Today rec’d a one-button (side button) Sofirn SP32 flashlight in the mail, given to me free with a request I review it as noted earlier.
First take — I can recommend this one for bicyclists.
Nicest features noted are
— tailcap lockout works with less than a quarter turn
— NO SOS, and a hidden stutter-strobe very useful for crossing busy streets at night (pedestrians live in terror in my town, and drivers are often oblivious to foot or bike traffic)
— tightening the tailcap after lockout leaves the light off, then a button tap restores the previous brightness level. That’s nice.
(exception — if the light is locked out from strobe, then tighten-and-click restores one of the four brightness levels, I haven’t quite figured out what the logic is, sometimes it comes back on low, sometimes on a brighter level). This isn’t annoying as the strobe is so quick to access with a double-click.
(I had asked them for a 2-button light and did not get one, for just that behavior, which I prefer)
— two quick taps on the button starts a “stutter strobe” — alternating moderate and fast blinking, good attention-getter cyclists will like
— regular taps cycle from low through high, with 2 intermediate settings
— there’s a brief fraction of a second ramp up as it’s switched to a brighter level rather than an abrupt increase, a feature I like visually, so my pupils don’t contract when the light gets brighter. I’ve noticed going to a higher brightness can cause a little ‘flinch’ with lights that brighten suddenly, though they accommodate fairly quickly. Maybe that’s an age-related effect.
(I’ll leave to the driver experts whether that’s a feature that protects the emitter from sudden power increase)
— 2-second hold for off
No comment yet on the included 1-cell USB-powered charger, except that it looks familiar
Familiar snap-on belt clip, chromed steel
Light is slightly — about 1cm, 3/8inch — longer than a Convoy S2, not the marked length increase I’ve come to expect when side switches are build in. That’s nice compact design.
Driver held in with a threaded retaining ring. Blue-green film on the back of the driver board around the spring base, no writing
Threads on both ends of the battery tube were a little hard to get started and dry; added a dab of thread grease and ok after that.
Bezel appears to be either extremely tight or glued on (I’ve asked) so I could not get a close look at the emitter.
Beam pattern is moderately wide, entirely useful, a bit yellow at the center with a blue corona. Probably a high CRI emitter when the two are mixed.
Nice flashlight. Some thought went into this one.
More later.
EDIT — good little manual included in the box.
One added feature I discovered after reading it: from off, a long (about 1 second) press turns on moonlight; from there, a single click turns it off.
Very handy. Moonlight is rather brighter than I like for dark sky camping but fine for city nighttime use. I’ll compare it to real moonlight when full moon comes along.
So for those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you’ll like.
Easy access to both moonlight and stutter-strobe, but they don’t pop on surprising you…