Looking for cheap headlamp

Greetings everyone,

I am looking for ultra budget - cheaper the better headlamp with following features:

- 18650 replaceable battery;

- battery unit on strap;

- minimal modes (on/off only or eventually super bright / low option (no strobes, SOS, colors, or multiple brightness modes));

- no COB, but regular diode;

  • optional (bike mount (an quick install/remove design is a plus).

Thanks.

Sofirn sp40

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32954745850.html

Sofirn sp40
It has strobe, and i have no use of such mode. If it would be separate button for trash modes it would be fine for me, but to cycle that garbage every time i want to use the lamp is not acceptable.

Thanks for yours effort to aid me anyway.

Sanyi D25

Very nice user interface - so trash modes are not mandatory in use cycle. Thanks very much. Do you know by any chance does it remembers dimmer settings once you make initial setup?

I don’t think the SP40 has strobe in its UI. Single-click to turn on/off with mode memory, hold while on to cycle through low/med/high, and double-click to jump to turbo. No weird/special modes in the rotation, not even hidden.

Sofirn sp40

https://tinyurl.com/tplupqq

(direct linking is not working for some reason)

Seems that there are some mixed specifications for this device.

From Blaggood we can observe in specification chart that it has strobe among modes, however at some other reviews on internet it states that it does not. Even stranger thing is that on official website there is no mention of this lamp (very strange considering that there is an hype about it).

=

Sanyi D25

Also strange that this lamp is sold at Ali at official Sofrin store. Sub-brend maybe - in user reviews there are pictures of Sofrin branded battery that is included with lamp, while on strap there are no markings. Maybe it is OEM from some other manufacturer. Also there is no mention of this lamp on Sofrin website and Google does not gives any relevant website for Sanyi as headlamp manufacturer.

Thanks everyone.

Hmm, seems Banggood’s mixed up their product page. I’d refer to Sofirn’s page on AliExpress, it’s likely to be a bit more accurate: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33014058575.html (and there are more colour temperatures to choose from).

Yeah, that “Sanyi” D25 is one of a family of commonly-rebranded headlamps (D10, D20, D25). I’d like to say Boruit is the original manufacturer…but it could just be that they were the first to brand it and others followed suit. On Amazon, Sofirn also sells a customized version of it with a different UI and LEDs, if you’re looking for more options with that form factor.

Sp40 has no strobe

At least mine doesnt

Ok here are some options so far:

- Sofirn SP40 ((price US $21.72))
Seems to be ok as far as available features, but I believe that there are better deals for this amount of money.

- Sanyi D25 (price US $10.65 + $2.13 shipping ($12.78 combined))
Nice set of features, I believe that is better option than SP40 (I dont have any knowledge in this field so maybe I am missing something - are there any features of SP40 that explain price difference?)

- SANYI 3500 (price US $8.77 + $1.85 shopping ($10.62 combined))
This one has one nice feature - knob switch. Sadly there is no detail explanation on how it works, but idea is very nice, so I have included it in this list.

- OEM Q5+COB ((price US $3.72))
It has COB, but it acts as low light mode, while normal diode is primary - no bloat modes. Price is unbeatable.

A lot of good info in this thread. These were just on sale for 11-11 they were under $10 US I have at least 5 of them. Probably my favorite “cheap” headlamp.

Link to BORUiT store on AliExpress

Those other headlamps you listed are considered fairly “cheap” in quality

The sp40 quality isnt that far off more expensive headlamps, its not too far off my fenix ones for example

Sofirn also makes some attempts at warranty and CS, unlike the others

In the case of yr options you literally get what you pay for :wink:

@Bearbreeder, what do you mean by “fairly “cheap” in quality”? Those lamps tend not to function or die quickly?

You also need to ask yourself if you want an “L” style light or a “T” style. I have several headlamps (Nitecore, Skilhunt, etc) and they each have their strong points. I tend to abuse the Boruits more than my more expensive lights. I often loan or give away the Boruit lights to someone in need.

Cheap in quality, ie cheaply made, perhaps not the best QC

After sale support minimal

Remember many folks here can fix or mod their own lights so they are not as concerned if theres issues or warranty

Ask yourself if you are one of those :wink:

Sofirn

Another vote for Sofirn. I picked up their D25 ($18 on AE) a while back and its a fantastic light for the price! the D10 is the single emitter version and its $14. Ended up flipping it because I’m not a huge fan of cold white tints but still was a great value. Includes 18650 cell with on-board usb charging.

@Bearbreeder, yes I can most probably manage to fix something that is simple as lamp circuit lol, but I am not convinced that these cheap lamps have high DOA samples or that their lifetime is very short.

The way I see Sofirn as an outsider here is that there are a lot of favorable opinions about them, as they are somewhat active on this forum. But I like to see everything beyond manufacturer name. I can understand that having them here in community may result in some kind of close support or even product development, so that people here recognize this company as symbol of trust, quality or budget friendliness; but I don’t see it that way. I am trying to understand price points. Like is it price point related to quality of diode used, micro-controller chip used, is it some kind of open-firmware - with high customization - computer connectivity etc.

- Sofirn SP40 looks like decent lamp, but its price point is not justified. I like this modular design of handheld / headlamp, but in this price range I would want to see more mounting options available - like an bicycle mount or some open firmware editor that would encourage modding community etc.

- D25 is not Sofrin for sure. Here on forum there are two reviews of this lamp. One being made from sister company of Sofirn named ‘Outdoor 77’ or something like that and one thread with almost 200 posts where lamp is branded as Boruit. Now on Ali there are versions of this same lamp from any lamp manufacturer. This is an exceptional design / price point product, making it without any doubt most successful / perspective product on current consumer market in this field. I assume that this design marginal point of sale is around 9 USD. This is an price that we can expect at some high sale cycle such as 11.11/Black Friday/Christmas etc.

As this model is actually represented with 3 separate models in one, I would want to discuss this in further detail.

  • D10, is base model with single diode and no zoom;
  • D20, is D10 with zoom feature;
  • D25 is dual diode with no zoom;

What do you think - which is best among these three?

- OEM Q5 + COB is most probably the best buy unit in regards to its features / price range. For some light use as an home repair / hobby lamp. I could not resist and have ordered two units. On arrival, with help of this community, I will make an review thread.

I would like to thank everyone for their recommendations and support.

Well right off the bat the sp40

- comes in various tint options

- the beam is fairly good “out of the box”

- a decent simple ui with mode memory

- has o-rings around the lens and body, waterproof

- threads are well cut, not shallow

- has a pretty decent headband, not a cheap feeling one

- comes with an extra 18350 tube

- comes with spare o-rings

  • comes with pocket clip and can be used as a right angled light

And like i said has some after sales support and warranty

For a mod its probably not ideal, but for a consumer light its likely the best in its class

Again assuming the consumer isnt a self fixer if anything goes wrong

Sanyi

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32954801237.html

Low price, good quality. I bought a second headlamp from the same dealer. Headlamp is lightweight, easy to use. Buy without battery. This is a poor quality Ultrafire with a ridiculous capacity of 1Ah. You won’t buy anything better for $ 10. For this price it is a good headlamp.

For $ 20, of course, Sofirn is better. I bought her too. If you want an ultra-cheap headlamp, Sanyi is a good choice. For $ 20 you can have almost two. One at home, the other in the car ….