New Sofirn SP33 V3 !!

Thanks for your concern, Jason, and your link to the B01.

But I’m confused, what exactly do you think is wrong with the beams from my modded SP33 flashlights? They very photo you selected shows them basically illuminating the ground only; just a little light bounces upward from there but that would be true for any lamp. Also the beams are continuous, with a modest amount of illumination in the foreground. With the Sofirns set to mid level — 450lumens each — mounted only 16” high and aimed low, the extended reflecting shields and TIR lenses (further modified with d-c-fix diffusing film) reduce glare to oncoming traffic as effectively as any bike-specific headlight would, if not more so. (Am rural, so pedestrians do not enter into the equation at all.) Not to mention, my setup allows the lights to be angled individually, with the port side pointing straight ahead and starboard further right into the road’s shoulder. Plus their larger 26650 Li-ion cells allow for longer runtime, vital on my 3 hour ride home at night.

OTOH the Lumintop to which you refer has no diffusion, but simply points the emitter down onto a reflector which is still clearly visible when viewed from the front, despite the cutoff. Furthermore it’s beam is discontinuous, delivering some spill directly in front of the bike and a flattened hotspot farther afield, with a dark patch in between the two. Can’t imagine riding with such a distracting/dangerous setup and sincerely doubt such a pattern would be lawful for any motor vehicle. On top of that, it’s current banded mount garners excoriating reviews; videos reveal the light continually bobbing up and down. Dunno why Lumintop dropped the previous mount they’d used on the C01, that one looked a lot more robust.

Probably the best bike lamps currently available are the ones from Outbound Lighting. Unfortunately, for various reasons they don’t work well on recumbent bikes, which are what I ride. So feel incredibly lucky to have found Sofirn’s reasonably priced SP33 V3.0, which is just slim enough to fit into the only decent swivel clamps that can mount to my LWB bike’s fork. Light up the road ahead and not the cockpit, whew!

Am loving them. :slight_smile:

I was thinking it might light up the area between the handle bars and the trees a bit more. Plus maybe use less power.

Well Jason the XHP50.2 emitter in Sofirn’s SP33 V3.0 is supposedly more efficient than the Nichia 219CT in the Lumintop B01, trade off being 6800K 65 CRI rather than the latter’s lovely NW bin.

Anyway, since deciding to forgo the useless WindWrap fairing purchased for my bike, was able to raise the Sofirns two or three inches farther up the fork. From that superior position they manage to shine over the grassy knoll all the way to the catalpas.

For this shot turned them up to High (1600lm each) and lowered the exposure to compensate for glare. Could probably ride with just these two little flashlights at this setting; plugged into 4-cell power banks they should run several hours. Hope to test out Sunday when the current cold spell is forecast to pass.

I’ve had my SP33 V3 for a few weeks now & really like it, except for the switch. I find it very hard to use.
I have put a drop of UV glue on the switch to form a 1-2mm bump on it & this has improved it a lot. I don’t know if the UV glue will stay in pace or may peal off in a few weeks but it has made the switch much easier to use & only takes a few mins to replace.
I hope Sofirn replace it with something better, maybe like the switch on the BLF LT1.

Hard to use or hard to find?

I think it’s a very easy switch to use, it’s just a bit hard to find by feel.

I’ve been having trouble with the power button switch as well. After periods of nonuse (whether the flashlight has been left on or off) it often takes several attempts to get it to respond to a single press. When left on it will still respond to a long press and ramp up or down but won’t shut off for several short presses. This on both units I’ve got on my bike.

My GT Mini and Micro do this, along with my EDC18 Fireflies are much the same, dull switch response..

Both actually.
But since I modified the button it is now very easy to use and a bit easier to find.

$10 discount code for 2 HD 26650 5000mAh batteries: [5Z8E9KX85DXD](can be used 10 times only)

Sale price: $12.99

Discount price: $2.99

1.The battery can fit in SP33 and SP33V3.0

2.Codes only work for our official website www.sofirnlight.com

Link:https://sofirnlight.com/products/plb-flat-top-hd-26650-5000mah-rechargeable-battery-cells?variant=31504670818364

The Sofirn website doesn’t work since a few days now

Now it works

Is there likely to be customs issues shipping batteries to Canada?

Also, it would be good to be able to see shipping costs and details, and enter codes, without having to create an account on the site.

It was a direct link

Yeah, noticed and edited. :smiley: Either I’m blind or it was added later. It was even included in my quote.

Yes,there are some custom issues shipping to Canada. We are choosing another logistic company to deal with the battery packages.
Without an account, you won’t have a order number. tt won’t be easy for us to confirm your order if something goes wrong. I appreciate your understanding.

I had enquired thru email about Canada Customs and you have not responded.
Then you gave me broken tracking numbers on two shipments:
1023038621090689
1023038620852455

How can I deduce the shipments will arrive?

It would be a nice feature but not possible for different products. Flashlights would be an entirely different shipping price than batteries shipped separately .

Due to the virus there is a lot of back log and some warehouses and shipping companies are not yet able to return to work. Patience and understanding is required at this time.

Their site has no provision as “guest” account. Many sites require a login for shipping quotes.

What I mean is it would be good to see shipping costs and discounts in the shopping cart before creating or logging into an account.

Is there reasonable reassurance that the other logistic company can fulfil delivery and avoid problems such as packages being turned away? There seems to be at least two concerns: 1) restrictions for lithium ion batteries on airlines, and 2) proof of classification for importing.

https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/clear-part2-339.htm#sec2p2p1

Given the uncertainties, I’ve held off from ordering for now. Though, it would be nice to have a 26650 battery for my SP33v3 which I ordered with a battery to avoid exactly these import/shipping issues, but I was sent one without the battery.

Sure, but I don’t see how calculating those different shipping prices is any different before or after logging into an account.