[Review] Pretty good low budget 1x18650 lantern

The flashlight images in this review are from Sofirn/Wurkkos, and the images are being used with their explicit permission.

I used a program called Topaz Gigapixel AI to improve the image quality.

I received four of these lanterns on Thursday (today).

https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/led-rechargeable-camping-light-20w-super-bright-led-lantern-long-range-lithium-outdoor-lampu-for-camping-fishing-hunting

The lanterns come in black or brown.

I think that black looks the best, so all four of mine are black.

If you order brown, there's something wrong with you!

(just kidding.)

The sofirnlight website says that they ship from Canada.

My lanterns showed up in Compton, California so quickly that I think they came from either Canada or the U.S.

(I live in Palm Desert, California.)

They sat in Compton for about 18 days, which is weird, but at least they didn't come directly from China.

If they did come from Canada, maybe they had to clear customs?

These lanterns are also available here.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004004419007.html

They used to be here as well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G24SFYF

Although these lanterns are sold by Sofirn and Wurkkos, these lanterns are unbranded.

On Amazon the brand is called MUIFA and Coralov, but on the actual lantern and the packaging there is no brand name.

Also on Amazon, it says it does not come with a battery, but mine did.

Mine came with a Hongli 1200mAh flat top unprotected 18650 cell.

I did not test the capacity of the cell, but I used the cells right away without charging them and they do work.

I will be replacing them with much better cells in the near future.

Honestly, 1200mAh is pretty pathetic for an 18650 cell, but at least it was free.

I have read that protected cells don't fit that well in this lantern, so you'll probably want to go with unprotected cells.

When you press the button, you cycle through the modes:

High

Medium

Low

Red

Blinking red

Off

Yes, you have to cycle through the modes to turn it off, and that is terrible.

The button feels kinda cheap, and it makes a somewhat annoying "click" when you press it.

Medium is quite close to low, so the modes are not spaced out perfectly.

High and medium are spaced out well, though.

It can be difficult to put the battery cover on after inserting a battery.

Maybe you'll have trouble, or maybe you won't.

There is nothing that indicates which side goes in first, so you have to remember...

The cell goes in positive side first!

I did not check to see what happens if you put the wrong side in first, and you shouldn't either.

Some lights have reverse polarity protection, but with some lights, if you put the battery in backwards, you fry the driver!

The body of the lantern is almost entirely plastic, but it seems to be very sturdy plastic everywhere on the lantern.

On Amazon, it claims "IP67 waterproof protect" and "IPX7 water-resistance rating"

I did not get the lantern wet, but it looks like it is at least water resistant if you have the USB port covered well with the rubber cover.

jeff51, a member of BLF, received very similar lanterns that look pretty much the same.

Here's his review from 2019:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/56447

My packaging was different than his and I didn't get a free carabiner.

My little USB cables are also white instead of black, plus I didn't get a manual.

jeff51 said "The actual run time with the supplied battery is 1hr. and 58min. on high before the lamp dims to a low brightness.
The lamp comes with a 18650 unprotected flat top cell. The cell in my light tests to 1695mAh, with an internal resistance of 59mohms. That is about what you can find in an XP era laptop."

He continued "Replacing the poor spec battery with a good quality 3400mAh battery should about double the run time."

"The light does not have any low voltage protection."

"the battery compartment is too short to fully close on a protected cell. It will work but the cap won’t screw down completely."

At one point, the lantern was rated at 350 lumens on high by the seller on Amazon. I think that's a reasonable estimate, but I do not have anything to test how bright it actually is.

jeff51 took a more scientific approach "I'm not setup to do any real lumen measurements (yet). But I do have a photographic light meter, a lux meter, and some other lights to compare it with using the ceiling bounce method and a very non-calibrated light box. It was hard to judge this light because it radiates in a 360 degree pattern. A wild ass guess puts the light at 250-400ish lumens."

Later on Amazon, jeff51 wrote, "A guess puts the light at 200-350ish lumens."

One great thing about these lanterns is the tint.

It's neutral white, which is way better than cool white in my book.

Usually with extremely inexpensive lights you get a terrible bluish or purplish tint.

I'd say the tint is about 5000K.

There is no yellowish or bluish color.

It's just plain white.

I'm blessed because I never notice PWM, but jeff51 said,

"Unfortunately the PWM is very noticeable on medium.

On low it is downright nasty.

On red the PWM is not noticeable."

Of the four lanterns that I received, they all seem the same.

All of the brightnesses in all of the modes seem the same.

One of the lanterns is missing a screw on the top.

It should have four screws, but that one only has three.

I think that three screws is enough, though four is optimal, so I think it's no big deal.

Overall, I really like these lanterns.

The worst parts are that you have to cycle through all of the modes to turn the lantern off, and the button feels kinda cheap.

