Here to stay is the simple dual button design with a power button for on and off, and a mode button to cycle through brightness settings. The mode button also doubles as a turbo switch. Whether the light is off or on, holding the mode button gets you instant turbo. With five brightness settings to cover all of your needs the T4K is a must have accessory for any keychain, emergency kit, or outdoor set. USB-C Fast Charging And, since the lens is part of this quarter-inch protrusion, I feel like it might get scratched after a few weeks of daily use. A slightly recessed lens might mitigate some of these scratches and add a bit of buffer for front impacts. The T1S uses a Luminus SST-40 LED behind a TIR lens and has pretty good throw for a tiny torch with a noticeable hotspot – around 184 metres or 8460 candela in turbo mode. I have the 6500K version which is measured at a slightly warmer 5855K without too much tint and a CRI of 65. Equipped with a high capacity built-in battery, the T4K offers a runtime of up to 67 hours in its lowest brightness setting. This ensures long-lasting illumination without the need for frequent recharging. The torch also includes a power indicator, allowing users to easily monitor the battery level.

Still output is impressive for a relatively compact torch. I measured 1991 lumens at turn on, 1943 lumens after 10 seconds and 1867 lumens after 30 seconds. There was a fairly sharp drop off around 2 minutes in, to 1000 lumens and then a gradual drop to around 650 lumens after 5 minutes, which continued to drop but more gradually for the remainder of my tests. This isn’t too bad, but the output is not regulated above around 125 lumens so is dependent on battery voltage. So again you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get except at the very low levels. Nitecore T4K uses a new generation USB-C format port for integrated charging. The internal lithium battery is 1000 mAh with a maximum autonomy of 67 hours. In the equipment we find a USB-C cable for connecting to an external power source (e.g. a USB adapter, a computer or other USB charging devices) to start the charging process. The charging time is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Nitecore T4K has intelligent charging circuit with multiple protections such as over-discharging, over-charging, short-circuit, It also automatically ends charging once it is complete. The box opens by lifting a flap that attaches magnetically to the rest of the box, revealing the items within: There is also a large, metal belt clip on the flashlight’s side. There is some serious tension in this thing, which I had to really haul on to be able to slide it onto my belt. This clip is meant to stay put. The clip is extra deep so you can attach it to hat brims or bag straps for hands-free use.Wurkkos is a lesser known brand, but the build quality is very good with a slender scalloped design. It’s made of a aerospace grade 6061 aluminium alloy, with type III hard anodised finish and has an IPX8 waterproof rating. Nearly all the torches in this roundup specify this type of aluminium alloy and anodised finish so I’ll just shorten it to aluminium from now on. I measured 1778 lumens at turn on, 1765 after 10 seconds and 1727 lumens after 30 seconds. Almost exactly the spec’d 1750 lumens. It held over 1000 lumens for a couple of minutes before dropping to around 466 lumens after 4 minutes which is maintained for the remainder of my tests. And again pretty much as spec’d.

A tiny OLED display on the unit’s face shows lumen values, mode setting, and time until the battery needs a top-up. This useful little screen takes the guesswork out of which mode you’re using. Additionally, having at-a-glance info on charge is helpful to avoid unexpected dead batteries. Probably the most impressive feature of this torch for its size is its beam profile. It has 250 metres of throw or 15530 candela of intensity. But even with the tight hotspot from that deep smooth reflector, there’s still enough spill for it to be useful as an EDC torch. The OLED display provides information about the current status of the T4K when the light is turned on. It successively shows the battery level/voltage, lumen output, the user mode and the run-time remaining. After the screen goes out it can be reactivated by pressing the mode button. There is also a display demonstration function, but it is for demonstration purposes only and not a reflection of the light status. When the battery voltage is less than 3.4V, the charge indicator located below the two buttons will start to emit a blue light intermittently every 2 seconds to inform the user that the battery must be recharged as soon as possible. The display warns us of the “ LOW BATT” low battery. As expected, the light holds its output pretty solidly for close to the times advertised. On High I got 2:25h vs 2:45h advertised, but the room was hotter than usual (good old summer heat), but on Mid I got 7:27h vs the 7h advertised.While that may initially seem like a bad thing, trust me, it’s not. Without this feature, you could seriously burn yourself if this light was left on accidentally. The slow blinking BLUE indicators on the MODE & POWER switches depict charging in progress and solid BLUE (no blinking) indicators depicts charging has completed. This unit is ridiculously bright when in Turbo mode, and it’s not surprising that Nitecore included a warning in its documentation about shining this light into someone’s eyes. I feel like if there’d been a higher “normal” mode, like 500 lumens, or a lower but longer turbo mode, then there’d be more utility, but the jump from 200 to 4000 (or, if you look at it another way, 4000 down to 200) lumens is just too great. It’s an impressive spectacle, but it shoehorns the light into the “fun toy” category. Remaining battery power is indicated by pressing the mode switch while the T4K is turned off and the OLED screen will display the current stats. When the battery voltage is below 3.4 V the power indicator beneath the buttons will flash blue every 2 seconds to inform the user to charge the battery.

And some longer batteries with protection circuits won’t fit, for example this Keeppower one. But I did find this Lumintop 14500 with built-in USB-C charging fits – I would have preferred Wurkkos included a battery like this with the torch – it would be far more convenient for newcomers to these higher performance torches. The torch weighs just 51.9g (1.83 oz). Despite the exaggerated outputs this is a great little torch with bright high CRI LEDs, good build quality and all the flexibility of its Anduril 2 firmware. Fenix E18R V2.0 I’d really like to see a 1 hour 400-500 lumen high mode to make it a more versatile torch that I might grab for my morning walk. In some ways it is best suited as a keyring torch, if you’re ok with the bulk, and it’ll certainly impress your friends! Sofirn SC31 Pro Under the logo on the front of the light is a naked USB-C port used for charging. One thing to point out here is the fact that there isn't a cover over this port. That's a bit concerning due to the potential for water penetration.

Two user modes are available. Demo Mode for every day carry and short time illumination, and Daily Mode for long time activation. Advanced temperature regulation adjusts the brightness according to the working temperature to maintain optimal performance and to prevent overheating. The OLED display is a fantastic feature because you’ll never be left wondering how much time is left before the battery dies. For each brightness level, the display shows a real-time countdown of the minutes left on that level. Brightness modes and max runtimes With the flashlight both on and off, press the POWER and MODE buttons simultaneously to switch between the DEMO and DAILY modes. The LED will flash to indicate the currently selected mode: The torch has a fairly complex user interface which took me a while to understand, but it’s very comprehensive.