As many of you know, many of your favorite Chinese companies will be having 11.11 (Singles Day) sales. It’s kind of like Chinese Black Friday, but entirely online. This is a great time to pick up a new light at a usually a pretty good discount. Many of these are available now for a limited time.
If I have done reviews on some of the for sale models I will try to link my review video below.
Wurkkos has been a newer brand that has been hitting it out of the park. The FC11 is the first model that I reviewed and it’s a fantastic place to get started as a general purpose or EDC flashlight for many people. I will be reviewing more from Wurkkos in the near future.
FC11 Review (They have updated the model since then)
HD20 Review
Thrunite
15% off on the following Lights (Click the coupon on the listing)
10% OFF first order (new registered customer) CODE: UBK82QA7
15% OFF HS20 SC31Pro, D25S, IF22A,Q8Pro, LT1 CODE: Q82YOY1K
30% OFF TF84 CODE: WG379GP3
Discount codes don’t stack. If you have a 10% off discount, they can’t also use a “15% off” or “30% off”coupon. Only one discount at a time can apply to a single order.
Sofirn (Amazon US) Starts on 11/10/2021 at 0:00 AM.
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.
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.
Sofirn has made an upgrade to their SP33 light after taking feedback from the flashlight community and come out with the SP33 V3 edition. It can use a several sizes of batteries such as a 26650, 18650, and even 21700’s. It features a Cree XHP50.2 at 3V LED and produces 3500 lumens in a pretty compact light and a very budget friendly price. Thanks to Sofirn for sending this to me to check out.
Sofirn is offering 36% off the SP33 V3 that’s available from Amazon by using the coupon LiquidRetro combine that with the click off coupon to save a total of 36% brining this to $32.24 before tax. Get it at https://amzn.to/32M5SoH
Thanks to everyone who is already following me on Instagram, and on this channel’s Facebook page, It really does help the channel grow.
The SP33 has a bit of a more retail looking box then we have seen from them in the past. It’s a black and orange hanger box but it doesn’t have a photo of the light on it, just a night shot showing a very bright flashlight. Accessories that are included with the SP33 V3 Kit are The 5500mAh 26650 battery, 18650 battery adapter tube, USB-A to C charging cable, manual, and a lanyard with a couple extra o’rings.
Construction
The SP33 V3 is made of 6061 aluminum and hard anodized in black. Machining is good for the price range, with no major concerns. Starting at the tail cap, it has a crown and one side has 2 holes for a lanyard attachment point. They are just a little to small to easily fit paracord in, but you might be able to if you are patient and creative. Knurling is straight and there are a few flats in place for style. This is different from the rest of the light but provide function. Inside there is a single short fairly stiff spring that provides compatibility with the many different battery types this light supports. Threads are ACME cut and were dry in my example.
The body tube is reversible and has a decently thick walls. There isn’t a place for a clip but that’s ok for a light of this diameter in my opinion. The knurling is standard diamond knurling and is done in four panels around the light and is of medium texture.
The head is a solid piece. In the center you have the flat plastic e-switch button with an LED in the middle used for power indication. Around the hexagon there are small areas milled in to help with cooling and give style. Opposite the button is the USB-C port for recharging. The silicon cover here is a bit large and does protrude slightly from the lights back, enough so it won’t sit flat on this port but in the hand this works fine and stays out of the way.
The V3 features a deeper stainless steel bezel with a few short but long crenelations. This has been lengthened on the V3 version. The lens looks to be uncoated mineral glass and is fairly thick. The reflector underneath is deep with an orange peel.
Size & Weight
I measured the length of the light at 126mm, maximum diameter at 37.5mm, minimum diameter at 32mm. Weight with the included battery is 229g.
I don’t have a lot of other great 26650 lights that are similar sized to compare it to. What I do have is the Wowtac A4 V2 I reviewed recently. It’s similar in length and diameter but the head is much larger. I also have the Sofirn SP36 I reviewed last year, its similar in length but has more diameter due to it’s 3 18650 batteries.
Retention
Not much to say on retention here, there isn’t a place for a clip on the light, and it doesn’t come with a holster. The tail cap does have a place for a lanyard to attach if you wish. The light does tail stand without an issue.
LED & Beam Shots
V3 of this light is using a Cree XHP50.2 LED at 3V instead of the 6V version of this led. Tint is listed at between 6000-6500k, so cool white. On lower powers I do notice a bit of green tint shift on my example but it’s minimal. On higher powers you do notice tint shift across the beam. I would categorize the light as an all purpose beam, It’s fairly wide and the hotspot is so broad it’s not a thrower, yet it goes a good distance as you can see in my night shots. Sofirn quotes a throw of 275 meters and I think that’s a good number that’s in the ballpark.
V3 is using a FET driver instead of boost driver meaning it’s drawing more current from the battery thus the higher turbo output that’s seen here. You are going to want to use a good high quality high drain flat top battery with this light for maximum performance. It can accept 26650’s of all types, 18650’s of all types with the included spacer, or unprotected flat top 21700 batteries. The light has PWM on all modes according to my scope and solar cell setup. That said it’s pretty fast and my eyes or camera don’t notice it.
