Tag: EDC Flashlight 2023

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Wurkkos TS12 Review (Budget Pocket Thrower!)

Today I am taking a look at the Wurkkos TS12, a small pocket thrower with onboard USB-C charging. It’s using a new YLX N3535B round LED and is powered by a 14500 battery all for a bargain price. Thanks to Wurkkos for sending this to me to review any discounts or coupons I have will be in the description.

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Get your own Wurkkos TS12 for a discount at https://wurkkos.com/products/wurkkos-ts12-mini-edc-flashlight,-1050lm-432meters-powerful-rechargeable-light-with-bezel?DIST=REJCFVQ%3D&VariantsId=11017

 

Packaging & Accessories

Wurkkos packaging on recent models has been a lot nicer and this is no exception, it’s a full color slip with technical specs on the back over a white box with magnetic closures, a sticker on the end of the box let’s you know what the specs of your model are. The light ships with a few accessories, a generic lanyard, 2 spare orings for the tail cap, and USB-A to USB-C charging cable. You can get it with a 900mAh 14500 for an additional $2 which is worth doing in my opinion.

 

Construction & Design

The TS12 is made from 6061 aluminum and anodized in black. The light is a mini thrower and has a form factor similar to the Lumintop GTmini, but with a bit more of a tactical feel. The tailcap is flat and magnetic so it tailstands without a problem. In the hand the deeper groves provide decent grip for a light with no knurling on it. There is only a spring in the tail cap, threads are standard ACME cut and the head and body tube are all one piece. 

The button has a silicone cover, with an LED in it’s center that’s used for a charge status indicator. The USB charging port on the rear is small, not all your USB-C cables will fit due to width restrictions. The front bezel is aluminum I believe and anodized in a gunmetal finish and glued in place. The front lens is thick glass, and below it is a deep smooth reflector with a small round LED in the center. 

 

UI

The light has two UI modes, a stepped that it ships in by default and a ramping option that you can switch to. Stepped mode is a very traditional flashlight interface, simple click to turn on, long press to go up through the 3 main modes, double press to go to turbo, and triple press to go to the blinking modes. Once in the blinking modes, you can double press to move between strobe, SOS, and Beacon modes. The light also has moon mode which you can access from off by long pressing. 

 

To switch to ramping mode when on click 4 times to switch between mode groups, the light will flashlight to confirm. 

 

Ramping mode works like you think with double click to turbo, and triple click to strobe although when ramping if you hit peak output the light will reset down to low instead of stopping. Not idea IMHO.

 

Retention

For retention, there is a small lanyard hole in the tailcap for the included generic lanyard. The light looks like it’s designed for a clip to attach at the rear however one is not included. I like it’s slightly longer length than the GTNano I have since the body tube is a little longer. 

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 90.9mm, body diameter at 20mm, and head diameter at 33mm. Weight with the battery came in at 2.61oz. The light is IPX8 water rated and drop rated for 1M. 

 

LED & Beam

The Wurkkos TS12 is using a new LED the YLX N3535B  which is round instead of square. There isn’t much information available for this LED that I can find, but from testing, I can tell you my example is 5536k and 57Ra on my Opple Meter. Its tint is more yellow in DUV than we see from most other LED’s. To my eye, it looks yellow-green but that doesn’t show up on the meter much. In a thrower, we typically don’t care as much about high CRI so this isn’t as big of deal. It’s something I would notice though if using it on something reflective like snow. The beam has a small hot center, and a few diffused rings in it. The spill has a small area around the hot spot where it’s reasonably intense and then a huge drop-off for everything past that. I don’t notice much of a difference here with the LED being round vs. square and having optics. There is fast PWM in the light.

 

Outputs

My measured outputs (On my TexasAce LumenTube) were generally pretty close to what was claimed by Wurkkos for the TS12.The exception was Turbo at the standard FL1 reading of 30 seconds was 844 lumens instead of the 1050 lumens claimed. I saw 1050 lumens but only on the very initial startup output. 

