Tag: best edc flashlight 18650

Posted on

Sofirn SC32 Review (Affordable EDC & Mini Tactical)

Welcome to my review of the Sofirn SC32, an affordable and powerful mini tactical EDC flashlight. This compact and durable flashlight is equipped with an SST40 LED, which provides a maximum output of up to 2000 lumens. It also features onboard USB-C charging, allowing you to easily charge the flashlight’s optional 18650 battery, giving you hours of use on a single charge. Whether you’re a professional, a hiker, or just someone looking for a reliable and versatile flashlight, the Sofirn SC32 is an excellent choice at a very affordable price. Thanks to Sofirn for sending it to me to review, and now let’s take a closer look at what this flashlight has to offer.

 

Don’t forget to follow me on my social media accounts for more updates and content like this. You can follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter where I post behind the scenes and answer your questions. Don’t forget to subscribe here on Youtube so you never miss a new video too.

 

Watch this review on YouTube: 

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liquidretro/ 

Join the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidretroReviews/ 

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@liquidretro1

Enjoy this review? Buy me a Coffee/Beer: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Liquidretro

Find all my social media at https://linktr.ee/liquidretro

See my Amazon Store with my gear recommendations https://www.amazon.com/shop/liquidretro

 

Purchase the SC32 Below

Neutral White version https://amzn.to/3Jzb5Fw Use code 10FXVQ6X for an extra 10% off for a total of 35% off with the coupon on the page. 

Cool White Version https://amzn.to/40rdTuL Use code 15A3BS3V for an extra 10% off for a total of 35% off with the coupon on the page. 

 

Packaging & Accessories

Sofirn has really stepped up the packaging here with the SC32. Instead of a generic brown cardboard box with only the company name on it, with the SC32 you get a white box with color photos and printing, as well as specs on the back. It features magnetic closure sides like you see on many Olight boxes for example, a real step up in quality, especially for the budget price these sell for. Inside the included accessories which consist of a lanyard, extra O-rings, USB-A to C Charging cable, and a manual are within another box to the side. An optional 3000mAh battery was included with my lights, and I recommend getting it as it’s only about a $2 difference in price. 

 

Construction and Design

The light is made from aluminum and anodized in a more mat-black finish. One thing I immediately noticed was the difference in finish and Font between my two lights. The NW version I have is a more chalky finish and has the older Sofirn logo, the CW version is more of your traditional anodizing and has what I am guessing is their new logo in all capital letters. 

The tail is glued to the body tube and features a flat recessed electronic switch with a big button pad in gray aluminum that’s grooved. I have zero issues with accidental activation here which is nice. The clip only attaches at the rear and is pretty tightly held on. The body tube has small fins milled in for good grip and a more premium look in my option than diamond knurling. Threads are raw, square cut, and well lubricated. This is a dual wall light to make that electronic switch work as well as onboard charging, and there is a spring on both ends of the light internally. One note is that there are exposed pogo pins (4x) on the rear of the PCB so this should be easy to flash the firmware on if you wish without disassembly needed.

The head of the light features the USB-C recharging hidden behind a silicone port that sits flush on what I will call the front of the head, with an LED indicator light to the side. The front of the bezel has short semi-aggressive crenulations protecting the plastic TIR lens.

 

Retention

Your retention options are simple on the SC32, The light comes with a generic lanyard that can attach on the clip. The pocket clip itself is the other option. It only attaches at the rear of the light, and is a dual-direction clip. It’s a fairly deep carry and has plenty of room to put onto the pocket of jeans. No major pain points here in my opinion. 

 

SIze & Weight

The length of the flashlight is 100mm, with the diameter being 25mm. Weight with the battery and clip came in at 3.72oz or 105.7g. The light is IPX water rated and here are a few photos of similar lights that I might have. 

 

LED & Beam

The SC32 is using the SST-40 LED, It’s available in both cool white and neutral white which I have samples of both here. Cool white came in at 5772k at 63.8 CRI on my Opple meter, and the DUV had no unexpected tints. The Neutral White version came in at 4638k and 62.9 CRI with very similar DUV. I do notice with my eyes a bit more tint shift on the neutral white version of the light.

 

The beam in both lights passes through a plastic lens. Sofirn calls this a Fresnel lens, and what it creates is a more floody beam than a TIR optic. While it has a hot center it’s not very defined and spreads out rather quickly. Better for shorter ranges than longer distances which we will see in my night shots. 

 

Outputs

I tested the outputs on my Texas Ace Lumen tube and most outputs were a little under Sofirns claim. As expected Neutral white was a little less output than the cool white version. My only concern was Turbo outputs were lower than claimed by a decent amount. I think the battery may be part of this issue and I will update if I find something different. 

