Nitecore TM20K

Product Information

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. DMM: Current readings were taken with a Precision Gold PG10B DMM for low currents and a Mustool X1 clamp meter for high currents. Shown first is an initial ‘High’ ANSI output trace (Section 1), then the Turbo button held for 30s (Section 2) where the output drops to High after 8s. Section 3 shows what happens when you intentionally use Burst, Burst, Burst until the TM20K won’t output Turbo any more. My preference is always for removable/replaceable batteries, but the other side to this is the guaranteed performance of the cells chosen by Nitecore to power this Tiny Monster, and the simplification of the design as it doesn’t need a battery door. Being a super high performance light, the cell characteristics are critical, so we can take the built-in cells as a positive point.

Next up is the runtime trace for High output. Due to the Turbo output being a burst mode only, for the full runtime, the graph shows the output for the high output level. Most of the modes use the spot and flood LEDs, with ultralow and spotlight modes only using the center one and the floodlight mode only using the outer ones. Despite the 3 push button and 1 toggle switches, the management of the flashlight is not particularly complicated. 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). The views expressed in this summary table are from the point of view of the reviewer’s personal use. I am not a member of the armed forces and cannot comment on its use beyond that covered in the review.Nitecore provides 2 other ways of carrying it: either with the lanyard or the nylon holster. The flashlight goes in head down in the holster and stays put due to friction and the magnetic cap. The holster is actually much firmer than most, providing very good protection to the light. 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. Not only that but the TM20K has different sized reflectors for both flood and throw. This is a very cool flashlight.

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! On the box, in addition to the photo, there are technical details of the new Nitecore and serial number.Please note, all quoted lumen figures are from a DIY integrating sphere, and according to ANSI standards. Although every effort is made to give as accurate a result as possible, they should be taken as an estimate only. The results can be used to compare outputs in this review and others I have published.