 

Heat & Runtime

Turbo stepdown on the TS12 is pretty significant and occurs pretty quickly. It goes from a peak near 1050 lumens to around 300 lumens in 90 seconds. I do wish it could sustain more lumens for longer. Peak heat was around the 15-minute mark at 46C which is warm but won’t burn you. Around the 35-minute mark on out to an hour, the light began to sea saw in output, too slowly to see with the eye but enough to see in the graph before running on low. While the light stayed on (but in a very low output) for another 90 minutes, when starting in turbo the effective useful runtime is about an hour. Starting in High, you got a lot of more of this sea saw output much sooner and a little bump in effective runtime. In medium, it did about 3:20:00 of total runtime and no sea saw output. 

 

Recharging

A couple of notes on charging with the TS12. I found the USB-C port to be a bit narrow, the ID of a USB-C port is 8.1mm wide while the width of the surrounding aluminum for this recessed port is only 11mm so you can’t use a particularly wide cable or an adapter to get there in my experience. The included battery rated at 900mAh and I tested it at 881mAh on my Vapcell S4 Plus charger. This isn’t a light where a high drain battery is required. Charging itself was without issue, and it charged fine with PD charging. I record the light charging in exactly 90 minutes at a maximum charge rate of 0.84A. Full the battery measured at 4.12v which is a little low. LVP kicked in at 2.980v.

 

Conclusion

Pocket throwers have a more limited niche use in a lot of situations. It’s made it hard to justify on price sometimes, but the Wurkkos TS12 delivers a solid mini thrower, with solid performance for a budget price. It’s an easy light to recommend in the pocket thrower class without a lot of strong negatives.

 

Get your own Wurkkos TS12 for a discount at https://wurkkos.com/products/wurkkos-ts12-mini-edc-flashlight,-1050lm-432meters-powerful-rechargeable-light-with-bezel?DIST=REJCFVQ%3D&VariantsId=11017

 

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Wuben X3 Review (Wireless Charing, LH351D, GITD)

The Wuben X3 Lightok is the latest new product from Wuben, it’s the 3rd and smallest in the X series of side by side lights from Wuben, but this one brings quite a few different features we have not seen on the others. First is the rotating head to convert from straight on to 90 degrees, both red and white LED’s, and LCD Display, Wireless charging, and a charging case. There is lots to go into detail on this one to explain everything.

Wuben did send this to me to promote the X3’s launch on Kickstarter which is live now. Links will be in the description below to where you can learn more. Supporting the Kickstarter will help support my channel here too. All that said these are my unbias views and opinions on the light and not influenced by Wuben’s decision to send me the X3 in advance of the campaign. 

Back the Wuben X3 on Kickstarter at https://bit.ly/LR-X3

 

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Packaging & Accessories

With my preproduction sample, I didn’t receive the final packaging or accessories. Mine came with the charging case, the flashlight itself with the clip preinstalled, and Wuben’s combination lanyard and USB-C charging cable that’s nifty. The manual I received is the first revision and a bit rough on the translation in some places, word choice is odd, and there are some phrasing head-scratchers. I do expect this to be fixed in the final version.

 

Construction & Design

Lots of things to talk about on the X3. First, let’s start with the light itself. The head module is made of aluminum and anodized in black in my example. The body in my example is made from hard plastic, which is semi-transparent and glows in the dark. Wuben has said there will be 4 different colors offered, black, white, camouflage green, and a gradient ramp blue similar to what they have done on other X series lights. It unclear if that will be just the head or body color differences and if there may be different materials chosen for the body. The campaign will have pictures to explain that for sure.

The head features two LEDs (White on the left, Red on the right), both LEDs sit behind TIR optics, and a single-piece plastic lens held in place with an aluminum bezel. On the top, you have a small LCD screen on the left, and the UI button on the right which has a nice milled circular texture on it. The head itself rotates clockwise when converting from a right-angle light to a straight-on one. There are only detents at the beginning and end. 

