Terralux TT-5 and PRO3 Flashlight Reviews
Dec 11, 2014 5:22:33 GMT
Gingerbread Man, Browning35, and 3 more like this
Post by RTF Squared on Dec 11, 2014 5:22:33 GMT
I've been rocking these Terralux flashlightsfor a while and I think it's time for an overview/review. I initially purchased a PRO3 to replace a Streamlight ProTac 2AA I beat the shit out of until the lens broke. The TT-5 I purchased because I just wanted something hardcore, and it was recommended by a buddy I trust who is an assistant instructor at a local tactical training group as an alternative to the usual "get a Surefire" recommendation.
I'm by no means an authority on flashlights, but I'm definitely a Lumenaddict. I basically have Streamlight products and a slew of other, shittier products to compare them to, certainly nothing like a Surefire or Elzetta. Figured I'd give my take on what are probably my favorite EDC items right now.
About Terralux:
Terralux is based out of Longmont, CO, and seem to have originally specialized in LED lighting fixtures before making Led retrofits for common incadecent flashlights and then their own flashlight products. They are sold by LightStar Corp based out of Texas. All of their products are built in America, but are based around high output Cree LEDs. If you're a "Buy Murikan only" type of dodo, they aren't for you. Otherwise, read on.
Terralux TT-5
The TT-5 is Terralux's flagship model of their tactical series. It is a beast of a flashlight that produces a scorching, heat generating, retina burning 650 lumens. Hold your hand in front of it and feel the warmth emanating from it's LED. Look at that hand and go blind. One press of the on button instantly transforms you into Ra, the Egyptian Sun God. Shine it in your own eyes (for science) and go blind as fuck, and have your whole range of vision be one giant spot, with a really dark spot in the center, with varying colors of purple and yellow for about 20-30 minutes.
Basic Features and Specs:
The TT-5 is powered by 2x CR123A batteries, or a single 18650 rechargeable battery. It produces 650 lumens in high, 150 in medium and 10 in low. The modes are switched by an innovative dedicated stobe/mode button that is next to the main on button. Pressing the on button lightly activates momentary on function which always begins on high, pressing it until it clicks activates constant on. Pressing the mode button when off activates a seizure inducing, aircraft signaling strobe mode, pressing it with the main power in constant on cycles between modes. I really like this tailcap button layout, as I like to strobe motherfuckers, and hate multipress buttons to get to that function. It also came with a replacement rubber tailcap button cover thing, and some extra O-rings. Spare parts are always a bonus.
It is finished in a stealth grey anodizing which is quite a bit tougher than most anodizing I have experience with, including their own lower end products. It has a detachable stainless strike bezel which looks mean as fuck, and is assumedly great for smashing your way through a car window in an accident or beating through a perp's skull in a defensive situation. The bezel is removable should you not like the aggressive looks, find it too jagged to have in your pocket or don't like the idea of taking it past a security checkpoint. It also doubles to hold optional red, green or blue filters in place, which I have yet to acquire.
A large, ribbed heat sink in in place to keep the LED from cooking itself. It comes with a "tactical ring" that serves to keep the flashlight from rolling away if sat down, and to assist in different holding techniques. I removed mine because it had no issues with it rolling, and my holds worked fine without it, and promptly lost it after that. It is not pictured in my photos but can be seen in the links provided later in this review. The pocket clip is sturdy, assumedly constructed out of spring steel, and secures nicely to both the pocket and the light.
The provided lanyard has an adjustable slider to synch in down tightly on your wrist. It comes with a clip that is like one on the end of a dog leash, only smaller. This was bulky and broke my first week with the light, being my only real gripe with the light. I replaced it with a ziptie and that gripe is no more.
