A Great Little Giveaway ---- SOFIRN

Thanks for the giveaway. I reaally with you had more regulated output buck drivers like in the SP31v2.0. Until the most recent LT1S, you neglected consistent output for extra driver features, like when you changed the driver in the SP33 V2 to the unregulated FET in the SP33 V3.

Thanks for the gift Sofirn!
Your products have a good value for money.
My favorite flashlight is the IF25A. I would like to see something like H05 but under 21700 with a simple control and stabilization interface (preferably sst20 4000 or lh351d).

I think you guys could make a line of lights which are a bit more exciting with Aux Leds and a variety of body colors. Perhaps it could be a sub-brand.

Count me in for the giveaway. I have several Sofirn lights. I like the quality and value and being able to buy them on amazon with discount codes and quick delivery.

Sofirn we really need BLF version of SC31Pro without glued bezel and simple driver remove with retaining ring. I tried to remove my bezel and It was hardly glued and difficult to unscrew. Finally I removed it but I scratch bezel and flashlight body :frowning: . Please stop use glued bezels. Also for new flashlight with Anduril 2 please provide source code as ToyKeeper ask. If we want to modify Q8Pro we don’t have original firmware as backup.

In on giveaway.
I was impressed with build quality of the sc31b i got from Amazon years ago. It’s even better that your products are readily available for quick shipping to my door. Warmer tints would be great as well as anduril2. Keep making great products and listen to user feedback. Ty

SOFIRN has come a long way. We’re so happy to have another very viable manufacturer here to help fill our illumination needs.

The LT1 was a very special project, a wonderful collaboration of the flashlight community with Sofirn. Unfortunately, all of the intimate details weren’t fully ironed out. The “drift” of hardware changes from the original design made for much concern. Going forward, I would hope any future collaboration efforts will try to keep the BLF community leaders more closely involved to help ensure needs continue to be met. Looking forward to the LT mini!

It’s also great to see SOFIRN delve into the single cell longer range throwers like the IF22A. I think there’s a lot of potential to bring this light forward to even better capabilities. I have been enjoying my SP33 v3. Excellent flashlight!

I love my SC31pro and my 2 LT1’s and can’t wait to buy and try LT1S. Please include me in the giveaway.

I would love to add the LT1S or D25LR to my collection

I think Sofirn has some great flashlights to offer this year. I like the consistently good UI choices and the dedication to creating quality budget lights. I would love to see Sofirn make larger multi cell lights.

Thank you for the giveaway!

Hey sofirn, I really like that your lights are doing all that we ask for and more. It really helps your company to stand out to enthusiast and help with the normal person just looking for quality products that do a great job at an affordable price point.

I love the fact that the newer lights are usb c chargeable AND have powerbank feature that’s a major plus.

I’m quite impressed and pleased with how Sofirn has worked with the community. Not to mention another brand in your thread, but other companies have tried to work with BLF effectively in the past (distant or reent) and not done nearly so well. I’m quite interested in the LT1S. I’m also really pleased with Sofirn’s work on the LT1 - I think the powerbank addition is fantastic. I think the SP10 Pro is incredible. The D10/D25 series are great, too.

My advice for future models:

  • When USB-C is used, add powerbank functionality whenever possible
  • Continue to offer high CRI options
  • Expand the color range on all models: purple and champagne especially!

Thanks Sofirn :slight_smile:

I’ve been a dealer for you guys for many years now, almost since launch. Always excellent products with one of the best customer service experiences out there

No glue is great, however most of Sofirn’s models are sold to the general public and glue makes them more reliable for them, nothing to loosen off or fall apart

I like how you took the D25 simple headlamp and improved it with a better emitters and a user friendly UI.
So many cool new versions.

Sofirn has made some pretty great lights this year like the IF22A and has continued to improve on their existing light features such as power banks features and Anduril 2. The LT1 (and hopefully the LT1s) are a staple for power outages and camping. The future with the SP10A(nduril) and continued collaborations is exciting and hope Sofirn continues and expands the collaboration with creators and knowledgeable members here.

After like 12 lights, I have never once gotten a subpar or light that wasn’t up to standard so the reliability and QC has been very good for me and will continue to buy Sofirn.

Their own UI with ramping it all a lot of lights need, except for if there was a more accurate battery check. The button lights just don’t provide enough information for battery life.

The lack of flashing pads and the use of glue frustrates a lot of modders but I think at least for the flashing pads, it isn’t a problem for the general consumer who won’t have a device to flash it anyway. The chances of bricking a light is pretty low and so adding the pads doesn’t seem risky in a consumer sense. Blue loctite or equivalent is fine, but lately the bezels have been tougher to get off. A compromise between not coming loose in general use and have to use duct tape and a vice is very possible.

Honestly, a lot of people change the LEDs in your lights anyway, so the LED selection doesn’t bother me. However, the SFT40 I got in a couple of your lights was perfect and amazing for SFT40, nice job.

Next year: battery check UI, updatable UI standardized flashing pads, more transparency and collaboration with Anduril collaborators, establish better runtimes/efficiency even at an additional cost, 18650 right angle headlamp with Anduril and an efficient driver, additional sub-lumen modes on most light, and some aux lights.

The IF22a is a terrific light.

Generally I like all your high CRI offerings, and all the Andúril offerings, to keep the UI consistent.

Haven’t tried the new lantern but it’s intriguing.

my sp10v3 is doing great, keep it up and count me in for the giveaway

I am in the LIVE entertainment business on dark stages most of my life. Everyone has a flashlight. you can see them seconds before showtime bouncing around showing the talent where their places are. Sofirn has in some capacity, replaced the mini-mag. A lot of stage techs use Sofirn, from the dive bar band guys all the way up to the big dogs doing arena shows, and have brand loyalty. Keep it up. -Matt

What do you think about Sofirn this year? What progress and changes have you noticed that we’ve made in the past year, and what needs to be improved?