The body of the light in my example is made of semi-transparent glow-in-the-dark plastic. On the front, you can see the coil that allows it to charge wirelessly. On the back you have a spring steel clip that’s attached to the light that I will talk more about later and at the bottom there are 2 magnets that hold the light up well. The sides are smooth with some angular relief cuts that seem to fit my hand reasonably well. The light can head or tail stand without issue, it’s a rectangle.

The next piece is the recharging case. This is made of soft-touch plastic that seems to show most marks and fingerprints pretty easily. There is a clear diffused piece of plastic that is hinged and when in the up position the light slides in to charge or for storage. This diffuser combined with the rotating head allows the light to act like a lantern if you want it to. It’s a nice bonus for what is otherwise the charging case. The front of the case contains a little rubber door that covers the USB-C charging port for the internal battery in the case, and the button to control the case.

 

User Interface

The user interface of the light is reasonably simple, especially the small LCD Screen next to the button. From off a quick press puts your into the main white LED modes, starting with the mode used last (excluding turbo) so it does have memory. Once on long pressing the button allows you to change the 3 main white modes. Double pressing goes to Turbo. Triple pressing at any time takes you to white SOS. 

The light also has a red LED thats pretty easy to activate. From Off, long press to go to red, this also has memory mode and strobe inside its 3 mode options, which I’m not a huge fan of myself. Similarly long pressing once already on in red, allows you to change to the other two red modes. Once the light is completely off, the light will go back to white with just a quick press. One interesting note is that you can use the case to make either the red or the white light a lantern. 

 

Retention

The retention option on the light itself is the spring steel clip that’s screwed onto the back of the light. It’s made of pretty sturdy steel and is quite stiff. I would say too stiff as it took two hands to put it onto some overalls or the pocket of some jeans. It’s attached so that it’s a heads up carry. Not great for putting in your pocket to conceal in an EDC manner, but makes sense to use it more as a right angle light. 

The case has a slot in the back for attaching the included dual-purpose lanyard and charging cable. It’s a pretty neat design with a cable holder for lack of a better word captures the USB-C ends and the cable portion is more of a ribbon material with a handy metric ruler on it.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length of the light at 70.35mm, the width at 35.05mm and the depth at 19.77mm. The weight of just the light with the clip is 62.7g or 2.21oz. With the case but without the lanyard it comes to 5.87oz or 166.4g. The size of the case is 85.4mm x 47mm x 39.7mm. The light is IPX 65 water-rated and drop resistant for 1 meter. No water or drop rating is given for the case. Here are a few photos of the X3 next to it’s other X series lights and my Wurkkos FC11 reference light.

 

LED & Beam

The Wuben X3 is using the Samsung LH351D emitter in a neutral 5000k tint. On my Opple meter, I measured 4895k at 94.5Ra (CRI), so not only is it neutral but it’s high CRI as well. The DUV was very neutral with no color tinges like you sometimes get with the LH351D’s. For me personally, this is a nice choice of emitter and tint.No specific LED was mentioned for the red LED’s here. There is PWM found here but it’s quick.

The beam pattern is a fuzzy tight hotspot with a minimal amount of spill, I think the fuzzyness is due to the TIR reflector that’s being used here and I don’t really notice it until you are showing the light on a flat uniform surface like a wall or ceiling.

 

Outputs

A note on outputs, that things in general underperformed Wuben’s initial claims. With Turbo lasting less than 30 seconds in my multiple tests, if I followed the FL1 standard of taking a reading after 30 seconds, the claims here should be more like 175 lumens instead of the 700 claimed or the 515 lumens measured at initial power on. The rest of the modes were within a reasonable margin of error for me, and red actually was more than claimed.

 

Heat & Runtimes

For my heat and runtimes, I took measurements with my TexasAce Lumentube. Starting in Turbo the light stepped down very quickly right at 30 seconds, this is disappointing along with the output numbers being less than claimed on my preproduction model. This isn’t heat related as the heat barely changed during this time. Max heat was 63C at the 18-minute mark. There isn’t a ton of room to dissipate heat here with the smaller aluminum head. The light was able to sustain between 100-180 lumens then for 90 minutes, in High outputs were slightly lower and runtimes were only 2-3 minutes longer. In Medium the light ran for about 4:30:00 at a very stable 75 lumens or so. 

