Bronte BT01,single AAA battery flashlight Review/ in progress

BronteLight is updating its product line with new interesting lights and provided me the smallest model the BT01 for test and review.

This is a small aluminum alloy flashlight,powered by one AAA battery(no Li-Ion compatible) designed to be if not the brightest,one of the brightest AAA flashlights in stock form,on the market.
According to the manufacturer's data,the BT01 could reach 150Lm output.

Below is a comparison with some of the AAA flashlights I own.
The BT01 is really small,even for an AAA light.
Excellent tailstand capabilities.
As you already may noticed,the BT01 is the only AAA flashlight in my comparison with a pocket clip.

Looking at the design,many people will find the form somewhat familiar.
Yes,there are at least one flashlight from other brand,which shares the same design.
Lacking enough info about the intersection point of the different brands,I will pass over the fact and will discuss the flashlight as something new to me
(I don't have any of the competitor lights,so I can't do anything different).

The BT01 can be disassembled on two main parts.Battery tube and head.
The Duracell Duralock battery,that I use fit well.However,lower quality batteries with not so good wrapping may stay too tight causing problems when comes the time to pull out the battery.
Machining is good,without visible flows. My sample is most likely a prototype,so some imperfections are acceptable,but yet,I did not find such. My only critique could go to the tail design.
The way of cutting the lanyard hole is causing some sharp edges,which may be very uncomfortable when operating the flashlight with one hand.
This should not be a problem in the end production variant,as the manufacturer is promising to take care of the tail edges.

Here is a close up of the head.

Black matte anodizing. Triangular cut threads,also anodized.
The pocket clip extends the options for carrying the flashlight,a lot. However I found the clip a little too loose for secure attaching to pockets on thin clothes.
Maybe it will stay better on a belt.

Below is a picture of the packaging.
Bronte BT01 comes in a luxury metal box. You can see the accessories and spare parts included.

A picture from the Instruction sheet.

User Interface
The BT01 has 4 modes total. Mid-High-Low constant light modes and Strobe mode.
Tighten the head to turn On the light. Loosen the head to turn Off the light.

You can change the mode by quickly turning the light Off,then On.
Doing this operation quickly,two times in a period of 0.25sec will activate Strobe mode.

Below is my Run/time test of the Bronte BT01.
The BT01 performs pretty well in my tests,delivering impressive lumen output for such a small flashlight.
About 129 lumens initial output on High mode. 122Lm 30sec later.
~49 lumens initial output on Mid mode. 46Lm 30sec later.
I am happy to report the presence of Low voltage warning and over-discharge protection.

Battery used for the test Duracell Duralock NiMH 1.2V
I did not test the BT01(yet) with an Alkaline battery to see how it will react on the higher voltage.

Cree XP-G2 LED. Well centered. Glass lens without coating. Orange peel reflector-greatly appreciated choice for people that prefer well mixed beam with smooth transition between hotspot and spill.

The light from the XP-G2 LED is cool white with no visible tints in normal use.
Yet,as with most cool white lights,if you compare it to a neutral white light,it may look a little bluish.
Comparing it to similar AAA flashlights,the beam does not differ much in color temperature,so it is not better,nor worse.

Thanks to the orange peel reflector,all zones of the beam are well blended.
The hotspot is well defined,yet there is still enough useful spill.

Except the sharp edges on the tail,which will be redesigned,my impressions of the BT01 are only good.Compact and practical form factor make the flashlight easy to carry and operate.
Big plus is the pocket clip-often overlooked by many manufacturers,but it gives much more options for carrying the flashlight safely and also helps for easier twisting the head. The clip can be attached in reverse position.So,you can attach the flashlight to a cap.
Build quality is good.Beam profile is good for everyday use. The driver features low voltage warning.
Low mode is really low.No PWM use/flickering detected in my tests.

Thanks for reading! Thanks to BronteLight for providing the Bronte BT01 for test!

Thorfire VG15 (1x18650)(Cree XM-L2) REVIEW

Hello
I am happy to review for you another interesting flashlight from Thorfire. The VG15.
All of the flashlights I tested so far from Thorfire impressed me at some point,with the quality they offer for not that much money.
Build quality is really good and does not differ from the higher class flashlights,at all.Very well machined aluminum,great anodizing.
Thorfire VG15 is a compact 18650 powered flashlight. Cree XM-L2 LED. Orange peel reflector.

