Nitecore TM20K

Product Information

The torch offers a CNC machined, unibody design which is solid, durable and lightweight. It also provides excellent heat dissipation, combined with the cooling fins on the head of the light and integrated Advanced Temperature Regulation (ATR). When I look at the ever-growing Tiny Monster family I notice that almost all of them are super compact lights that produce a lot of light at a short distance. There is one outsider in the shape of the TM39: clearly no 'Tiny' Monster, but wow the reach. Last, but not least: the beamshots! The torch has a maximum output of 10,000 lumens and is powered by a built-in 4200mAh 21700 li-ion battery. As with the standard version, the TM10K LTP has a QC 2.0 charging circuit and a Type-C charging port on the tail of the light, enabling fast charging with a maximum of 18W. Please note, this is only available when using a QC adapter (sold separately). It works and projects light with all the LEDs. It would be great if nitecore offered a 20k or 30k flashlight torch with focused beam. In Tactical Mode we can choose the desired level by briefly pressing the Mode button while holding the Power button to scroll through the following brightness levels: ULTRALOW - LOW - MID - HIGH.

The Nitecore TM10K LTP features five brightness levels, ranging from 3 to 10,000 lumens, which are controlled by a combination of double side switches and a tail switch. Additionally, the High level can be customised to illuminate between 400 and 2,000 lumens, allowing for greater user control. When in setting mode, the OLED display will show the current brightness levels while the user can increase or decrease the preset by 100 lumens at a time. Let’s get this out the way first: turbo lasts 5 or 6 seconds before dropping to around 3000 lumens. After waiting a 5-10 seconds it will do another burst of turbo. If you try to reactivate it too soon then it will either only last 1 second or won’t go above 3000 lumens. This is kind of what I’d expect, as the TM20K follows the same rules of thermodynamics as everything else in the universe. Nitecore could have let turbo last a little longer but then the TM20K would get too hot to hold. It got up to about 45 to 50°C with normal turbo and high usage and I managed to get it up to 65°C at the head when manically trying to get it to go to turbo as much as possible. I kept going for about an hour of intermittent turbo use about 30 times and the peak output barely dropped, consistently hitting well above 15,000 lm. When the light is on or off, press and hold one of the tactical buttons to access TURBO or STROBE. Release to return to the previous state.

My first impressions

Onto those 20,000 lumens. You get a burst of 8s at this level. If you immediately reactivate Turbo, you can do this two further times (three times before a cooling off period) where the thermal protection prevents the TM20K from going above High mode even using the Turbo button. So from cold, 24 consecutive seconds of 20,000 lumen output. Measured and confirmed as shown in the output table and graphs, all from a palm sized light. This is seriously impressive. In my opinion, the brightness is managed well between the various levels although I would have liked a low level with less lumens. The beam it emits in addition to being remarkable in TURBO also has an opening angle of almost 180 °, really impressive. First of all, the big round metal power button. This turns the light on and off, using the last mode you used. Simple. The light is set up with 1 big reflector in the middle for throw, surrounded by 18 for flood. This flood and throw combo is similar to a few other lights, like the Acebeam X10, Olight Marauder 2 and upcoming lights from Intl-outdoor and Wurkkos.

Turbo mode can only be activated momentarily while the button is held, and will turn off when released, and it is advised to not continually access the turbo mode when the torch becomes hot to enable it to cool and protect the LEDs from overheating. Two 21700 lithium-ion batteries with a total capacity of 9600 mAh are built into the aluminium CNC machined unibody of the TM20K, which provides lightweight as well as excellent heat dissipition. Integrated ATR technology adjusts the TM20K's output based on working conditions and the surrounding environment to maintain optimum performance. The Nitecore TM20K flashlight has been selected as a Red Dot winner of 2022, offering an impressive maximum output of 20,000 lumens from the 19 x Cree XP-L2 LEDs. The torch is powered by built-in 9600mAh 21700 li-ion batteries, rechargeable via a USB-C port at the tail end and compatible with QC (adapter sold separately). In mode 1 press the circular power button to turn the torch on or off, and change the brightness level with the torch on by pressing the side mode button to cycle through ultralow, low, mid and high. To access the special modes press and hold the mode button with the light on to change between spotlight or floodlight and release on the desired mode. Press the mode button once to exit the special modes and return to the previously used brightness level. In mode 2 press and hold the power button for momentary illumination in the previously used brightness setting, and change the brightness level by pressing the mode button to cycle through ultralow, low, mid, high while still holding the power button.The ambidextrous lever button will access turbo or strobe, depending on which was last used, when either side of the button is held down. This can be accessed from on/off in mode 1, or from off in mode 2, and to change between strobe and turbo press the mode button while still holding down the lever button. The strobe or turbo will turn off when the lever button is released. The memory function will remember the previously used brightness level or special mode when it is next turned on. The TM20K is also designed with STROBE READY™ and TurboReady™ for instantly accessing to 20,000 lumens, which The high performance flashlight has a CNC machined unibody design with anti-slip finger recesses for a durable grip. Half the table is normal, then where it starts to list an ND filter, this is a ‘neutral density’ filter that simply cuts the light reaching the sensor by approximately 90%. Reference readings are taken to ensure the filter factor is correct, and a set of measurements were taken. With the short 8s burst of Turbo, several readings were taken and averaged. All of this is included in the table.