[review] 77Outdoor D25 headlamp

[Lightbringer]

@aswang

Is it easy to access the emitters? How’s the runtime/efficiency?

No idea about the runtime as I don’t have it on me (let someone borrow it for a while), but the front bezel is held in with those 4 screws, and the 2 LEDs are on a custom MCPCB that apparently can be pried off and replaced (rubbery Fujik-like stuff, not epoxy).

I was in fact going to do that, if 20mm stars would fit, solder the 2 together with one set of pads, use the other set to the existing wires coming out from the body. Then let the stars “float” on AS5 (regular thermal goop) held in-place by the reflectors or better yet TIRs if they fit (ordered, not received yet).

[aswang]

Thanks for the info . Just the answer I was hoping for. I think I might just buy one of these to play with.

[gchart]

LB, it looks like we pretty well agree on this one. Nice for a cheap, bang-around headlamp. But not something I’d trust my life with.

@aswang

Is it easy to access the emitters? How’s the runtime/efficiency?

Getting to the emitters, as LB said, is easy. Doing something with them… maybe not so much. If you want to replace the custom PCB, you might be able to fit 2x 16mm in there, but I don’t think 20mm would fit (I forgot to measure that). Easiest thing would be to reflow other XM-L2s in the original MCPCB.

As far as runtime goes, I measured 200 minutes to empty using a Samsung 35E:

[Quadrupel]

From maukka’s H2R review

D10&D25 uses same primitive driver with zero stabilization and low efficiency

[gchart]

Yes, the driver in these is quite primitive… reflective of it’s low price. You’d be hard-pressed to find one of those nicer headlamps for the $10-20 that a D10/25 can be had for.

With how square the runtime of those other headlamps are, I’d say they must be using buck drivers which area definitely nicer but considerably more expensive.

It all depends on how much $ you want to spend.

[Quadrupel]

Yes, indeed, i paid 8$ for it and think i can pay more 5$ for dedicated driver with attiny and few AMC7135 on board. Where i can buy it??

[gchart]

@Quadrupel

Yes, indeed, i paid 8$ for it and think i can pay more 5$ for dedicated driver with attiny and few AMC7135 on board. Where i can buy it??

Yeah… yeah… I think I might go ahead and design one just for fun. I need to take to original out and take some measurements. I’m thinking maybe 2x CN5710 for 2 amps (instead of 7135s) + a Attiny412 loaded with RampingIOS? That’ll get us proper linear regulation, a great UI, and temp regulation. I could see if there’s room for 4x or 5x 7135 (for 1.4A-1.75A) and an Attiny85 - that’s more familiar territory for a lot of folks. We’ll see.

[Quadrupel]

Waiting impatiently

[bikenber73]

I am thinking/hoping that this might be a precursor to a Sofirn-branded headlamp similar in design. I think it’s smart to release this under a different brand so as not to tarnish the Sofirn name, get some feedback, feel out the interest level. Hopefully come out with a nice headlamp in the near future.

[gchart]

A true Sofirn headlamp does sound enticing! Maybe someone should bend Barry’s ear

[Serlite]

@gchart

A true Sofirn headlamp does sound enticing! Maybe someone should bend Barry’s ear

There have been signs that Sofirn’s working on some kind of headlamp, namely: Andúril 2 coming to Sofirn - The general Sofirn development thread - #349 by Sofirn
No information other than that sole post, though.

[gchart]

@Serlite

There have been signs that Sofirn’s working on some kind of headlamp…

Thanks for that, I had stopped watching that thread and missed it

[pennzy]

@aswang

Thanks for the review Lightbringer. Good to know you like the light. I’ve been eyeing this headlamp and the like because its quite cheap and seems to be built well. Is it easy to access the emitters? How’s the runtime/efficiency?

I have used it a couple of times to cut in with a paint brush . Used on Med. most of a work day and charged it when I got home. It was down to I think about 15% left . So at Med it will last about I’d guess 6hrs ? It would easily last all day with a larger capacity battery.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

I got an email giving an Amazon discount on this light in twin SST-40 configuration. It was a little weak in stock trim, 2.55A or so at the neg end of the cell. I tweaked it and now get 1940 lumens at start on a full Molicel P26A at 6.34A.

Some neat features on this one, but still it’s missing some finer points… like that they should have made the cover plate from Al instead of plastic. I like it, have used it, and for the price it really is difficult to complain much here.

