DOUBLE 1 AND ½ "REVIEW": Sofirn SP10A and Sofirn SF14 *[added night / distance shots]

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AA / 1 x 14500 Flashlights
19

So, tonight I had the chance to make some “night shots” with the Sofirn SF14 to see how it works outside.

Mostly, I compared the SF14 a Sanyo UR14500P Li-Ion battery, SF14 on AA Alkaline (1.5V Aerocell, from Lidl supermarket), and the Lumintop Tool AA also on a Sanyo UR14500P Li-Ion battery.

My conclusions from this comparison:

  • LT Tool AA : has a brighter Low mode; the output on High is less brighter than one of the SF14; the beam is more floody, despite it has SMO reflector (but the XPL LED is bigger that the XPG2 S4 from the Sofirn SF14); the beam is also more “squarish” than the SF14; the throw is less than the SF14.
    A personal note: if the LT Tool had a warmer or neutral tint as the SF14, it would be much better for inside use. So…bring on the NICHIAS

- Sofirn SF14: has lower Low mode, but is not a Moonlight mode; on AA, the all outputs are lower than on a Li-Ion battery, but they are very good for that type of battery; the beam is more throwy, reaching the 70 meters, on the 14500 battery; the beam is round and well defined, despite using a OP reflector.

The rest, you can see on the beamshosts below :wink:

PWM
EDIT: SF14 does not have PWM. The lines on the photos, from what I’ve recently learned, are marks of the Constant Current driver, and can only be seen on Medium and High.

(Low > Medium > High)

PWM (LT Tool AA – has it on Low and Medium)
(Low > Medium > High)

Sofirn SF14 (AA Alkaline) > Sofirn SF14 (14500 Li-Ion) > Lumintop Tool AA
(Low > Medium > High)

TINT (Sofirn SF14 > Lumintop Tool AA)

FLOOD (Sofirn SF14 > Lumintop Tool AA)

Sofirn SF14 (AA Alkaline) > Sofirn SF14 (14500 Li-Ion) > Lumintop Tool AA

Indoor

From 3 to 5 meters

From 3 to 60 meters
(Low > Medium > High)

10 meters

13 meters

15 meters

30 meters

50 meters

Sofirn SF14 > Lumintop Tool AA

5 meters

Best regards :sunglasses: :+1:

20

Nice shots (lots of work you have done here!) :+1:

So a few minutes ago I tried to light up my SP10A (14500 inside). The light went on with difficulty, then went off after one second or two… then I could not turn it on again. Everything was tight, no mechanical lock-out.

Checked the battery on the multimeter, all good (4.0V).

Reinstalled a NiMH : light turns on without problem. Swapped the 14500 again : light turns on OK again.

Don’t know what to think. Maybe the electronic switch?

Definitely not the most reliable light (at least this earlier batch). I have another in the box (certainly from the same batch). Will have to test her as well.

21

Thanks AgentSteel :wink: I had fun on this, I confess :smiley:

Sorry to hear that about your light :frowning: But I guess that the frailties I mentioned above (driver’s constitution) seem to be more than just on my case!

Let me ask you: did you felt any “strange” smell from inside the flashlight after it stopped working with the 14500? It may be some damaged component.

Also, was it protected or unprotected 14500 cell?

My SP10A, after I “damaged” it, it only turns ON in 1 mode (don’t know which), and only with AA or Ni-MH cells. I click and hold the side switch and it turns ON.
With a 14500 cell, while I’m still screwing the tailcap, the light is already ON and can’t be turned OFF. :expressionless:

I assumed this was an issue derived from the damage it took, but seeing your report, it may be more than that, may be a faulty component on this batch.

Have you said anything to Sofirn? That situation is really weird…

22

Ooops sorry late reply :open_mouth:

No bad smell. My Keeppower 14500 cell is protected.

But today I finally unboxed my second SP10A (from the same order). She’s doing some tailstanding “burn-in” in high mode (NiMH cell) right now. Can get real hot to the touch after a few minutes on a fresh cell. Maybe hotter than my first SP10A (I really need to disassemble this one) :slight_smile:

EDIT : the light has way better heat regulation when using 14500.

23

Thanks for your answer AgentSteel!
Hum, being a light that I’ll probably use with 14500 batteries, I guess that is a good new (for 14500 users, for sure) :slight_smile:

The bad smell I asked about was because when I (un)soldered a component burnt, and I asked to check if yours could have had the same issue even without (un)soldering! Glad it didn’t :slight_smile:

I’ll get a new driver for my SP10A to replace the damaged one and will get a SP10B in the recent version as well! I don’t mind the 0,3 seconds to turn it ON.

BTW, has anyone seem their 14500 batteries? 900mah, and seem protected. I would assume their are less than the 900mah, and maybe they are a rewrapped Sanyo 14500, for that capacity. I’ll probably include 2 of them in my next order.

