Great news!
I updated the opening post with links to the Sofirn website and AliExpress store.
Available in AE store only while on website it's still on hold...
Did Sofirn stop potting after the first C01 run?
Very happy to see the great variety of LEDs and modes these aaa hosts are being offered with.
I hope in some future run Sofirn will offer a Copper and Titanium version of the host.
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.
Why isn’t it available from Sofirns website?
that is also what I read back in May
I was just wondering if that changed, since slowtechstef mentioned potting, this week, I thought he had new info.
There were other things Barry said in May, that are now not happening… the host version… I dont mind. I also dont mind no potting.
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.
Aliexpress accepts PayPal (with a small fee). If you don’t want to pay that fee there’s also giropay.
Giropay doesn’t work with my bank, and PP depends on the seller. Sofirn obviously doesn’t allow this.
Yes I did. Thank you. I only fear they sell the whole batches through AE.
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
good luck to us all, waiting (im)patiently…
dont worry, Be Happy… LOL 
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.
here are some amber LEDs
Maybe Unheard could help with the production phase:
I would like to see more 5600k Yujis too… especially in Titanium and Copper C01 hosts
LEDSales increased shipping costs, so I didn’t stock the white Yujis. Also, I find desoldering a bit too dangerous to mod others lights. Only if I could get C01’s at the price given on sofirnlight.com, I’ll buy some more of them.
Unheard, how many C01 lights would you be interested in? Maybe I can talk to Barry to see if he can get you a special arrangement.
AFAIK, Sofirn is just calculating the sales price for C01. So, sales should be starting very soon (I hope at least).
Crap I just ordered a RED and 3400k version on AliExpress on full price, oh well 
Also for modding I’m maybe interested in a light or two!
I don’t know how closely you’ve followed this thread, but Barry has dropped in a few times and is aware of our interest in other color temperatures (2300K, possibly 5700K) of the Sophia LED’s, as well as a host version with no LED.
However, he later reported that in order to keep the costs low, they are going to just do one big production run with only the 3400K (although apparently after seeing the success of the C01R, they also decided to make a red C01).
If you think it is worth asking again, there was interest in probably close to 200 hosts indicated in this thread (135 on the list, plus 2 more pages not updated on the list):
I’ve been looking for a 2700k AAA light, and this looks to be about as close as I’m gonna get. Question though - what was the rationale for putting the 3400k emitter in the C01 with only one mode, vs using the C01S as the host with 2 modes, or the C01R driver with 3 modes? I thought the C01 was discontinued and replaced by the C01S - it seems like a step backwards to take the one mode C01 out of retirement to put a great emitter in it, when they had multi-mode hosts available that seem much more desirable? Am I missing some pro of the C01 compared to the newer host options?
Edit - after looking at the link posted above me, is it just that the physical size of the 5mm emitter will only fit in the older C01? If that’s the case, I feel like there are a bevvy of good 2000k to 3500k emitters that would fit in the multi-mode AAA sofirn models… I guess I don’t see the appeal / benefit of trying to use a larger 5mm emitter if it means giving up multiple modes, when there are other emitter options of a similar CCT and quality that would allow more features. What am I missing? I’ll still probably buy one, just would love a 2000k-3000k AAA aluminum light with moonlight, low, high modes, and small/light enough for keychain carry.