Lumintop Thor II v2

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Lumintop Thor 2 gen 2 specifications

Brand/model	Lumintop Thor 2 v2
LEP	Shine through
Max. Lumens	350 lm
Max. Beam intensity	738,000 cd
Battery config.	1*18650/18350
Onboard charging	No
Modes	2
Blinkies	Strobe
Reflector	N/A
Waterproof	IPX8
Review date	January 2022

Okay, this time, we are reviewing the 2nd gen. Thor II / Thor 2. (I’m reviewing it mainly with the 18650 battery tube, but I also used the 18350 tube from the v1 for testing)

The Lumintop Thor 2 flashlight comes in two versions. The original version is powered by a single battery, which can be either an 18350 or an 18650 if used with an extension tube. The second version of the Thor 2 also has the same battery options, but instead of an extension tube, it uses a dedicated tube that accommodates a 18650 battery.

Having a dedicated 18650 battery tube makes the light look and feel much better. I didn’t particularly like how the extension tube looked on the original Thor 2.

Let’s go over a few similarities and some differences.

Both lights look similar, with the same diameter head and the same style tail switch. Both have the same golden-looking ring just below the cooling fins. But the 2nd generation has an o-ring behind the ring, so it doesn’t just fall off.. a smart move, Lumintop.

In terms of appearance, there are also a few differences. The 18650 battery tube looks much better, in my opinion, and the head on the V2 has a few cutouts to make it more appealing.

But without looking any further at the external differences, the most significant difference is inside.

The main difference between these 2 is the light source. While the original Thor 2 uses the traditional mirror-style LEP module, the 2nd gen has the backlit / shine-through module. After reviewing a few dozen LEPs, I can tell you from experience that these 2nd gen modules haven’t been as good performers. So, I’m eager to test that and see if this gen2 uses an updated shine-through LEP module that can compete with the mirror LEPs.

Package quality.

The flashlight I received is probably a prototype because it didn’t arrive with accessories or a manual. The packaging also didn’t quite look it was a 100% fit. So, take this list of contents with a grain of salt because the actual product will include accessories and an 18350 battery tube by default.

• The flashlight: Lumintop Thor II gen2

There’s no images for the box because it was just a generic box, not made for this light.

The Thor II v2 is a relatively short 18650 flashlight with a decent-sized head. I like how the newly designed 18650 battery tube sits in my hands. And because of the lightweight, it doesn’t feel like it is front-heavy or anything.

Lumintop upgraded the battery tube with a different machining pattern, and I must admit that this looks so much better, but it also helps with the grippiness. Unfortunately, the tail switch is built into the battery tube and can’t be removed. And Lumintop decided to keep the lighted switch just for fun. I usually want to turn those things off because they unnecessarily drain the battery. However, the lighted tailcap can be helpful in some cases, so I know it’s not just a gimmick. You can unscrew the battery tube slightly to break the electric connection and turn the lights in the tailcap off.

There’s no pocket clip, but it does have a lanyard attachment ring near the switch. So, I assume the actual accessories include a Lumintop lanyard.

I really can’t complain about the build quality. Lumintop’s build quality is generally good, and this particular light doesn’t disappoint either. At least so far, I’ve tested and played with it.

There are only two parts: the head and body (including the switch. And the threads that screw them together are anodized with enough lubrication and protected by a single o-ring. There’s no second o-ring slot in case you want to add another for increased waterproofness.

Anodization looks good, and I had only two small spots where anno was missing, but that is likely caused by someone testing this out before me. (This was probably Neal himself). It’s a fairly matte finish.

When looking at the driver’s spring, I noticed the missing retaining ring. So I checked the Thor 2 v1, which also lacks a retaining ring. That means the driver board is probably kept in place by glue. It’s not the best solution, but hey, if something works, why try fixing it?

Warranty? I’ll refer to their website: https://lumintop.com/product-warranty/

Generally speaking, there are 2 kinds of LEP modules. The classic modules include a mirror that reflects the blue laser onto a phosphor layer (to change the color from blue to white/yellow) before the photons are concentrated with a convex lens to shine like a ‘normal LED flashlight’.

The second type is the laser shining through a translucent layer of phosphor and then concentrated by a silicon dome and a convex lens to make the beam look like a ‘normal LED flashlight’. This type is considered inferior to the classic modules but is much more compact.

The previous Thor 2 uses the classic mirror module, but the 2nd gen has the shine-through module, which enables the flashlight to be shorter, but we’ll have to see if this ‘upgrade’ made it outperform the older one.

The bezel can be removed and gives access to the protective lens. This lens is much easier and cheaper to replace than the actual convex lens.

Lumintop also uses the same type of turbo glow tubes that are illuminated from the inside. When you turn the light on, these 6 tubes are ‘charged’ and start to glow. When you turn the light off, these will glow for a little longer, but not very long. These are alternatives to the more expensive and much harder to come by (these days) tritium vials.

If you want to know what the beam looks like, check out the beamshots near the end of this review.