Battery Life and Diet:
The batteries you feed it do affect both lighting performance and life. I've used Surefire SF123A's which it likes the best as well as Streamlight and Duracell offerings. The Streamlights perform well, offering almost as good life and performance as the SF offerings. The Duracells fucking suck, offering pathetic life and performance compared to the others, despite costing almost as much for a pair as the others do for a six pack. Perhaps because they are geared for digital cameras as opposed to high powered flashlights. Either case, I would consider it picky with it's food, and feed it a steady diet of SF123A's
Battery life on high mode is rated at 2.2 hours, and that seems pretty legit on the SF batteries. The Streamlight's make that seem a little overhyped, and "yeah fucking right" on Duracells. I should probably put science to this so it's less based on "I got X amount of days on Y batteries" and more like it ran "X hours on Y batteries."
After 60 seconds of constant on mode on high, it ramps down output to protect from overheating and to conserve power. WHen batteries are sputtering out it tells you by flashing the LED, giving you a "hey moefaux, I'm hungry" message.
Practical Usage:
I've been carrying this light everyday for three months. The TT-5 is an odd blend of super badass and rarely useable. My day job as an car audio installer often has me shining the thing into dark dash cavities. Using the TT-5 on high mode washes out everything, making it pretty much impossible to see anything useful. If you're rollover prone looking up into an underdash with little or no ambient light, you just blinded the fuck out of yourself. If your looking under a hood and need to see a dark spot, it does great, making it daylight bright right where you need it. If you need to see that dark spot while outside in broad daylight, it still illuminates things well past the sunlight.
I've never needed to use it for defensive purposes. That said, all my lumenaddict buddies have all taken it to the face. It will blind the fuck out of you in broad daylight. The strobe function is great for signaling low flying aircraft, it will seriously light them up at night. It actually creates a beam like a small spotlight on dark nights, but no effect like this on a full moon. Black helicopters flying over your house again? Strobe them fuckers and let them know your watching back, and have a spotlight too. Getting attacked by ravers? Strobe the fuckers and watch them drop the attack and bust out glowsticks. Getting attacked by normal perps? Strobe the fuckers and watch them throw their hands over their face or have a seizure.
I carry it as my "fighting/emergency light" or my "the PRO3 just isn't quite bright enough" light. I've beaten it against the sheet metal covering of my Kydex lab's workbench, and it seemed pretty unaffected, while my bench has beautiful dents and scratches in it. Great success! Having used strobe to signal roadside assistance after a vehicle failure, I feel assured knowing I have one nasty ass signaling strobe. Of note, the strobe changes patterns every 9 seconds, which I'm lead to understand keeps it disorientating to people getting strobed. Some people say strobe modes are useless, which in a defensive capacity may well be true, but for emergency signaling it is key IMO, and my personal experience confirms that for me.
Final Thoughts:
I love this light, and love being the fucking sun god when I carry it. It's not great for general purpose use, sure you could put it on medium and use it that way, but considering there are smaller, lighter lights that can do that job on cheaper batteries, just use those for GP use. When it comes to heavy duty use as an emergency use tool, I've never come across anything better. Again, I'm no expert, and have never owned a Surefire or other super high end light, so take that with a grain of salt. Of note, I selected this light over a Surefire I was shopping for because of the combo of strobe and multi-output function, while none of the strike bezel equipped Surefire lights offered dual output or strobe. and This will likely find itself chilling in my left front pocket next to my wallet for years to come. Most of their products are covered by a limited lifetime warranty, the TT-5 included, so they are evidently standing behind their products proudly. Should I ever manage to frag one of their products, I'll let it be known how that goes. I'm good at breaking shit, so it may very well happen.
Shopping Info:
lightstarproducts.com/product/tt-5/
The TT-5's MSRP is 139.99, found at my local gun store for 124.99, online most places around $100, and homie-hookup from my buddy who's tactical group sells them for $100. My super-cheap penny-pinching ass found it for 74.99 with free shipping from AutoBodyNow, and Google-ninjustu found me an additional 10% off coupon code. This made it a smoking deal over the Surefire at a comparable MSRP I was looking at, while meeting my needs better.
www.autobodynow.com/products/terralux-tt-5-dual-button-tail-switch-professional-flashlight
Side view, note the heat sink and flat spots that prevent rolling.