Standard for Thorfire cardboard box.
The amount of accessories is impressive.
Nice holster-it is very thin and basic,but I prefer to have it,in case I need it.
Good lanyard is also included.
The amount of spare parts is impressive-spare glass lens(AR coated as the mounted one),three spare O-rings,spare switch boot,spare LED centering ring(or this is what I think it is),spare switch together with its mounting board with a spring.
There is also an user manual and warranty card.

The holster is just the right size.

Comparison with other popular flashlights.
(left to right) Olight S30, Thorfire VG15, Olight M18 Striker, Thorfire VG10, ThruNite TN12(2014)
Thorfire 18650 battery, 3000mAh (Samsung cell)

In size Thorfire VG15 is very compact and only flashlights with a side switch,like the Olight S30 are shorter.

Unlike the model VG10,here the switch is a reverse clicky switch(the light is activating after the click).
This type of switch is good for mode changing.Allows to select the mode while the light is On.
Momentary On is not possible,but this is not a big disadvantage in a single switch flashlight,because the switch is used for turning On/Off and mode selecting.
If you try to use the momentary activation on a flashlight with a forward clicky switch,you will most probably end up changing the mode.
So,in my opinion the reverse switch is a right choice in this flashlight.

A closer look at the well rounded edges of the tailcap and the switch cap.
There are four holes for lanyard attaching.
Tail-standing is possible.Access to the switch is not affected and pressing it is easy and comfortable.

All three main parts are machined impressively well and each of them has enough thickness.

Black matte finish.Does not look cheap.
Excellent knurling and anodizing.Just look at the square cut threads at both ends of the battery tube.
Good,sturdy removable pocket clip. I found it a little too stiff,but this may be because of my preferences and concerns.

The glass lens has some kind of anti-reflective coating,which is great to see in a flashlight with this price tag.
However the coating is nowhere near as good as the coating on the more expensive,well known brands.
I have not tested the efficiency of the different type AR coating,but I can clearly see the stronger reflection on this one.

Stainless steel front bezel. Well machined.Not sharp.
At the head is the only problem I found in the flashlight and I see that other people also report about it.
The glass lens is easily rattling,even the existence of an O-ring.
I did not try to fix the problem,yet. A thicker O-ring,or tightening any part may help,but I had no time yet to try it.

The Thorfire VG15 with its compact form is definitely intended for EDC use and I am very happy to see a textured reflector,instead of smooth,which means the beam will be smooth floody beam,without circles and artifacts. A great useful beam for EDC use. And this is what I am missing in many of the late Olight Baton flashlights.
Perfectly centered Cree XM-L2 LED.

User interface.
4 different brightness modes,plus Strobe mode.
Press the tail switch(all the way down) for ON/Off.
While On,briefly press the switch half way to change the mode.
Double press the switch half way(while On) to activate nice effective,slow Strobe.

This is a Lumen vs time graph on High mode.
To prevent overheating,the VG15 decreases its brightness automatically after 3,3 minutes on High mode.
Battery charged to about 4.25V(the Samsung cell is the 4.3V version).

There is a flashing low voltage warning,which starts when the output is about 100 lumens.
Because of the line thickness it is not well illustrated on the graph.

I am very pleased with the UI and mode spacing,but I can't say the same for the output/brightness controlling.
As all other Thorfire flashlights,the VG15 light is PWM controlled. I was hoping for a high frequency PWM as this in the VG10.
Unfortunately,the frequency is low. About 243Hz on Mid and Low mode and 390Hz on Eco mode. I would say,the flickering is easily noticeable.
There is also slight buzzing sound,but it's hard to hear and not annoying as the 1kHz pwm noise.
High mode is PWM free.

My lumen measurements show-
High mode=750 lumens @30sec (790 initial)
Mid mode=327 Lm
Low mode=106 Lm
Eco mode~1 Lm
Flashlight powered with the Thorfire 3000mAh battery.

Below is a beam comparison at 5 meters.

Thorfire VG15 all modes.
5 meters 1/6 sec

5 meters 1/50sec

Thanks for reading!
I hope the review was helpful for you.

Thanks to Thorfire for providing the VG15 for test and review!