Tag: 2000 lumen flashlight

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Sofirn SC31 Pro Review & Giveaway ($27, 2000 Lumens, USB-C, SST40, 18650)

Sofirn has a new low cost EDC 18650 light out with the SP31 Pro. It features an SST40 LED capable of 2000 lumens and available with 2 different tints and onboard USB-C charging for a very low price. Thanks to Sofirn for sending this to me and providing a discount to my viewers. I also have a SP31 Pro to giveaway so make sure you check out the description of this video and top comment on how to enter to win. 

 

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Enter the Giveaway https://gleam.io/Xmkd9/sofirn-sc31-pro-5000k-kit-giveaway

 

Pickup the Sofirn SP31 Pro from Amazon. Don’t forget to click the Coupon code on the page for an additional discount too.

5000k Kit https://amzn.to/39JoSGf with Coupon DCNKLHS3

6500k Kit https://amzn.to/39yFJLC

 

Packaging

Sofirn won’t win any packaging contests but for lights that are sold online I don’t really give any bonus points for spending more in this area. It’s functional, generic, and does the job. With the light you get a Sofrin branded 3000mAh battery (Light only options exist), USB-A to USB-C Cables, lanyard, and spare orings, button cover, and USB port cover as well as a decent manual. 

 

Construction

The SC31 Pro has nothing I can find wrong with it, it’s a budget light but all the edges are chamfered anodizing is consistent, and markings are good. Starting at the tail, it’s slightly recessed but still tail stands well, non magnetic. The lanyard attachment point is on the tail as well. Internally you have a single spring and what looks like room for a magnet if you wish. 

 

Threads are square cut and nicely greased. The body tube has one pocket clip area milled into it, but the tube is reversible so it could go on the front or back. There is standard diamond knurling and it’s about average grip. 

The front of the light is removable. Internally it has a pretty stiff spring and it should work with all non proprietary 18650 batteries. Externally there is a silicone button thats fairly flush, the button has some texture to it to help you find it, and 2 LED underneath that work as a locator, and battery status indicator when charging. Minimal milling on the sides for heat dissipation. The USB-C Charging port on the rear has a rounded cover with a large flat. Mine fits pretty well and is out of the way. The head itself has a minimal bezel with no crenulations. There is a reflective coated glass lens, smooth reflector and LED centering is good. 

 

Size and Weight

The SC31 Pro is very similar in size and dimensions to the popular Wurkkos FC11. And for good reason, Sofirn is the parent company to both companies. I measured the SC31 Pro at 115.7mm in length, minimum diameter at 24mm, maximum diameter at 26.5mm. Weight with the battery and clip was 110g or 3.88oz. It’s IPX7 water rated.

 

Retention

The SC31 comes with a basic lanyard that attaches at the tail cap if you want. The pocket clip is decent but not as deep carry as I would like with 22mm of the light sticking up out of your pocket. It is a friction fit clip but fairly tight. If only this was a deeper carry clip it would be even better. 

 

LED & Beam

The LED that’s being used here is the Luminus SST-40 LED. It’s available in both Cool white (6500k) and Neutral white, and I have the latter here in 5000k. It surprised me a little as mine has a bit oa a rosy tint, it’s nice despite being only 70 CRI. It has a smaller hot center, with a medium amount of spill. There are some some kind of ugly outer edges in the beam with reflections off the edge of the reflector and bezel. Maximum output is rated at 2000 lumens and with the ramping modes you can adjust it to anything you wish. The light does have PWM but it’s minimal and only visible with my oscilloscope. This is expected since its running Andruil. 

 

Heat and Runtime

One thing that I have started doing is comparing my lights running Andruil as they come from the factory and then after thermal calibration. While I firmly believe that lights should come calibrated from the factory the reality is for the money here they don’t and that’s a shame because it’s worth doing. ZeroAir has a good writeup on this in his reviews, and I followed that and the difference in my lights were impressive. Turbo runtime went from 1:50 when uncalibrated to 3:05 after calibration, with peak of that being right at 2 minutes. So if you get this or any Andruil light it’s worth going through the calibration procedure. Output was also roughly 13% better during most of the duration too. This does effect overall runtime going from 7:05:00 uncalibrated to FL1 to 4:05:00 when calibrated to FL1 but this is a trade off I am willing to take for more output and a less aggressive thermal restraint. Max temp I saw when calibrated was 41C but this is my own setting and was at the 7 min mark. 

