A Great Little Giveaway ---- SOFIRN

Bring back the C01R!

Keep up the good work on everything else.

I love how Sofirn has added USB-C to USB-C support to newer flashlights. This makes it so much easier to carry one power supply while travelling.

Releasing the IF22A with an SFT40 LED and TIR optic has been one of the best things that Sofirn has done this year. There are smaller 18350 and 18650 flashlights on the market with a large TIR optic, but the IF22A feels comfortable to hold and it is practical with a 21700 cell and built-in charging/powerbank.

I would like to see Sofirn use LEDs with a slightly rosy bin in the new year when selecting 2700K, 4000K and 5000K CCTs. E.g. SST20 4000K FA3 bin.

It has been a pleasant surprise to see the LT1S released just in time for Christmas. It’s exactly what I had hoped for with the LT1 mini (i.e. an LT1 head with a 21700 inserted in the center).

Thank you for your continued community support!

I like that you push the envelope with new lights and work with BLF to make your lights even better.
That said i was considering buying a Sofirn light but went with a different light instead. I had posted my thoughts in another thread of mine, which i will repost here with suggested improvements:

Improvements: Let the user choose 1A charging as some will prefer a slower charge rate to maximize battery durability.
Constant brightness till the battery is low would be appreciated

Improvements: Add low voltage protection. And change the UI so you don’t have to hold the switch to turn off. My Wurkkos WK30 has the hold to off and it drives me nuts.

Improvements: Adjust the ATR to 50ºC. Make sure larger batteries fit.

Thoughts: Constant brightness until the battery is low would be great. Make sure the PWM is not noticeable.

All lights should have hidden voltage checking ability. And the ability to charge to 4V (80%) would allow people to make their lithium batteries last many more years. And make sure to use USB C.
Also the UI is extremely important, a good UI can make the light better with no hardware changes. More lower cost Anduril lights would be nice, but also consider making lights designed for non flashlight people, simple 1 or 3 mode with a simple one click to mode 1, another click to mode 2, another click to mode 3 and another click to off.

Personal interests: I missed buying your 4AA light before it went out of stock, they may not sell as many lights as lithium but its an important market that can grow with the right advertising. Also 1AA lights are great if they are simple UI which would also sell well to non flashlight enthusiasts.

Finally consider posting accurate lumens/runtime graphs on your website for each light.

Just keep delivering all those products with great value for the money and do not stop communicating with customers. Looking forward to see your LEP, otherwise the portfolio is almost perfect, maybe sometimes too many good products, hard to choose :slight_smile:

Listening to feedback from the community and implementing them in a timely manner is always be appreciated. Sofirn continues to provide a a great (honestly, amazing) value, and the customer service is leaps and bounds beyond what one might expect from other similar companies.

I have a critique on your USB-ports - please consider that not all USB cables are the same head-size/thickness. For e.g. on the SC21, none of my other USB-C cables fit into the port - only the one that was supplied by Sofirn - no bueno, guys.

Things I would like to see:

High-CRI options on release day. You’ve released a number of models this year where the initial run was cool temp, lower CRI emitter options, only to release the higher-CRI option later on. I will always opt for high-CRI option. If a model doesn’t come with that option, then I will wait until it’s available. It would be nice to just have the option straight away on release.

Sofirn has earned the reputable of being a reliable, affordable and efficient brand of flashlights worthy of the support of BLFers. :+1:

I like your stuff , have several of your flashlights , send me the prize

My feedback, don’t send anything to Bwana. :wink:


Joking aside, good feedback:

You have great communication with the community and you seem to listen to your customer base, which is an exciting thing is this day and age. Your lights offer a lot of bang for the buck and having access to amazon warehouses for hassle free ordering is great for beginners and people who “just want a flashlight” and not order directly from China. For us enthusiasts who are fine ordering directly from China the coupons and sales prices are much appreciated :wink:

Ordering from sofirnlight.com you have been taking care of EU VAT so far also, which is a biiiig plus nowadays.

Constructive feedback to make you better:

Your recent Anduril 2 lights all have a bug with the powerbank LED going on after using the light. Q8 Pro, Wurkkos TS21, Astrolux EC06. The parasitic drain is also very high for the AUX LED, over 1mAh! It’s a very big bug honestly and it would be great to fix it.

For your future Anduril 2 lights, please include flashing pads like with the LT1! It’s a great feature so enthusiast users can update their lights!

I won’t complain too much about LED choices, it’s a business decision after all, but I would love to see more Buck / Boost drivers like in the SP35, SP32 v2, SP33 v2. You can advertise with better drivers -> better runtime, more light, more efficient use of the battery. And all enthusiast fans will love you more!

And last but not least, for optic only -> More colour choices for the hosts. Green, orange, purple, red, blue!