Output is listed as:
Turbo 3500 Lumens
High 1600 Lumens
Medium 450 Lumens
Low 150 Lumens
Moon 1 Lumen
Heat and Runtime
The SP33 V3 features Advanced temperature regulation without timed step downs, instead output will decline with the drivers internals reach 55C. Brightness will increase again when temps decrease, and we can see this in the runtime graph, as it’s a very seesaw motion. On average you’re seeing maybe a 20% swing in relative output over the life of the battery after the initial turbo step down. I didn’t notice it unless I was really focused on it on a 25 minute walk with the light. Turbo did start stepping down due to heat at 1 min 45 seconds, taking a little over a minute to step down to 18% relative output to cool. From here you can see on the graph it went up and down in terms of output as the flashlight regulated its own heat.
Total runtime on the included 5500mAh battery was 3:24:00. FL1 was at 3:11:00 and the maximum temp I saw during my runtime on the exterior was 48C or 118F so definitely very warm. All temps were taken at my ambient room temp of about 25C.
User Interface
This light has 2 UI modes, default mode (mode 1) is a stepped mode that works logically. It has moonlight, low, medium, and high modes with memory and Turbo without. A single click turns the light on from off, and holding the button down cycles through modes. Long press when off turns on Moonlight mode and double click goes to Turbo. Triple click to go to SOS/blinking modes.
The second UI mode is a ramping mode. To switch between the 2 modes when the light is on do a quick quad press. Ramping is like many other ramping modes with a flash on both the top and bottom end. For me while I like being able to set brightness exactly where I want it, I don’t love the speed of the ramp here, it’s a little on the slow side.
There is an electronic lockout when the light is off just quad click quickly. You can also mechanically lock it out with a slight twist of the tail or body tube. This is useful for such a powerful light os you don’t burn a hole in a bag or coat.
Recharging
The light isn’t picky on the size of batteries used in the light diameter or size wise. It can accept 26650’s of all types, 18650’s of all types with the included spacer, or unprotected flat top 21700 batteries. The later having the most slop in the tube due to not including an appropriately sized spacer. I used the supplied 5500mAh Sofirn 26650 battery for my charging tests. LVP came in on the light at 2.895V, so a little lower then I prefer but acceptable. The battery measured as fully charged at 4.15V.
The light does use USB-C for recharging which is nice to see. However it requires a USB-A to C cable (Supplied) to charge, and isn’t compatible with a C-C cable. When charging the small LED in the center of the button blinks red, and goes blue when charged. From LVP to full the light took 3 hours, 30 minutes. Maximum charging rate was 1.7A.
Pro’s
Great budget friendly price for a lot of light in a good overall package.
Is available in a few different versions, and battery options.
UI is more “beginner friendly” than Anduril firmware.
Con’s
Still not fully utilizing USB-C to C, requires a USB-A to USB-C cable to recharge.
Very active thermal controls, with a good amount of change in output.
No Neutral White tint option.
Conclusion
The Sofirn SP33 V3 is a low cost light with a lot of Output. Sofirn lists the light as making 3500 lumens. It runs on 26650, 18650 and some 21700 batteries so it’s widely compatible with the 3 most popular battery sizes today.
It has features not usually found in this price category like USB-C charging (not compatible with USB-C PD (C-C) charging), active thermal controls, and a stainless steel bezel. The active Thermal controls are pretty reactive but they are smooth and I don’t notice it with my eye as much as the graph shows. I wish it was more widely available in Neutral white, they list it as an available option on their AliExpress store but I don’t see these available from other retailers.
For the money especially with the discount Sofirn has provided makes this a really great value for the complete kit. It fits well in my hand and produces a ton of light. I can easily recommend this as a great high output budget light to pick up.
Sofirn is offering 36% off the SP33 V3 that’s available from Amazon by using the coupon LiquidRetro combine that with the click off coupon to save a total of 36% brining this to $32.24 before tax. Get it at https://amzn.to/32M5SoH
Do you miss the days of having an old big multi cell Maglight? If so Sofrins SP70 is for you. It’s their new, flagship thrower flashlight and it’s the largest modern flashlight I own. It’s so big in fact that it ships with a shoulder sling. Thanks to Bangood for sending this to me to review. If you are interested make sure to check the links in the description below for the discount that’s currently being offered on this light.
Pickup the Sofirn SP70 at http://bit.ly/2J2vZxr and use Coupon Code: FINSP70 to get the light for $50 (Maker sure to choose the Chinese warehouse for the coupon to apply correctly)
Sofirn doesn’t spend any time or money on their packaging like some flashlight companies do, instead its a basic brown cardboard box with nothing on the outside, and foam inside protecting the contents. Accessories include a set of spare orings, an extra button and some steel rings to make attaching the shoulder strap. It also comes with a shoulder strap since this is such a large light.
There are a couple of versions available of the Sofirn SP70. I received just the light itself, but Sofrin also has a kit version that includes 26650 batteries and a basic charger. I know both versions are available on Amazon, but it looks like Banggod is only selling the light only version.
