Driver have two FET chips, one for lower current,and second bigger for direct drive.
Awesome light and it does have 3 mode option just do a 3 fast half clicks while its on and the light will blink 2 times and switch between mode groups.
19Mm copper DTP board transfer heat gorgeously and it will get very hot in just a minute, luckily there is a step down after 3 minutes. Also no pwm at any mode…
I have a C8T xpl-hi version, and after some tweaks I did yesterday it makes 1400 lumens, and 85Kcd for nearly 600 meters of throw !!
Thanks for the review, SoCal. I really like what I’ve been seeing from Sofirn. They sent me a SF36 to review (here) and I thought it was a nice light. I ordered their C8 host from their Aliexpress store about a month back, should be coming in soon. I like my Convoy C8’s, but I see a couple advantages with what I’m expecting from Sofirn’s C8:
Anodizing - sometimes I feel like Convoy’s matte is just too matte. Sofirn’s seems very nice.
AR lens - some, but not all Convoys come with AR. I like that it’s included with Sofirn’s.
Body tube - nice, something a little different than the standard gnurling
Tailcap - I like that the cap is formed into the saddle shape. I find it a bit easier to press, and it shows off a lit tailcap more when viewed from the side.
I can’t wait for my host to come in and start playing with it!
I am new here and this is my first post. Please be patient with me!
I have made following observation on the C8A:
If you power the 1700 lumens rated Sofirn C8A with the mystery cell provided by Sofirn it is a little bit dominated by a 900 lumens rated Thorfire C8S powered by a LG high drain cell. If you put the LG high drain cell into the Sofirn C8A and the Sofirn cell into the Thorfire C8S the Thorfire gets 100% destroyed by the Sofirn.
Also with the Sofirn cell the Sofirn C8A only gets lukewarm after 3min while with the LG high drain cell it can almost burn your hand after 3min. The multimeter shows that the C8A pulls more amps from a LG high train cell which translates into much more lumens and heat. With the LG cell the Sofirn C8A delivers more than 1750 lumens considering the warmer light color.
Thanks! So I am not crazy and the “Sofirn mystery cell” indeed limits the C8A. The Panasonic NCR18650GA must be a beast of a protected cell if it still manages to get the maximum out of the Sofirn C8A!
Interesting that you find Sofirn battery less powerful than LG HG2, since many here reported that under the wrap is Samsung 30Q.
Maybe they offering standard cell with C8A, and High drain only with C8F since it have triple emitter…
Btw my C8T XP-l hi after all wires changed to 20awg now pushing 1550 lumens after 30 sec and over 1600 at start !
Amazing performance with close to 100Kcd
It was. The cell that came with my C8 trip is differently wrapped, but didn’t look too closely. If it’s 3400mAH, it might be a panny-B of sanny-A under the wrap, but my first Sofirn cells measured a tad over 2800mAH like a 30Q would. Quite nice.
Unfortunately, only a few companies seem to commit to do it right, like KeepPower (I still don't like some of their rewraps) and LiitoKala (goof with the yet untested Lii-40A). I also like the fact it usually is very easy to identify the actual cell OEM with them.