 

Recharging

Recharging of the X3 flashlight itself can only be done wirelessly. Luckily it seems to use the Qi charging standard so not only can you use the case the light comes with but many other charging pads seem to work in my experience. I have a 5W Samsung charging pad here that I used, and doing that the light took just shy of 2 hours to charge.

Internally the light itself has a lithium polymer battery thats 1000mAh in size. Charging this via the case took about 2:46:00. I measured this by using the case with a full charge, plugging in the light and then plugging in the case to AC power, so in theory the power being consumed was for charging the light. This is a fairly slow charging speed for a small battery, but we need to keep in mind wireless charging isn’t super efficient, just convenient. 

The case also contains it’s own 3000mAh battery. In my testing, I found that I could charge the X3 from LVP to full about 1.7 times before it’s internal capacity was full. I tested charging just the internal battery in the case from zero to full and that took 2.5 hours. The case did seem to always draw a small amount of power when it indicated it was full regardless of how many hours you left it in. 

 

Conclusion

When I first read about the X3 I thought it was a little bit of a gimmick, but once I got it in my hand and started using it, it grew on me quickly. It’s a useful feature set for what it is. I like the dual emitter colors, especially in this side-by-side format, it works well. The rotating head here works really well, so not only is it a light you can clip onto a vest or pack strap, but you can use it more like a conventional flashlight too. It’s a good LED and tint option in my opinion here too being neutral and high CRI.

The LED screen here is functional by telling you the mode, number of lumens and power level indicator. The only thing I wish it did was estimate the remaining runtime at this power mode. That’s something NItecore has been doing on their lights with screens that are useful rather than a graphic showing the battery level that isn’t very precise.

The glow-in-the-dark body in this example and the internal LED that comes on when it’s charging creates a neat glowing effect. The magnets in the bottom are strong and functional too. The wireless charging works well but is kind of slow. At first, I was against the idea but found it rather convenient that you could charge in the case or in most places I could charge my smartphone. I could even do wireless powersharing from my smartphone if I wanted. I can’t think of really any other flashlights I have used that charge via Qi. 

This isn’t something I will probably EDC In my front jeans pocket like I do smaller round lights due to it’s size and harder angles, and not being deep carry at all. For me, it’s probably more of a back pocket or elsewhere in my bag type of light. I have been finding it something I grab when I need to go look at something in the basement or at night quickly because I like how it feels in my hand. I’m a little disappointed that the output here for me isn’t what’s claimed, and it’s off by a decent margin. Not sure why there is such a large difference but I know other reviewers have had similar experiences. Wuben either needs to address this or adjust its claims to match outputs that are closer to reality. Overall a fun light I can recommend, especially if you have some of the other X series of lights and like them, just be aware turbo output may be underwhelming.. I will have links below in the description to where you can find the Kickstarter on this one or if your watching after the Kickstarter is over where you can pick up the light now.

Back the Wuben X3 on Kickstarter at https://bit.ly/LR-X3

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Thrunite – TC20 Pro Review (3294 Lumens, 350 meters throw, USB-C, 20%)

Today I am looking at the Thrunite TC20 Pro. This is an updated version of the TC20 V2 that I looked at in the past, and the main difference is that the Pro is using a Cree XHP 70 HI LED and smooth reflector. As a part of this review, I will be comparing it to the Fenix PD36R Pro during my night shots section later on. Thanks to Thrunite for sending this to me to look at and offer an unbias review. Any discounts or deals I have for the TC20 Pro will be in the description below along with links to my social media accounts that I encourage you to go and follow. 