Construction
The light is made from aluminium and has a smooth black anodizing on it. Quality overall is good, no sharp edges or visible machining marks. It is a heavy weight coming in at 864.7 grams. The light is large enough I am going to take it apart here to talk about the various components and fit them on frame.
The tail has a mechanical button covered with a silicone button with grip. It’s surrounded by two wings that allow the light to tail stand. One has a rather large slot milled in it to allow for the shoulder strap to attach. On the sides the tail cap has a 12 sides milled in to give some style and a bit of grip. Inside is a stiff dual spring.
On the body tube tail end threads are square cut and anodized. The light does have a tactical ring, but on a light this big it’s more of an anti roll ring. It has two holes where you could attach a lanyard if you wanted. The center part of the body tube has nice diamond knurling on it, providing a good level of grip. Threads on the top part of the body tube are anodized, square cut making it reversible.
The inside of the head has two springs as well which is nice to see in a light this size. The button is on the lowest level nearest the body tube and fits my hand pretty well. It has green LED’s underneath that power on when the light is on. There is a good amount of milled in heat syncing on the light all over the head to help dissipate heat and reduce weight. I do like that they left some metal in directly under the button to give you a place to rest your pointer finger when you press the button. Also in the head just in front of the button is the other shoulder strap attachment point. The very front of the light has a lightly crenelated bezel that allows for the glass lens to sit recessed. The reflector underneath is has a heavy orange peal all around it.
Size and Weight Comparisons
This is the first light that was too long to measure with my calipers in one go, Length was measured at 250mm, Diameter at its largest (Head) was 90mm, and minimum diameter on the body section was 34mm. I measured the weight with two KeepPower 26650 cells installed at 864.7g, which makes it the heaviest light I have tested. That almost 2lbs of flashlight, no wonder this comes with a shoulder sling. The light is IP67 water rated.
I don’t have any modern lights this long or with this big of head to compare it to. Here is a Klarus XT32 Thrower that uses 18650’s. The Klarus isn’t a small light either but the SP70 just puts it to shame in it’s size. I will insert a picture of the Astrolux FT03 I reviewed last week on this channel for comparisons in size too.
LED/Beamshots/Runtime/Lumens
The Sofirn SP70 uses a Cree XHP 70.2 LED at 6000k. It’s got the usual XHP 70.2 falts but here at least in my example the Cree rainbow isn’t as noticeable. It’s a good emitter for tons of output and throw.
hat brings me to the beam pattern here, while a good thrower it’s not as tight as beam as I was expecting. The hotspot is pretty good size and doesn’t have the usual hard edges you see no a lot of throwers. In my night shots you saw that bigger beam and even larger spill.
Sofrin lists the following outputs for group 1 modes.
Moon – 2 Lumens
Eco – 60 Lumens
Low – 400 Lumens
Medium – 1,200 Lumens
High – 3,000 Lumens
Turbo – 5,500 Lumens
Beacon – 1,000 Lumens
Although this light can run on 18650, for the runtime and the performance benefits I would recommend running with 26650 batteries instead. In my runtime graphs here you can see the difference between using 18650 and 26550 batteries. Turbo would be the letdown here, because it only lasts about 2 minutes while decreasing in output. The light declines over about 30 minutes to around 70% relative output. At this point we see a large decrease in output to about 30% for the next hour. From here we see small declines then the light runs at a very low output for another 130 minutes for a total runtime of 240 minutes on 2 26650 batteries. On 18650’s total runtime was similar but you only got about 50 minutes of effective light.
LVP kicked in at 2.85V. I did notice the cells didn’t discharge evenly (2.85V and 2.89V) so if I was using this light alot I would rotate positions every once and a while after a full recharge.
UI
This light has 2 UI modes. By default it came in a more conventional stepped interface by default, but it’s also capable of a ramping UI. I did my testing with the default UI. It has 6 mode groups from 2 lumens to 5000 lumens. The UI starts on low and goes up progressively. The light has a mechanical switch at the rear and then an e-switch up at the top. The mechanical switch does work as a momentary. You can have the mechanical switch on the the e-+switch off but this does increase the power drain on the light. When the light is on if you want to turn it off (standby) with the eswitch a quick press will do that. Longer presses make it cycle up in modes. Double click takes you to turbo. The light has memory, and lockout modes as well. Overall it’s a pretty simple interface and pretty intuitive. I like that beacon is hard to access.
Pro’s
Thermals are pretty well controlled, for as many lumens as we see here it doesn’t get too hot to touch.
That said I would prefer active thermal controls over timed step down but that is more difficult to do at this price point.
Huge output and good throw
Beacon isn’t part of the main mode groups
Con’s
It’s really big and appropriately heavy, your not going to EDC this light in your pants pocket. The big head size does make me a bit worried about damaging the glass lens with an impact.
XHP 70.2 has some cree rainbow.
Conclusion
If you miss the days of having a big 3 or 4 cell D Maglight that had some real heft to it and in the market for a high lumen, long distance thrower light, the Sofirn SP70 is a good option and fairly affordable as well. Everything about this light is big, from it’s throw, lumen output, spill, or gross weight. Sofirn has done a good job in the past year of listening to enthusiasts and turning out better and better lights. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite budget brands to recommend and the SP70 is their best large format thrower to date that I have tested.