My perception of Sofirn ist mostly positive. But you need to improve the temperature regulation of your lights. Visible zig-zags are not nice.

i really enjoy my little red C01R, it is packed with great and useful features such as reversible clip, tail standing, tritium vial slot, magnet slot and a sufficiently large diameter hole for a lanyard or key chain, and 3 modes with the twist switch.

My critique is on the design and construction of the clip—the bend is too close to the attachment band and has no real loop, so it is a high stress point that will easily break. A spring clip needs to have a longer recess for the spring loop with a larger bend radius so it will fit pockets and cap brims and be less likely to break.

I think of Sofirn as a company that delivers upper-middle level quality products at a low level price.
there is very good value with a sofirn light.

i like that batteries are included.

i like that i can buy Sofirn on amazon.
branching out into walmart sounds convenient.

I really liked Sofirn IF22 IF22A this year ))

Despite the pandemic Sofirn really has been churning out products anyways. Real dedication to improve and release more varieties of products to market. Really liking the new small form factor like the SC21, SP10Pro(hopefully this year), headlamps and new lanterns!

So far I like the integration of charging with everything although sometimes a real compact light is still wanted. Something to compete against the DQG Tiny maybe? Also as with others have said please please please think of a better way to make clips. It has been a common complaint of people for a long time I think it’s time something has been done about it. Not really a hardware person and so far I don’t have complaints performance wise. Also no more hold for off please.

Really liking the direction the D25 series is going specifically the D25LR. Although not specifically a sofirn product I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened without your inputs. New variations of the Lanterns is nice as well. The LT1S seem really interesting.

Just keep on listening to feedback as much as possible for the coming years I guess. Hopefully just address it one by one. Sofirn really has been a gateway to the flashlight hobby to some people due to the value of the lights at it’s price.

Sofirn lights were some of the very first lights I bought when I became interested in the flashlight hobby some years ago. Unlike some other brands, all of my Sofirn lights still work fine, as do the Sofirn lights I've gifted to others.

I watched the fascinating development of the LT1 from its beginning. I bought two. Fine lights, unmatched anywhere.

I'd like to see a Sofirn high CRI floody headlight similar to the YLP Panda CRI. Note that I really prefer any headlight of such size & weight to have a third top strap, not only an around-the-head strap.

slmjim

I’m still waiting for my first Sofirn light to get to me (stuck on the mail), so I cannot point things out about that. What I can commend you guys on is how active your reps are and your willingness to work with the community. This deserves praise and thanks!

EDIT: Now that I have my SP40, I can give a bit of critique: the build and UI are absolutely on point and I love how the beam profile relieves the lateral offset of its source. If this is the Sofirn standard, I will get more products, whether I win this GAW or not.

You guys make flashlights with very practical designs which are widely available and well suited to both enthusiasts and consumers. I particularly like being able to recommend your lights to people on Amazon with batteries included. But I do think too many of your flashlights have low CRI and ugly green tints, something I try to avoid when possible. It would be nice to have Nichia options, 144A, 219B, 219F, 519A, E17A, E21A, or B35A, or perhaps a mixture of two different color temperatures in high CRI SST-20 or LH351D emitters such that you have a neutral color temperature with a rosy tint (IF25 is a good start but not very bright).

Thanks for the giveaway and this format. It’s great to see Sofirn continue to seek customer feedback.

I like how already successful lights like the SP40 continue to be improved. I think it was this year (or last year??) that the high CRI option became available. As mentioned by others I hope high CRI becomes more widely available standard or at least as an option from the beginning. Very happy with the D25L.

5000K and less for color temperature please. I don’t think I will be getting anything >5000K anymore.

Finally, seeing more focus on sustained lumens instead of 30 second max values would be great. Both numbers can be advertised but I would see value in well-designed lights that can push the sustained performance. That deserves more bragging rights in my view.

Thanks, and much success in the next year!

I too have several Sofirn lights. I think my favorite is the SP70. Maybe update that at some point with BLF suggestions.

Also, keep pumping many and varied products into Amazon availability. Even little things like short tubes, diffusers, etc.

Hey Sofirn, big compliments on everything you do.

My first real light was a Sofirn, and I own at least 15 sofirn lights.

Your designs are great and thoughtful, I would like to see more LED options in the future, but you guys are keeping great pace with all the new designs and colors.

When will we get “splatter” anodizing? It looks amazing.

I like the IF22A (although I have not bought one. It is just simple and great.

In general I like that many Sofrn lights have USB-C charging, that there are often high CRI options, and that the lights are easy to access (nice for modders). The designs are a bit boring though but for something as utilitarian as a flashlight that may not be the most important thing.

For next year I really hope that Sofirn picks up the “grandma light” design. The ideas were started on BLF 2 years ago, Sofirn was initually willing to join the project to make it happen but then corona came and after that everything stopped. I think that the project is as relevant as it was 2 years ago!