 

Heat & Runtime

I ran various heat and runtime tests with the two lights I had. Both of the batteries I received tested slightly above the 3000mAh rating. The NW cell was 3115mAh, and the CW cell was 3043mAh. With the CW light, total runtime in Turbo and High were very close between 5:15:00 and 5:20:00. Turbo saw the large step down after a 1:15. The light does have active thermal management that’s set to reduce the 55C (122F) to prevent issues. I did test this on the NW light and the highest I saw on the exterior of the light was 47C. The only difference worth mentioning between the two lights was the runtime on NW was slightly less at 5 hours total. 

 

UI

UI here is very simple, long press from off to go to moonlight mode. Once on long press lets you cycle through the normal low, medium, high. Double-click when on to go to turbo and triple-click to go to strobe. The light does have memory mode. 

 

Recharging

Recharging is accomplished via USB-C on the head of the light. The silicone port protector worked well, and stayed in place when not in use. There is a LED indicator near the port cover for voltage check and for charging indication. 

LVP between my two samples averaged out to 3.0525V and charging time took 2.19:00 with max charging rate being about 1.6A. Charging stopped at 4.1V which is good. 

 

Conclusion

Sofirn has stepped up their game with the SC32 in my opinion. The more premium packaging is nice and elevates the first appearance of the brand. They call this a mini tactical flashlight, but I would call it a great EDC option as well, due to it’s small size and easy UI. The one negative for EDC in a pants pocket might be the slightly aggressive bezel.

Sofirn continues to deliver great value here too, Before any sales you can order the light for $33 shipped with a battery at the time or ordering, and I am expecting to have a coupon for you to discount the price further. 

I can fully recommend this light for the price here if you are in need of a new inexpensive EDC and want something that’s more on the floody side with decent power and runtime. It’s great to see LED tint options here. I would rather have tint options and low CRI like this light provides rather than an undesirable tint and high CRI. 

Let me know what you guys think of the SC32 in the comments below!

 

Purchase the SC32 Below

Neutral White version https://amzn.to/3Jzb5Fw Use code 10FXVQ6X for an extra 10% off for a total of 35% off with the coupon on the page. 

 

Cool White Version https://amzn.to/40rdTuL Use code 15A3BS3V for an extra 10% off for a total of 35% off with the coupon on the page. 

Posted on

Olight Warrior Mini Review (1500 Lumens, Dual Switch, Tactical, EDC, 18650)

Today I have Olights new smaller form factor tactical light the Warrior Mini. It’s capable of 1500 lumens, runs on an 18650 battery and is available in 3 colors, black, a splatter camo, and the desert tan that I have here. Thanks to Skyben for sending this to me to review, please make sure to check them out in the description below.

 

Watch this review on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/k-kKoWlt9Mk

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liquidretro/ 

Join the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidretroReviews/ 

 

Packaging & Accessories

Packaging is no big surprises from Olights the past year or so, it’s the white high quality sleeve over a plastic tray inside that houses the light and all the accessories. On the rear of the box you have details about the light and a runtime chart. Accessories include the light itself with the clip pre installed, Proprietary 3500mAh 18650 battery, MCC2A USB charger, Olight branded lanyard that attaches on the clip, and the manual. No extra orings on this light, but in most scenarios your opening it up to charge so it shouldn’t be a wear item, still a little 

 

 

 

Construction

The Warrior mini shares similar construction to a combination of other Olights, like the Baton Pro and the Warrior Pro. Quality is fantastic for a production light. The tail is a one piece design with the body tube, so batteries go in only from the head side. The button on the rear is all metal exterior construction and features the tri lug design we have seen on other recent Olights. It’s also magnetic and strong enough to hold the light horizontally. The button itself is spongy, and fairly stiff. It’s a two stage actuation which I like quite a bit from a UI perspective but it’s sometimes hard to know how hard to press to get into that first lower output mode. 

The texture on the body is aggressive but not sharp in the hand. I really like the feel of it, and hope we see it on future Olights. The downside is it’s aggressive enough to tear up pockets with pulled in and out during use. Threads are smooth, square cut and nicely greased. 

The head internally has a single short spring in the center, and then a ring with pogo pins for making contact with the proprietary batteries negative terminal on the top. This is a little different design than we have seen in the past but seems to be very compact. On the exterior the clip is captured. The button is the same as Olight has used in recent models with the LED underneath. 

The top of the head has a TIR style optic, with no glass lens over the top. There have a been a few reports online of this lens melting during extended periods of use, I didn’t see that on mine with normal stepdown. There is also a press fit plastic bezel. It has very small raised sections to let light out if standing on it’s head.

 

Size and Weight

I measured the overall length of the light at 107mm, maximum diameter at 23mm, minimum diameter is the same. The weight with the battery and clip is 104.8g. For comparison the warrior mini is between the Baton Pro and S2R Baton length wise. Diameter wise they are all within 1mm of each other. The light is IPX8 water rated.

