Nextorch TA21 Review – Amazing Features with Poor Fundamentals

1. Pricing & Availability
2. What comes in the box?
3. Design & Construction
4. Size & Measurements
5. User Interface
6. Emitter & Beam
7. Mode Chart
8. Runtime
9. Driver & Regulation
10. Batteries & Charging
11. Switch
12. Carry & Ergonomics
13. Competition
14. Conclusion

Pricing & Availability

Nextorch sent me this light in exchange for an honest review. Here is the official product page where you can see current pricing. At the time of writing, it’s $96 USD.

What comes in the box?

TA21 comes in a cardstock retail box with a vacuum formed insert to hold everything in place. Inside is:

• The light itself
• Battery (inside the light)
• User manual
• USB A-to-C charging cable
• Wrist lanyard
• FR-1 Tactical Ring

Design & Construction

TA21 looks tactical and stubby. The head is quite large and the battery tube is tiny, like the battery.

Build quality is great. No complaints about the finish or machining. Even the rotary switch feels nice.

Size & Measurements

Surefire G2X Pro + Switchback 2.0 | Mini Maglite | Nextorch TA22 | Nextorch TA21 | Olight i3E

Size: This model is weirdly large and bulky for its battery class (1×16340). It’s nearly as large as some smaller 18650 lights.

Measurement	Measured (mm)
Bezel Diameter	30.0
Maximum Head Diameter	31.9
Length	99.0
Switch Diameter	15.1
Body Tube Diameter	23.1
Pocket Clip Slot Width	2.8
Pocket Clip Slot Diameter	20.5
Tailcap Diameter	25.4
Tailcap Length	31.1
Included Battery Length	35.5
Weight with included battery (g)	117

User Interface

This UI is interesting and combines the best of a forward-clicky no-memory UI and a reverse-clicky mode-memory UI. It works very well and I’m a big fan.

How it works: DUTY Mode & RED Mode

• Half-press from off for momentary low. Repeat to cycle up through the levels. You can full-press from a half-press to switch from momentary to constant on, just like a forward clicky.
• Full-press from off for constant on. It turns on in the last mode you used.
• Half-press from on to cycle through the modes (low-med-high), just like a reverse clicky.
• Full-press from on to turn off and memorize the mode you were using.

How it works: TAC Mode

• Half-press for momentary high mode
• Full press for momentary strobe

My thoughts:

• I like that lockout is on the rotary selector. That works very well. There is no mechanical lockout.
• I like the way the TAC mode group is set up. It’s simple with direct access to the two modes you need most. Everything below applies to the Duty and Red mode groups.
• Mode memory: Half-presses always start on low and lets you cycle up as needed, making the light predictable. Full-presses will go to the last-used mode, giving you quick access to your favorite constant-on mode. This is exactly how I want it to work. I’m flummoxed why Nextorch’s TA22 model works differently.
• I wish there were a mode group that used press duration to choose between momentary and constant. A long press would activate momentarily and turn off when you release. A short press would be constant on and require another short press to turn off. In this group, a half-press should activate Low mode and a full-press should activate High mode. Just like the tail switches on Olight’s Warrior series.
• This switch is much more predictable and easy to use than the switch on Nextorch TA22. I don’t have any trouble distinguishing a full-press from a half-press when using TA21.

Emitter & Beam

TA21 has three emitters and I don’t know their model names. I asked but Nextorch didn’t reply. All three are domed and appear 3535 size. Two are cool white, low CRI, and a bit green-tinted. The other is red. They all sit at the bottom of an orange-peel triple reflector. I’m not picky about LED choices in tactical lights so these suit me just fine.

The hotspot of the beam is soft and clean, but the edge of the spill is jagged and full of artifacts from the triple reflector. It’s on the floody side for a tactical light. Overall the beam is usable but not great.

In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed and the wall is 2.8M away.

In the beamshots below, camera settings are fixed, the basketball goal to the right of the hotspot is 39M away, and the power pole in the center is 185M away.

Mode Chart

Disclaimer: All of my measurements are taken at turn-on. Lumen measurements were taken on a Texas Ace 3.5″ Lumen Tube. A candela measurement was taken at 10 meters with an Opple Light Master III on the highest brightness, and other candela figures were calculated relative to that. CRI, CCT, & DUV data were taken for each mode from a few feet away at the center of the hotspot with the Opple Light Master and Waveform DUV Calculator. Runtime tests were performed with the Ceilingbounce app on my smartphone. These tests were performed with a fully charged included battery unless otherwise specified. I cannot measure moonlight directly, so moonlight readings are calculated based on the brightness relative to the next-lowest mode. None of this is professional equipment, so take these measurements with a grain of salt.

The official specs are above, followed by my own measurements below.

