[Review] Sofirn SP32A ( XP-L2, 1 x 18650) ~ Pulling 8A+ on Turbo!

The flashlight was provided by Sorirn's Official Store on Aliexpress for review.
Here's the product's link: Sofirn SP32A


Recently Sofirn has started pushing quite a few new flashlight models in the market, with most of them being worthy of their price.
The $17 valued SP32A has proven not to be an exception to that rule.

Starting with the packaging, the flashlight comes in the standard Sofirn cardboard presentation box.


No surprises in the contents of the package. In order to keep the cost down, Sofirn has purposely kept the contents to their bare minimal.
Other than the SP32A, the box included a detailed user manual, a lanyard, 2 spare o-rings and a warranty card.


Coming to the flashlight itself, you get a matte black anodization along with diamond shaped knurling on the body.
As seen, the light is side switch operated. The switch is metallic and very tactile.


The head has some heatsink fins as well as some anti-roll flat spots.
By default, the light comes with a thick metal pocket clip installed. The clip is strong and provides great retention.


Both head and tail threads are square cut and anodized.
Thanks to the coating, the light can be mechanically locked by a slight twist.


The tailcap contains a thick brass spring which should easily transfer the required current without limiting it.


The driver is seated into place via a brass retaining ring.
Seeing that the driver's spring comes bypassed from the factory is definitely a good indicator that Sofirn has put some thought into the process.


The SP32A utilizes an XP-L2 emitter combined with a smooth reflector.
In my case, the emitter was Neutral White tinted, but your mileage may vary.


The head is very easy to disassemble and mod.
Under the AR coated lens you get a copper mcpcb which is secured in place via a screw.
As seen, there is also plenty of thermal paste applied under the star.


The flashlight itself weights around 68gr, which makes it perfect for EDC use.


User Interface

If I can recall correctly, it's the first time that Sofirn installs such firmware to its lights.
The flashlight comes with two different mode groups, a regular 6 mode one and a ramping group.


Regular Mode Group


Turn on: Single press
Mode cycle: Single press (Moonlight -> Low -> Medium -> High)
Turn off: Long press


Ramping Group


Turn on: Single press
Ramp up/down: Long press
Turn off: Single press


Special Modes (Accessible from both groups)


Turbo: Double click from anywhere
Strobe: Triple click from anywhere


Performance and Measurements

In order to get my current measurements I used a fully charged Samsung 25R and a clamp meter.
Mode - Current (A)
Moonlight - 0.01
Low - 0.05
Mid - 0.32
High - 4.43
Turbo - 8.21

Here's some ceiling bounce measurements of the different modes:


And here's Turbo's output compared to my other lights:


As soon I find some free time I will try to upload some outdoor beamshots.
All in all, the flashlight's performance is insane. It's the first time that I come upon a small, cheap factory light that pulls such a high current while on Turbo.
Of course, given the big wattage, the head becomes toasty pretty quick but that's expected.

Other than that, the mode spacing is great for daily usage and the ramping group, even though I didn't find myself using that much, will be a pleasant surprise for lots of people.
For $17 it's a bargain!

I have this light amd both the aesthetics and UI is excellent. However Im not a fan of cool white and mine has a slight bluish tint. Wish they jad a 5A or 5D tint version. I would buy a bunch.

At 8.2 amps the XP-L2 should do at least 2000 lumens. Wonder if that is the case when the specs say 1500 lm. At least your ceiling bounce test suggests more than 1500.

If you compare my ceiling bounce tests with the rated output of my lights, you can estimate a rough ratio of 10Lumen/Lux.
As you said, the SP32A must be pushing around 2000 lumen while on Turbo…!

That bounced lux table you made is very nice, and I have used it for reference more than once. From all the reviews I have read, I’d say the table can be considered to be “calibrated” at around 9 lumen/lux.

The funny thing is that when I started taking my ceiling bounce measurements I thought that my results would be pretty inconsistent among the flashlights that I have.
As it turned out, you can get a good amount of info out of the table…!

Nice review, I am also surprised this little thing pulls 8A stock.
Dont most 18650 lights pull 2-3amp our of the factory?
How long does it stay on turbo before stepping down?

I measured SP32A in Turbo mode @ 7.55amps with an ammeter using a freshly-charged Samsung INR18650-30Q.

I don’t know how to measure lux/lumens but comparing it with a stock Astrolux S1 (BLF A6) also using a freshly-charged INR18650-30Q, the SP32A on Turbo looks quite a bit brighter than the Astrolux S1 on Turbo.

How the beam look like compare to A6 or S2 ?

How long does it work in turbo mode, before it steps down?

Turbo timer is set at 2 minutes.
At that point the flashlight is already quite hot.

The SP32A manual indicates 2 minutes auto stepdown from Turbo => High; then another 3 minutes auto stepdown from High ==> Medium.
So from Turbo, it will get to Medium after 5 minutes.

In my observation, the Astrolux S1 is floodier than the SP32A, which has a more intense hotspot.