flashlight

TLDR: I like it. Write-up will discuss a few nuances. Order link.

Photo, left-right: Wurkkos TS10v2, Emisar D4v2, Wurkkos TS11. So you can see the TS11 is kind of a chonker, but it's ok. If you're not familiar, the TS10v2 is a 14500 light (roughly same energy capacity as the 18350 in the TS11) and the D4v2 is an 18650 light that is considered kind of chunky for that format.

Note: all three lights in the photo are TURNED OFF. Only the standby (locator) leds are on. More about this below.

I've never been into throwers and have never really had one before, unless you count the big incans of bygone years. I ordered the TS11 because there have been a few times recently when I wanted something with throw (trying to look down a hillside at night, or read house numbers from a car) and also, Wurkkos and Sofirn both seem to be giving up on making Anduril lights, so I figured now was the time to get one. They ship the TS11 from a US warehouse and there is an 18650 battery tube available from the China warehouse. I ordered both at the same time (plus another item or two) and IIRC i got free shipping for everything. The TS11 arrived today and the other stuff is not here yet. I think everything has encountered some delays due to the winter holidays but it's no big deal. The orange color is very nice and was one of the attractions.

As you can see, the standby leds for both the pushbutton switch and the front are ridiculously bright, like 5x brigher than the D4v2 switch light, which is already too bright. Come on guys, they are locator lights to help find your light in the dark, not illumination lights. They are distracting if you like to keep the light next to your bed. I think Anduril now has a way to adjust the standby brightness, so I'll see if I can make it dimmer, but if not I might just shut it off since this isn't really a bedside light anyway. A piece of GITD tape is enough of a locator. I do very much appreciate the standby led feature (genius idea that I first saw in Anduril, as alternative to a tritium marker) but this is way overdone.

The light has a reflector (large by EDC standards) and an optic on the front and makes a small, sharp edged circular hotspot without much spill. This is slightly not ideal compared to traditional throwers with deep parabolic reflectors, which had more spill. But it's ok, at least it's not a LEP. It's raining out right now so I haven't taken it outside yet.

I tried to charge it up through an Adafruit USB-C power display but found that the USB charging port was too deeply recessed for the display plug to connect firmly. I was able to interpose a USB-C right angle adapter and charge that way with the display. The light reported 3.8V battery charge out of the box, and it started charging at about 1 amp. It stopped after 45 minutes with about 1.2WH delivered. That's from the USB plug at 5 volts, so I guess a little under 1WH to the battery. The battery is a Wurkkos branded 18350 that says "1100mAH" so I guess it came with about 75% charge.

It's a nice sized handful that makes no attempt at miniaturization, yet it's still EDC-able if you want to do that for some reason. I still see it as sort of a niche light. I will use it but probably not that often. My main current EDC is a TS10 SG which has quite good throw for a tiny pocket light, and is a fraction of the TS11's size and weight despite having about the same battery energy.

The TS11 came with Wurkkos's usual nice packaging, shiny cardboard box with magnetic closure, etc. Included were the battery (inside the light), a USB A-to-C cable and one of those cheap wrist lanyards that you thread through the radiused lanyard hole, plus some spare O-rings. Between the packaging, the light's nice appearance, and the included accessories, it would be a good gift for someone who can use a thrower for outdoors. I definitely think the orange version looks nicer than the black. The 18650 battery tube is not really needed and will probably make the light seem awkward, but I ordered it anyway since I have several other 18650 lights and cross-compatibility is always nice.

I'm sad about Anduril losing popularity with manufacturers, apparently due to UI complexity leading to customer dissatisfaction. Hank is the main holdout but IMHO his designs are too lumen obsessed, leading to technical tradeoffs that I don't really like. I think Anduril 3 will need some redesign to make it easier to customize the UI. I had a brief chat with Toykeeper about this and she seemed open to it, but it's conceptual only so far. If it happens I hope it can bring Wurkkos and others back to the fold. There are some nice Wurkkos lights that I've avoided on principle just because they're not Anduril.

Anyway, that's my NLD for today and I'm happy. Any day with a new light is good.