sofirn aa lights (sf10/sf12/sf14/etc.)

Anyone have a quicky roundup of the different features of each? I know the SP10A/-B, but was wondering about the others. Sale on AX is coming up in a coupla days, a few of them look quite interesting to say the least, so I want to be prepared. :smiley:

What I was looking for specifically, and imagine others might be interested in, too, is a roundup of the different features to have everything in one place.

  • forward/reverse clicky

  • modes (and order, Hā†’L or Lā†’H)

  • blinkies (and how well-hidden)

  • memory/nomem

  • build-quality

  • other issues (fits 14500s or too snug, mode-weirdness like NMM, etc.)

The sf14 is l>m>h no memory, no blinkies, pwm if any is not perceptible, imo the best of the list by far, the clip not being reversible is the only drawback I find

The sf12 is a thorfire tg06s clone, forward clicky, reversible clip, I particularly donā€™t like the build quality. H>l>m, donā€™t know if no memory or next mode memory, no blinkies, bad pwm, has trouble with protected 14500s width.

The sf10 is a ā€œmini convoy s6ā€, no clip, h>m>l>ml, hidden strobe, no memory, also bad pwm, build quality better than the 12, not as good as the 14

Yeah, I already got one in my cart. :smiley:

The LMH and no-blinkies kinda sold me. Think it squeezes more lemons than the other, no? 500 or so.

This I remember seeing in someoneā€™s review. Kinda struck that off my list.

Funny, ā€™cause thatā€™s also why I didnā€™t grab any TG06Ses, because of the start-on-high and nomem. That would drive me batty.

Okay, so I guess I can strike this off my list, too. I hate Hā†’L, even worse with nomem so that it always starts on high.

Thinking of giving away my Tool for starting on medium instead of low. Ugh. Beautiful light otherwise. Lotta OnTheRoad lights do that, too, if I recall.

Hmm, I donā€™t remember lumens, but the sf14 is definitely brighter than the tool AA using eneloops. Tomorrow I can compare all of them with each other with AA and 14500s

what about sp10b? is it better than sf10, sf12 or sf14, or they are more or less the same performance wise?

The sp10a/b are side e-switches, the sf models are clickies, but as far as I remember itā€™s close to the sf14, but I gave away my sp10a, so I canā€™t re-check. Build quality is good, but I find the switch a bit flimsy, good for the price thou

Actually, as someone who had an original ā€™10A and still a few ā€™10Bs, I think the 10s in general are the best of the bunch.

I like the doubleclick-to-turbo even from off (or on), and with true firefly mode (ā€™though Iā€™d want the 3 modes + turbo to be more evenly-spaced), and pretty-well-hidden strobe, plus lockout (ā€™though for me a TCLO is more convenient and what I usually do anyway).

Still, for a pocket-light, it does everything from firefly to decent-brightness turbo even on an eneloop, so what more could you want?

Well, okay, a nice 4000K-4500K Nichia, butā€¦

Anyone know anything about the 2xAA SF13?

About brightness:

SF10 and SF12 are about as bright as the Lumintop Tool AA, maybe a bit brighter, but the lumintop is floodier, so itā€™s hard to tell

The SF 14 is noticeably brighter than the previous 3, but for some reason mine starts blinking sometimes a few seconds after I set it on high with an AA, doesnā€™t happen with a 14500, weird, driver might be having some problem

The SF14 high is between the utorch UT01 high and turbo,

I have one, its very bright for itā€™s class, my only gripe is the tail switch is too sensitive, you can easily turn it off when tryting to switch modes.

when we are talking about brightness difference is it with nimh eneloop or 14500 batteries?

You didnā€™t specifically say single AA lights. What about SF11 . Over 1000 lumens, on 4 AAā€™s.
Nice price for the anniversary.

all on eneloops

i am thinking of ordering sp10b but if its brightness with eneloop is the same as sf10 maybe i give upā€¦i am not a fan of side switch as well and many are saying theyā€™re flimsy on sofirnā€¦sf10 is even more waterproof being ipx8ā€¦and itā€™s half the cost of sp10bā€¦on paper, i canā€™t say whatā€™s the upgrade from sf10 to sp10bā€¦?

The upgrade of SF10 is SF14: reverse switch on tail, 3 modes, no memory (always start on low), no strobes or SOS, XP-G2 Neutral white, provides a ā€œlongā€ distance illumination range (at least on 14500 batteries, near 60 mts), no visible PWM.

The SF10 is a nice host, but the driver and UI is not the best Iā€™ve seen (according to my preferences, of course). If you can mod it, go for it, it worths a try, as host!

BTW, Iā€™ll be grabbing a SP10A to replace my damaged ā€œoldā€ SP10B :smiley: AliExpress anniversary is something that canā€™t be missed :partying_face:

to make things more complicated i have seen around something like sf10A? how about that :slight_smile: i get mine couple of days ago so i think i have sf10Aā€¦iā€™ve seen some youtube clips where sf10 doesnā€™t have pocket clip, does have 4 modes instead of 5, and declared as 100 lumens on nimhā€¦mine manual says 180 lumens with nimhā€¦so, go figureā€¦

btw, i donā€™t know what the package says but mine sf10 is neutral white as far as i can tellā€¦

Kind of implied, but yeah.

Looks samesame as the Thorfire TK4A, which I got a pair of (even one that go boom, but fixed). Quite nice.

I got a pair of the ā€™11s in the hopper, want to compare S vs T and see how they stack up. Bā€™harni knows I got enough AA alkaleaks to burn offā€¦

SF10ā€™s, despite the drawbacks (for us flashaholics) stated above, make a nice gift to non-flashlight people. Super simple to use, always start on high (at least the ones I got)

To add, the sf10 is also kinda thick and heavy compared to the others

I was looking at the Jaxman E3 Nichia 4000K 90CRI ā€¦until I read this tonight:

:neutral_face:

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So now this Sofirn SF14 is looking good, except I also need around 4000K, hard to resist for $9.52 though

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Sofirn-New-SP14-Mini-Portable-LED-Flashlight-AA-Cree-XP-G2-EDC-Pocket-Light-Torch-Portable/2933049_32829677829.html?spm=2114.12010606.layer-43txss.26.5b5c16cdfGujW9&scm=1007.14677.92112.0&scm-url=1007.14677.92112.0&pvid=ea89fe1d-ef15-4194-bbaa-b7a40355c06d

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OTOH, the Jaxman E3 uses a 17mm driverā€¦Hmmm decisions decisions