Recently, we wrote a post about the NiteCore Tiny Monster TM11, a 2000-lumen LED flashlight that’s about the size of a Coke can. It was impressive in our lab, but we were anxious to get it out in the field for some real-world testing. We took the TM11, along with a few other lights, out to a local disc golf course under the cover of darkness to see what this thing could really dish out.
We set up the camera on a tripod on the tee box, and positioned each light directly below the lens, so the pictures would resemble the user’s perspective. The pin (the metal pole with chains and a yellow hoop at the top) is 300 feet from the tee, and is visible off in the distance in the upper center of each photo.
Here’s the Tiny Monster beam shot:
And here’s a beam shot of the Jet Beam RRT3 with the smooth reflector:
So which one did we like better? Well, as you can see, the outputs are very similar. Each one lit up the woods like broad daylight. Each one had a bright hot spot. Each one had plenty of side fill. But we’re still siding with the Tiny Monster, and here are a few reasons why…
1) The Tiny Monster has a more natural hot spot with more even light distribution across the center of the beam angle. The hot spot on the Jet Beam was more concentrated and almost blue. It’s still plenty bright, but it distorted the colors of objects off in the distance.
2) The Tiny Monster has an integrated blinking light in the power button. It may sound like a useless feature now, but if you hike out into the woods at night with a bag full of gear and try to dig out your flashlight, you’ll wish all your flashlights had this feature. Hats off to NiteCore for having the foresight to put this feature on their light.
3) It’s tiny…
You get the same output from a light that’s a fraction of the size of it’s competition. We’re sold.
If you’re still doubting the power of the Tiny Monster, check one out for yourself. You won’t be disappointed. You can even request other lights you’d like to see the Tiny Monster compared to…just give us a shout.