 

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Get the Thrunite TC20 Pro at https://amzn.to/3mU8U6g amd save 20% using code 47C8HFMW through midnight PDT 3/26/23

 

Packaging & Accessories

Standard Thrunite brown cardboard box here with the elastic band, I would call it functional minimalism. Inside is the entire kit with almost everything you need to maintain and use the light for years. You get the light itself, a 5000mAh 26650 Thrunite battery, nylon holster, USB-A to C charging cable, lanyard, a bag of extras including o’rings, button seal, USB port cover, and split ring, a manual, and warranty card.

 

Construction

Visually and construction-wise, the TC20 Pro is pretty much identical to the TC20 V2, with the main differences being the LED and Lens combination. The light is made from Aluminum and hard anodized black. Build quality is always good from Thrunite and this is no exception. The tail cap provides a flat surface that allows for tail standing and has a lanyard hole. The cap is removable and non-magnetic. Inside there is a stout spring on the tail end only.

The body tube has milled blocks in an almost frag pattern for grip. The corners are well-chamfered though so it’s not too aggressive. Square threads on both ends are anodized, smooth, and nonreversible.

The head features the standard Thrunite electronic switch with a metal button on top, and a small battery indicator LED in the middle. Directly opposite the button is the USB-C charging port that’s covered via a silicone rubber flap. It’s decent fitting and does stay out of the way. The light has moderate milling at the top for heat dissipation and weight reduction. The bezel is flat. The lens is AR coated and the reflector is smooth.

 

UI

UI here is Thrunite’s standard. Single press to turn on, long press once on to cycle up between the 3 main modes, double press to go to Turbo, triple press to go to strobe. It’s a very simple interface, and it’s easy to use which is nice but also limiting. A fast ramping interface would work pretty well here too given the limited number of modes and wide range of outputs it must cover. 

 

Retention

Retention options include the included nylon holster. It has elastic sides, plastic dring, and a fixed belt loop. It gets the job done but is just of average quality. The light also comes with a branded lanyard and split ring that can be attached to the tail if you wish.

 

Size & Weight

I measured the length at 118.1mm, the diameter of the body tube at 32.6mm, diameter of the head at 42mm. The weight of the TC20 Pro with the battery is 242.5g. The light is IP68 water-rated to 2 meters. Here are some comparisons with other flashlights, including the Fenix PD36R Pro I will be comparing it to in the night shots coming up soon.

LED & Beam

The TC20 Pro is using a Cree XHP 70 HI LED in cool white. On my Opple meter measured the tint at 6092k and 69 CRI. DUV is fairly neutral with no major tint shifts. When I compare it to my TC20 V2, it has much less tint shift and much less yellow/green, especially at lower outputs. The beam on the TC20 Pro is more spotty and throws a bit further and that makes sense with the smooth emitter and dedomed LED. When I compare it to the Fexnix PD36R Pro the hot spot is of a similar size but has a smoother transition into the spill where as the Fenix is much more pronounced. I would say the tint of the Fenix is more green, especially at lower outputs. There is a small amount of very fast PWM on all modes of the TC20 Pro.

 

Outputs

Heat & Runtime

The light is able to sustain it’s 3500+ lumens for 3:30 before stepping down to around 1800 lumens where it will run for 32 minutes, before stepping down to about 1600 lumens to finish out the remainder of it’s 1:00:00 runtime. Peak heat during this time was about 59C. Running on medium nets an impressive 9:30:00.

Where this light really shines in my opinion is the amount of time it can sustain well over 1000 lumens. This light maintains over 1400 lumens for 1:40:00. I frequently get asked what light can I buy that will stay over 1000 or 2000 lumens for an hour, well here is a good option for you if that’s what you’re looking for. In comparison to the TC20 V2 the Pro here doesn’t have quite a long of runtime but that’s to be expected with this different LED and more overall output.

 

Recharging

The TC20 Pro has onboard USB-C charging that’s protected by a silicone rubber port cover. I charged the light charged the light from LVP to full at 4.17v in 3:17:00. You are able to use the light during charging but only in low and medium modes. It charges via USB-C to C or PD without an issue. While the included battery is officially rated at 5000mAh, I tested mine with my Vapcell S4 Plus at 5437mAh.  

