UPDATE 6-Mar-2016: See post 33 for my review and photos, and posts 20, 25, and 27 for additional helpful reviews. /UPDATE
Does anyone have any experience with this headlamp from Thorfire? Appears to be a near clone of the Fenix HP30 : 2x18650, detachable battery pack with USB out, nearly identical design. As for differences, the Thorfire advertises an XP-G2, while the Fenix advertises an XM-L2, the Thorfire advertises some sort of motion sensing switch (description is not very clear), and there are minor differences visible on the switch(es) and battery pack design. No lumen or runtime claims from the Thorfire, and I can’t find a model name/number to compare other retailers etc. One of the pictures shows a model number of HL1505, but amazingly enough, Googling Thorfire HL1505 produces no results. (That almost never happens any more - feels like I’m in a black hole…)
The very interesting part, assuming these lights are nearly identical? The Thorfire is <US$15 at Amazon, compared to $90 for the Fenix. And even more interestingly for budget light enthusiasts, there are at least a few of the Thorfires available through Amazon Warehouse Deals (used/open box) for$7 . (Click the button next to “Buy Used” on the righthand side of the page, or select other sellers to see Warehouse Deals used options. Currently starting at $6.73 for “Very Good” condition.) This seems to be an excellent deal, unless I’m missing something?
Comparison pictures, from the Amazon listings:
I’ll also post a link in the deals thread, but wanted to start this thread for potential discussion.
Looks like the used /open box ones are sold out. Hope some of you were able to take advantage of this! I’ll be curious to hear opinions and clear up minor mysteries when they start showing up in a few days… Is it really a $90 light for $7, or is there a catch? What’s the model name / number, and why is there apparently no mention of it elsewhere on the web? What’s the deal with the motion sensing switch? Is it moddable?
At least the waiting game from Amazon is easier than from the Asian dealers!
Amazon.com won“t let us order from the UK but I found the headlamp on Amazon. co.uk for the equivalent of $15 new, so it seemed rude not to buy 2 of them Smile
Thorfire products are generally well made & very good value for money.
I have 2 of their C8s” which are very well made (at least equal to Convoys C8 IMO).
I also have an S70 on the way which has received rave reviews both here & on CPF as a beast of a light for the cost, & a few of their batteries.
Hopefully this headlamp will continue their reputation of well made good value for money products.
Agreed! Thorfire’s reputation is the main reason I was so intrigued by this light at this price. I also have one of their C8s, a JM07 is on order, and I just received the VG10 today. They definitely seem like a great balance of value and performance!
Spot on Andyman
Where I think Thorfire let themselves down is in their advertising.
As obviously english isn”t their first language the ads are often very unclear & also often do not give enough specs to make a decision on whether to buy or not.
For instance I have just spent 7 days emailing them every evening & getting a reply in the early hours (due to the time difference) trying to find out the actual specs of some of their batteries.
The language barrier didn”t help with the emails.
7 emails later & 7 replies later they have actually confirmed my suspicions that the cell is very good & extremely good quality for the price & they have actually altered their ad as a result.
I have now ordered some of their batteries as a result as prior to the correspondence from what the ads said they could have been re-wrapped Ultrafire standard cells when in fact they are quality re-wrapped Samsung cells !
Not only that, but if you click on each reviewer and look through their reviews, every review these people did, from hand cream to foam pillows, everyone says the same thing. 5 star ratings and “I received a discount on this product in exchange for my unbiased review”.
So, there are no actual honest reviews of real users.
But we are talking about a twin 18650 battery headlamp, with motion sensing operation, power bank facility & built in charging charging from a fairly well respected manufacturer for a max of $15 dollars & for some of the buyers $7.
Not really a big gamble to take money wise IMO.
This is not the first time Thorfire have done this sort of thing.
Recently Thorfire were selling JM07”s for $9.99 & they proved to be genuine & an absolute bargain so I don”t mind taking the gamble
I noticed the same thing. When I first heard about the S70 there was one review posted and it was very obviously a purchased review. I don’t care for that. I too clicked on the user who posted it and all of the reviews were 5 star, all were for Chinese products and all had the same false undertones and were obviously written by someone who doesn’t speak English as their native language. Thorfire isn’t doing their reputation any favors by doing this. From what I’ve seen they’re doing a pretty good job with most of their products and should let their product sell itself with real reviews.
The S70 has been reviewed here & on CPF & rated as being everything Thorfire claim & more.
I am not defending Thorfire or their review practises but it dosen”t get away from the fact that they make some very good products that sell at very good prices.
Even if it is not people have only risked $7-$15 dollars.
The deal on Amazon UK was that with the headlamp you could buy their protected 3000mah 18650 cells half price (which are Samsung 30B”s).
So Samsung 30B”s, protected delivered for $5 a cell.
I bought a few
All the reviews of their products does look kind of suspicious, however… I did review two of their products and they’re top notch. Excellent build quality. I think the only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars was because the drivers didn’t have mode memory, you have to cycle through each one.
Amazon estimated delivery is Friday 3/4; one of the $7.20 damaged box items. I hope the mail comes before I leave town so I get to play with it in the real dark of the forest! Better make sure I have a couple freshly charged 18650’s ready.
I agree. That’s what makes it all the more puzzling. My guess is some decision maker in the company had a bad idea.
I actually own the S70 myself. Pretty impressive light at a good price. If I were to rank it on a 5 point scale I’d probably give it a solid 4.
They gave away a bunch of light on here for free if people agreed to review them?
look up there past posts?
Nothing wrong with that i got there pf03 its a great light i am deciding if i want a s50 or the s70 now they seem like good buys.
If people are honest i do not see a problem… I have been asked to review stuff and given it a bad review in the past the people giving me the products are not happy but what am i meant to do? lie?
Mine arrived today. Packaged in a Thorfire box with an amazon inspected sticker.
FYI these take button top cells only. I had to scrounge around and find the only two button tops I have to power it up.
Mine powered up fine. 2x18650 in parallel.
High
Low
Strobe
I don’t have any pictures, but this throws a pretty narrow beam profile that actually reaches out a bit. Not a ton of spill with the way it’s designed. I’m impressed for the price and this is way better than the one I paid $30 a couple years ago from a different company.
Fit and finish is decent, but the battery pack is totally different than the Fenix picture shown above.
I’m going to have to order some button tops for this so I can use it when I’m out catching snakes. I’m happy and would have gladly paid more for it.
The bezel unscrews so the reflector and lens can be removed and you can access the emitter and star.
