Convoy T2

Convoy T2 flashlight review:

Introduction:

You probably have heard of Convoy before. It’s a cheap brand, but not low quality! The Convoy T2 is no exception in that regard. For just over $10 you get a lot of back for the buck.  The T2 is Convoy’s first AA flashlight. We have been waiting for their first AA, and here it is.

What you’ll get:

  • White box
  • Lanyard
  • Clip

As we are used to, the packaging for Convoy is always minimal. You’ll get a simple white cardboard package, and it is very very thin. I received mine in a much bigger box, filled with plastic stuff. But its hard to complain at this price point. Convoy has been making nice budget lights for quite some time now, so I’m quite excited to see how this T2 performs, and if it can enter the list of brightest flashlights running off AA batteries. Mine is the 4000-4500K (neutral white) that is about $13 at Gearbest.
There is also a colder white: 5000-5700K for about $13
And a 6500-7000K Cold white version going for $12 at the time of writing.

Brand/modelConvoy T2
LEDCree?
Battery config.1*AA
MaterialAluminum
Modes3
BlinkiesStrobe
ReflectorOrange Peel
WaterproofIPX8

Handling of the light

How many AA flashlights do you own? I have had a few dozen, and the Convoy T2 is not one of the smallest. It’s a little bulky for an AA flashlight. The grip is good, and the included pocket clip helps with grip as well.

It’s been in my pocket yesterday and most of today, so I can get a good feeling for it.

Pocket clip

The pocket clip itself is reversible, so you can either use it with the clip upwards or downwards. This can definitely be a Pro for some. I personally don’t care so much with AA flashlights. But it is definitely handy, so you can attach it to a baseball cap for instance.

Tailstanding?

  • Yes, easily.

Build Quality, Knurling and Anodizing 

Anodization is the coating of a flashlight. The quality of anodization with all Convoy flashlights is very good. I would say, it is even better than one of the bigger flashlight brands, Klarus.

The build quality is top-notch in this price range! All parts are easily taken apart, and no glue is used anywhere. The knurling on the body is done really well for this price. Nothing to complain.

Threads 

The tailcap can be unscrewed and has some gorgeous threads.. LOL. Nicely done and no problems to be found. The parts screw in very nicely without any squeaky sound. They came lubed, as you can see in the following pictures.

The threads near the head are bare, so they can make good contact, and the threads on the tail side are anodized, so a quick twist of the tailcap does a permanent lockout. Is that necessary? Not really with this kind of flashlight. It is more useful for flashlights with an electronic side switch. Because they tend to discharge the battery.

LED, Lens Bezel and Reflector

The reflector is made of aluminum and has an orange peel effect. This means that the reflector is not smooth, but has a “rougher” finish. This results in a smoother beam with a less harsh hotspot and lines around the hotspot.

There isn’t really a pill, it’s just part of the head.

THE LED

Take a look at the pictures to see the LED, the reflector etc.

Dimensions and weight:

  • Length:   93 mm
  • Diameter head: 21 mm
  • Diameter reflector 15.5 mm
  • Diameter body: 21 mm
  • Weight empty: 51 grams

Below you can see a comparison with the BLF A6 and the Enogear AA stainless steel. And on the outsides, you can see an Eneloop AA battery and on the right a Panasonic NCR18650B 3400 battery.

convoy-t2-20

User Interface:

Switch:

It’s a reverse clicky switch. This means that you have to press the switch and release to turn it on. A forward clicky means that when you depress the switch partially the light will turn on. I don’t think it is very useful to have a forward clicky on this style of the flashlight. A forward clicky is only useful if you can do morse coding. Or at least not changing modes!!

Modes: 

Low-Medium-High Just like it should be. From Low to High. But there is 1 thing I don’t like about it, and that is the strobe. Strobe can be accessed a little too easily by a double click. This is in my opinion not very useful. I would prefer a double click to go to Turbo mode instead :–)
I scratched my head because I couldn’t figure out when the strobe was accessed. Sometimes it would go from medium to strobe, and sometimes from High to strobe.. But then I realized I accessed Strobe because of the double click.