 

Conclusion

The Thruntie TC20 Pro is a worthwhile upgrade to the V2. It takes what was a moderately floody light and increases its ability to throw, while still maintaining the size and form factor we know. The tint here is better on the Pro, and over it’s competitors in my opinion, and I prefer the beam tint and shape on the Pro. You do take some small decreases in overall runtime though due to that higher comparison. 

Compared to the Fenix PD36R Pro, the TC20 Pro is less tactical with it’s UI and a bit more general purpose in my opinion. It’s also generally a better value and a light I can recommend over either the TC20 V2, or the PD36R Pro dollar for dollar in my opinion. 

 

Get the Thrunite TC20 Pro at https://amzn.to/3mU8U6g amd save 20% using code 47C8HFMW through midnight PDT 3/26/23

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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.

 

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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. 

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Vosteed Rook Review (1800 Lumens, 3x Nichia 519a, 18350)

You may have seen my posts on social media and my first short here on Youtube on this but here is a review of it. Introducing the Vosteed Rook, a first collaboration flashlight with Reylight. It’s EDC focused, featuring 3 Nichia 519a LED, a USB-C Rechargeable 18350, battery, and a choice of 5 colors, Red, Blue, Black, Gray and Orange. What I have here is a prototype that’s in bead-blasted aluminum, with a different clip design. This is a Kickstarter project that is already funded but joining it’s the best way to get a Rook early and at a discount. Hurry though because the campaign ends early January 3rd, 2023. Full disclosure I helped Vosteed make an intro video for the campaign and my link below is an affiliate link. 

Due to this and a few other changes, this won’t be a full review, but it will be pretty close. Thanks to Vosteed for sending this to me to review.

 

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Join the Kickstarter Campaign for the Vosteed Rook https://bit.ly/RookLR1

 

Packaging & Accessories

My prototype here was too early to have any of the packaging you will get. That said I have bought several Vosteed knives and the packaging is top-notch I expect nothing different from the Rook. Yours will come with a 18350 battery with USB-C recharging onboard, and if the campaign reaches $30,000 you will also get an EDC Pouch and Vosteed Patch. 

 

Construction & Design

The rook is made from aluminum and will be anodized in a number of colors initially. Red, Blue, Black, Gray, and Orange. Its design takes inspiration from the Rook chess piece. It features 7 places for 1.5 x 6mm tritium vials, 3 in the tail button which my prototype doesn’t have, and then 4 in the tail section of the flashlight. The button here is a mechanical reverse clicky button, meaning you have to press the button all the way to turn the light on, and then half presses will change modes. The button itself takes a little more force to press and is flush with the top so it tail stands well, and should help prevent accidental activations. Tolerances here are better than the Reylight Pineapple/Lan series so there is less side-to-side play but there is still a rubber disk below so keep that in mind.

The light uses a standard “steel flame” screw spacing, so it will have a wide variety of clip compatibility. Right now I have a standard Reylight clip on it, as my prototype came without one. It’s a tad too long and hits the head section which results in a scratch on this raw anodized bead-blasted aluminum. The production light will have a redesigned clip to add some style and take care of this issue. The clip will be the attachment point for a lanyard if you wish too. In the hand it feels pretty good and the recessed area on the body gives your finger a place to index. 

The light does come into 3 main pieces the tail section, body tube, and head section. There isn’t any knurling on the light but ther various aspects of the design give you something to hold on to that should be adequate for many EDC situations. This isn’t a tactical light designed for extreme or tactical conditions. 

The head has a smooth bezel, a very scratch-resistant sapphire lens, TIR style Tripple optic, on top of the LED’s. The result is a pretty nice beam profile I will get into later on here.

I will grade the light as easy to modify emitter-wise, the main pill unscrews easily and gives you access driver and mcpcb should you want to dedome the LED’s or replace them with something else. 

