Sofirn SP31 18650/2xCR123 Flashlight Review
This review will explore the new Sofirn SP31. This is medium sized flashlight powered by a Cree XPL2 V6 3D LED and is rated at 960 Lumen. The host design is a very popular tubular shape that is being used today by many manufacturers of compact sized flashlights. Priced at around $US30 its in the budget range. For a package that also includes a battery and charger it appears to be excellent value.
The SP31 comes with a tactical tail switch along with a mode switch on the side of the head. Included in the package is a 2800mAH battery. All tests discussed in this review were performed with a single 18650 battery, although this flashlight can be powered with 2 x CR123's.
Thanks to Sofirn for providing this flashlight for review.
Product link below.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0716D3P5T
Sellers/Manufacturers Specs and Product Description
Like Sun lighting up the backyard at Night!!!
The flashlight remains in pocket size but focus on tactical usage. Cree V6 Led makes the beam powerful and wide to view the target clearly 200 meters away. To activate the high brightness in backyard, your pet thinks the sun is coming up at night! 130.8mm length and 77.6 gram makes the torch portable as a do-everything-go-anywhere light. Furthermore, tactical tail switch and side switch enable fast and simplified operation, works great in camping, cycling, hiking, night walking, emergency, law enforcement, car or bike.
Specification:
Cree XPL2-V6 3D LED with a lifespan of 100,000 hours
Waterproof IPX-8 rated, underwater 2 meter / 6.5 feet for 30 minutes
Reliable durable aluminum material with premium Type III hard-anodized
Orange Peel reflector and lens made of toughened glass with anti-reflective coating
Smart low-voltage indication, 2 blinks per second lower than 2.8 volt
Reverse polarity protection, to protect from improper battery installation
Working Voltage: 2.8-8.4V
CCT Range: 4700K-5000K
Brightness:
Level: Firefly | Low | Mid | High | Strobe
Lumens: 1 | 43 | 354 | 957 | 957
Runtime: 173h | 40:28h | 6h | 1:11h | 36min
Instant-on firefly mode and the highest setting will induce blindness, so please shine it to eyes.
Package:
A Tactical Flashlight Torch with clip
A 2800mAh 18650 battery and USB charger
Two Spare O Rings
Host Dimensions: 131 x 26mm
Host Weight: 76 Grams
Battery Dimensions: 70 x 18.5mm
Battery Weight: 49 grams
First Impressions and Unboxing
The flashlight arrived in a plain box with labeling.
On opening the box all included items are stored inside, with the host in a small bubble bag. All items were arrived undamaged.
Below we see what's included here. The Host of course with a pocket clip fitted. A manual, USB cable, spare O-rings and a USB charger.
The Sofirn 2800mAH Battery is included in the host.
To ensure that the battery doesn't discharge ahead of arriving to the customer they've included an insulated pad that is stuck to the positive terminal.
The pad came off easily however there was residue left on the terminal which had to be cleaned to ensure correct contact. A minor task but once cleaned it worked perfectly fine.
The USB charger is very basic however its a great addition as it makes for a complete package. The 70mm length 2800mAH battery supplied comfortably fits in the charger. The negative terminal has a spring mechanism that allows adjustment to enable the charger to be used for multiple Lithium Ion battery sizes.
The charger specs are presented on the bottom side of the unit. Not easy to read, but the labelling includes details,
Li-Poly Charger
USB Lithium battery charger for
26650, 18650, 16340, 14500 and 10440 batteries
Input DC 5.0V @ 1A MAX
Output : DC 4.2V @ 0.75A
Working temperature 25-45 degrees C
Overall initial impressions here are excellent. Lots of good quality items for the price.
Flashlight Build and Disassembly
The Host has a good look and feel to it. It's budget in price but the quality looks very good. Lots of value here with the accessories and also more importantly the flashlight host. The pocket clip attached appears to be made of stainless steel and it firm and strong and can be removed. The mode switch on the side also appears to be made of steel/aluminium.
View of the other side of the host.
Below is a size comparison again the Zanflare F1 an Astrolux S1. The Sofirn 2800mAH battery also on show here is 70mm in length.
Below is a close up view of the body. The threads are square on each end and both were lubed by the manufacturer. O rings included to assist with waterproofing. The anodisation is very good and is specified at HAIII. The flashlight can lockout.
Tail cap below. Ample holes for connection of a lanyard. Sadly one wasn't included. The tail switch cover is somewhat soft however the switch is firm.
Images below of the inner sections of the head and Tailcap. Both have springs and rings which can be removed to gain access to the switch or driver board. I wasn't able to unscrew the top section of the head to expose the reflector and LED. It is either very tightly screwed on or otherwise glued into position.
Below is the disassembled tail switch section.
A view of the Smooth reflector and XPL2 V6 LED.
The battery provided is labelled as 2800mAH and is a protected cell.
Prior to charging the cell voltage was at 3.3V. Using a Soshine charger the final charge level is 2854mAH. This suggests that the Battery capacity is approximately as rated which is very good.
The manual included is simple and contains all the key details in English on one side and what appears German on the other.
Beam Shots
All photos taken with the following Camera settings,
F 2.7, Shutter 1/320 ISO 100
Firefly (1 Lumen)
Low (43 Lumens)
Around the hotspot we see a yellow donut that is clearly visible to the eye, but only when shining the beam at a very close wall.
