As several other reviewers have stated, I got this at a discount from ThorFire for doing a review here and at Amazon. This is the fourth ThorFire flashlight I have owned and the third one reviewed. Each of them have been a great bargain for the retail price. While there were a few small cons on the first two , there is really nothing to complain about the C8S. C8-style flashlights are a classic format and many companies make them. ThorFire has hit a home-run with their new version. The physical materials and construction are excellent from the perfect matte black finish to the well-lubed square threads to the perfectly centered XM-L2 LED. The 4 modes (moonlight, low, medium and high) are spread out well, each useful for specific situations. The moonlight is a perfect balance of being dim enough not to destroy your night-adapted vision but bright enough to actually be useful for navigating an unfamiliar landscape. 900 lumens for the high mode seems correct as compared to another 900-lumen flashlight that I compared it to, The strobe mode is well hidden behind a fast double click so you never have to see it (I don’t find strobe modes particularly useful.) The digital driver includes mode memory which is a necessity as far as I’m concerned. Physically the C8 format is probably too large for comfortable pocket-carry and the C8S is no different even though it is slightly smaller than most C8 lights but it could certainly be comfortably carried in a holster (not included but available separately) on a belt if one wished but the extra large head is what makes this format stand out. The battery tube fits the hand and the large-diameter and depth, smooth reflector gives a bright hotspot and allows for much greater throw than smaller headed flashlights with orange-peel reflectors. It easily throws a useful beam to at least 100 yards yet still has enough flood to light up a large part of my back yard from 50 feet away. For the price, functionality and quality construction ThorFire has a definitely crafted a winning combination.
I will include some comparison pics of two other similar lights I own, the BLF A6 SE (around 1200 lumens, smallest head, OP reflector) and the JetBeam Wl-S1 (900 lumens, larger head, smooth reflector). The C8s has the largest head and a smooth reflector.
The contents of the package.
BLF A6 SE, JetBeam WL-S1, ThorFIre C8s
Control Image
Backyard view with the BLF A6 SE, a lot of flood.
Same view using the JetBeam, a little less flood, brighter hot spot.
Same view with the C8s, less flood , brightest hot spotof the three.
Distance view with BLF A6 SE.
Distance view with JetBeam.
More distant view with C8s, best throw about 100 yards.