Pickup the Sofirn SP70 at http://bit.ly/2J2vZxr and use Coupon Code: FINSP70 to get the light for $50 (Maker sure to choose the Chinese warehouse for the coupon to apply correctly)
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Bangood is also having their summer prime sales, June 25th to July 12th with lots of prizes available.
Astrolux has a new larger light the FT01 with a Cree XHP 50.2 that takes up to a 21700 lithium ion battery and has onboard microUSB charging. Thanks to Banggood for sending this to me to take a look at.
Packaging on this light is a white cardboard lift off box. It has silver embossed image of the light but no real technical detail except for the sticker on the end denoting the model and color. Inside the light is well protected foam cut to fit the light. It comes with a lanyard, orings, a spare button and the manual. It also comes with a conversion tube that shipped in the light to hold an 18650 battery in the light.
Construction
Starting at the tail cap it has a 3 lobe design that means it tail stands pretty well. You can attach a lanyard to any of the wings. The rubber button is easy to access the mechanical button underneath, and requires a decent amount of force to lock, but momentary comes on sooner. There is no knurling on the tail cap but instead smoothed over flutes, it’s not a lot of grip. Inside there are double springs in the tail cap. There are quite a few fine threads at both ends of the light, the tail section being anodized. The walls of the body tube of the light are quite thick.
The body tube has 3 panels of a flat diamond pattern milled into it. These would be fine on an EDC light but are not as grippe as I would like on a tactical light. The head of the light contains just a little area milled for heat dissipation and aesthetics. The front button feels pretty tactile and has an audible click. The LED under it is used as an indicator when charging. The microUSB port opposite the button for recharging. The cover is very well done, it’s out of the way, and the tab doesn’t catch your finger. The bezel on this light is a a screw on aluminum piece. On mine it’s not round, with one side hanging over the body of the light a little, while the opposite side is a flush fit like I would expect, it has crenelations. The lens is glass and isn’t antireflective from what I can see. The reflector is deep and has an orange peel.
This is a big light in all dimensions for what it is.I measured it at a length of 143mm, 37mm head diameter, and 29mm minimum body diameter. The weight came in with a Sanyo 20700 in it, at 250 grams.
I compared the light with a Lumintop ODF30 which uses a 26650 battery and the Lumintop is considerably shorter due to not having a tail switch and recharging but it just shows how big the Astrolux is for what it is.
LED/Beamshot
This light has a Cree XHP50.2 in a fairly cool white. My example suffered from pretty bad cree rainbow, the center was the cooler white, but then you got a pronounced green ring, before fading into the cooler white again, not my cup of tea. The reflector is deep, and has an orange peel.
Runtime
For my runtime tests I did so with 2 different battery sizes for this light. I used a LG HG2 (3000mAh) for the 18650, and then a Sanyo NCR20700 (4250mAh). Surprisingly both lights had relatively similar total runtimes, about 150 min and 170 min respectively. However the main difference you saw was that runtime after initial step down from turbo. Tubo lasted 2-3 minutes. Then with the 18650 you saw about 45 minutes of high before stepping down due to voltage. With the larger capacity 20700 I saw that high mode last for 65 minutes which is a nice real improvement.
UI
This light uses an easy interface. The tail switch is the on/off button and that’s all it does. The front button controls the modes. You have 5 modes in normal operation. Double click to access the shortcut to turbo. From any mode if you press and hold for about 1 second you get strobe. There isn’t memory on this light and it starts on low always.
For being marketed as a tactical light I don’t feel like the UI is very tactical. I would prefer a little quicker access to strobe for a tactical light. Having to press on at the tail and then long press on the front switch either takes 2 hands or changing your grip, neigher are ideal.
Recharging
Fastest I saw for the built in MicroUSB recharging was 0.72A, which means it took right at 4 and a half hours to charge the a 3000mAh 18650 battery. This is fairly slow by modern standards, I would like to see at least an amp. The side button acts as a power indicator, going red when charging. I will say the charging port cover is well designed, it sits flush and the tab doesn’t catch your hand at all.
Pro’s
I like that this works with a 21700, 20700, and an 18650 batteries with the included spacer.
Minimal branding and the light is available in a sand/gold color as gray and black
Con’s
It’s big, and heavy for what it is.
It’s expensive without a coupon, for not coming with a battery
Pretty bad Cree color shift rainbow.
Conclusion
It won’t be a big surprise but this isn’t a light I personally enjoy. It’s too big, heavy and the UI is more general purpose then tactical. I like that it comes in colors and you can use the newer larger generation of 21700 batteries. However for tactical useage you won’t find it on my belt or bag.
I do think this would be an ok light for someone wanting to get something basic for an older person in their life. It’s larger, and USB rechargeable. You could give it to them, and tell them to just use the tail on/off switch. Low is fairly high powered, and is probably brighter than many alkaline incandescent lights they had previously. The modes are easy to cycle through if they wanted and turning it off and on again resets it. Other then that I generally think there are better options on the market for most applications with this one.
