Sofrin reached out to me to review their C8A, I happened to be looking for a C8 to use as a host for another project so figured, sure kill 2 birds with one stone.
I got it off amazon (with a discount code for the review naturally) : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078XRFS57
I have had my fair share of C8’s over the years and didn’t expect much to be honest, I mean there is only so much you can do with a C8. In fact I didn’t even look up the specs until it showed up as I just assumed it would be the normal XP-L HI LED setup we are used to.
Turned out I was wrong.
So the light came with all the accessories you need to use it including a 3000ma button top cell and USB charger. So it makes it a pretty good gift package.
Once I pulled it out I noticed that it was a very nice C8 from the outside, the finish is top notch and the minor changes to the grip are a nice change to the classic design. The reflector is a very good finish and the focus is good as well.
I then started out with a 30Q cell to try it out and turned it on only to be surprised with how nice the switch is. It has a nice click length and is very smooth with just the right amount of resistance. One of the better tail clicky switches I have seen. The spring is even bypassed from the factory!
After this I was impressed with how bright it was, which is saying a lot for me. I then had a look at the business end and noticed why it was so bright, it had an XP-L2 in it.
Not just an XP-L2 but a pretty good one at that. I put it ont he sphere and my Lumen readings on the stock cell were around ~2100 lumens, easily beating the rating of 1800 lumens. And with the 30Q it was around 2400 lumens.
Now take these with a grain of salt, the one downside to the LED is that it is a very cool tint. Something around a 0A / 0D if I had to guess. the spill is noticeably blue verging on purple. The hotspot is also on the cool side for sure but on the plus side has very little tint shift. The cool tint will cause the meter to read higher then normal. Still, it is very bright that is for sure. And for those that like cool white lights, this will fit right in.
I took some tailcap measurements and it pulled a bit over 6A with the 30Q, which is quite respectable for a factory light. It gets noticeably warm with this much power pretty quick.
So next I naturally had to see if the light was glued together and I am happy to report that mine was not glued! I was able to remove the retaining ring and get tot he guts quite easily. First thing I saw was the driver side spring is also bypassed, this plays a role in the high output for sure.
The driver itself looks like a basic FET based driver with some extra circuitry mixed in. Didn’t have time to really dig into the driver but it seems to work pretty good.
The internals also look pretty good, a nice thick shelf for the LED and a good sized pocket for driver upgrades.
Then to my pleasure the head of the light also came apart easily, standard fair up top, glass lens, aluminim reflector and DTP mcpcb. The glass is not AR coated which is one of my only crtiqes of this light. Luckily this is an easy upgrade later.
I like that they have the strobe mode hidden. Although I wish that mode group also included moon. The mode spacing is pretty good as well, not perfect but much better then most lights.
Here are some shots of the manual for future readers:
So overall conclusions:
Pros:
This is a great addition to the C8 family
NOT glued, can be used as a host!
The machining is A+
Fantastic tail switch
Nice square threads
Ano is great
Great output for a stock light
OK mode spacing
Cons:
Non-AR coated glass
Personal preference:
Only comes with cool white tint
I really like this light, I would have no problems giving this as a gift. I have no problem recommending this light.
Although this particular light will be going on to bigger things. I am debating between an xhp35 HI and an XHP70.2. Not sure which one I will do yet but I can’t wait to see what the end result is. I don’t think I will be letting this light go anytime soon.
Any questions feel free to ask, it will remain stock for little while longer as I still have to build the boost drivers to mod it with.