Michael: Just how bright is the NEXTORCH TA40 flashlight? Blinding!
For those of you who do not know the NEXTORCH name please allow me to tell you a bit about them.
NEXTORCH makes and designs flashlights for China's Ministry of Public Security since 2006. They are the makers of the outstanding K2 flashlights and numerous other models used by military, police, security and sportsmen all over the world.
This review is of the model TA40
First let me start out with a few Spec's on the NEXTORCH TA40 Flashlight:
5 3/4" overall. Mil-Spec grade 1" aluminum body. CREE XM-L2 U2 LED with up to 1040 lumen output. Seven modes: Momentary On (1040 lumens); Turbo (1040 lumens); High (530 lumens); Medium (250 lumens); Low (80 lumens); Strobe (9Hz); SOS (530 lumens). It Uses two CR123A batteries or one ultra-high capacity 18650 li-ion battery that can be had as a rechargeable. Includes charging port for direct recharging. And a nice stock belt holster.
I am in no way a very good reviewer nor a writer and normally would never try to do such a detailed review. If you have any questions I will be happy to try and answer them but I would recommend that you contact the friendly folks at NEXTORCH for any of the really tough questions.
I attempted in my pictures to show just how bright the Nextorch TA 40 flashlight is, sadly my camera was not up to the task. This light will cause license plates to glow easily from two and a half blocks away in the rain. I attempted to show how bright the light was in one of the following pictures in my neighbor's back yard but unfortunately my camera just was not up to the task and would only focus on the brightest part of the flashlight beam, in truth the flashlight lit up the whole backyard reaching every nook and cranny in the backyard filling it with bright white light.
One observation. When using indoors the medium or low setting seems to work best. When set on high it would most definitely blind someone but at that setting your vision is also effected.
Also I attempted to look into the flashlight beam itself from one end of the backyard to the next and it was blinding, and from a block away it was not much better. The strobe function of the light is completely disorientating when attempting to look into it. Caution do not attempt.
On the lower settings the light does at times produce a slight whining noise, this test was done using the CR 123A batteries unfortunately at the moment I do not have the rechargeable 18650 lithium battery but I do have one on order and will post an update if using this battery reduces or eliminates whine.
I contacted NEXTORCH about the whine and they quickly responded with the following.
The DUO SWITCH of TA40 uses pulse width modulation (PWM). And for this PWM pattern, when it runs in the low frequency, there will be existing situation of stroboscopic in the light output. In order to eliminate the stroboscopic, we set the dimming frequency in a certain range, which probably come with slight sound but will not influence the lighting use. We are continuing to find better way to improve it.
Quality: The quality of the TA 40 is outstanding. From the design of the butt-cap, form which the light switch is easily manipulated (although at times the position of the button can be hard to reach and it would greatly increase ease of use if the button was just a bit bigger) , to the lens everything is on par with flashlights of higher cost. While maintaining an overall lightweight this light is rugged and very usable and user-friendly. Getting the light to change between functions does require a little bit of practice. But once learned you can change from one function to the next easily.
For firearms testing, I chose too use a Weatherby TR 459 home defense shotgun, and a Core Rifle System's AR 15 equipped with a Slide Fire Stock. The reason for my choices of these firearms were twofold. The Weatherby being a 12 gauge pump action shotgun to test the TA40 with the hard recoil weapon with the light itself mounted on the pump, this being a platform that one would normally find equipped with a light and the AR 15 equipped with a Slide Fire stock which would allow me to test the light with both slow fire aimed shots and rapid-fire( as close to fully automatic as is legal in my area).
Range day: I arrived early at a local indoor firing range and to the folks there were kind enough to allow me to use one section darkened out for my testing.
For my first test of the TA40, I had it mounted on a Weatherby TR-459 12ga shotgun. Using mixed loads of OO buckshot, slugs and home defense rounds.
After the first 12 rounds the TA 40 began to flicker. Upon closer inspection I found that the end cap had become loose, easily fixed with just a tad of Loctite.
After firing a total of 60 rounds the TA 40 performed beautifully with the exception of the end cap becoming loose which was easily fixed with the Loctite . It had no problems handling the recoil and being slammed back and forth as it was mounted to the pump, whatsoever.
During this test I used the Next Torch TS4 – L tactical remote momentarily on switch, which performed flawlessly.
My next test was done using the AR-15 in 223 caliber equipped with a Slide Fire stock.
For the first part of my test I used the TA40 equipped with the tactical remote momentarily on switch.
I fired a total of 60 rounds in single shot mode. The TA40 performed flawlessly handling the recoil with no flickering whatsoever, and illuminating the target beautifully and effecting the holographic sight not in the least.
The second part of the test using the 223 caliber was used with the flashlight just turned on and in rapid-fire using the Slide Fire stock and firing another 60 rounds.Once again the light performed flawlessly.
All in all I have to say the TA40 and its accessories are a very well thought out and put together package living up to the NexTorch name and preforming as good as and better them higher priced lights I have used.
I will keep using it on these two platforms and if there is any change in performance I will let everyone know.
The tactical remote momentarily on switch TS 4 – L, is a very well thought out tactical flashlight accessory. Proof of this is when attaching to the flashlight you not only insert the mail connector into the female on the flashlight you also twist it to lock it into place. The only negative thing I can say about the TS4 – L is that they neglected to include bits of Velcro for attaching it to your firearm stock.. It works well in all conditions and is easily manipulated on both a pump action shotgun and AR platform rifle.
The Nextorch RM 25 tactical mount is very easy to use and quickly mounts on any firearms with a rail system. I did find that when trying to mount the TA40 it did require completely separating the two pieces of amount to accommodate the flashlight, but once that was done the flashlight is securely held.
The NexTorch RM81 tactical mount, seems to be a hit or miss. I have one mounted on another rifle with no problem. I had/have a brand new one sitting on my shelf unopened that I went to use for this test. Only to find out when I opened it, that one of the screws was completely stripped making it useless.
NexTorch's Cordura Nylon Holster Model V1: Is perfect for the TA40, the light fits nicely into the holster and the holster seems very well made. Perfect for a Duty Belt or on your pack.
http://www.nextorch.com/en/ product_detail.php?id=90
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