Sofirn seems to have consistently good shipping when others have struggled to ship quickly. I’ve noticed the IF22A is looking really good. What needs to be improved is showing the BINs of SST-20 emitters as this can help decide purchase. Getting a rosy bin certainly helps. Also stocking other below bbl, high output & 80+ CRI emitters would be an improvement.

What do you think is best thing that we’ve done this year? What new expectations for Sofirn do you have for the new year?

IF22A is the best this year. I expect more good lights and deals, maybe some more throwers with the TIR lens. Smaller lights with onboard charging which makes them good for gifting to friends and family who don’t have battery chargers.

:slight_smile:

2020? The year turned out to be an annus horribilis.

Oh wait, the question is about flashlights and the future…

In that case, let’s turn the tables on you, Sofirn, what do you want it to be?

Sell more flashlights, make more money? Well, that’s obvious.

How to do that? Well, that’s where it gets interesting.

The brand has been built on three core values — good quality, good value, good customer service — and that has resulted in a solid foundation, with a collaborative spirit that has been embraced by the enthusiast community, to the benefit of both.

That hasn’t wavered, which is good, and you’ve found a loyal customer base that will continue to support you as long as those qualities remain.

However the bigger question remains — what does the company want its future to be? Continue to target the enthusiast market, offer more esoteric choices like additional emitter options, further embrace the use of hobbyist firmware in the lineup, and build models biased more toward enthusiasts’ tastes and wow factors, and less on neophytic usability and practicality?

That’s a conservative, though logical approach, and will make your most loyal customers happy. But be aware, that if you poll a room full of black sheep what their preferred color is, white isn’t going to be very popular; not a particularly representative sample in the overall scheme of things.

If, as a brand, that’s your target market, the sales numbers support that strategy, and there is little desire to grow beyond that realm, then steady as she goes, captain.

But if there is a desire to grow the brand beyond that market, and establish it as not just an enthusiasts’ brand, but one that is known to more users, and has broader appeal as well, then there is more work to do.

Much of it has been discussed before, such as building a stronger brand identity, though a unique logo or wordmark, a slogan or tagline, and more polished presentation in terms of things like packaging. None of these things need necessarily be costly, nor extravagant, and the product should still always be king, but a polished and consistent presentation is needed to compete on the bigger stage.

Need some specific examples? Do some research on the Anker brand, how it started, as a simple ODM seller, and see what the company has grown into. The same foundation is there — product, value, customer service.

Closer to home, in a bit of irony, look to your partners, sibling, whatever…at Wurkkos. In just a relatively brief period, it has done a splendid job establishing itself as a brand with its own identity, when it could have easily been dismissed as a re-labeler of Jinba’s products, or a Sofirn clone.

Instead, they’re utilized the same basic components, added their own sense of design flair, and the products leave the same factory in packaging that is simple, and still flexible, but doesn’t give the impression of being some sort of afterthought, or little better than a generic brown or white box. They have a wordmark that is unique, recognizable, and a consistent aesthetic from the lights, to the batteries, to the packaging, at pricing that is similar, yet without the benefit of having their own factory. The people in charge recognize the biggest picture, and they’ve gone from a simple little tube light to a full lineup in two short years or so.

That simple but popular little tube light, the FC11, isn’t the biggest, baddest, brightest, or most customizable, yet it has appeal for both enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts, and can find a home in a kitchen drawer as easily as in an EDC pack. It’s not perfect, of course (unregulated driver, cough), but it’s easy to use, and not as limiting as a muggle’s light might be.

I guess now would also be a good time to point out, and emphasize that for many, if not most average people, just looking for a simple tool, a source of light — having to read the manual, a spaghetti-chart, or look up instructions or a video on the web to count clicks and decipher flashes to help figure out how to operate their flashlight — that’s not a feature, it’s a bug. They want a tool that is easy to use, consistent, and find no joy in performing an out-of-box reset and thermal calibration, or desire to set high/low/step levels, or see what their pain threshhold is by bumping the thermal limit. Beware the echo chamber.

Someone inside the company obviously recognizes that most users aren’t going to have a Ph.D. in Flashlight Programming, in fact, from from it, if they felt the need to call for the recent practice of plastering the battery polarity symbol on the tail caps of newer lights.

Speaking of the FC11, Sofirn used to have lights that had similar appeal, like the SP31/32 series and SC31/31B. The former are still around, but in dire need of a refresh, and the latter have disappeared, in favor of a Pro model that adds complication for little benefit, and is mediocre at its fundamental function.

I believe, or want to believe, there is a place for both from the brand, so the call, and the rush to load Anduril onto any and every light is a misguided strategy if the company values, or still desires, a market beyond flashlight enthusiasts.

And simply changing the UI, adding a “Pro” label and calling it a day is a half-measure. IMO, full-measures would include better quality (potted, as well) regulated drivers, for sustained performance, and better temperature regulation performance with less conservative parameters. Pros need tools that can handle heavy duty tasks, and not let them down. And if they need service, don’t put additional obstacles like glued assembly in their way.

Perhaps consideration should be given to rationalizing the model lineup (as well as the naming nomenclature), cutting the dead weight, and segmenting the models more along true Pro, and “Home” lines. Give the Pro models what the enthusiasts want — power, configuration options, higher quality drivers. Give the Home models the same basic quality and features, but with simpler UI, good, practical performance, more budget friendly, as well as more options beyond basic black for a little extra appeal.

My 20¢…