Such Bezel, Very Strikey, WOW!
I seriously love the dual button tailcap design. Strobing done correctly!
Next up, the PRO3 review. Thanks for reading!
I'm by no means an authority on flashlights, but I'm definitely a Lumenaddict. I basically have Streamlight products and a slew of other, shittier products to compare them to, certainly nothing like a Surefire or Elzetta. Figured I'd give my take on what are probably my favorite EDC items right now.
About Terralux:
Terralux is based out of Longmont, CO, and seem to have originally specialized in LED lighting fixtures before making Led retrofits for common incadecent flashlights and then their own flashlight products. They are sold by LightStar Corp based out of Texas. All of their products are built in America, but are based around high output Cree LEDs. If you're a "Buy Murikan only" type of dodo, they aren't for you. Otherwise, read on.
Terralux TT-5
The TT-5 is Terralux's flagship model of their tactical series. It is a beast of a flashlight that produces a scorching, heat generating, retina burning 650 lumens. Hold your hand in front of it and feel the warmth emanating from it's LED. Look at that hand and go blind. One press of the on button instantly transforms you into Ra, the Egyptian Sun God. Shine it in your own eyes (for science) and go blind as fuck, and have your whole range of vision be one giant spot, with a really dark spot in the center, with varying colors of purple and yellow for about 20-30 minutes.
Basic Features and Specs:
The TT-5 is powered by 2x CR123A batteries, or a single 18650 rechargeable battery. It produces 650 lumens in high, 150 in medium and 10 in low. The modes are switched by an innovative dedicated stobe/mode button that is next to the main on button. Pressing the on button lightly activates momentary on function which always begins on high, pressing it until it clicks activates constant on. Pressing the mode button when off activates a seizure inducing, aircraft signaling strobe mode, pressing it with the main power in constant on cycles between modes. I really like this tailcap button layout, as I like to strobe motherfuckers, and hate multipress buttons to get to that function. It also came with a replacement rubber tailcap button cover thing, and some extra O-rings. Spare parts are always a bonus.
It is finished in a stealth grey anodizing which is quite a bit tougher than most anodizing I have experience with, including their own lower end products. It has a detachable stainless strike bezel which looks mean as fuck, and is assumedly great for smashing your way through a car window in an accident or beating through a perp's skull in a defensive situation. The bezel is removable should you not like the aggressive looks, find it too jagged to have in your pocket or don't like the idea of taking it past a security checkpoint. It also doubles to hold optional red, green or blue filters in place, which I have yet to acquire.
A large, ribbed heat sink in in place to keep the LED from cooking itself. It comes with a "tactical ring" that serves to keep the flashlight from rolling away if sat down, and to assist in different holding techniques. I removed mine because it had no issues with it rolling, and my holds worked fine without it, and promptly lost it after that. It is not pictured in my photos but can be seen in the links provided later in this review. The pocket clip is sturdy, assumedly constructed out of spring steel, and secures nicely to both the pocket and the light.
The provided lanyard has an adjustable slider to synch in down tightly on your wrist. It comes with a clip that is like one on the end of a dog leash, only smaller. This was bulky and broke my first week with the light, being my only real gripe with the light. I replaced it with a ziptie and that gripe is no more.
Battery Life and Diet:
The batteries you feed it do affect both lighting performance and life. I've used Surefire SF123A's which it likes the best as well as Streamlight and Duracell offerings. The Streamlights perform well, offering almost as good life and performance as the SF offerings. The Duracells fucking suck, offering pathetic life and performance compared to the others, despite costing almost as much for a pair as the others do for a six pack. Perhaps because they are geared for digital cameras as opposed to high powered flashlights. Either case, I would consider it picky with it's food, and feed it a steady diet of SF123A's
Battery life on high mode is rated at 2.2 hours, and that seems pretty legit on the SF batteries. The Streamlight's make that seem a little overhyped, and "yeah fucking right" on Duracells. I should probably put science to this so it's less based on "I got X amount of days on Y batteries" and more like it ran "X hours on Y batteries."