Hats off to Sofirn for some decent quality at an affordable price point.

[gchart]

I’m with ya… for the price point this thing is punching at, it’s a good deal. But just a couple small things could make it so much better (aluminum cover, taller threads).

The thing that worries me about jacking up the output is the lack of thermal mass and fins to shed the extra heat.

[Lightbringer]

@DB Custom

I got an email giving an Amazon discount on this light in twin SST-40 configuration. It was a little weak in stock trim, 2.55A or so at the neg end of the cell. I tweaked it and now get 1940 lumens at start on a full Molicel P26A at 6.34A.

Sooooooo… one of these dealies

like the 35,000lm headlamp mentioned elsewhere?

[gchart]

No, no… That’s the new Convoy H1 in stock form. Without any juicing, it hit and maintained 84°C. Not exactly what I want strapped to my forehead.

Now that I swapped MCU’s and it has RampingIOS with thermal throttling, it’s much safer. I no longer feel like I have a stick of dynamite strapped to my head.

[DB_Custom (Dale)]

Well, you know, there are no prerequisite’s for actually using the highest level…

At only around 20 watts it shouldn’t be too bad, Lord knows I have much hotter lights.

[Lightbringer]

Still, I wouldn’t want Ol’ Sparky strapped to my head, either.

[PBWilson]

I just picked up my very own D25S and like it quite a lot. Most of my impressions match the comments above, but here are some particulars that I found while testing it out on the property:

Reasonably lightweight. Even with an 18650 cell, it stays put on the strap even without a top strap. I did my very best version of “13 year old me at the Iron Maiden Powerslave tour concert in the ’80s” and it didn’t slip or slide to any degree that caused me to worry after banging my head for a bit.

The angle adjustment isn’t super grippy, but it makes it easy to fine tune and still doesn’t slip.

The hidden USB port is a design that I like and I hope more manufacturers give it a try because it most likely keeps out grit and moisture better than some of the rubber flap designs I’ve had and tried out. It won’t wear out and need replacing either. It could use a touch of lube on the o-ring though. That would make it even more weatherproof. It didn’t come with replacement o-rings. I wish it did because finding a particular one for a particular light can be a pain. Hopefully it’s a somewhat standard size and one that is shared with other lights I have.

The levels are spaced well. It wasn’t hard to find one that worked for up close stuff or reaching out into the darkness of the edges of the yard. I didn’t read up on the UI and it confused me why it sometimes went up in brightness and sometimes down. I’ve still got to read and play with it a little more, but regardless, it didn’t take long to scroll through the levels to find one that fit a given situation. A good UI for me is one that can be understood with a very short amount of fiddling. I’m sure some would be confused, but with a number of different UIs in my flashlight collection, I don’t mind if one is different, just so long that I can navigate it in a minute or less. A lower low might be nice for reading in a tent without keeping my wife up though.

The light is only available in CW tint which definitely isn’t my favorite. I’d bet that they sell more with that tint and by being able to report the added lumens compared to a NW or WW emitter. I’ll survive with it. These are my first SST40 lights and they do the job nicely. I’ll most likely compare them to my other lights in the near future, but they put out a nice beam with a hefty dose of spill around the diffused hot spot. I prefer really floody headlamps so I don’t have to actually look down to see my feet. I’ll check soon to see how these fare. I can’t recall from my evening of playing around. I wonder how a diffusing film would work…

I’m not so keen on the battery drain. The “manual” or “smaller than a business card” fact sheet warns to turn the cap “half a circle” to manually lock it out. With anything going in a backpack, I do this anyway. It may be a pain or a sorry surprise if people don’t follow this tip, but for the money, it’s something I’m willing to deal with. It’s nice that they decided to share this in the paperwork with the light. It comes with a Sofirn 18650 cell that from the length of it, appears to be a protected cell. It’s a nice pairing for a light that might drain the cell faster than others.

About the money side, 77Outdoor and their related partner company, Sofirn are top notch in the budget light range. I’ve got a handful of their lights and my family has some of them also once they played around with my lights. Yup, there’s plastic and only an IPX6 rating, but for the final touches, they seem to cost more from other companies. Overall, I’m liking this light quite a lot and it’ll come in handy for a lot of jobs in the shop, around the house and yard and even on the trail. I’m a strong believer that more people should own a headlamp. Having hands free and not having to bite a knurled aluminum tube are well worth the price of admission.