• Length: 136 mm / 5.35 ”
• Length with v1 18350 switch: 106 mm 4.18″
• Head diameter: 41.6  mm / 1.64 ”
• Tailcap diameter: 28 mm / 1.1 ”

Weight with Samsung INR18650 30Q

• Empty: 123.3 grams / 4.35 oz
• With 30Q battery: 168.9 grams / 5.96 oz

Flashlight comparison

Size compared to other LEP flashlights

Image 1+2: Lumintop Thor 2 v1 vs v2. (Black is v2)

Image 3: Maceminto FW2 – Lumintop Thor 2 v2

Image 4+5: LEP families.

Lumintop changed the driver. Instead of the 3-mode driver of the v1, the driver has changed to a 2-mode with a strobe. Maybe some people reached out to them to ask for this, but I don’t consider this an ‘upgrade.’ But this could be a prototype driver? I don’t know.

Available modes:

• Low, High
• Strobe

From OFF:

• Half-press: nothing
• Single-click: to last used mode, mode memory (except strobe)

From ON:

• Half-press: switch between Low and High
• Single-click: turn off
• Double tap: strobe

Shortcuts:

• To High: none
• To Low: none
• To Strobe: none

Mode memory:

• Yes

Blinky modes menu:

• Strobe.. it’s a double tap.

Low battery warning:

• No, just lower output

Lock-out mode:

• No

PWM:

• Not visible by eye

Strobe is only a double click away, and it’s not uncommon to accidentally activate strobe when switching modes. But when you are calm, and know it has only 2 main modes, this doesn’t have to be a problem. You’ll get used to it rather quickly. It’s just when you try to switch modes 2 times in a row, it can activate strobe, depending on how fast you click.

It seems like the light will be shipped with the 18350 battery setup by default. I’m basing this review mainly on the 18650 battery tube because that’s how I received mine.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have any trouble accepting any longer 18650 batteries. I tried a very long, protected, button-top Nitecore cell, and it didn’t have any trouble fitting. The flashlight just worked as expected, unlike the Mateminco FW2 I am reviewing at together with this light.

I also used the tailcap of the Thor 2 v1 (which I believe to be identical to the v2, but that’s just my assumption). I didn’t have any trouble fitting unprotected flat cells, as the longer Weltool 18350 has a USB port.

So that’s great news, and you can use any battery you have lying around.

To keep the cost low, they probably stayed clear from adding onboard charging.

Lumen measurements:

All output numbers are relative to my homemade Integrating Sphere. It is set up with an Extech SDL400 Lux Meter for measurements, including a Kenko PRO1D ND-16 filter. The base measurement is done with a Convoy S2+ that has been tested at 255 lumens.

For Amp readings, I use a Fluke 77III DMM. For higher amps I now use a Fluke 325 True RMS clamp meter. For microamps, I use a cheap DMM with an easy-to-use micro amp setting.

All of my readings were taken from a fully-charged Samsung INR18650 30Q 3000mAh and Keeppower IMR18350 1200mAh.

Measurements were manually taken at the start and after 30 seconds. The 10-minute reading was taken from the runtime graph.

Battery	Mode	Amps at start	Specs	start	30 sec	10 min
Samsung 30Q	Low	0.54	40 lm	58	58	56
Samsung 30Q	High	2.89	350 lm	314 lm	297 lm	99 lm
Keeppower 18350	Low	0.54	40 lm	58	58	55
Keeppower 18350	High	2.86	350 lm	309 lm	297 lm	95 lm

Runtime:

The runtime test was done with the 50cm integrating sphere, including the Kenko Pro1D ND-16 filter and Extech SDL400 data logging Lux Meter.

High starts at around 314 lumens. After 5 minutes it’s down to 274 lumens when it drops to below 100 lumens. The total runtime is 3h08min.

The low mode starts at 58 lumens and is relatively stable for 2.5 hours. Then it decreases bit by bit until it is 29 lumens at 4h 38min before it abruptly shuts off.

In this runtime, I included the runtimes with a Keeppower 18350 battery (1200mAh).

Throw Measurement

Measurements were taken outdoors at 20 meters with a professional Hagner E4-X Lux Meter.

Mode	Specs	Candela	Meters	Yards	Miles
Low	–	168,000	820 m	897 yd	0.51
High	738,000 cd	752,000 cd	1734 m	1897 yd	1.08

My measurements were a bit higher than specs.

But let’s see how it performs against the v1.

Lumintop Thor 2 vs Lumintop Thor 2 gen2

Mode	Thor 2 v1	Thor 2 v2
Low	93,600	168,000
Med	373,500	(no med mode)
High	891,000 cd	752,000 cd

The v1 has 3 modes, and the lowest mode is lower, and the highest mode is higher.

Here is the graph comparison between v1 and v2

Considering that the v1 throws farther, and has a higher output, it’s clearly the better of the 2. But in person, that difference may not be as apparent as it is in this graph especially if you point it at something relatively close.

LEPs are really only useful at larger distances, 200+ yards.

Here’s a comparison with all the other smaller LEPs we reviewed.

For the following beamshots, I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and a 100mm lens. manual settings: ISO1600, .5sec , F4, 5000K

The first tower is 450 meters / 492 yards away.

I noticed that one of the second set of images shows that the beam isn’t in the same spot as the other. But at 450 meters, it’s more sensitive to point at something…

Disclaimer: This flashlight was sent to me for review at no cost by Nealsgadgets. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.