The problem is that I sometimes want to go from Low to High but accidentally enter Strobe. Now I know that I should be a bit slower change modes, and then this is no problem anymore. So once you know the “drawback” you’re good to go.

Momentary On:

  • No, and it would be impossible to have with this type of driver.

Mode memory:

  • Yes. The last used mode setting is memorized, and even doing a physical unlock doesn’t change the thing, as it will memorize the setting.

Lock out:

  • Yes, it can but is not necessary with this type of light.

PWM:

  • Yes, on Low and Medium I could easily notice it by waving the flashlight in front of me. This is a little sad, but could be expected at this price range.

Performance:

The following numbers are measured with a 1st gen Eneloop cell. They are measured at the tailcap, not the emitter.

  • Low: 0.03A
  • Medium: 0.30A
  • High: 2.7A

Lumens:

My measurements are “calibrated” with a Convoy S2+ I received from BLF member Djozz with a solid 137 lumens.

These numbers are taken within 5 seconds after turning on!!!!

convoy t2 next to alkaline batteries
EneloopLow2.47 lumens
Med28.38 lumens
High219.47 lumens
A-Force AlkalineHigh221.10 lumens
Panasonic red+whiteHigh139.98 lumens
DuracellHigh221.37 lumens

When you look at the next runtime graphs, you have to understand that they are measured in % and not in lumens. So the Panasonic red+white starts only at 139 lumens, and then drops quickly, while the A Force starts at 220 lumens, and after a few minutes boosts to about 400 lumens, and then slowly decreases output.

Runtime:

Keep in mind that 100% just means the output when the light starts!!! Not lumens.

I’ve done several runtime tests. The first with a 1st generation Eneloop AA. The strange thing happens after about 27 minutes, it will burst into a 400 lumen flashlight and then drops slowly to below 1 lumen after 35 minutes..and then runs for a few more minutes before shutting off.

The next test is done with a cheap A-Force alkaline battery, and you can see the jump in output much earlier. Around 7 minutes the burst starts and slowly reduces output till about 37 minutes, when it has an output of about 1 lumen and runs for about 1 hour until it turns off.

Next I used a cheap Panasonic AA battery, red+white. The packaging says for Low drain device, but this battery can’t handle any kind of boost. Its performance is pretty bad.

And finally, I used a Duracell battery, that started with roughly the same output as the A-Force and Eneloop battery, but when the runtime test stopped the light was still running on a dim output of about 2 lumens. I let it run for the rest of the day, and by surprise the next day when I came into my office the light was still running with 2 lumen. Not sure how important that is for you as a user, but worth mentioning I thought. This didn’t happen with the Eneloop, nor the other Alkalines.  Know what the disadvantages are before you decide to use Alkaline batteries!

Throw:

Measured at 5 meters:

  • 113 lux on the old meter in High. That corresponds to 2825 cd or 2kcd. So, not very exciting, but we weren’t expecting anything.

Overall conclusion of the Jetbeam TH20

Pros:

  1. Simple UI with 3 main modes
  2. Good pocket clip
  3. Price is reasonable low
  4. Safe to use because of the battery type

Cons

  1. Strobe is too easily accessible with a double click (but once you know it, you can probably live with it)
  2. PWM in low and medium
Overall rating: 4 stars ☆☆☆☆

We should always keep the price in mind imho. This flashlight goes anywhere between $9 and $19, the drawbacks of the PWM and easily accessible Strobe mode need to be taken into consideration. Worth 5 stars? Probably not.. is it worth 3 stars? For sure. How about 4 stars, Yes.. that would be fair considering the price.  :–)

Disclosure: The flashlight was provided by Gearbest for review. I have reviewed the flashlight as unbiased as possible and have not tried to keep anything behind. Feel free to contact me/us if you have any questions.

Where to buy Convoy T2:

Gearbest is down, and won’t come back. Instead, I’d recommend looking at the following articles:

  1. AA flashlights
  2. EDC flashlights
  3. Mini flashlights