That's a good idea! I'll look for a spot and add them. I swear the SD05 has tighter beam than the new SP33 and with a slightly larger reflector, it should.
Thanks for the nice review. I really think this is a goodlooking light and it has lots of performance going with it. Even as a non-diving flashlight it is compact enough to be interesting.
This is a welcomed thread; I just purchased the Thorfire TD01 and while it is only 18650 powered, it is really has same basic setup with the rotary switch. I purchased it for the waterproof depth though I’m not a diver.
The main difference between the two appears to be the lumen outputs and the rotary levels; the Thorfire’s first “notch” is high as opposed to low with the Sofirn. I have, however, noticed a slight delay of sorts that allows me to twist all the way to low before the light actually turns on. This must be done pretty quickly though…
@Hoosh, thank you for pointing out the TD01. Yes, similar lights.
Last night when I took the beam shots, it was kind of bound to happen but it fell one time on the ground and the soil is a lot like sand. Just from that minor drop, enough got under the switch ring to bind just a bit. I washed it twice but still doesn't feel exactly the same. I noticed some instructions with the Thorfire product that mentioned lubricating the switch so I'm curious if anyone can tell me what lubricant is recommended. One concern I have is that some lubricants may eat at the anodization. Others may trap grit under the ring.
It would be great to hear from any divers on the forum.
Thanks for posting the pictures It gives a glimpse of what it does! Being a simple light, I am tempted to buy it and leave it at my parents home for them to use . I’m only afraid of heat on high mode…
You're welcome! I added a few more from a 'formal' camera and the light was mounted. The heat is something but nothing like a D4. Medium isn't too bad.
With regard to your parents (and not to spoil the fun of getting one of these SD05s), you could get them some Sofirn SC31s and replace the XP-G3 with some SST-20s. Perhaps one with a 5000K and the other with 3000K or 4000K. The low would be much lower than this dive light and the switch's so-called breathing feature could help them in locating it at night. Not much heat either. I suspect you have a number of models in mind but that's what I bought for my mom.
It seems to work like a charm. I did not manage to drive it beyond 55°C (ATR thermal threshold for stepdown) even when restarting the high-mode. It would be nice to run the SD05 without time-triggered stepdowns.
I think the problem is the ferrous composition of some sand grains that is attracted by the magnet in the switch ring.
Try compressed air, or with a more powerful magnet
Water rinsing took care of the issue but I'm still a little wary about the grit. I wish I could see the underside of the ring just to see how stuff can get stuck. Sometimes, pressurized air can push stuff further in to where you don't want it so gotta be careful. Ferrous materials could come out in that manner. Just depends on the underside of the ring.