What a nice thing to do for us….wishing all of you very happy holidays and a happy upcoming New Year also!
Sofirn is one of my favorite companies both for myself and to recommend for friends and beginners. You guys have so many very good things going for you as a company and with your products, and you are continually developing new lights and new approaches. I’ve always thought it was great that you ask for our input, work with us on ideas and problems, and were even willing to adopt new firmware/UI like Anduril. There are only a couple of other companies who do this with us. And you guys are always friendly and helpful. I see that here on the forum but it has been the same when communicating with you on aliexpress and US amazon as well. When there is a problem, you take care of it quickly and easily, and there aren’t too many problems at all.
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I didn’t buy one yet but I think the new IF- lights were the coolest thing I saw this year and the videos and beamshots are impressive. I bought more C8-F from you (six now), and a couple of SC31Pro just to have one like that with Anduril. I’m waiting patiently for the new AA/14500 model with Anduril to be released - and I must say that the entire development process there was neat to watch. I’m glad we are working with you on that instead of someone like Lumintop who has recently declined in many important ways.
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Some small things concern me and I guess it comes down to resisting any urge to save costs by changing products using cheaper parts or assembly methods. Your lights are a great value with very good quality at a lower, fair price - and you will sell spare parts and repair parts to us for almost everything - that’s awesome! I noticed with the last few C8-F lights that you are no longer soldering the bypass wires on the springs as you once did. That’s easy for me to add myself but it was nice to have the factory already do it. I know that isn’t always fast or easy for workers to do correctly, but it’s a nice touch and would be nice to see again. If saving time/cost was the reason, I think most of us would be happy to have it there and see the retail price go up a tiny amount instead of having it disappear.
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I would like to see the return of metal retaining rings to hold drivers in place instead of using glue. I’m sure that is a great way to save a lot of money and time in assembly but it makes it much harder for people to repair their lights with a high chance of damaging the driver board or components when they have to overcome the glue for removal. Again, a little price increase would be ok if it means keeping easy retaining rings.
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One thing I do not like at all - but which many manufacturers have started doing recently - is using brass buttons/posts for the battery + on the driver, instead of using a spring. For small lights/small batteries it is ok, but for larger 21700/26650/26800 cells, the light really needs two springs to cushion the weight of the battery. On some lights, having only one spring with a larger battery can interrupt the electrical current if the light is bumped or set down to tail stand, causing the light to flicker or sometimes to turn off - that is irritating and could possibly be dangerous in some situations. Two springs also help to protect both the battery from being dented and the driver board from being damaged if the light is dropped and hits hard on either end. Going back to two springs seems like a good idea for most lights, even if the driver spring has to be narrow to leave room for components on the board.
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And now…a wish. I would love to see some really well designed and well made work lights. You have some already on your aliexpress site and there are many others on the market, but many of them do not put out nice light or they are not very durable. Most of the world’s major power tool manufacturers have better work lights, but they are a poor value for what they offer, and could benefit from the knowledge of engineers that know Light better….like flashlight engineers and like Sofirn! Work lights that could run on normal lithium cells, use durable body materials and design for tough use and heat dissipation, have useful firmware/UI, efficient run times and good light color and beam patterns would be wonderful to have. I would study the power tool brands (Milwaukee, Makita, DeWalt, etc) and see if those styles could be made better and a little cheaper. It involves other manufacturing facilities, too, though, more than just machining light bodies and heads…big project. I believe it could be very successful if the product(s) is good and not terribly expensive.
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Anyway…big thanks to you, Sofirn, for everything. Among all of the light manufacturers, many agree that you are a standout and a favorite!