Thrunite W1 Blue Aquachigger Edition EDC Flashlight Review

Posted by ZEROAIR on 27th Apr 2021

Thrunite has released the W1 Blue Aquachigger flashlight, a 16340 based flashlight. This light has SST-20 emitter and an indicating e-switch.

Versions

Thrunite’s site right now seems to be a bit of a mess, but there are at least a few versions of the W1. There’s this Aquachigger. There’s the green Black Scout Survival version. That seems to be all that’s listed. All the versions are cool white.

If you wanted black, you could get the Wowtac version, which I have reviewed.

Price

There doesn’t seem to be a price for just the Thrunite W1 Blue Aquachigger flashlight. It’s now a combo, and alongside the Joe Robinet orange H01, the set is $29.99. You can find that set here.

Short Review

This is a nice little light. I do wish that Thrunite had gone with a neutral white emitter here. But I do think swapping will be easy. All in all though, for the combo price, I think this is hard to beat.

What’s Included

Thrunite W1 Blue Aquachigger flashlight
Thrunite 650mAh 16340
Charge cable (USB to micro-USB)
Pocket clip
Spare o-rings (2)
Spare charge port covers (2)
Manual and paperwork

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

If you’re paying attention til now, you’ll note that there’s a Wowtac precursor to the W1. I reviewed it, and I like it. The Thrunite W1 Blue Aquachigger flashlight has the same feature set, but a redesigned body.

On the Thrunite version, we see rings instead of knurling, but otherwise, not many changes.

Here’s a top-down view.

“Chigg’s Army” this says. Aquachigger is a youtube channel dedicated to hunting things in the water. Here’s a link to the youtube channel if you want to check out more.

On the tailcap is a logo of Aquachigger.

Inside the head here you can see that little has changed from the Wowtac version. By “little” I mean “nothing.” Not that that’s a bad thing.

The tailend has a spring. But the head is just this brass button.

Size and Comps

68mm x 24.5mm x 20mm, and 40g without the cell.

If a light will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If a light will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.

And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 format.

Retention and Carry

The main carry method will be the pocket clip, which attaches only on the tail end of the light. The clip is a 2-way friction fit clip. Two way clips aren’t my favorite clips to be honest, but on lights with only one attachment point, this does give the option of bezel up or down carry.

There’s a wrong way to install the clip – if you don’t press it fully into the groove, it’ll be out as seen below.

A magnet in the tailcap is plenty strong to hold the light.

There’s also a lanyard loop in the tail end. No lanyard is included.

Pocket clip hug!

With the retention feature set, the Thrunite W1 Blue Aquachigger flashlight should serve just fine as a hatlight.

Power and Runtime

The W1 is powered by a single lithium ion cell – in this case a 16340. An appropriate cell is included – a 650mAh button top.

The cell is installed into the light in the usual way – positive end toward the head.

Runtimes follow. Turbo steps down fairly quickly, but not in such a way that it seems to be gaming the ANSI standard. This is acceptable. Also this is exactly the same performance as the Wowtac.

The light has an indicating switch, and when the cell voltage is low, this switch will turn red, then blink red.

Charging

The Thrunite W1 Blue Aquachigger flashlight also has built in charging by way of a micro-USB port on the head.

Charging proceeds at around 0.5A, which is good. That’s just under 1C for this 16340. This requires around 2 hours for complete charging, and only charges to around 4.15 consistently. However, when “topping” this cell up to 4.20V, there’s really negligible energy added (something like 3mAh), so I wouldn’t get too bent up about this being below 4.2V.

Pulse Width Modulation

Low and Turbo don’t have PWM, but the middle three modes do. I don’t notice it, though.

For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. And here’s the worst PWM light I have ever owned. Also one of the very first lights I ordered directly from China!