If you don't like that, or if you're sensitive to PWM, then the Sofirn LT1S is probably a better choice.

If you want Anduril, the Sofirn LT1M is your best bet for a small lantern.

I do not own any other lanterns, but I think that the lanterns that I reviewed are extremely nice for the money.

(Oh, yeah, there's a magnet on the bottom, so you can stick your lantern to certain metals.)

On sofirnlight.com, these lanterns are currently $8.19 each.

If you want FREE shipping, you need to order at least $29 worth.

Otherwise, shipping is a flat $3.99

You could order 4 (or more) lanterns to get free shipping like I did.

If it's your first order, you could get 10% off with coupon code UBK82QA7.

I placed my order, but forgot to use the coupon code, so I emailed sofirnlight and cancelled my order, then reordered with the 10% off.

Don't be like me...

Remember to use the coupon if you want to use it.

I paid $29.48 for four lanterns.

I didn't even have to pay sales tax.

I consider that to be one heck of a deal.

Of course, I can't get 10% off again at sofirnlight, but I can live with that.

These are great value for money lanterns.

THE END

(the front end)

Can you open it up please and show us what LEDs it uses?

Looks pretty good for $8

Thanks for the review, I enjoyed it.

I'm not going to open it up, but in jeff51's review he says which emitters are supposed to be in there.

"Seller lists 30 2835-LEDs as being the light source."

Thank you kindly for the review. I have four incoming as well. Nice to hear of the neutral tint.

Yeah, the neutral tint was a pleasant surprise.

I was expecting cool white.

Thanks for your impressions RC. I have 4 brown ones on the way. Hopefully they will be neutral tint as well.

If the brown ones are a different tint, definitely let us know.

I would be shocked, but it could happen.

For the price I think it’s a great deal.
Love the even soft light.

On mine there are no screws on the top and I see on the photos on sale site at least some don’t appear to have screws.
Perhaps this version has a driver without the nasty PWM on low.

I’ve knocked mine around quite a bit and it’s still going strong - with a better battery.
Pulled the OEM battery apart and found the top and bottom had metal caps covering spot welds from wherever they pulled the batteries from.

I think the design is quite clever. Makes for a compact light.
If someone would make this with a 21700 down the middle and a better UI it could be a real winner.
Sell it for $20 a pop with a good battery. Or for $79.99 (as seen on TV).
All the Best,
Jeff

Well, since it's unbranded, I wouldn't be surprised if each batch could be a little bit different.

They might be made in different factories, too.

I don't know if there is PWM because I never notice it, and I don't have any equipment to measure PWM.

If they got rid of the nasty PWM on low, that would be a great improvement.

I updated the original post.

I added this...

I'd say the tint is about 5000K.

There is no yellowish or bluish color.

It's just plain white.

Awww, this’d be a good reason to try out the Hammer Of Knowledge and see what’s in there.

RC, Give it the finger wave test.
Wave a finger with the lamp as the only illumination (or the majority of the illumination).
Start slow and speed up the wave.
A light with no of fast PWM and all you see is a blurry finger.
A crappy PWM will show multiple fingers - and look like an old time movie with slow frame rate - All jerky.

Or take a pic with like a 1/4s or slower shutter speed. Wave the light fast as you can through the frame.
From an old POST from TK

Poor PWM will show multiple flashes. Faster PWM will show many more flashes.
No PWM will just be a blur.

Fans blades show this really well, Just watch the blades for effect seen in TKs images.

I did a video about camera shutters and PWM.
At 1:35 is my version of the camping lantern and it’s PWM

And at 6:52 you can see the Nitecore TUBE example and later the light waving in the camera view.

All the Best,
Jeff

You realize that the ability to notice bad PWM is a curse, not a blessing.

If I start noticing bad PWM, it will most likely annoy me to no end.

Talk to Boaz for a bit about lights with bad PWM and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Right now, I'm happy with the PWM of all of my scores of lights.

Some of them are not very good lights, so I doubt that none of them have PWM issues.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Did you remove the review? I’m not seeing anything in the first post.

Yes, I removed all of my flashlight reviews from the internet as best as I can.

I posted images that I do not own.

I going to get permission to post different images before I put my reviews up again.

RC,
I hear you on the PWM, Ya’ can’t unsee stuff once you see it,
Feel free to use anything from my stuff. A credit would be nice.
But we are all here for fun after all. Well most of us anyway…
All the Best,
Jeff

Can you at least post a link to a store where this lantern can be purchased?

Maybe he should ask for sofirns permission first… not so much “fun” left it seems.

anyway, here is the link to the product

So, it looks like modding this LED with high CRI LEDs should be very easy, as 2835 high CRI LEDs are very plentiful.