 

Size & Weight

My prototype is going to have a bit of difference from the production light on size and weight. I know the production light will be slightly longer, have a different clip, and battery, and be anodized. So I won’t give too many specifics here. The diameter is 24mm, the length is 74 and the light is IPX68 water rated. Normal use scenarios shouldn’t be an issue. 

 

User Interface

The Rook is using the Reylight Programabale interface from the most recent version of Reylight’s popular Pineapple, Pineapple Mini, and Lan lights. It has 4 preprogrammed modes with different brightness outputs, by default it ships in mode 2, Moon, 10%, 40%, and 100% output. You can toggle memory mode on or off, as well as moonlight on or off. SOS and Strobe are only available in programming mode 4. The interface is pretty easy to use once you have the light set to how you like it. When changing modes though I would recommend consulting the manual. 

 

LED & Beam

The Rook comes with 2 LED choices, the Nichia 519a LED which is what I have here or Cree XPL Hi LED’s. Both are good choices, but for me I will be sticking to and recommending the Nichia 519a LED’s myself. As mentioned in previous reviews these are the most popular LED’s among enthusiasts in 2022 due to their highly desirable tint, ease of dedoming, high CRI, and increased output over previous similar LED’s. 

On my prototype here with the Nichia 519a LED, on my Opple Meter, I measured 3848k tint, with an RA of 97. The tint was very neutral and pleasing. These should dedome nicely too if you want to push it a bit rosier. The beam here is a very even large hotspot from the TIR reflector and has a minimal spill. It’s ideal for short and medium-range EDC-style tasks. On the higher mode, it does a decent job of lighting up things up to about 100 years I would say. There is PDM here on the lower modes, but it’s fast and I don’t see it with my camera or eye.

A quick note on Outputs, I didn’t get the claimed outputs on my sample. The peak output I saw was just shy of 1400 lumens in my lumen tube. I theorize this is because of a few things. #1 I am using a prototype and I know there were planned minor changes to the driver. #2 The two LED options that are being offered, Typically Cree XPL Hi LED’s will have more output than the Nichia 519a I have in my example. My runtime graphs in the next section will give you a rough idea of what’s happening.

 

Heat & Runtime

Here are the heat and runtime graphs. The light sustains its maximum output for around a minute before starting to step down and stays above 1000 lumens for about 2 minutes. Starting on Turbo total runtime was 72 minutes or so and the maximum temp was a very warm 75C. I then did a comparison runtime between Turbo, Hight and Medium runtimes. High runtime gains you an extra hour or so of runtime, and medium goes out to an impressive 9 hours 20 minutes. 

 

Recharging

As previously mentioned the light will be shipping with a 18350 battery that has USB-C recharging onboard. My prototype didn’t come with this battery, however, so I was unable to test this feature further. I can report the light will work with a standard flat top or button top 18350 battery. The light does have reverse polarity protection and LVP protection.

 

Conclusion

I am a fan of the Rook, it has the makings of what should be a nice, reasonably affordable EDC light in the 18350 form factor. A great LED choice here with the Nichia 519a, and Cree XPL Hi LED options for those that want a cooler tint. Combine that with a solid familiar user interface and it makes for a good all around EDC light. 

It’s worth noting these are “small batch” lights from a single maker. While not a true custom, are CNC produced, they are likely assembled by just one or two people. Both Vosteed and Reylight are small companies with just a handful of employees or a single entrepreneur. That said they both have some of the best customer service I have seen in the industry.

Aluminum may turn off some people here but it really is a great material for flashlights, and among the best in terms of cost, weight, machineability, heat dissipation, and durability. That said I wouldn’t be surprised that if the Rook is a success, we see more specialty materials in the future or a 18650 body tube to increase the length and runtime. Be on the lookout for a few stretch goals the campaign has tool. 

If you are interested there will be a link below that does help support the channel if you decide to back the Kickstarter. As always I’m interested in what you think of the Rook and if you will be picking up one. This is likely my last video for 2022, but I have lots more planned for early 2023, so make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss the next one. 

Join the Kickstarter Campaign for the Vosteed Rook https://bit.ly/RookLR1