 

Retention

As an EDC I found this carried well, I carried it in a front jeans pocket for a week every day and found it to be comfortable. I don’t mind Olights dual direction clips, they leave enough from for jeans but they can catch on things like a seat belt. This is a heads up carry, so if the light activates in your pocket, and there have been a few user accounts of this online, it has done damage to people’s clothes by melting them. For that reason I strongly recommend using lockout on this one. 

 

LED & Beamshots

The LED being used in the Warrior Mini is the SST40 in a 6000-7000k tint. It has a little green tinge on the lowest modes but once you apply more power that fades substantially.  I have no problems with the SST40 LED but wish one of the neutral tint bins was used here. 

The beam is nice through the TIR optic, but I wonder if something has changed with the material being used here from older lights as there are several reports of burnt or melted lenses with this it seems. So far mine is fine after extended runtimes. Overall the beam here is great for EDC in my opinion with a medium to large hot spot and quite a bit of spill, good for close up and medium to far range. With the tail switch this would be a good option to do a one handed grip of your weapon and have the light nearby in the opposite hand (Harris or Chapman style) if you wished. 

 

Olight lists the official output modes as:

  • Turbo – 1500 – 500 – 170 Lumens with step downs.
  • High – 500 – 170 Lumens
  • Medium – 120 Lumens
  • Low – 15 Lumens
  • Moon – 1 Lumen

 

Heat & Runtime

The light is able to maintain 98% of relative output until the 2 minute mark (Timed) before stepping down to 32% relative output. At this point the output is very flat for 3:34:00. From there you get another hour at about 12% relative output before stepping below. FL1 output runtime total was 4:18:00. If you let it continue going the light will run out to 8:33:00 suggesting there is no LVP. It shut off at 2.735V which I suspect is where the battery protection kicked in. Max heat I saw was 46C at the 10 minute mark. 

 

UI

The UI on the Warrior Mini is the same that’s was on the Olight M2R Pro. It has 2 buttons for operation, first the two stage tail switch which is the more tactical operation, and then the standard silicone button up front for normal uses. It follows Olights basic UI for the most part. 

 

When you half press the tail button, you get medium in configuration 1, and then turbo 1500  lumens when you full press. This is in configuration 1, In configuration 2 the tail switch goes to turbo on half press and strobe on full press. 

 

UI is similar to other Olights but with some differences. Long press from Off to go to moon light mode, Double click to go to Turbo, and Triple click to go to strobe.There the front eswitch is mostly used as a mode switch but can be used to turn the light on and off from off as well. If you plan to use this for EDC in a pocket make sure you know how lockout mode works too.

 

Recharging

The Warrior Mini comes with Olights newest MCCA2 charging system which is faster and denoted with the red ring inside. The magnetic charging system is convenient and easy but does require a proprietary battery (3500mAh in this case) and the Warrior Mini is no different. The proprietary Olight battery goes with the positive terminal facing the head in this light though which isn’t always the case. 

I saw total charging time take 2:35:00, and as usually my charging monitoring system doesn’t like the drops in current that the MCC chargers do so my graph is incomplete. Max charge rate I saw was 1.3A at 1:16:00 mark. Once full the battery measured 4.3145V.

 

Pro’s

  • Big fan of the desert tan color
  • Great fit and finish for production lights
  • Turns out to be a nice pocket EDC for 18650 size.

 

Con’s

  • Plastic inner bezel, more prone to scratching then metal.
  • Seems to be melting lenses if activated in an enclosed space, make sure to use lockout mode.
  • Proprietary battery, but this one will charge in a traditional charger

 

Conclusion

The two words I would use to describe the Olight Warrior Mini is “Practical Tactical”. Sure you can use it tactically, the rear tail switch despite being a bit mushy and a tad hard to predict works well, and I find myself using it in an EDC roll too, the two stage switch is so much better then just a one mode straight to turbo switch like you find on other tactical lights at least in my EDC style usage. The UI here is the same as other Olights too so you don’t really need to learn a new UI for just this light. The Olight TIR’s are my favorite too for single LED lights. 

Something’s don’t change though, that proprietary battery that’s required here means you have to use the Olight battery and pay a premium for it. It also has the cool emitter which is Olights standard MO. On a tactical light it might make more sense but on a light that does great as an EDC I would prefer neutral white strongly. 

Overall the Warrior Mini is probably my favorite recent EDC/Tactical light, and I can recommend it if your ok with the cool white and proprietary battery. I wonder what special edition color Olight will come up with next on this light.

Pickup the Olight Warrior Mini from Amazon via Skyben at the following links.

Black: https://amzn.to/2GHtORu

Desert Tan: https://amzn.to/3p72YU2

Cammo: https://amzn.to/32nI6OK