Suggestions to buy a new 18650 Flashlight (UPDATE - Zanflare F1 and Sofirn SP32)

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

Hi BLF members!

I would like to have some help choosing a new flashlight.
Last year your suggestions helped me to pick my second Convoy S2+ and my Maker E11, so now I’m back :smiley:
I have 2 Convoy S2+ (1= U2-1A / 7135*6, regular firmware ; 1= T6-4C / 7135*8, with the “biscotti” firmware), bought in Simon’s AliExpress store.

I use them a lot, and I love them, but I’m feeling I’d like something different concerning the 18650 “category”.
If I had the knowledge and skills, I’d enter the “modding” style to create a super light, but I don’t have those, so I’ll be a final product consumer trying to get the best specs possible.

If you could help me with some suggestions to choose a new light, I’d be very grateful!
So, I’ll leave some specs below in case you remember a light with these characteristics!
Thanks in advance :wink:

1 – Price: around 35€ (± $35 USD)
2 – Battery: 18650 (protected or unprotected)
3 – Modes: 3 or 4 modes; programmable (?); always starts on low/moon/ultralow/firefly + instant access to turbo, from on or off (Ex: – mid – high – turbo + instant access to turbo (from off)
4 – Switch: preferably, Side switch, but no problem with Tail switch or Side+Tail
5 – Output: 1000 lumens (or more :wink: )
6 – Tint: CW or NW
7 – Throw: a mix of “thrower” and “floody”, useful for 150 meters illumination
8 – Size: pocketable or EDC alike; if not possible, in the shape of a tube light
9 – Others: I can buy on AliExpress, Gearbest or Banggood (also Ebay, Amazon or European stores)

I know that it may be impossible to get a thing like this, but if some of you have approximate suggestions, please let me know.

Thank you very much in advance!
Best regards from Portugal! :+1:

2

Mostly sounds like you described the Zanflare F1.

Tail (power) + side (mode) switches, doubleclick for “flare” (turbo).

Coupon for ~22bux or so.

NW and CW, ’though the AR glass tints the beam a horrible green, especially for NW, so stick with CW if you find it objectionable. CW ends up being “warmed” to more or less NW.

Nice mix of flood+throw.

Close to 1000lm.

Pockettable, yet fits into a standard holster like a ’501/’502 quite nicely.

GB and Amazon both have it.

Has memory for its last-used mode, but I always reset it to moonlight so I don’t blind myself in the middle of the night.

Oh! USB-rechargeable, with a really well-designed O-ring-sealed ring that unscrews to reveal the charging port. No silly rubber plug that can fall out or be pulled off. Truly waterproof.

A’ight, go crazy…

3

I just got the atacticle A1s… get it!! 30 dollar us. I have a bunch of 18650 lights but when this one came in it really made me happy. Just a awesome light that fits what you want. And it comes with a battery and it has tail/side switch … and momentary on is great !! 1000+ lm

4

Hi Lightbringer!

Thanks for the quick reply and the suggestion :+1:
I’ve seen some reviews on the Zanflare, and it really gathers some of the characteristics I’ve mentioned.
However, the step down from turbo to moonlight mode has kept me away from this option so far.
I guess I’ll have to rethink and test how much time I use the highest mode and check if this isn’t a good option, as it is budget, very well built and gathers some specs I do appreciate!

By the way, when you say that you “reset” it to moonlight, you do it by using the mode switch, right? Not by unscrewing the tail cap, right?
Thanks once again!!

5

Hi mezzmen7!

Thanks for your reply and suggestion! I must confess that this is not a brand I’m familiar with :person_facepalming:
So I guess I’ll have to go out to see some reviews! It’s always good to have new things “enlightening” us!
Thanks for the suggestion, I’m going to take a look! :+1:

6

Frankly, the visual difference between high and flare isn’t all that much, ie, high is plenty bright enough.

The stepdown is something like 3min before it begins. Never kept it on turbo long enough to have it even begin its stepdown. I can’t even think of a situation where you’d “need” turbo for that long, over high.

