Denny Preisser
This may be long, but if you are teetering on this buy, it may be worth your two minutes of time. There have been numerous mini-lights that I have purchased and sent back on Amazon and browsed at gear stores. They were not worth the money, overly complex, or did not fit the bill for something that I did not want to pamper and might get misplaced. The Mini Archer is well thought out and checked all the boxes. It is affordable, practical, and useful. It comes on in a comfortable low light automatically, double tap and you get a nice clean bright high, double tap twice quickly and you get a very fast and disorienting strobe. That is it. I do not need to carry around the user guide to remember how to use it. In this same mode, you can press the button quickly and just get a flash of low light if needed. It is great for checking a sidewalk lip or sending a rapid three for say a location signal. When you shut it off, you hold the button down briefly, and it will not come on by an unintended bump. It has to be held down briefly again to toggle on. It is small, thin, and light so as to not take much space and is not uncomfortable to have in a pocket. It can easily be clipped on the brim of a hat, shoulder strap, or belt loop to give hands free light to work or navigate by. It is rechargeable. Everything I purchase now is rechargeable. The charging port is concealed nicely by unscrewing the front end. This keeps dust and dirt out of the port as well as eliminating that little rubber plug cap that will be eventually torn and lost. At first, I thought (and was going to be disappointed) the whole front end would screw off like it would to replace the AA battery. It does not. It stops after it gives just the right clearance to be plugged in. It charges quickly. I did not charge it when I got my first one. It took quite the effort to actually run the battery down with the charge it came with. It was plugged in after my senior Economics class started and was fully charged in less than an hour by the time the bell rang. There is a nice (not annoying) pinhead of a red that shows it is charging, which turns blue when fully charged. This is simple and does not leave you guessing whether it is connected and charging properly. I left it in my coffee mug filled with water overnight. It functioned 100% the next morning and has so since. I wanted an EDC light that I could afford to have several of (pocket, truck cab, dog walking pack, hip-belt of hiking pack, holster, first aid kit, SAR chest rig, wife & daughter’s fanny pack, … you get it) along with all being uniform and simple in how to use. We all heard that 2 is 1 and 1 is none … and have been there. To me, this is the one. I was lucky enough to have a buddy (Forest Fire Manager) on a recent river trip introduce me to the Mini Archer and let me toy around with it. Let me go back to the usefulness of the low and high beam amount of light. That is the main function, right. The low light is soft and the perfect level to navigate around the neighborhood on a late dog walk or at camp without blinding and disturbing everyone around you and washing out your eyes’ night adjustment. The high beam is high, bright white, and clear for this little light and what you would want when you need to throw some light at something. My wife and I compared it to her major brand 400 lumen headlamp on a recent 9pm dog walk. The Mini Archer was much nicer to walk with and the hands down winner when we tested them on a pitch-black section of woods. The Mini Archer gave at least a 100 yard meaningful view through the Ponderosas that would allow you to identify an animal, object, or person. The beam is not too focused as to give a tunnel vision field of view, yet it is more focused than the headlamp to allow a longer field of view. It is very nicely balanced. This is only the second time that I have taken my time to write a review of a product. I appreciated it when someone did, and it helped me. In today’s environment, $20.00 is 5 (or 4) gallons of gas. The above qualities make the Archer Mini unobtrusive, worthwhile, and useful to carry. Two more are on their way and there will probably be several as stocking stuffers. I hope you find yours as good a value as I did.
| Special Feature | Lightweight |
|---|---|
| Color | Black Cool White |
| Power Source | Battery Powered |
| Light Source Type | LED |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Included Components | ThruNite battery *1(Built-in), USB-C Charging Cable *1, Pocket clip *1 |
| Product Dimensions | 0.64"D x 0.53"W x 3.26"H |
| Voltage | 2.75 Volts |
| Light Path Distance | 87 Meters |
| Battery Cell Composition | Lithium Ion |
| Item Weight | 1.2 ounces |
| Number of Batteries | 2 AA batteries required. (included) |
| Water Resistance Level | Waterproof |
| Warranty Type | Limited |
| Brand | ThruNite |
| Brightness | 405 Lumen |
| Battery Description | Lithium-Ion |
| Finish Type | White |
| Specification Met | RoHS |
| Manufacturer | ThruNite |
| Size | pocket size |
| Part Number | Archer Mini Cool White |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Item model number | Archer Mini Black CW |
| Batteries | 2 AA batteries required. (included) |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Shape | Pen |
| Finish types | White |
| Specific Uses | Camping, Hiking, Dog Walking, Hunting, Boating, Patrolling, Working, Runing, Power Outages, Emergency, Inspection, Repair |
| Special Features | Lightweight |
| Batteries Included? | Yes |
| Batteries Required? | Yes |
