The NEW Sofirn C8F Triple XP-L W2 w/side e-switch

Nice review Dale!
Yes I talked with Sofirn and currently I’m waiting for a C8F host and some XP-L2 leds from kaidomain :slight_smile:
I will make some FET+1 driver with Narsil in it.

Can original driver be flash with narsil?

There’s no Attiny 85 on that driver to flash.

Ok thanks forgot to look at picture of driver :person_facepalming:

Narsil needs a specific hardware design to work in addition to the Attiny85. This driver is completely different. Best option might be to replace with a Lexel driver with NarsilM or a MTN ELEC driver with RampingIOS (used on D4 lights). Assuming the emitters can handle it, of course.

I’m not too big of a fan of most of the major players engineering myself. I swear that at times it’s as if they have a minimum of three engineers working on each product demanding that their input be included whether it helps the final product or not. Over-engineered is putting it mildly.

This new light seems like a winner to me. I’ve made a few C8 triples myself over the years using the reflectors out of cheap headlights and they are nice lights to have around but they are a lot of work to make and I can’t make them even close to as cheap as these.

As for the UI, it’s got more going on than most of the local guys I sell/gift lights to want. Outside of us flashaholics most people are more than content with three or four modes so long as they work without flickering. I always try and remember that a ton of people are used to having a flashlight with two modes (on and off, lol) and were perfectly content with them that way. I actually get far more complaints about my lights if I try and go with a UI that is overly complicated to use. People think the light is broken when they can’t get it to do what they want and just try and explain that it’s user error. So you are absolutely correct everyone has their own opinion on what makes a UI the best. If I was giving them my input it would be to also offer the light with a simple four mode, from moonlight to turbo. Maybe something like TomE’s early circular one or even a simple ramping and nothing more.

Great review by the way.

Oh and forgive me if I missed it, but was there any parasitic drain on this light?

Yah, well, tell that to my C8 army… Sometimes they make me nervous.

(I’m surrounded.)

Great now you gave me one more thing to be paranoid about.

LOL

LOL LOL LOL :+1:

To be honest, I don’t remember how to check for parasitic drain. :blush:

meter inline, or pass through meter between power supply.
May be a better way but that is what I have done. :blush:
Not all meters have mA or less capability.

Yup. I’ve been wanting the measure the parasitic drain on my illuminated tailcaps but unfortunately my DMM’s resolution for amps doesn’t go that low. For that reason I’ve been debating about picking up one of the ZT102 that I see codes popping up for around $10. It supposedly measures down into the uA range.

Excellent review thanks! I’m also reviewing this hope to have it done soon.

I used a Mastech multimeter set at 20m? or 20u? and it showed between 9.8 and 10.7, is that the milliOhm’s?

I also removed the pcb in the tail cap and pulled the spring from it, removed the small gauge wire bypass and soldered the spring onto a copper disc, put a 20ga wire bypass in. And it made no difference in the lumens readings. So the stock pcb and spring/bypass are as good as it gets. :wink:

Ok, so whatever this means that’s how much parasitic drain it has. :wink:

Oh, I also filed the anodization off the end of the head and also cleaned it off the shoulder on the battery tube, so the ground path is direct in that tight junction…. the end of the battery tube doesn’t quite seat down onto the shelf around the driver. This effort produced just about as much gain as the copper in the tail cap, in other words, nothing. Still makes the same output as before I did all that. :stuck_out_tongue:

(Essentially, in other words, they already have it working great and most of the tricks and tweaks produce nil.)

Ok, so I went back and also put a 20ga Turnigy bypass on the driver, now, with the highest performing SonyVTC5A it’s making 4378.05 lumens out the front. :smiley:

Tracy tells me that her engineers informed her that the XP-L Neutral White emitters are V6 2D or 2C. I like em, they’re just a tad bit whiter than a 3D and that works beautifully to my eye.

I think the only way to get more out of this light is to go with XP-L2’s, not intending to change it though as I like it very much as it is right now. The UI works for me, easy enough to get directly to moon or Turbo and in between are 5 useable modes… a bit of a jump between 2 and 3 but it’s fine.

Edit: I can remember being excited to get 4000 lumens from the quite large TK75, and again to get that much from the 4 headed Black Shadow Terminator… This C8 is doing what yesterday’s big boss lights did! How cool is THAT?!