Level	Lumens	Candela	Throw (Meters)	CRI (Ra)	Color Temp. (K)	DUV (Tint)
High	970	6200	157	64	5810	0.0093
Medium	190	1214	70	64	5820	0.0093
Low	22	141	24	64	5810	0.0094
Red High	220	–	–	–	–	–
Red Med	40	–	–	–	–	–
Red Low	2	–	–	–	–	–

Runtime

Performance is fine, but not impressive. Sustained brightness is 200lm and that lasts for about 1.5hrs. Neither value is setting any records but they’ll do the job.

Thermal regulation: My Turbo and Turbo Cooled tests are virtually identical, so there’s no active thermal regulation here, just timed stepdowns. That means performance will be consistent, but not optimized for ambient temperature.

LVP (Low Voltage Protection) is not present. It relies on the battery’s protection circuit to prevent over-discharge. That makes sense because it also supports CR123As, and their voltage goes lower than a Li-ion battery. Relying on the protection circuit means the light cannot be re-activated after shutoff in an emergency unless it’s plugged in to charge first, and that may be an issue for some people.

Driver & Regulation

The driver seems to be an unregulated FET driver, which is disappointing to see at this price point.

Regulation performance is quite poor. Every mode is affected by battery voltage, and High is noticeably affected by battery voltage. This is partially due to a cheap driver, and partially due to the under-sized battery. I expect a light in this price range to maintain consistent brightness down to 25-50% charge.

PWM: No PWM is visible to my eyes nor audible to my ears. My phone camera and Opple Light Master were able to detect it on Low and Medium modes (both red and white).

Parasitic Drain: 14 microamps. That will take over 6 years to drain the included battery.

Batteries & Charging

The battery included is an 800mAh 16340 cell with a USB-C charging port built in. It’s really small for how big this light is. Its discharge rating isn’t specified, but it’s likely quite poor because the capacity is so high(for this size). I suspect that contributes significantly to the poor regulation performance. I think an 18350 would have been a much better fit here, both in physical proportions with the rest of the light and in discharge & regulation performance. It can also accept a CR123A battery.

Charging is facilitated by a USB-C port on the side of the included battery, and it takes ~140 minutes from empty. I had a weird issue with one of my USB-C cables where the battery would only charge if it was plugged in one direction. If I flipped it the other way it wouldn’t charge. Not a big deal though. There is no powerbank function and I wouldn’t expect it from such a small battery.

There’s no battery indicator, which is a shame. I’d like an easy way to check charge level, especially considering how small the battery is.

Switch

TA21’s killer feature is its switch setup. It has a two-stage electronic tail switch and a rotary mode group selector on the head. I love that the tails witch acts like a forward-clicky and a reverse-clicky so you get the best of both worlds. Lockout being handled by the rotary selector rather than a series of clicks is excellent.

These switches are great quality too. The tail switch is predictable with a firm wall between the first stage and second stage. I can consistently access the modes I want quickly and accurately. The rotary selector’s detents feel precise too, unlike Nextorch TA22.

Carry & Ergonomics

Ergonomics are good. It’s a bit short for a reverse grip but it’s doable. A cigar grip is very comfortable and what I use most of the time. Turning the mode group ring requires you to flip the light into a forward grip or use both hands. Adding the included tactical ring doesn’t improve the ergonomics for me.

FR-1 Tactical Ring: This ring is included in the box and I strongly dislike it. I’m a huge fan of the Thyrm Switchback, which the FR-1 seems to compete with. The switchback looks a lot better, carries smaller (because the clip is opposite the ring instead of beside it), is more ergonomic, and more versatile. It’s not compatible with TA21 though (I tried).

Competition

Here are some lights in the same class and how they compare.

Nitecore MT10C:

• about half the price
• similar brightness, more throw
• traditional tail switch and dual side switches
• main white LED and red secondary
• accepts larger 18350 batteries (though the included one is lower capacity than the 16340 included with Nextorch TA21)
• charger not always included (depends where you buy)
• narrower head
• can tailstand

Jetbeam RRT03:

• more expensive
• a bit brighter
• white, red, green, and blue
• forward clicky tailswitch and rotary mode/color selector on the head
• screw-on pocket clip
• accepts 18350 (included), 16340, or CR123a batteries. Also supports 18650 or 18500 cells with optional extension tubes
• included battery contains a micro-usb charging port
• higher quality constant current driver
• narrower head
• can tailstand

Skilhunt EC200S-Mini:

• significantly less expensive
• significantly smaller overall size
• larger 18350 battery
• significantly brighter
• side switch only
• available with warm white, red, or UV secondary LED
• USB-C charging built into the light
• much better regulation performance

This section is not comprehensive. If I didn’t include a particular light here, it doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t deserve to be here. I simply cannot list every possible competitor.

Conclusion

This light is a mixed bag. The UI, switches, and clip are absolutely excellent. The build quality, charging solution, and ergonomics, are good. The performance is mediocre on all fronts (brightness, throw, runtime, regulation, beam shape). The battery, tactical ring, and overall bulkiness are bad. Personally, I think this model is a miss. However, I’m very excited to see what Nextorch puts this UI and switches into next.

Thanks to Nextorch for sending me this light for review!