The SP36 is a Q8 a bit shrunken, a bit more lightweight, a bit less thermal performance (lower runtime in turbo before stepdoen, but still minutes), but becasue it uses the lower voltage XP-L2 instead of XP-L, the output (stock) is the same as the Q8, with some yellow corona around the hotspot as is typical for XP-L2 (I do not find it disturbing). Also the same as the Q8 is the UI (Narsil 1.0), but (see above) there are plans for Anduril.
I think the most significant difference with the Q8 is that it has USB charging, and it is even the faster (2A) USB-C.
NarsilM v1.2 adds momentary/tactical (I think it’s from Off, do a 4 clicks or 5 clicks will go to momentary mode), this is not present on NarsilM v1.0.
Plus the strobes modes in v1.0 are a bit harder to access (non-cycleable), in NarsilM v1.2, the strobes modes can be cycled.
There’s a lot that I like about this light. I love my pair of Q8 lights but they’re kinda bulky for a coat pocket. I’m hoping that this one will be just that much smaller and easier to carry.
I’m waiting for a real-life sample to be posted and then I’d bet I pull the trigger and add an SP36 to my lights.
Any idea if it’ll eventually be sold on Amazon like the rest of the Sofirn line?
The most important difference is CC with around 5500K as stated in the lab report.
And hard to change LEDs or mod.
I don’t think I buy it, a D4S seems a better option to me. LED, optic and firmware changeable.
The price seemed to jump a few bucks from the first time it was released. If it can come down a bit and I can see a real-life sample, I’d be ready to order one.
The performance of the SP36 was definitely better than I expected. It’s like a BLF Q8, but smaller and with a pretty decent charger built in. I’m not sure how exactly it manages to throw as well as it does, since the optics are smaller and it’s not using a dedomed emitter.
I’m not sure how much I’ll actually use it, because multi-cell lights like this are a bit large for me to carry around, but I like it more than I thought I would.
I recently translated the manual of the SP36 and NarsilM 1.2 into German. Currently, I’m asking Sofirn if they agree to let me publish the part of the manual that is about NarsilM only, so no specific information about the SP36 would be disclosed before it is being sold on Amazon.
I assume this would actually help a lot of German/Austrian/Swiss people who bought the Q8, BLF GT and many other flashlights that come with NarsilM.
Do I need to ask anyone else for approval, e.g. Tom E who created NarsilM?
By the way, what if I plan to do a German translation of Andúril‘s UI? Selene („Toykeeper“), if you are reading this, maybe you could give me some advice if there’s anything to consider? Thank you!
Andúril doesn’t have much of a manual, so you would need to write most of it instead of merely translating something. The closest thing there is to a manual right now is the manual for RampingIOS V3 by phil_g. It uses a CC0 license so it is okay to make and publish derivative works. The basic ramping functions are the same, but the rest of the interface is different.
In any case, I would be happy to add a manual into the firmware repository if one is written.
If I get to find some time I will try to set up something similar to the NarsilM manual both in English and German. FWIW, the Andúril UI chart is very helpful and self-explanatory already.
I saw that this light is back down a few bucks on Black Friday and who am I to resist a flashlight sale? I’ve enjoyed my four other Sofirn lights (and gifted three to family members who also love them) so why not take a chance on this?
Just ordered a SP36, actually I have a SP33 on the way too, and yet another C8F 21700 host.
Since they rate the temp at 5350K-5700K. I think is about 2A to 2B or so. I'm confused what firmware it comes with, suppose it's Anduril even though the listing says NarsilM 1.2.
Since the Sofirn Q8 is rated at 5000 lumens with XPL HI's, the rating of 6000 lumens for the SP36 makes sense with XP-L2's, assuming it's V5 or V6 bin cool whites -- 5500K is cool white as I understand it, not NW as Sofirn claims. 5000K is borderline NW/CW.
Seems like everyone in the world is like 20% higher than the maukka standard, and they are using the true integrating spheres. Hhmm... I don't think they are intentionally fudging the reports coming straight out of the equipment, could be a case of not using the equipment correctly, they are all calibrated wrong, maybe they simply are not taking the 30 seconds min runtime into account, or some combo of these issues. But something is wrong somewhere - the maukka standard, the rest of the flashlight world, or both, least as we know it.
Does anyone know of any manufacturer that matches close or under the maukka standard readings? I guess if 100%, or near 100% of the market uses overrated #'s, a new guy on the block certainly can't come in 20% lower than all the rest.