Medium (354 Lumens)
HIGH (957 Lumens)
Overall the beam pattern is good.. There is defined hot spot with an even spill. The yellow donut is the only concern but again only visible when shining on walls at a short distance. Nice mode spacing.
Outdoor Photos
All photos taken with the following Camera settings,
F 2.7, Shutter 2.5s ISO 100
Location is at a park with the distant tree approximately 60m from the camera position.
Firefly Mode
At the rated 1 Lumen in brightness, the beam is not noticeable. The white spot seen left of centre is the full moon that was out that evening.
Low Mode
On Low mode we start to see some light in the near distance, albeit quite low given the brightness level on this mode is only rated at 43 Lumens.
Medium Mode.
On medium the output level is noticeably increased. A very good level of light that can be used outdoors. According to the specs its 357 lumen here. Seems more but in any case it's a very nice beam profile. The LED being a domed type doesn't throw as far as a XPL HI, however it does produce a beam profile that has a nice flood spill.
High Mode
On HIGH mode the light output is increased further with approximately 1,000 lumens of output. The distant trees are more visible. The area in front of the flashlight being very well lit up in an even manner.
Light Output
Two tests were completed on the Sofirn SP31,
1. Ceiling Bounce test measurements
2. Run time test with a 18650 battery
Firstly the Ceiling Bounce test. The purpose of this test is to assess the amount of light produced.
The score 60 is slightly lower than comparable tubular designs of this type however is still very good. A higher result of 63 was achieved with the supplied Sofirn protected 18650 battery which was surprising. The tests with the LG HE4 were repeated with different cells with the same result of 60 recorded in each case.
Next is a run time test using a freshly charged 18650 Sofirn 2800mAH Li Ion battery as was supplied.
All run time tests were executed with the flashlight mounted in a tripod spaced 1m from the light meter sensor. The flashlight and sensor were stationary for the full duration of the test. A video recording device was used then to record the session with all results recorded transferred to a spreadsheet for charting purposes.
The run time test for just over 60 minutes as the flashlight had clearly dropped to the LOW mode which may have run for many hours with the low light level output of just below 260 lux. It was somewhat surprising to see the flashlight drop from Medium to LOW at the 34 minute mark. The initial reading was measured at 8,400 LUX, then somewhat of a linear decline for the next 3 minutes after which the flashlight dropped to Medium mode. Whilst on this mode we see a slow decline to the 34 minute mark where it drops to LOW mode. The performance here being as described in the manual.
At this point of time there was still much capacity left in the battery. A runtime test for Medium mode was not recorded however some simple trials did suggest that if manually selecting Medium Mode the runtime is in well excess of 1 hour when commencing with a fully charged battery.
A closer view of the data for the first 15 minutes along with temperature measurements. Thermal management is excellent. The controlled tests suggest that the maximum temperature measured did not exceed 33C, where the ambient was 18.6C.
Current Measurements
The Current measurements on the highest setting were taken using a UNI-T UT204 clamp meter with a 12AWG wire with the tail cap removed. Actual current levels will be lower due to the resistance of the tail cap switch and spring. Figures below represent the peak measured
With the flashlight equipped with the supplied Sofirn 18650 batter battery the following measurements were recorded.
Firefly 0.05A
Low 0.10A
Medium 1.05A
High 2.9A
Initially measurements were taken with a LG HE4. The results were similar to those above for Firefly, Low and Medium, however on HIGH the current measured was 2.5A. This wasn't expected, however it's pleasing to see that the supplied battery results in close to optimal output for the flashlight. More testing of this type needed with other cells.
User Interface
To turn the flashlight on, the tail end button needs to be pressed until a click is heard. To turn off simply press the same button in the same manner again.
Whilst on to change mode, press the side mode button once. Each press cycles the modes, through
Firefly -> Low -> Medium -> High->Mid->Low->Firefly
Aside from these modes there is one hidden strobe modes. There are two choices here,
1. 4-12kHz flash Strobe
2. Bicycle Strobe.
To enter strobe modes, with the flashlight on, press the mode button twice. This will activate the first strobe mode. Press and hold the the mode button for a further 2 seconds to enter the Bicycle strobe mode, then again to return to the normal mode selections.
For momentary on mode depress the tail end switch halfway. Whilst holding the switching in the half way point the light turns on. Upon release it turns off.
The flashlight has Memory mode for last active mode.
Final Summary
The Sofirn brand may be relatively new but their SP31 package is a winner. The flashlight performance is very good and considering the inclusion of a battery and charger for around $US30 it constitutes great value.
This is compact flashlight that can be carried around in pocket very easily. It's performance for its size is very good which makes it an excellent choice for those seeking a compact flashlight that produces lots of light when needed, with many other mode options that cover most needs. For people new to LED flashlights this is a wonderful choice as the package includes the battery and charger. Few if any budget flashlights of this quality include these extras.
Thanks to Sofirn for providing a sample to test.
For a link to the flashlight please visit the url below
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0716D3P5T
Pros:
> Budget Price
> Quality
> Good Performance
> Includes a 2800mAH Battery
> Includes a Li Ion battery Charger
> Lockout
Cons:
> No Lanyard
> Yellow donut in beam pattern seen at short distances.