REVIEW – Home defense kits have a way of getting expensive fast, and the flashlight is usually where it happens. The name-brand weapon lights everyone recommends run $100 to $300 apiece, and if you are outfitting more than one gun, that bill adds up quickly. I went looking for something cheaper that wouldn’t feel like a compromise, and the ThruNite TW10 kept coming up. At $50, co-branded with Black Scout Survival, it promises 900 lumens and a rechargeable battery for a quarter of what the established names charge. I mounted it on three different guns to see if that promise holds up. Mostly, it does.
First Impressions
Built around a 1913 Picatinny rail with a Glock-pattern adapter thrown in, the TW10 is a rechargeable 900-lumen LED light aimed squarely at the budget end of the weapon light market.
The packaging punches above the price. It’s a proper box, not a plastic clamshell.
Pop the magnetic lid and the light sits nested in a foam tray, with the rest of the kit stashed underneath.
What You Get
- ThruNite TW10 Weaponlight
- ThruNite 1100mAh Rechargeable Battery
- USB-A to USB-C Charging Cable
- 1913 Rail Adapter with screws
- Allen Wrench
- Spare USB Port Cover
- Spare O-rings
- Instruction Manual
The Numbers That Matter
- LED Source: OSRAM P9 LED
- Battery Source: 1100mAh 3.7V 18350 rechargeable lithium-ion battery
- Beam Distance: 410ft / 125m (max)
- Light Intensity: 3960 cd
- Output: 900 lumens ~ 427 lumens
- Run Time: 195 secs at 900 lumens / 130 mins at 427 lumens
- Waterproof Rating: IPX-8 (can be submerged up to 2M)
- Body Material: Aluminum Alloy T6061-T6
- Weight: 2.75oz / 78g
- Length: 3.03in / 77mm
- Width: 1.02 in / 26 mm
- Height: 1.28 in / 32.5 mm
Body and Mounts
The TW10 doesn’t try to be clever. It’s a stripped-down cylinder built to do two things: light up a target and stay locked onto a rail. Body, mount, and end cap are all anodized aluminum with a light texture that gives your fingers something to grip.
ThruNite’s name and the TW10 model number run down one side of the body.
The other side carries the Black Scout Survival co-brand logo, ThruNite’s partner on this particular light.
Flip it over and the spring-loaded mount carries the unit’s serial number, stamped right into the metal. Out of the box, the TW10 already wears a Glock-pattern adapter, with a 1913 adapter tucked into the kit for anything running a standard Picatinny rail.
Swapping between them takes under a minute: back out the two mount screws with the included Allen wrench, drop in the adapter you need, and reseat the screws.
Both of the TW10’s control buttons are soft rubber, one on each side of the body, with a satisfying tactile click. A single press gives you constant-on, and holding it down gives you momentary-on.
Keeping It Charged
Power comes from a 1100mAh 3.7V lithium-ion battery that ThruNite includes in the box, not something you have to hunt down separately.
The cell itself is a proprietary ThruNite part rated at 18350, so if you ever need a replacement, you’re buying direct from them rather than grabbing something off a shelf.
The charging port lives on the back of the unit, sealed under a rubber flap held on by the same four screws that secure the back plate.
That flap is doing more than keeping dust out. It’s a big part of how the TW10 earns its IPX-8 rating, good for a full submersion down to two meters.
Underneath is a standard USB-C port, which charges off the bundled USB-A to USB-C cable. From dead to full took right around 90 minutes in my testing.
A small LED next to the port doubles as both a charge indicator and a battery gauge once the light is mounted. Solid blue means 21 to 100 percent, solid red drops to 11 to 20 percent, and a red blink means you’re under 10 percent. A flashing purple LED flags an abnormal charge. Being able to check battery level at a glance, even while the light is mounted on your firearm, is a genuinely nice touch for something this cheap.
Getting It On the Gun
Once the battery was topped off, mounting was the only thing left to sort out. I cleared each firearm and checked the chamber by eye and by hand before any of this started, every time.
