[nb: no pix yet as the light’s not available on Amazon, and I can’t use them as an image-host, so have to find something else… but coming soon!]
With the SD02 and SD05, I was wondering if there was an SD01. And now there is. :laughing:
And a nice one it is, at that. 4 18650s, 3 non-overlapping reflectors (for a nice clean non-cloverleaf beam), and a magnetic-ring switch with 4 brightness levels, makes for a Q8-with-a-handle that’s waterproof to boot. It almost looks like an insulated coffee-mug, but one that can throw 6000lm. :laughing:
The box is a nice sturdy orange and black cardboard with secure foam insert to protect the light from even the angriest delivery men. Inside is a set of spare O-rings and user manual. This was the bare light, not the kit (which comes with cells/chargers/cables).
First impressions are really good. Flawless semigloss ano, no dings or voids anywhere to be found. The battery tube does not have a tailcap like the Q8 but is a single machined piece, and the 4-leaf-clover-shaped spring-board is evidently pressed-down the battery chutes. Nice! The base is slightly flared where a tailcap would be. There’s a chocolate-bar grip around the tube vs knurling. Nice grip, but you’d typically be holding it by the bolted-on handle. That must have started from one big block of aluminum and machined down into that piece. :laughing:
There’s no lanyard in the box that I found, but there are 3 wide slots for one on the tail end of the tube. The slots are nicely chamfered and smooth on the outside, but feel rather sharp on the inside. I know someone will bring it up, so just be sure to smooth them, or use a metal ring or similar to hook a typical lanyard to it.
The head is another solid block in a roughly triangular shape, from the arrangement of the 3 emitters. The carrying handle is attached to the head. Also, the magnetic ring is between the triangular emitter-block and the round part where the driver board is located. I’m not sure how to remove the ring for cleaning or maybe packing with “scuba grease”. Using fingers to try to pry it off isn’t working, and I don’t want to break anything. 
Rotating the ring feels a bit “scratchy”, so something to pack the gap with, not only for a nicer feel but also to help protect from corrosion, would be a good idea. I’ll have to ask about it…
And unlike most lights, there are 2 O-rings sealing the tube and the head. Of course, there isn’t any charging port, USB or otherwise, because that would be a weak link as far as water ingress. My all-night soak in a utility sink didn’t allow any water into the light, no condensation on the glass, etc.
Just like the Q8, the SD01 takes up to 4 button-top cells. Springs are pretty beefy, so it could probably take (high-drain) protected cells, too. Nb: even though I was at first using only 1 cell to test, cranking it to turbo and expecting 1 cell to push enough current is probably torture to the cell, so definitely load it up with all 4 to not stress out the individual cells.
I’m not sure of the emitters, as the box says XP-L, but the manual lists SST40s for the SD01 and XHP50.2 for the SD01pro. Whatever they are, they’re hella bright. :laughing: At first glance down the reflectors SST40 looks right, as I can’t make out any squared-off dome of an XP-L, nor any “cross” of an XHP.
The beam is nice and neutral white, a bit of yellow corona and for the majority of spill, only fading slightly bluer at the edges. Pretty nice, not ringy or anything.
The UI is simplicity itself: twist the ring from off to any of 4 brightness levels. The manual says they’re 350lm, 900lm, 2000lm, and 6000lm, and guesstimating from ceiling bounce sounds about right. True, 350lm for “low” sounds rather bright, but remember this is a diving light. It’s not as though you need moonlight levels to avoid waking up the fishies in the middle of the night.
“Turbo” compares favorably to my Q8 and DC7, but I fully charged 2 sets of cells to do A/B comparisons. Just for testing, I was using only 1 cell, but wanted to make it a fair fight and top off 2 full sets of cells. That done, Q8, DC7, and SD01, all light up the room via ceiling-bounce even brighter than room lights.
That’s about it. Everything is simple and easy, and other than not (yet) being able to remove the switch-ring, I can’t find anything majorly wrong with the light. :laughing: Really nice beam, hella bright, built like a tank, well-sealed against water ingress, this is a great general-purpose light as well as a diving light. But if you dive, I’d recommend this as a solid light for that, too. :laughing:
Oh, the Sofirn site with really nice pix can be found at
https://sofirnlight.com/sd01-diving-flashlight-6000lm-p0154.html
Maybe I’ll pilfer a pic or two just for showin’… :laughing:
Here’s the little critter…