Get the Astrolux FT01 for $55 with coupon code: BGDLH at https://goo.gl/ZhjsaA (Affiliate Link)
Sofirn has a new light on the market called the SP36. It’s basically a smaller, lighter version of the BLF/Sofrin Q8 that has charging over USB-C. Instead of 4 18650 batteries, it’s using 3, but retains 4 LED’s. Thanks to Sofrin for sending this to me to take a look at. Remember to checkout the coupons at the end of this post if you are interested in this light.
Packaging
Packaging is pretty minimalistic. The light arrived in an unlabeled brown cardboard box with a bit of foam in the bottom. The light was in a thin sheet of bubble wrap. It arrived with a Happy/Not Happy card, a manual that while small print does a solid job of explaining things and does warn about using button top protected cells. It also includes a USB-A to USB-C cable which is nice given how USB-C is still an up and coming spec.
Construction
Construction of the SP36 is comparable to other Sofirn lights, and is good for the price range. The light is made from aluminum and anodized a semi gloss black. All edges are nicely machined. Threads are square cut but mostly dry. The tail cap is removable, and flat, it tailstands very well. Inside you can see 3 phillips screw holding the rear circuit board in place, these were very tight, but removable with the right driver and pressure. The board itself has 3 fairly heavy duty dual springs inside. The body tube has 3 bands of continuous heavy knurling on the outside, it’s a basic design but it’s effective. The inside has a seperator for the 3 batteries and when everything is screwed in I didn’t get any rattle.
The head is very reminiscent of the Q8, which this light is roughly based off of. Unfortunately the circuit board is glued in place, I tried removing it with a pair of snap ring pliers and ended up damaging the circuit board slightly. Reading on BLF the board is removable but it takes heat and a lot of work. The exterior of the head features milling on the sides for heat dissipation. On the front you have the only label on the light, it’s name. Below that is the button. It’s recessed into a milled area. Under the electronic button you have 2 green LED’s. Opposite the button on the other side of the light you have the USB-C charging port. It’s at normal depth and I didn’t have trouble with different cables I tried. The cover is tight fitting and stands proud a little bit. It’s rounded and comfortable in the hand. The bezel is smooth and flat, it’s all one piece so it’s not removable. The lens is glass and has some anti reflective coating. The optic is a deep quad with thin walls.
Unfortunately the head lacks a threaded insert for connecting the light to a tripod or for a solid attachment point for a lanyard. This is disappointing to me as I really like that on these larger lights, I think it helps for use with area lighting and lanyard attachment. I will have to look up some paracord work to use an attachment instead.
Size
The SP36 feels good in my hand. If the Q8 is just a little too fat, the SP36 should be about right. I measured total length at 125.25mm, maximum diameter at 49mm, minimum diameter at 45mm and weight with 3x Samsung 30Q at 436g.
Compared to the Q8 you really notice the difference in diameter in the head. There is a difference in size in the body tubes but it’s less than you would think. Only about 5mm of difference in diameter. The difference in weight with 30Q’s is 157g. While that’s significant both lights are heavy enough it’s hard to tell much of a difference when in use.
LED/Runtime/Heat
This light uses the Cree XP-L2 LED’s in the 5300-5700k range. Mine seems to be on the cooler side of this, I guess I will call it neutral white, better than cool white. Beamshot is more of a flood then the Q8, but with the 6000 lumens its enough power to throw ok too. Good general purpose beam. There are not any real artifacts i notice at 10+ feet. At shorter distance there are definitely petals in the beam due to the deeper quad reflectors.The head can be powered directly off USB-C but it won’t get anywhere near full brightness.
The light does have LVP (Kicks in at 2.8V) but Sofrin recommends using button top protected batteries. I didn’t have any of those I wanted to use with this light so I used button top Samsung 30Q’s for my runtime tests which worked well. Turbo (6000 lumens) ran on this light for 2 minutes before stepping down to a relative output putting it around 1200 lumens where the light ran and declined out to the 145 minute mark where it stepped down significantly over several steps over the next 30 minutes. At about 180 minutes the light effectively was at 0% relative output but still powered on out to 400 minutes.
The SP36 6000 lumens and smaller diameter means it gets warm, pretty quickly. At the brightest I measured the light at 1 minute at 104F, at 5 minutes at 107F, and at 10 minutes at 116F. This is quite warm, and the light gets even warmer, after about 20-25 minutes (I did a brief turn off, then turn on and run again) it was at 139F which is too hot to hold and is in burn you territory.
UI
NarsilM 1.2 Firmware with good ramping support. It has lots of options but it’s also easy to use. I love the ramping, it’s easy and intuitive and you can pick the exact amount of output you want. On this light there is no complaining when it comes to mode spacing. I plan on leaving my light at the default settings but if you do want to change things please consult the UI section of the manual. You need to read it more than once before attempting to make any setting changes. Things that are configurable are vast. You can disable ramping and go with 12 different mode spacing options, you can configure moonlight levels, thermal controls (Several), blink modes, mode ordering, LED locator feature, battery level indicators etc.
