that you can check the remaining charge on your battery? I'm assuming it'll be less than 3.2v since the Vf of an XML is 3.1v at 1.5A and 3.3v at 3A. Going below the Vf causes the light to start dimming as the current starts to decrease as well. Good indicator to start re-charging your 18650s as over-discharging them isn't recommended.

 

[chrpai]

My neighbor has a multimeter but I don't own one anymore. My 18650 pimp hand isn't strong but I was under the impresion that my battery had a chip on it to protect it from accidental over discharge ( and over charge ).

The label on the battery says that it's a UltraFire (R) LC18650 2400mAh 3.7V and has notes that volatage at full charge is 4.2V and cut-off discharge is 2.75V.

 

[eelnoraa]

Lots of night will look compatible at night, they are just simply bright enough at night, saturated human vision. A better test would be take them out on a day dive, use it to peek under rocks, creeks, signal buddies, see which one is still useful. This is usually a canister light starts to shine. The size of TR-J1 is definitely attractive, but I don't sacrafise day time usefullness for size.

Did a dive tonight where I was able to comare a Dive Rite 10watt HID, the TrustFire TR-J1 and my new DRIS 1000 light.

First I'd say that in the water they all seemed basically comparable. What I did notice though was that about an hour into the dive, the DRIS 1000 with it's 3C ALK batteries was putting out a solid punch still and the TR-J1 seemed like it was on low or medium setting. Still putting out good light but noticably dimmer.

My plan is to use the TR-J1 as my backup / need less light torch so I think this will work out nicely. I spent $70 (DRIS) and $45 ( TrustFire) on these lights and that seems like a good value to me.

 

[chrpai]

Sorry, "tonight" to me meant after work. It was a day dive.... as much as day dives get in Lake Travis. Green water with 3'-6' vis where everyone always brings a light on every dive. Those were the test conditions and valid for me since that'll be the majority of my diving.

 

[Jak Crow]

Well, now the Trustfire TR-J2 is out, which uses two 18650 batteries, which I assume means a little more power to drive the LED. Anyone bought it yet?