Since I was testing on handguns with Glock-pattern rails, I left the factory GL adapter in place rather than swapping to the 1913 unit.
Instead of the fiddly clamp setups a lot of weapon lights use, the TW10 relies on a spring-loaded screw and latch you can operate with your bare hands.
Back the screw out, press it in to open the rail wide enough to slide the TW10 into place, then snug it back down once it clicks. Fingers alone get it plenty tight, but a coin or a screwdriver gives you a couple extra turns of peace of mind.
Running It on Handguns
I ran the TW10 on a full-sized handgun, a compact handgun, and just for kicks, a pistol caliber carbine, clearing each one before I touched it.
My full-sized gun was an HK VP9 Tactical, whose front rail is close enough to a Glock’s that the stock adapter fit without any fuss.
Mounted, the TW10 sat right up against the trigger guard, with only the tail cap poking out past the barrel.
That tight fit is a mixed bag. The upside is the battery LED stays visible while the light is mounted, which is a real feature for a home defense setup. The downside is that same trigger guard blocks the charging port, so you have to pull the light off the gun to top it up. It’s a minor gripe since removal is quick, but moving the port to the bottom of the unit would solve it entirely.
On the full-sized VP9, the TW10 barely registered as extra weight and didn’t throw off the gun’s balance.
Reaching the side buttons was a bit of a stretch for me on the bigger gun, which might matter more if you’ve got smaller hands.
Once switched on, the 900-lumen output impressed me more than any photo of it in a lit room ever could.
The momentary-on button was the one I reached for most when running a home defense scenario, though I liked having constant-on as an option too. On constant-on, the TW10 holds 900 lumens for about 195 seconds before stepping down to 427 lumens, where it stays for another 130 minutes or until you shut it off.
I also mounted it on a Springfield XD-M Elite 3.8″ Compact, a touch smaller than a standard Glock 19.
The shorter rail meant a small sliver of the mount hung out past the front of the slide, but it locked down just as firmly as it had on the VP9.
It never once felt like it was working loose, on either gun.
Reaching the buttons was noticeably easier on the compact XD-M than on the full-sized VP9, and the added weight never got in the way of handling or firing. Both guns wore the TW10 well, and using it on either felt natural after a few minutes.
Beam throw and shape held up well against my Olight and Streamlight units, both of which cost considerably more.
One Try on a Carbine
Just to confirm the 1913 adapter actually works, I mounted the TW10 on the lower front rail of my KRISS Vector CRB.
On something like the Vector, I’d normally reach for a bigger, side-mounted light, but I was curious how the TW10’s small footprint would look against the Vector’s equally compact lines.
Honestly, it looked pretty sharp, even if tucking it that far back under the long barrel wasn’t exactly a tactically sound choice.
After several hundred rounds across three guns, the TW10 never budged, never hiccupped, and never once made me second-guess mounting it. For a $50 light, that’s a genuinely strong showing, and it’s earned a spot in one of my future kits.
The Good
- Rechargeable battery is a nice option
- Easily mounted without tools
- Great low-profile design
The Not So Good
- Charging port should be accessible when mounted on handgun
- Side-mounted buttons might be hard to reach for some
- Lacking options of higher-end weapon lights
The Verdict
The ThruNite TW10 packs in some of the best traits you’d find on weapon lights costing three to four times as much. At $50, it punches well above its weight, wrapping a powerful 900-lumen LED in a minimalist aluminum body. A couple of design misses show up along the way, like having to pull it off the gun to charge it and the slight stretch to reach the buttons on a full-sized frame. Still, at this price, on a rugged and reliable weapon light, it’s well worth a look for your next budget build or kit.
Curious how this compares to the competition? I break it down in The Best Flashlights I’ve Tested.
Price: $50.35
Product Link: ThruNite (save 20% off with promo code: TW10202108 expires 08/20/2021 11:59 PM PDT)
Source: The sample of this product was provided by ThruNite.