After 60 seconds of constant on mode on high, it ramps down output to protect from overheating and to conserve power. WHen batteries are sputtering out it tells you by flashing the LED, giving you a "hey moefaux, I'm hungry" message.
Practical Usage:
I've been carrying this light everyday for three months. The TT-5 is an odd blend of super badass and rarely useable. My day job as an car audio installer often has me shining the thing into dark dash cavities. Using the TT-5 on high mode washes out everything, making it pretty much impossible to see anything useful. If you're rollover prone looking up into an underdash with little or no ambient light, you just blinded the fuck out of yourself. If your looking under a hood and need to see a dark spot, it does great, making it daylight bright right where you need it. If you need to see that dark spot while outside in broad daylight, it still illuminates things well past the sunlight.
I've never needed to use it for defensive purposes. That said, all my lumenaddict buddies have all taken it to the face. It will blind the fuck out of you in broad daylight. The strobe function is great for signaling low flying aircraft, it will seriously light them up at night. It actually creates a beam like a small spotlight on dark nights, but no effect like this on a full moon. Black helicopters flying over your house again? Strobe them fuckers and let them know your watching back, and have a spotlight too. Getting attacked by ravers? Strobe the fuckers and watch them drop the attack and bust out glowsticks. Getting attacked by normal perps? Strobe the fuckers and watch them throw their hands over their face or have a seizure.
I carry it as my "fighting/emergency light" or my "the PRO3 just isn't quite bright enough" light. I've beaten it against the sheet metal covering of my Kydex lab's workbench, and it seemed pretty unaffected, while my bench has beautiful dents and scratches in it. Great success! Having used strobe to signal roadside assistance after a vehicle failure, I feel assured knowing I have one nasty ass signaling strobe. Of note, the strobe changes patterns every 9 seconds, which I'm lead to understand keeps it disorientating to people getting strobed. Some people say strobe modes are useless, which in a defensive capacity may well be true, but for emergency signaling it is key IMO, and my personal experience confirms that for me.
Final Thoughts:
I love this light, and love being the fucking sun god when I carry it. It's not great for general purpose use, sure you could put it on medium and use it that way, but considering there are smaller, lighter lights that can do that job on cheaper batteries, just use those for GP use. When it comes to heavy duty use as an emergency use tool, I've never come across anything better. Again, I'm no expert, and have never owned a Surefire or other super high end light, so take that with a grain of salt. Of note, I selected this light over a Surefire I was shopping for because of the combo of strobe and multi-output function, while none of the strike bezel equipped Surefire lights offered dual output or strobe. and This will likely find itself chilling in my left front pocket next to my wallet for years to come. Most of their products are covered by a limited lifetime warranty, the TT-5 included, so they are evidently standing behind their products proudly. Should I ever manage to frag one of their products, I'll let it be known how that goes. I'm good at breaking shit, so it may very well happen.
Shopping Info:
lightstarproducts.com/product/tt-5/
The TT-5's MSRP is 139.99, found at my local gun store for 124.99, online most places around $100, and homie-hookup from my buddy who's tactical group sells them for $100. My super-cheap penny-pinching ass found it for 74.99 with free shipping from AutoBodyNow, and Google-ninjustu found me an additional 10% off coupon code. This made it a smoking deal over the Surefire at a comparable MSRP I was looking at, while meeting my needs better.
www.autobodynow.com/products/terralux-tt-5-dual-button-tail-switch-professional-flashlight
Side view, note the heat sink and flat spots that prevent rolling.
Such Bezel, Very Strikey, WOW!
I seriously love the dual button tailcap design. Strobing done correctly!
Next up, the PRO3 review. Thanks for reading!
