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While TaoTronics is still relatively unknown by most flashaholics, their products however should be recognizable as they are nearly identical in style and features to an established mfg:

You are correct if Balder sprung to mind. However, since I've never reviewed any of their lights, I won't be making any comparisons. This is the first of two lights I'll be reviewing and is incidentally their most compact one as well. Let's see what it has to offer...


MFG SPECS
MSRP: $69.99USD

Material: Aircraft Aluminum alloy T6061
Dimension: 159mm (L) x 24mm (D)
Weight: 90g (exclude battery)
Color: Black
LED: Cree XM-L T6
Battery Type: 2 x AA , 1 x AA or 1 x 14500 battery
Reflector: Orange peel
Switch: Tactical switch in tail cap
Beam shot Intensity: 200m
Waterproof: IPX-8

Operating Modes:
When using double AA batteries
Low: 16 Lumens (45 hours)
Mid: 50 Lumens (8 hours)
High: 180 Lumens (2 hours)

When using 1x 14500 battery cell
Max: 325 lumens (1 hour).

(Please do not use more than 1x 14500 battery cell, as the high voltage will damage the Cree LED.)



PACKAGING / CONTENTS
The TF01 arrived in a vacuum-sealed plastic case:


Accessories included are:
Holster, O-Ring x 2, Tail cap x 1, Stainless Steel Strike Bezel x 1


VIDEO SUMMARY
Here is a complete video summary of the TF01:

Прямая ссылка на видео YouTube

SIZE / HANDLING
2 x AA

L to R: Eneloop XX | TaoTronics TF01 w/AA ext. | EagleTac P20A2 | Nitecore P25 | RediLast 3400

I don't have any other 2 x AA lights beyond the P20A2 that I'm repairing for a friend so I also threw in a 18650-sized light and battery for size comparisons.

1 x AA

L to R: Eneloop XX | Nitecore SENS AA | Rayovac AA | Fenix LD10 | Sunwayman V11R w/AP05 ext. | Sunwayman V10A | Sunwayman V10R Ti w/Ti AA Ext. | XTAR WK25B | Icon Link | TaoTronics TF01 | JetBeam RRT-0 w/AA Ext.


BEAMSHOTS
OUTDOOR COMPARO VID
[video=youtube;fwzjFq4T6No]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwzjFq4T6No[/video]
Please see this thread for commentary on this vid as well as beamshots.


RUNTIME & OUTPUT
The relevant battery stats are provided above each runtime graph along with:
- Voltage of the battery at the start and end of the test
- Current draw
- Actual runtime using ANSI FL1 (first in HR and then in M so for the AW 750mAh on High, read this as .5hrs or 27min)
- As of May 2012: Lumens measured on my PVC LMD @ 30 seconds
- Also captured the temperature: ambient, the head/fins at start and the max it reached (fan was used for all bats)


Max output measured @ 30 seconds was 454lms w/AW IMR 14500 (note: although I calibrate my PVC LMD before each runtime/lumens testing, the ambient temp will also cause deviations in readings).

The TF01 benefits from a nice bump in output running on a single LiIon cell (2 x LiIon's is not supported). It can also take advantage of IMR cells as evidenced by both the higher output and current draw. The runtime however was half of claims but as expected for the current draw and output measured.


MORE TO COME...


TF01 GALLERY


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TF01 provided by TaoTronics for review.