After using the C01R for a couple of weeks, I understand what many others have mentioned: with completely dark-adjusted eyes, the Low of the C01R is still quite bright. The High seems like it could do some serious damage with fully wide open pupils.
Since Sofirn has committed to another batch of the (relatively) high-powered C01R, I wonder if they’d consider salvaging the 5mm Red as a one-mode sub-lumen light and include a diffuser with each. Then, the beam pattern wouldn’t matter at all - even more so if they can find a pebbled optic, too. With this kind of change the C01 5mm Red and C01R wouldn’t compete with each other for sales, either. The niche here is not as a novelty toy, but seriously targeting the astrophotography groups that want an extremely low light that won’t singe your eyeballs if you accidentally look directly at it.
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BTW, the NW/CW Yuji is still offered. I’d like to see more of those lights, too. They’re better than the Sophia 5800K LEDs, which look green in contrast to the 5600K Yuji.
The Sofirn C01S (SST20 version) was never potted. As far as I know the C01 (5mm LED) has always been potted and still is in this 2020 re-release.
The Sofirn C01 is the only potted flashlight currently commercially available for less than 10 US dollar. Previously in this market segment we had the Fenix E01, and PFlexPro as cheap potted flashlights, but these options are no longer available.
As I understood, Sofirn will not pot this batch, they claim that the C01 is robust enough without potting. I tend to agree (did a convincing abuse test on an unpotted C01) but must admit I’m not part of the “potting crowd”.
The lack of potting does enable easy led swapping, so you loose some, you win some.
I see the most likely point of failure of the C01 not in parts coming loose in the driver by heavy impacts, but in the poorly executed contact area on the outside of the driver, that electrically connects the battery tube with the driver : the tracing is too thin and it does not extend to the very edge, so it will wear away over time in heavy use.
Potting is getting more relevant the larger a light gets, large components, expecially big inductors can break off on impact. The C01 has tiny components soldered flat on the driver board, the inductor is even for this size light very tiny, the only large component is the led, but that is soldered through-hole, so that is as robust as it gets. I do not see things breaking even in an extreme impact event.
@Sofirn, will the C01 be available somwhere I can pay with PayPal? Can’t buy from AE since I have no credit card and AE has no IBAN for direct bank transfer.
AE does not have them either, that is a Sofirn store on AE… there is also a Sofirn store on Amazon, in addition to the sofirnlight.com site.
the lights have been announced prematurely, causing you, and many others, to ask where they can buy the light. Those three sources are the ones Im aware of. afaict, they are all just Sofirn outlets, with no stock ready to ship, yet.
the price on the sofirnlight site is lower, I suspect because they dont have to pay comission fees to ali and amazon, if you buy from the sofirnlight site
I hope someone will offere a modding service for this light, since Sofirn isn’t going to offer hosts. I’d put money up in advance to enable someone to set up for doing that.
I”d love to have an amber one.
And eventually a variety of colors like I used to be able to get in Arc AAAs — UV, blue, aqua, green, amber, orange-red, and red.
Just got a bit old and shaky to work on such tiny hardware myself.