Nitecore TM20K

Product Information

When the light is on, to go into the special Floodlight and Spotlight modes, you must press and hold the Mode button. 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. Though if you’re considering the TM20K then quick access to lots of lumens is going to be more important than a beautiful light output.

In fact, I remember seeing their TM03 flashlight years ago and thinking how incredibly bright 3000 lumens in a handheld light would be.

Complete with a 19 LED array of CREE XP-L HDs this light provides a floody beam that can reach up to 290 meters away. The batteries cannot be removed and are charged up inside the torch via the USB-C port on the tail of the torch. In terms of design I think the TM20K looks the best of all lights from the collection thanks to the balanced design that radiates power. 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). Nitecore TM20K (Tiny Monster 20 000 lumens - what an informative name) is, you guessed it, a very bright, and relatively small flashlight.

I normally prefer side switches but the switch positions Nitecore have picked make good sense for its intended use.Soo, if you somehow charge a flashlight with non-removable battery every day, it will still have 80% of its original capacity. This light is all about lighting up all around you very brightly and can’t really be used for slowly sweeping across the horizon, looking for animals or hidden paths. Bought this as a gift for a naturalist to help them identify some species of lichens and moths so I can't comment on actual use. 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.

The TM20K has a toggle switch at the base of the light to switch between daily mode, tactical mode and lockout. In my opinion, the brightness is managed well between the various levels although I would have liked a low level with less lumens. The user-friendliness is a massive plus; it is jam-packed with light options which can all easily be used. There is a blue protective plastic film over the lens that will melt and make a mess of the front of the light, so make sure to take this off.The brightness levels are operated by a metal power button on the tail end and a mode button on the side of the tail end. As mentioned before the light will only start with the central LED light in the middle; only for the three subsequent modes the remaining 18 LED lights in the edge of the head will work as well. The TM20K is wrapped in a luxurious cardboard box with its specifications and details on the bottom.

The flood mode only uses the LED lights in the edge of the head while, in the spot mode only the central LED light is used. Choosing between light modes and the functions of the central button for turbo and strobe is the same as in the daily mode, with one main difference: the flood and the spotlight mode are not available in the tactical mode.It’s possible I’ve made a mistake but I’m guessing that Nitecore have tweaked the proportion of spot vs flood on some of the modes. It sadly is not a straight line, but rather slowly falling to a 220 min point where it started to fail rapidly. Depending on the size of your pockets, this might be the Goldilocks light that can double the number of lumens you can EDC. On the opposite side to this there is a mode button for brightness level selection, and the flat tail end has a circular power button to turn the torch on/off and a dual sided tactical button that controls the Turbo Ready or Strobe Ready functions.