In stock mode the light also has memory mode, direct access to turbo with a double click. Triple click shows the battery level. 4 clicks to lock or unlock. When in max output mode double click to get to the different strobe modes.
Recharging
The SP36 features USB-C for recharging which is great. Unfortunately it only accepted a charge while using a USB-A to USB-C cable, not a C-C cable. It doesn’t support USB-C PD for faster charging meaning it took me 4 hours and 25 minutes to charge 3x Samsung 30Q batteries that were depleted. The peak charge rate I saw was 1.86A. With the ability for USB-C to draw more wattage from a compatible charger, and that this light has 3x batteries it would be nice to see this utilized but for the price here, I am just happy it has USB-C.
Pro’s
Proven Design & well built (Except for the glued in board)
USB-C recharging
Good NarsilM 1.2 firmware
Good pretty comprehensive manual, with some funny translation easter eggs. Very small print though.
Con’s
No Tripod mounting hold or place for a Lanyard. Kind of disappointing as this is a larger heavier light and I tend to use a lanyard with them.
XP-L2 LED’s in a cooler neutral white.I would love to see some different LED’s (warmer, High CRI, etc). offered here as would many on BLF. I would love to see something like a LH351D used on this light.
Heat – It gets really hot, fairly quickly and can get dangerously hot.
Conclusion
The Sofirn SP36 what you get when you take a BLF Q8 and reduce it by ¼ in most ways. It has one less battery, the body is narrower, and it’s lighter, but the spirit of the Q8 and SP36 are same. It gains USB-C charging which is great to see over MicroUSB, but it’s not gaining a big speed increase USB-C is capable of, so with 3 18650 batteries it still takes a while to charge. The built in charger does seem to add some cost over a Q8 which is to be expected. The SP36 is a good light, I think the decision between it and a Q8 variant comes down to how much you want built in USB-C charging and how much of a tint/LED snob you are. Both are great lights and I don’t see getting rid of either anytime soon.
On my review table today I have the ReyLight LAN V3, and ReyLight Pineapple V3 both in solid copper. This light can use AA, or 14500 sized batteries and is designed with upscale EDC in mind. Thanks to ReyLight for sending them to me to do a review.
Packaging
Packaging is the same as the V3 Pineapples and Ti LAN’s. It’s a nicely fit box with a slip over sleeve printed to look like Bamboo. The Pineapple box has the light printed on the front in a wire form. The LAN box has the Chinese character I believe on the front. On the back is the FL1 Standard chart showing runtime and lumens with a 14500 and AA battery. The tells the simple instructions. Inside the light is held in place with black foam, and the only extra you get is the clip and 2 orings. These copper lights do come sealed in a bag to prevent oxidation.
Construction
The big difference in these lights that instead of using titanium on the LAN, or Brass on the Pineapple, ReyLight has went with copper for both lights. The copper used on both lights has a very thin UV cured coating on it to protect it from immediate oxidation during production. This thin, I can smell the copper on my hands after handling it. With enough use it should come off, or I found that 100% acetone (Use it in a well ventilated area please, available in the nail polish area of your favorite big box store) will remove it with minimal effort.
At the tail on the Pineapple, this is the same as the brass version, only a different material. Tolerances on the button are improved. I get less side to side rattle and none up and down.
On my Copper LAN I have the optional rear bezel that can accomodate 12 pieces of tritium. Unfortunately it seems the tolerances on this part are not as good. I get more side to side rattle and some up and down rattle. This trit holder is also slightly larger than the body size of the light.
Body tubes on both models are the same as their brass or titanium counter parts. The LAN has 3 rectangles milled for aesthetic design. The Pineapple rings provide some functional grip as well. The heads are the same on their respective models as well, no big change. Rey does have some GITD O rings that can be put on the exterior of the head on the LAN for added effect. Both lights feature a bezel that let’s light escape when face down. One thing to note is that to change the battery, on the V3 lights, it’s the head that’s designed to be removed, and the tail stay in place.
Weights
Ti LAN weight without battery was 64.8g, Copper LAN without battery was 109.5g.
Brass Pineapple without battery was 93.7g, Copper Pineapple without battery was 98.6g.
LED/Runtime/Heat
ReyLight offers a choice of LED on these two copper lights. The standard LED option is the Nichia 219C in about 4000k with 90 CRI. Optionally there is the Cree XPL LED at 6500k. In my lights the Nichia is in the Pineapple, and the Cree is in the LAN. The reflector is the same in each light, with a medium orange peel, and double anti reflective coated glass. Beam pattern is very similar, and in my opinion good for EDC. The hot center is a medium size and fades out to a moderate amount of spill. Personally I prefer the Nichia emitter myself because of the warmer tint and higher CRI but it’s nice to see Rey is offering options.
Heat
When using a 14500 and running on high the light can get fairly warm. The V3 driver does contain basic thermal control which is an improvement over V1 and V2.
Runtime
For my runtime tests I used a protected button top Keeppower 14500 800mAh battery. Both lights use the same driver, and are very similar physical designs, so rather then compare to each other by model I am going to compare the two different emitters since that is the main difference between the two I own. Either model is available with either driver.