 

UI

The Sofirn SP31 Pro here uses the Andriul firmware by Toykeeper. It’s standard Andruil but I did notice one difference at the top and bottom of the ramp I don’t get the blink like I do on say my FW3A, and most other Andruil lights. I like this. By default the light ships in ramping mode, there is a stepped mode too. Andruil is good but complex. It’s highly configurable (for example you can change the behavior of the backlight switch) so make sure to take some time to understand it fully. 

 

Recharging

The Sofirn SC31 Pro has onboard USB-C charging. It supports USB-C to C charging cables as well as USB-C PD in my tests. It’s great to see a budget light support this. Total charge time of the included 3000mAh 18650 battery from LVP at 2.780V to full at 4.145V was 2:30:00 with the maximum charging rate just at 1.88V. I have no complaints here, and it’s great to see at budget prices.

 

Pro

  • My NW SST40 LED here in 5000k has a really nice tint with a rosy hue
  • Fantastic value for a complete kit
  • Andruil firmware is a love it or hate it thing, but it provides a lot of options for the enthusiast or budding flashaholic. 

 

Cons

  • The pocket clip here is a small letdown, it’s not as deep carry as I would have hoped. 
  • Non magnetic tail, although easy to modify to make magnetic. 
  • Edges of the beam are a little ugly. 

 

Conclusion

I am not ready to call this the Wurkkos FC11 killer since it’s an extremely similar light made by the same parent company but what I will call it is an extremely good value for a slightly more advanced light because it has Andruil UI. While I love the LH351D in my FC11 the tint here in the SC31 Pro is better in my opinion, slightly brighter, but you do lose the high CRI of the LH351D. 

 

The Andruil UI is complex, and that may be a turn off for some new to the hobby, but for a noob there is muggle mode. Take some time and study the diagram to understand how it works and I think you will enjoy it. Build quality here is appropriate for the price, nothing is bad but it’s also not class leading. This is a great all around light for the money here and I have no hesitation recommending it, especially at the price Sofrin has offered to my viewers with the discount you can find in the description. About $25 at the time of filming. 

 

Enter the Giveaway for the Sofirn SP31 Pro Kit (5000k) https://gleam.io/Xmkd9/sofirn-sp31-pro-5000k-kit-giveaway

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Olight Odin Dedicated Weapon Light Review (2000 Lumen, 21700, XHP 35.2 LED)

The Olight Odin is Olights first purpose built long gun flashlight. It’s using a Scout mount, has a pressure pad and is capable of 2000 lumens. There have been a fair bit of sponsored Odin reviews, I strive to be different here and tell you how I see it. Thanks to Skyben for sending it to me let’s take a look and get to the review.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Olight once again does a very nice job here on packaging. It’s very appleske with a white magnetic fold out box and a full color photo on the front with specs on the back. On t he inside everything is packaged very nice inside little boxes, etc. Opening the front cover you have the quickstart guide along with the light and all the accessories. There are quite a few accessories with this light including the light itself and the 4 direction mount. You also get the 5000mAh 21700 proprietary battery, the MCC2A magnetic charger cable, and the new locking pressure switch. Lastly you get a few small zip ties to help mount the pressure switch, a small allan key, and a few extra screws and manual.

 

Construction

The Olight Odin is made from aluminium and hard anodized in a fairly glossy black. Starting at the tail cap, you have a very similar recharging point that was on the Olight Warrior X Pro, with the longer lugs to help you find the tail switch with gloves. It’s a two stage switch with a half press being momentary and full press locking on the light. Around the rear button is another ring and what looks like a space for an o’ring this is for the included pressure switch to lock on to the light which I will explain later. On the sides of the tail you have some tear drop areas milled in place for grip and style. Inside there is a large spring loaded brass contact. 

Threads are anodized, square cut and robust. It does take several turns to get them off. This is one of the few Olights where the positive terminal of the battery faces the head. The body tube is smooth except for the Scout mount. That’s fine, remember this isn’t an EDC light or designed to be handheld, it’s designed to be mounted primarily. 

The head you can tell was milled as one piece but it’s glued on to the tail and is non removable. It has a little larger ring which I assume is to help with thermal for the electronics. Styling wise you have two milled away tear drops, about the size of an endmill. At the front there is a black bezel with small almost saw tooth shaped crenulations. The edges are reasonably sharp. The lens is glass (Good for cleaning powder residue off) and underneath that is a TIR optic. 

Mounting 

This light uses the “Scout” mounting system that Surefire pioneered with the scout series of lights. It provides a 2 post mount thats about 7.75mm off the body of the light. It’s an extra piece that’s screwed to the light with 2 small hex head cap screws with locking compound on them. When I backed the screws out with a 1.5mm Hex key.

