[CCed from my Amazon review of the critter, still waiting for pix to be “published” so I can link them here]
Nice extension of the SC31 family!
As the happy owner of a few original SC31s and a SC31B, I was eager to see what was new about the “Pro” version.
I had to go check the history books, but the original used a XP-G3, the ’B used a SST-20 for more throw, and now the ’Pro uses a SST-40 for sheer power, up to 2000 lemons. :laughing:
Some differences are the black clip vs the older typische chrome clip (neither one a deep-carry clip, sadly), and the head (due to the different reflector, I bet) is a bit shorter. All could “lego” battery tubes and tails from other models such as the FC11 and SP40, and the shorty tube fits as well, letting you use an 18350 cell instead of an 18650, if you want an even shorter and more “pocketable” light. Even the parts from a gold SP32Av2 lego together, for an “interesting” looking light!!
The kit includes a 3000mAH cell and cable, which lets the light itself charge the cell via usb-C. Also included are the clip as mentioned, a lanyard, and extra O-rings as well. In short, everything you need. :laughing:
One significant difference is the inclusion of the Anduril user-interface (UI), which gives you a stoopit-high number of options and configurations to let you customise the light like you wouldn’t believe. You don’t need to do it, as it works nicely out of the box, but it’s all there. It’s definitely worth investing the time to get into it and configure it as you want, and you’ll definitely get the most out of the light.
I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of a 6500K light (the only color-temperature in stock at the time) but it turned out to be quite nice, not Angry Blue at all. While there’s a hint of green in the beam, it’s not objectionable at all. In fact, the all-around color and tint is pretty decent. Color me surprised.
The included cell clocked in at about 3000mAH on the button, which is a good sign. I didn’t have time to run multiple capacity tests on it, so only one sufficed.
The light is very well put together and “aligned”. The button, Sofirn branding, and bacon-in-a-triangle symbol were all perfectly aligned, as is the CE/ROHS mark exactly opposite, by the charging port.
Operation is pretty simple: click on, click off, press’n’hold to adjust the brightness. There’s a stepped setting of 7 discrete steps, and ramping which lets you adjust brightness up/down continuously. 3 clicks from on lets you toggle between discrete steps and ramping.
3 clicks from off blinks out the battery voltage, eg, 4 blinks, pause, 1 blink, longer pause, repeated over and over, “spells out” 4.1V. Clicking again turns if off. Handy to see how much juice it has left. Of course, the side button lights green or red to let you know when the voltage dips too low.
Charging is simple, just plug the cable into the light and into a usb source (laptop, adapter, powerbank, etc.), and it’ll light red when charging, green when done. As I said, simple!
You can adjust the button to glow (when the light’s off) either bright, dim, off completely, or “animated”, with 7 blinks when off.
To really get a feel of how the light can be programmed, just read up on Anduril, as it’s waaaaaaaaay too much to go into. And that would be reviewing the UI, not the light.
Fit and finish on the light were perfect, with no dings or scratches anywhere. Elsewhere it was mentioned that the edges of the cooling fins on the head were a bit sharp, and I had to go looking for that to see, Rubbing a finger around the circumference, they felt perfectly smooth, but if you ran a finger longitudinally along them, on the “corners” you can feel them being a bit “grabby”. If I had to go looking for that, I doubt it would’ve bothered me in practice, but…
Knurling on the body and tailcap is fine-pitched, enough to feel rough for some grip, but not coarse enough to “bite” when holding it. If you let the light get wet or oily, you might prefer a coarser knurling, but for me this was fine. I even like smooth lights without knurling at all (eg, the SD series of dive-lights).
Plus, if you have an SP40 or FC11, etc., you can mix’n’match tubes and tailcaps from any of those to create the light of your dreams. :heart_eyes:
Me, I like the design quite a bit, as it’s reminiscent of a larger version of the Lumintop Tool or Wuben E01, despite being a side-clicky vs tail-clicky. It’s a “classic” design, nothing odd or unusual about it.
So that should have touched on almost everything, I hope. It’s a great extension to the SC31 family, and I’d definitely recommend it, even if you already have the original or the ’B versions. I’m set to get another one as a spare. :laughing: