As i mentioned in the review C8s uses a buck driver . It is moddable , with only a resistor you can get a ~25% increase in amps LED gets .
Here is a pic of the stock driver :
The brown component you can see in front of the coil , is an R050 (50mOhm) resistor . By adding an R100 (100mOhm) resistor on top (parallel) of the R050 , total resistance reduces to 33mOhms .
Current without any mod : 3.25 amps (using VTC5A in all measurements)
Current after resistor mod : 3.4 amps
Current after resistor mod and spring bypass : 4.05 amps
Other mods i did :
I reflowed stock LED , from the stock mcpcb ( non-dtp) to a 20mm Noctigon (dtp) .
De-domed the emitter using gas .
Changed LED wires to AWG 20 (not needed , no increase measured!)
I really like these lights. Thorfire did a great job with the driver, in my opinion. Perfect spacing, with a hidden strobe. It appears to be a slightly higher amp output than the models I have with the screw in pill, and aluminum Mpcb. I do like the new tailcap design. I’ve been waiting for a deal to come up on these new ones, for a while now (Barry, are you listening?). I guess I’ll just have to bite the bullet, and order one.
I have been buying their protected batteries for a while now, at first they were samsung ICR18650-30b’s, but the last pair I got were Panasonic ICR18650BE, which are 3200 mAh (and they test out to that).
Looking forward to pictures of the driver.
Both flashlights have : High quality Anodization , Superb Reflector , Nice anodized threads on tailcap side , Retaining ring for the driver mount and high quality switch . There isn’t any difference in quality of those mentioned .
A nice addition is Thorfire’s tailcap (look only , no difference in quality or operation) , it has a unique design with cut-outs (allowing tailstand , and easy operation with the thumb) .
Nice review George
I like the Thorfire C8S, it’s a real solid performer
I have 3 in our house (kids a me all have one) and I have gifted another 4 out to non flashaholics and they love them too.
I feel confident in giving these out because of the low voltage protection and can take protected Panasonic NCR18650B’s or the Sanyo 18650GA protected too
I give these out with Liitkala i200’s or 100’s
All up around $30AU a perfect gift set
I find it’s really useful for up to 100-130 metres and can reach about 300 metres but I wouldn’t say it lights up much at that distance but you can definitely see a bit of light hitting that distance
I got and modified several of both (Thorfire C8s and Convoy C8). In quality they are comparable but I like driver and and tailcap of Thorfire C8s more.
Well, you weren’t the Barry I was referring to in my post :confounded: , but I was buying them for $13 to $14 (for the older, upgraded model :D), through Slickdeals a while back. They are actually $17 on Amazon right now, but back-ordered. I’m going to order 1, and a TS07 I’ve had in my cart for a while.
Nice review. Got one several months ago. The cutout in the tail cap is a big improvement in my opinion. It fits the Convoy C8 also. I seem to remember TF had a coupon code for a short period, that brought them down to $14 or so.
Resistor mod , led dedome , installed a DTP board (yes , stock board is non-dtp) , bypassed springs and thicker led wires.
I will write a post with the mod , and step by step amp draw change (before resistor mod , after res mod , after spring bypass , led wires change etc .)
Nice review giorgoskok. I have read a few reviews of this newer model, but since I already had a few older ones, I never got one. Your review pushed me into hitting the Accept button, lol. I’m impressed that you got 4+ amps on the stock driver. Do you measure with a clamp meter?