Has the Thrunite Catapult V3 LED torch now got the “golden crown” as the brightest light thrower on the market today? With Catapult quoting ANSI lumens and the Jetbeam LED RRT3 torch quoting lumens, which shines the furthest??
I have been assured by someone who has ALL varieties of torches available to test in his retail store, that the Catapult V3 by Thrunite shines a lot further than the Jetbeam RRT3 and most other LED torches. Well words are cheap! So we said to James at www.ledtorchshop.com.au “never mind the specifications or which lumens they declare, send us one and we will find out for sure”.
We will do an independent test of the Thrunite Catapult V3 against the Jetbeam RRT3 in a “shine the furthest” contest. Mind you, we are still going to comment on ease of operation as well as the build quality.
So if you want to know if it is bright enough to win, read on cos’ I reckon it’s too bright only when it burns out someone’s eye sockets at 300+ metres.
First of all, let’s make sure apples are apples, or more appropriately lumens are lumens, as there are people quoting in the Spec’s lumens, whilst others are quoting ANSI lumens.
What’s the diff’? Wikipedia states that ANSI lumens are now the industry measured Standard ie if both quote ANSI then the highest ANSI should win if the reflectors etc and focus diameter at distance etc are equal.
We did not have the RRT3’s ANSI lumens to compare, so we will do some physical “eyes on” light tests with photos.
Presentation of the Thrunite Catapult V3
The torch package arrived with it being well packed and put together with a spare switch, “o” rings and sealing cap. Also included was a good quality lanyard, although the lanyard would not go through the slots they had made in the torch without:
• using the VERY light and weak ring (supplied)
or
• drilling out the torch fixing hole 1/64“ (which is what we did as this method was far stronger)
All threads of barrel tubes and end caps are well cut with close tolerances to avoid wobbles as the pieces fit together. The use of “o” rings appear to render the torch relatively water resistant, to a standard of IPX-8i. The torch has a very deep reflector finished to a mirror type standard.
Available Accessories
The LED shop seems to have all the accessories that go with these torches and sent an optional barrel (torch body) that is slightly narrower and more suited to the fitment of a gun attachment along with a switch mechanism that enables the torch to be turned on and off with ease as you are lining up on the target.
The LED Torch shop also supplied two 18650 batteries and a Soshone 18650 Fast charger which we were very impressed with. The Soshone has some useful features and you can see that some thought has gone into it’s manufacture, eg it takes either one or two 18650 rechargeable batteries at the same time and has illuminated monitoring LED’s for each battery which (as per a code) tells you all you need to know about battery condition. Red – charging, green – charged, and some useful codes for other fault conditions etc. It can also be operated off a 12 volt DC battery.
Specifications
• Cree the newest XM-L LED with T6 bin
• Stainless steel bezel
• Tighten LED holder for Max. 700+ OFT lumens more than 900 LED lumens loosen for low, middle, high and strobe, with memory function!
• Mil-Spec Type III Hard Anodizing
• Constructed from 7075AL for superior durability. Length: 185mm; Head diameter: 58mm; Body diameter: 31mm; Weight: 390g. (Extension tube excluded) Tactical momentary-on forward click switch
• IPX-8 Water/Dust Resistance
• Tail cap design allows the light to tail stand
• Shatter resistant ultra clear lens with double-sided multilayer AR coating 54mm textured orange peel reflector
• Battery Options: 2 x 18650 / 2 x 17670 / 4 x CR123/ 2 x 18650/2 x CR123/2 x 16340
Press lightly for momentary on and fully press for switch on. Turn the bezel to select low or high output. Tighten for high and loosen for low. A low battery monitoring system is hard wired into the torch. This is also good for the Cr123A battery users who can run the batteries down knowing that the inbuilt system will protect battery damage.
Operation
We put the torch up against the current holder of the brightest torch for distance – the Jetbeam RRT3, and found that the Catapult V3 is clearly the brighter torch when superimposing the beam over the RRT3, as per the photo. We have not shown an outside night time shot as we doubt that the camera picture would show the difference at long distance as it is not obvious to the naked eye.
The Catapult V3 has a FAR smaller beam diameter and is excellently focussed to get the distance. We did find that the Catapult V3 was slightly better to view objects at a distance, although given the easily discernable difference close up, we were surprised that it is not as obvious at a greater distance for example, 300 metres plus. (Mind you, I do remember reading somewhere that something would have to be far brighter than you expect before the human brain can notice the difference).
We found that we could easily change the beam from Hi to Low and Strobe but did experience more difficulty in setting the torch to Medium, but that may come with practice. The RRT3, on the other hand, was extremely easy to set at any of its numerous incremental settings.
Conclusion
• For a shooter who wants a gun mounted light, there is no doubt that the Thrunite Catapult V3, with all the attachments available, is the far better choice.
• For someone who requires distance or throw most of the time, then the Thrunite Catapult V3 is still the preferred light.
• For the person who wants a bright light but requires numerous incremental settings of brightness with a more diffused beam, then buy the Jetbeam RRT3.
If you are worried about $ or value for money, then at approximately half the price of the Jetbeam RRT3, the purchase of the Catapult V3 at an RRP $155 AUD is the way to go.
In our opinion the best brightest torch for distance or throw that we have tested to date, is the Thrunite Catapult V3. We say it gets the “golden crown”!