Anyway…

Oh, if I recall right, to get out of its ramp-down, just sideclick it and it goes back to its previous mode, even high. Problem solved.

Sideclick.

The tailswitch is for main power, no need to do a tailcap lockout. Don’t recall trying it, but it should still remember its last-used mode, even if you unscrew the tailcap, remove the battery, etc.

—

All in all, it’s a light that actually impressed me in its design when I got it. Very well thought-out, even the UI (and most UIs just piss me off). The only thing that got me was the green tint from the AR glass. If I could swap it out for regular glass, it’d be a light that’s about as close to perfect as I’ve seen.

7

If you like the F1, also take a look at JetBeam EC-R26… similar concept.

8

Okay, I tried it, popped it into turbo/flare, and it dimmed to about the same level as high, and that was maybe a good solid 10min or so. No idea how fast the rampdown is, but I don’t have the patience to try it. One click got me back into high.

I don’t see that as a problem. Like I said, high is bright enough. Even if flare peaks at twice the lumens, your eye isn’t going to register it as “twice as bright”, more like 25–30 brighter or so, if I had to guess. The eye’s response to brightness is logarithmic, not linear.

So if you’re really intent in shooting someone in the face with 1200lm, hey, I can’t stop ya, but for me, high is plenty, and other than to play with it (like now), I haven’t “needed” turbo, flare, supernova, any super-bright modes.

I still say the F1 ticks off all the checkboxes you listed. Go with it… :smiley:

Oh, but get it in CW. You’ll thank me later.

9

I almost got the zanflare but the step down is what made me not want it and instead getting the A1s … not knocking it though it looks like a great light

10

It is, at least I think so.

But keep in mind that this is a tubelight. No huge head with huge fins to dissipate heat. Going full-tilt, it’ll have to pull more than 3A, for well over 10W of power. Where’s that heat going to go, especially if you keep it on beyond the stepdown time? Do you really want to turn the light into a curling-iron?

Frankly, I’d be concerned if it wouldn’t do a stepdown, either timed or by temperature.

My S2+ only(!) draws 2.8A, and when I left it on for only 5-10min to light up a room (fuse was blown, so no overhead light), it got quite literally too hot to even shut it off!! I grabbed it and immediately dropped it because it was like grabbing the wrong end of a soldering-iron.

Even while it was still blazing away, I had to grab something to just put up against the lens, and poke the switch from the opposite end to shut it off. And even after that, I still couldn’t pick it up. Almost as long went by before I could even lift up the light by the raised pocket-clip.

Anyone who rejects the F1 or any light because it doesn’t have a stepdown… well, I can tell you never had a light become literally too hot to handle. If you did, you’d see that this is a Good Thing.

11

Convoy C8 with xml2
~$16

12

Oh wait I missed the side switch part

Here you go, a little smaller then a C8, very nice light, XML2 NW as option

Eagle Eyes X6R CREE XM-L2 U2 1000LM USB Rechargeable
http://s.aliexpress.com/IFJfE73E
(from AliExpress Android)

13

If you want to save some money and get rael deal check this Sofirn SP31, amazing flashlight for the money with newest xpl2 NW and Thrunite/Atactical style. My is on the way but there is some review on CPF,where you can find more information… Btw there is a 2$ store coupon which bring the price to 14-15$ without battery.

SP31 Powerful LED Flashlight 18650 Cree XPL2 V6 1000 Lumens High Power Pocket Light Penlight 5 Modes Light Bike Strobe Camping
http://s.aliexpress.com/6vum2uMv
(from AliExpress Android)

14

Nice light but OP has already 2 S2+ lights.
The tube format just doesn’t allow that much throw
The X6R has a bigger head, throws nice and is a really nice light.
I bought one to scoop the nice BLF parts of my Kronos X6 in (the ano on it is so bad) but I liked it so much I left it stock (for me it was the Eagle Eye X6 so without charging and side switch)
General consensus is that they make really good quality lights that look and feel like much more expensive ones and I must say it feels better then Convoy, Thorfire and those level brands while being the same price or little less

Really a throwy 150m range light that is not big, has a side switch and is of good quality this is Nr 1 to get.