The Nichia emitter total runtime was about 95 minutes. Turbo lasted for just a couple of minutes, before the light took a step down due to thermals and ran at a declining 50% relative output with a steady decline that was fairly linear. At the end the light did a brief step up before low voltage protection kicked in.
The Cree XPL emitter had a very similar pattern. Total runtime was shorter, at a total 75 minutes, after a few minutes the lights stepped down to slightly above 55% relative output and its curve was a little more steppy, not quite as smooth. At the end the light did step up briefly before low voltage protection kicked in.
UI
This is the 3rd generation of the Reylight Driver. With the Nichia emitter it has, moon (0.2 Lumens), Low (8.5 Lumens), Medium (90 Lumens), and High (470 Lumens) with a 14500 battery, along with memory mode. On a AA Moon is 0.2 Lumens, Low is 3.2 Lumens, Medium is 30 Lumens, and High is 130 Lumens. A 14500 really wakes this light up in terms of output..
Carry
I am a big fan of the ReyLight Pineapple and LAN series of lights for EDC. I like the 14500/AA form factor for EDC. It’s enough light to be useful for EDC tasks without being too large in a variety of front pants/shorts pockets. While not the thinnest light in this class I don’t find it to be too large either. The Clip was reviews for V3 of these lights making it a bit more substantial. I have not had a bending or catching problem with this design. It carries reasonably deep in the pocket too. The gap that the clip provides on the light is required, if you want to run without a clip Rey sells a small titanium washer to take the clips place.
Pro’s
Almost Raw copper, the coating is super thin (Can still smell the copper though the coating) and easily removed with acetone, but will stay in place if you want to preserve the untarnished look.
The LAN has a new optional tail design that’s slightly larger but with 12 places for Tritium, the total light holds 16 trits.
LED options, including a warm, high CRI Nichia emitter.
Pretty affordable for solid copper.
Con’s
Tolerances with my fatter 14500 batteries (KeepPower) are tight in the battery tube. You need the help of a strong magnet to remove them on the LAN, the Pineapple body tube isn’t quite so tight. Olight’s 14500’s work well as do Enloops and Duracell rechargeable NiHM batteries. This got better as I took the batteries in and out a few more times.
Some button rattle on my LAN with the optional tail to hold a larger amount of trits.
Conclusion
The ReyLight copper LAN and Pineapples are very similar to their previous Titanium and Brass models but now with Copper as the material. While copper is heavy, it’s not so much extra weight that I notice a difference when either light is in my pocket. I like how they carry in my pocket, and I love the 14500 tail click form factor. I love that I can easily strip the coating off the light and have it patina. I plan to do that with my LAN for sure. The only thing I can fault a little bit are the tolerances. The battery tube seems slightly undersized for my Keeppower 14500 batteries and sometimes create a bit of a vacuum when trying to remove cells making it a little more difficult. This has gotten better the more I remove the battery from the light. Button tolerances are something that has been the achilles’ heel of the Pineapple and LAN designs. While things are mostly better the button may bother some people. Personally it doesn’t bother me, especially for a custom style light at this price point.
Despite this the ReyLight LAN and Pineapple are for me one of my most carried models of lights on a daily basis month over month because of the size and function. For me it just works really well and they are one of my favorites. I also think they are a great value for a entry level custom light. I am glad to offer copper to my brass and titanium families.I am looking forward to building that copper patina over the next few months.
Ordering
RayLight has a Facebook group where Rey keeps everyone up to date on new models, and other info. Right now it’s the best place to find and order a light direct from him. https://www.facebook.com/groups/221544235032559/
You can also email him direct and pay with Paypal Rey@reylight.net
He also now has a web page and is working to get international orders working. https://www.reylight.net/
The Nitecore MH12GTS is the upgraded version of the popular tactical MH12GT. It features and upgraded LED, 1800 lumen max output, microUSB charging, and an included 18650 battery. Thanks to the NitecoreStore.com for sending this to me to take a look at.
Packaging
This light comes in a Nitecore standard black and yellow retail box. On the outside there is quite a bit of info on the light. On the inside the light sits in a plastic tray with all the accessories and manual underneath. Included accessories are the light itself, lanyard, microUSB cable, pocket clip, tactical ring, NL1835HP 3500mAh button top battery extra orings and a velcro pouch.
Construction
The Nitecore MH12GTS is made of machined aluminum and his hard anodized a mostly glossy black. Starting at the tail cap, it has large lanyard holes on either sides, and does tail stand. The sides are cut down to allow for a finger or thumb to access the off center silicon textured button. It’s a pretty stiff button for a full click and mechanical. Opposite the button is a flat facing port cover for the USB charging port. The cover stays in place pretty well. The USB port underneath is waterproof and I will test that later in the review. Spring inside the tail cap is stiff and dual construction
This uses a dual tube style construction, from what I can tell the inner tube is not removable. Threads are a steep ACME cut and unanodized at top. The tactical ring on this light is threaded. I like this and means that it won’t’ freely spin like happens on many other light designs with a similar ring.There is an oring above the tactical ring.The body tube has smooth knurling but has horizontal lines milled in to break this up and then for the flats where the labels are they are milled a decent amount lower. This provides a bit more grip. The body tube looks like it’s removable but I can’t get it to budge. Further up the light has an anti rotation ring that’s small.