After HKJ tests about their Ni-MH cells (those being sold in Sofirn Official Store), I believe the 14500s may be reliable!

24

Hurry hurry hurry, the ’10B is on AX for <10bux, today.

25

Eheh, did it already :smiley: :money_mouth_face: And bought 2x14500 batteries as well! :+1:

26

Link?

Im seeing it for 12.75.

27

Link please

28

I bought this one: Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

I guess the conversion from € to USD$ is 10,97€ to $12.75, a bit above the $10 Lightbringer said… :open_mouth:

29

Yes, that’s the link I was referring to. And $12.75 isn’t really much of a sale. I recall it was even cheaper a few weeks before 11.11.

Unless there is some coupon that brings this price down even more?

30

There were a few sellers. The “Sofirn Official Store” had one for >10bux, but “Beamax” had it for 9.49 or something.

Just get on aliexpress and goggle “Sofirn SP10B” and you’d find it. Umm, them. Were quite a few listings, that’s why I didn’t pin it down to only one.

31

Hmm, my bad. 11.99.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sofirn-SP10B-Mini-LED-Flashlight-AA-14500-Torch-Light-CREE-XP-G2-LED-Mini-Handy-Keychain/32835884818.html

So wotnahell was I looking at that was 9.49??

32

Tracy Wan, from Sofirn, provided these links for those interested to purchase the following flashlights on their Amazon store:

SP10A: https://www.amazon.com/Sofirn-Keychain-Flashlight-Water-Resistant-Practical/dp/B074MYW1SZ/ref=sr_1_29?s=hardware&ie=UTF8&qid=1510123444&sr=1-29&keywords=keychain+flashlight
SP10B: https://www.amazon.com/Sofirn-Keychain-flashlight-Water-Resistant-Practical/dp/B076J95YNF/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1510136122&sr=8-7&keywords=keychain+flashlight+5+mode
SF14: https://www.amazon.com/Sofirn-Flashlight-Keychain-waterproof-Excluded/dp/B0756ZCQRH/ref=lp_12017778011_1_1?srs=12017778011&ie=UTF8&qid=1510110528&sr=8-1

Also, she provided a 10% off code to those who want to purchase SP10B. The code is 54R4YCM9 .

I have no affiliation with the links or the coupon. Further questions should be addressed to Tracy Wan—Sofirn.

33

Ooh, that SF14 looks nice! No blinkies! :crown: :beer:

34

Anyone ever compare the SF10, SF14, and/or SP10[AB] yet? :smiley:

35

It is, indeed :slight_smile: And the higher output is really nice, and the tint it is really nice as well :slight_smile:
On the SP10A (that I didn’t used much…) the blinkies seem to be well hidden but can’t confirm that so far. I have a driver for it on the way and when it arrives I’ll complete its review, and also add the SP10B that I also have on the way :smiley:
11.11 festival made me do that :money_mouth_face:

I have the 3, but in my opinion there is not “much” to compare between them, they are very different lights, except in some details. Meanwhile I modded my SF10 so I don’t have the original setting, but I leave here my notes.

SF10 vs SF14 -

  1. H-M-L-ML + Strobe vs L-M-H;
  2. Higher output is almost the same;
  3. The tint is the same (well, on the SF10 it has a slightly more pronounced tint shift);
  4. The SF14 it has a narrower hotspot (the reflector is narrower than on SF10) and has a better throw
  5. There is no “lag” when clicking to change modes on SF14;
  6. The tailcap of the SF10 is more soft (on SF14 you have to press harder to click On/Off)
  7. No PWM on the SF14, in any modes
  8. SF14 is smaller, thinner and lighter than SF10.

My opinion is that SF14 is an excellent 3 mode light, with all that it has. For me, better than the SF10, better than the Lumintop Tool AA. I normally use it with 14500 battery, to get better output.

Hope this helps :wink:

36

Hmm, I’m tempted, but I got pretty much all tail-clickies and only a few side-clickies, so one more tail-clicky seems redundant for now. Probably will be kicking myself if I miss the 20% off at the Sofirn site, but…

Hey, anyone know if Sofirn lights are second-sourced? Curious who’s Beamax, if they’re legit Sofirn lights. I noticed after I placed the order, wondering “Hmm? Who’s Beamax?”.

37

If you wanna go for discounts, yesterday Tracy offered some for the SP10B : Sofirn SP10B - Anyone? - #52 by Sofirn :money_mouth_face:

You can wait for the SP10A (or B) with renewed interface (fast click for On instead of 0.3 seconds) press!
K-wong made the review (complete, unlike mine :laughing: ) of the SP10A here: Review: Sofirn SP10A Best value AA/14500 for everyday carry? .

About Beamax, I noticed that store, and it seems to be like a “second” Sofirn store, maybe some authorized seller, although not official store :expressionless:

38

Current price for SP10B on AE is cheaper than buying from Amazon, even after that 10% discount that she offered, as long as you don’t mind waiting for the boat from China to arrive.