Olight included their locking mount that is designed to fit onto a standard picatinny rail. It can mount on the left or the right, and face forward or backward. It utilizes two hex head bolts and comes with the appropriately sized hex allan key. I would recommend once you get it to where you like it, to put some blue locktite on these screws, to make sure nothing backs off during use. This mount has 2 positions on where you can mount the light either on what I will call the bottom or the side. In addition to this light can mount either direction.This mount also locks once the light is in place to help secure it. Lastly the light does have threaded screw holes in it so you can use other 3rd party mounts like my favorite offset mount by Arisaka Defense. You may have to get a little creative with these in the order you mount them to tighten down all the screws depending on what your mounting it on. The big thing here is you have a lot of options.

The pressure switch is an evolution of what we saw on the M2R and Warrior series of lights. It’s designed to go on a picatinny rail as well and is rubber so it can slide on top and to secure you can use the included zip ties. The big difference here is that the end that attaches to the light has a locking mechanism. Simply push the ring forward to engage 4 small detent balls to grip onto the light, pull this ring back to unlock. It’s pretty secure for normal use and won’t break free under normal conditions. I did see a few posts in the Olight Facebook group where people had the lock come loose during extreme combat type situations so your luck might very. I would recommend disconnecting the pressure switch during transport in a bag to prevent the light from coming on accidentally. Cable length on the pressure switch is 165mm.

Size and Weight

I measured the overall length at 136.6mm, maximum diameter on the light (not including the mount) is 29mm, minimum diameter is 24.16mm. Weight with the battery was 174.1g, adding the pressure switch it’s 222.3g. 

LED & Beam

Olight has recently gotten into the nasty habit of not defining the LED they are using on some lights, and the Odin is one of them. With the TIR optic in place you can’t see the LED either. What I can tell you is it’s a fairly neutral white tint at the Turbo setting and in lower modes it’s a bit warm.. The beam is almost all throw with the focus in the center. There is just a very slight spill and there are a few artifacts here, which I think are the edges of the bezel showing. This is perfect for it’s intended use as a weapon mounted light where you want a tight focus. 

Heat & Runtime

The Odin produces upto 2000 lumens on turbo and this lasts 2 minutes before it steps down to 52% relative output. I saw maximum heat at 60C at 2:40 of runtime. Normally I would say this is too hot to hold but since this light is designed to be placed near the muzzle end of a hot firearm it’s not really an issue. We saw one more step down at the 12 minute markand the light ran at a fading 42% output for 2 hours. At the end it had one more step down before stopping right at 3 hours of runtime. I would have wished to see Turbo last longer here but suspect the time is thermally regulated as we can see the temps heat up some after cooling off initially. Overall runtime is the best out of a 1” weapon light that I have tested.

UI

The UI here is pretty simple. On the light itself, the rear button has a half press which gives you the lower lumen mode, and a full press gives you the full 2000 lumens. If you press and hold in either mode the light is in momentary. If you do a quick press in either mode the light stays on. When the pressure switch is connected you only have the full 2000 lumens but the same press and hold gives you momentary and quick press gives you constant light. There is no strobe mode on this light. 

 

Recharging & Power

The Odin uses Olights Proprietary 21700 5000mAh battery which is required for this light. It’s one of the only recent Olights I can remember where the positive terminal goes in facing the head. Proprietary batteries are one of the things I dislike the most. This probably won’t be something you swap out a lot but if you want extra power be sure to buy one and keep properly stored in your kit. Olights MCC3 charging system here is a winner because it’s super easy to recharge and leave the light mounted on your weapon. It’s red when charging and green when charged, and this version charges up to 2A. Total charging time here was 2 hours and 7 minutes which seems pretty quick.

Pro’s

  • Use of the Scout mount meaning you have tons of mounting options to fit your application.
  • Complete Kit with a decent mount.
  • Good Beam for the purpose.


Con’s

  • Only is compatible with 21700 batteries, CR123A’s are not an option if your out in the field and need more light after several hours. 
  • Some possible durability issues with the locking pressure mount system.
  • LED used is unspecified but is Neutral White.

 


Conclusion

For me this is going to be the light I plan on leaving on my 16” build. The way I have it configured now it’s easy enough to remove if I want to, but I feel pretty confident in it’s ability to perform to leave it. I may end up picking up an offset Arisaka mount to get it a little closer to the hand guard. 

 

Overall I think this is a good light for most citizens and hunters. Before I would trust my life to it in a police or military role I would want to do more durability testing. With the current pandemic and ammo shortage of 2020, I didn’t put that many rounds through my AR during range testing but what I did shoot the light held up without issues. 

 

Pickup the Olid Odin on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2E2JxZN

Full Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/v50nRek