The head of the light has minimal heat syncing and heat hasn’t been a major issue here because the light does step down. The button is metal and has a clear Status indicator ring around it with a blue LED underneath. The head is pretty smooth. The bezel is smooth and the glass is anti reflective coated. The reflector is fairly deep for a 1 inch light and the LED is nicely centered.
The pocket clip on this light slots in right below the tail clip on the body tube. My first clip didn’t fit very close to the body of the light. I contacted Nitecore store and they promptly sent me a new one which was a much better and closer fit. I would prefer a clip that allows for deeper carry personally but this seems to not be what is done on most lights similar to this one.
Size/Weight/Water/Comparison
I measured length at 144mm. Maximum diameter is 35mm at the tactical ring, max diameter of the body is 26mm. Weight with the battery and pocket clip is 153.1 grams.
Size comparison with the Olight M2R Warrior is that they are very similar in diameter. The light is shorter at about 15mm. The nitecore is slightly lighter.
LED/Beam/Runtime
This light uses a Cree XHP35 HD LED in cool white. It’s capable of producing upto 1800 lumens in turbo mode. It throws pretty well due to that deep reflector. Overall the beam has a hot center and about 4 distinct rings. It’s not a very smooth transition to spill. The brightest hot spot has a bit of discoloration in the very center. This is easily noticed straight on against a surface that’s all the same texture and color such as drywall or concrete. It’s noticeable at distance as well.
Power and Runtime
This light is capable of running on 18650’s, CR123a, and RCR123A. 2× 18350’s is not recommended due to too high of voltage. To access Turbo you need cells capable of 8A or more. Total runtime with the included 3500mAh battery was 142 minutes. Turbo run time starts decreasing almost immediately. It has a run time of about 3 minutes. When the light steps down you are getting about 45% relative output for about 20 minutes. Between 20 minutes and 142 minutes the light is pretty stable between 45% and 35% relative output for 120 minutes. Heat is pretty well managed.
Turbo Runtime
Full Runtime
One thing worth noting is that the manual says “When using an IMR 18650 battery and the power level is low please stop using the product when the power level is low to prevent damage to the battery. An IMR battery is what the light ships with. This suggests that the light doesn’t have low voltage protection for this type of battery built in, so using protected cells would be a good idea. Lucky the one that ships with the light is protected.
UI
The tail switch on this light functions as only an on and off. It takes a decent amount of force to press, I think this is good for a tactical light.
For normal operation this light has 5 modes, UltraLow, Low, Mid, High, and Turbo. When the light is on the mode button cycles through them. Memory mode is strong on this light and works everywhere except strobe.
Momentary access to turbo is possible if the light is on by holding the Mode button for 1 second, if you let off it returns to what mode you were in previously.
Strobe on this light isn’t at just one rate. It’s pretty fast and then alternates between fast and really fast. I like it, I just wish strobe wasn’t so easy to access with just a double click of the mode button. When in st4robe you can also get to Beacon or SOS by long pressing on the mode button. To exit a special mode just short press on the mode button to return where you were previously.
Direct access to moonlight mode can be accessed with the light is off by pressing and holding the mode button, while actuating the tail button, so it’s a 2 hand operation.
Recharging
This light has recharging via microUSB on the tail cap of the light. There is a rubber flap that protects the port from dust and moisture. The port is also conformally coated, so it’s protected from moisture even if the flap is open. To test this I dunked it in water and then blew some air in the port with my mouth and proceeded to charge it without issue. There is also a small blue LED built into the tail cap to show charging status. Blinking blue means it’s charging, solid blue means it’s full.
The disappointing thing about charging via USB on this light is the speed. I saw charging speeds at it highest at only 0.64A. So for the included 3500mAh battery that means a full charge took me 10 hours, 9 minutes. This is really slow in 2018 for a premium light. I would expect a minimum of 1A these days, if not closer to 2A to cut down on the charging time substantially.
Pro
Comes with a nice high capacity Nitecore battery
Waterproofing even with the USB protective cap off
Quick access to ultralow 1 lumen mode
Con
Slow onboard Recharging .64A means using onboard recharging takes forever.
Beam throws well but has a slightly more dim area in the direct center.
Not a big fan of double click to strobe, I would prefer double click of the mode button to go to turbo and triple click for strobe.
Conclusion
The Nitecore MH12GTS is a pretty nice tactical style light with a good amount of throw for its compact size. The UI takes a little while to get used to but if this was a light you used often I think most would like it. I like how it’s able to use a pretty wide variety of power, including primary and flat top unprotected 18650’s. I like that Nitecore has put a lot of effort into making the USB port waterproof. I can get past the beam irregularities in normal everyday use, but the slow charging time is hard to live with on a premium light. Overall it’s a nice showing here from Nitecore and one that will be especially useful for a nice throw in a small diameter light.