15

Hi there!
Once again thank you all for the comments and suggestions!

@Lightbringer
Yeah, you’re right! If it doesn’t have the stepdown, I’ll have a burnt in my hand! I normally use the highest modes outside, but with that lumen power, I guess the “high” mode would be enough for outside purposes, and ocasionally the “turbo” mode, just to play with it or when needed.
I used my S2+ (7135*8) for a while in the highest mode and it burnt a lot… So, my concern may not be a real issue! Thanks for the input once again :+1:

@ Pete7874
I’ve seen the Jetbeam EC-R26 a lot, and in terms of design it is the one that I prefer! Small, good interface. But then, the operation mode from High to Low is what keeps me in doubt. Normally I prefer to go up in luminosity. Still, I going to watch more reviews of it and see if this would suit me! Thanks for the tip :+1:

@Zanflare
In case I opt for the Zanflare F1, I will certainly pick the coupon and order ir from a european Amazon store! Thanks, I didn’t know that, but it is awesome that you have those stores :wink:

@ TheMiller
Thank you for your suggestion! Both are awesome lights (C8 and X6R), and I thought about buying the C8, but is a bit big to carry. In terms of budget, those fit perfectly, but the “big head” size… I must see them again! I’ll also go back and see the EagleEyes , maybe they have something that I coulg get! Thank you :+1:

@NicolaS
Why? Why did you show me this? :open_mouth:
Now I will have to dig that store to the very end :smiley:
That Sofirn is really nice!!! And the other lights in their store are too!
I didn’t know this brand and I never saw it before on AliExpress, but it seems very competent (from what I saw in the link you sent) and very well made! I guess I’ll take a look at it! Thank you very much, this was really cool!

So far the suggestions are:
Zanflare F1
Atactical A1S
Jetbeam EC-R26
Convoy C8
EagleEyes X6R
Sofirn Sp31

I’ll analyse better these options in terms of outputs, operating modes and budget!
Ohh damn, I’ll spend the next days YouTubing and “BLF’ing” :smiley:

Thanks once again!!

16

Sofirn is in fact Thorfire as I was able to find out. Their store is relatively new maybe opened couple of months ago. As soon as I get mine I will post short video review,so it might help out.

17

Well, that’s the reason why, then! Thanks for the explanation. And if you post a video when you receive it, it would be great!
Meanwhlie, I’ll be searching for info on that and the other lights to make my mind :nerd_face:
Thanks!

18

A while ago you would have been able to grab an Olight S30 for 30€ at Gearbest when they get rid of their stock (same time they sold some S15 as low as 15€ !!!)
But I’m not sur you could find such good deal on MAP-oriented brands :frowning:
Maybe an EagleEye X5R ?

19

@ X3
Well…that would have been a great deal :money_mouth_face:
I guess that I wasn’t looking for the flashlight by that time. The cheaper Olight I could get now is the S2 (2015 model) and its about 34€ on AliExpress.
The X5R is also great! I had already thought about that one before buying my second Convoy S2+.
Thank you for the suggestion!

I got a lot of info in my head right now about these suggestions!
All are more or less budget and all have great quality and power!
I think I’ll pick 3 to make a comparison and try to decide the best so far! To be able to get them all would be great, though :smiley:

Thanks in advance all of you :+1:

20

Yes, the Hi to Low operation sequence is a downside for me as well. I’d prefer it the other way around. Thankfully at least it has memory of the last mode you were in.

If you want something that goes Low to High, then also take a look at DQG Tiny 4th. It’s available with NW tint, too, and is on sale for about $26 or so. The main drawback on this one is that it’s only about 850 lumen, and turbo drops back to Hi after 1 minute. But it’s so small, it’s definitely pocketable.