ThruNite LED Flashlight Archer 2A V3, 500 Lumens Mini AA Flashlight with Lanyard, IPX8 Water-Resistant Dual Switch Outdoor Flash Light for Hiking, Camping, Everyday Use, EDC – CW by ThruNite

I am often out at night hunting bugs. I am a macro photographer and night time is our prime hunting time. I have been through a ton of flashlights over the years. This one is top of the charts. The beam is very bright on the highest setting, I cannot use it for my purposes at that setting, I have it set in the middle of the options for light and it is still quite bright but perfect for my needs.

The charge seems to last forever on this unit and they shipped it with a battery that you can plug a USB-C cable directly into bypassing the need for a separate charging unit. This is a great idea. More should head in this direction, imo.

The overall build quality is outstanding. It is machine solid metal and all switches function smoothly and flawlessly. There is an adjustable clip included that allows for multiple configurations as well. The overall size and shape make for a very pleasing experience while out in the field using it.

This is a superb, compact, powerful little light that makes taking it anywhere you want to go very easy.

I have had this flashlight for almost 2 years. It is very sturdy, feels solid and provides a lot of light for such a small package. I recently had a problem where the light would not go on despite the batteries testing good. I replaced the batteries anyway and sent an email to the manufacturer asking for help. I was amazed to promptly get a response with suggestions for correcting the problem and asking for my address and purchase invoice. Following the advice the flashlight worked perfectly again. I wrote the mfg. to so advise him of that and they responded thanking me and told me that if the problem returned to let them know and they would send me a label to return the light or replacement. The customer service from this company is exceptional I would strongly recommend purchasing this light. It is without a doubt the nicest small flashlight I have ever owned.

Very good product. Perfect size, powerful light and easily rechargeable.

Yes or no: Yes, good value

Pros:
-durable anodized aluminum body
-good lighting and beam pattern
-battery life (both rechargeable and AA. I have not experienced the issues others discuss about poor battery life)
-size
-Simplicity
-can clip onto baseball or other hard brim hat (slight con: depending on the length of the brim it may not be able to be clipped on straight due to length, and instead on the side of the brim so the endcap lays next to your temple instead of poking your forehead)

Cons:
-slippery under certain conditions in the pocket (it can fall out) but not in the hand, holding it even wet or with gloves is fine
-metal clip moves (rotates in position) on flashlight and more likely to pop off after a certain amount of use
-Gets hot quickly on turbo mode (but gloved hands or cool temps negate this. If you have never used a bright small handheld flashlight before, this is common across basically any bright light regardless of manufacturer or model)
-Lanyard not the best quality but never broke completely on me. Easy enough to replace or make custom lanyard for the light, so don’t base your decision on the lanyard alone.

Review —-

Good EDC flashlight. Color and brightness are fine for reliable use up to 200ft in the main beam, which for me is infrequent. There’s a reason i have been using this model flashlight for over 5 years.

Beware, the clip is prone to loosening or falling off after several months of literally every day use several times in and out of the pocket. The lanyard holds up fine but the sheath only on the thinner part that actually attaches to the light could break quickly (50/50 for me), leaving the robust fishing line type cable to keep itself on the light. One star off for that. With all that being said, it clips onto everything well especially when new. Only when it loosens do you have to pay attention. It seems to scratch and wear out the coating/anodizing which is just enough to reduce its reliability for attachment.

The battery life is fine. On AA batteries this light has lasted me on medium or low settings: 70% usage and turbo 30% usage over a years time before replacement. I do not use high output settings for more than 5 minutes at a time usually, since i usually use medium or low settings for my purposes. I never get my light to where i cannot hold the torch end due to being too hot. On the proprietary rechargeable battery, i charged it once and have been using it as often as described and had yet to recharge but i just lost it, and that brings up a good point…

This is now my 3rd replacement flashlight, because what happens is the clip pops off-i think- due to the pressure on it when i crouch or sit in certain chairs of cars or aircraft, or just squat to grab something near the ground, etc because the length of the light in the pocket creates a lever to pop it off with certain clothes and whatever-is-in-my-pocket choices. On rare occasion the clip gets hung onto said vehicles lap belts but in my own car, and on things like amusement park rides or whatever, it hasn’t been an issue. The relatively lightweight and thin body mean that if it pops the clip off, it may very well fall into my pocket, but it can VERY easily slip out of the pocket when just “thrown in” or otherwise not using the clip. When i noticed the clip pops off, i can hear a faint “ping” of the clip popping off into space, and I’ve been lucky to find it most times, but if not (because i was moving or there was noise or another distraction and i didn’t notice), thrunite has sent replacements. (Thats been my only experience with customer service) Brand new this isnt an issue, but from rotating in place and wearing away the anodizing, and through normal use, the clip itself either slips Because the clip is looser or pops off the flashlight entirely. Unfortunately putting more of a bend into the clip doesn’t seem to be a permanent solution, as i have had to do it a few times but now i don’t have the flashlight at all (again) so i can’t say what exactly is the failure mode.

So in short, the clip is the downfall of this flashlight, but it’s served me well and for that i will overall recommend it. If not EDC its great to throw into a bag as a spare or get creative with mounting it to anything you can.

This is a great flashlight, haven’t reviewed for battery life or night vision as I just received it. Small, lightweight, very bright and I like that you can switch between different brightness levels as needed. One thing that should be improved is the instruction booklet in the packet. No instruction at all on what batteries it takes or how to put in the flashlight. I have similar ones, so just guessed by size and configuration that it was 2 AA batteries and how to put them in. Thought it was broken as it would not turn on when I pressed the button on the bottom. Turns out I had to also press a tiny silver button located on the end where the bulb is located. Instructions do describe that this button switches the brightness and switches to “firefky mode” and to switch to Strobe Mode. However, you must press it to turn on the light initially as well. This was not described at all in the booklet or on the box. Just some feedback for purchasers who are less patient and won’t experiment to figure out how to turn it on. Other than that I am happy with the flashlight. It is on the pricy side, so will review again if battery life or any other items are not to spec.