When I was responsible for ThorFire, I tried making these cheap lights better and sell them under thorfire. But the outcome is bad.
When I tell to change leds, change UI, some factories are not able to fulfill! Because they just purchase parts included driver and leds, and assemble.
When I want more current, the heat will destroy the light if other accessories are not upgraded. If it upgrade all the parts, it won’t be cheap anymore, nobody wants buy.
So, what I can do is, change a little to make it more usable and keep the cost down.
But if you guys like some cheap models and want a different leds, maybe I can help talk to the factory. It’s not easy to find who is the desinger because every company sells it.
No, no. Ramping would be very good.
All the current lights are 4 or 5 brightness levels and no way to know battery level. I can never get the brightness level I need. Always too bright or too dim.
NarsilM and Anduril would make it unique, plus have very accurate battery indicator.
The boxes are fine. Open up a Fenix that sells for 2-3x the price, and it will come in the same type of clear tray. Convoy’s presentation is actually better in that respect.
If Sofirn wishes to pursue a brand update and change up the look, it should be done as part of a unified effort to encompasses everything, not just the boxes. As an example, take a look at what XTAR did when it adopted the new white and blue theme/brand identity.
Also, given the ethos of the brand thus far, IMO, it would also be wise adhere to the principle of KISS (and classy). As products that are sold only online, and direct (thus far), there’s no need for fancy retail packaging that’s needed to help distinguish it on a store shelf.
Sofirn’s reputation has been built on designing and manufacturing its own products. It shouldn’t get ahead of itself, whether in marketing, rebranding others’ products, or whatever seemingly good, but still fanciful idea that may arise.
Pass your ideas about Narsil/Andruil up the line to the boss
Personally I don’t really use Amazon AU because the prices are pretty much the same as anywhere else, but if there’s a reason to use that instead, I’d be listening. Can I get a link to the direct Amazon store? (I really have trouble working out how to filter results sometimes….)
If Sofirn makes the SC31 available with Narsil/Anduril (like the SP36, which is also Narsil combined with USB charging), and keep it as cheap as the SC31 is now, that would be wonderful.
I think Sofirn could make more profit with the SST-20 in the SP31 V2.0. It has an SMO reflector which is much better for a throw LED like SST-20. If you plan to release SC31A/B, please try using SMO instead of OP reflector. The reflector is interchangeable between SP32A, SP31 and SC31.
I’m not happy about higher price but I’m interested in SC31A anyway.
Will design be changed? Is there a plan to add moonlight mode? ( preferably hopefully 3 lm )
Is running time on lowest mode already know (huge selling point)?
Cheap 4500-5000K good quality models are always welcome No need for hundreds of lumens. 300-500 is enough for average Joe IMHO. I know from my conversations with family and friends who are not into flashlights that 2 things are most important for muggles (excluding price): running time and throwing distance. If Sofirn can focus on those 2 things I’m sure sell would increase.
I have a SST-20 3000K in my SC31 and the beam is just wonderful, the reflector is just lightly OP which I think is good. Only thing missing is a good user interface like Anduril, and I think my red switch leds look better.
Please consider upgrading the SC31 kit battery capacity to at least 2600mah. The direct competition in Amazon are the $20 Wowtac line (A1/A2) that gets recommended all the time in r/flashlight and they come with a 2600mah battery. Even if the SC31 is easier to recharge it’s hard to recommend it when it will get less runtime, as most people won’t buy a separate battery.
I understand that you are trying to avoid it affecting the SP30A sales by being too good, but it’s having a hard time against the competition.
I have to disagree with you. These 2 things are quite unusual. I don’t think most people care about either. Running time can be easily increased in any light by either using a higher capacity/bigger battery or using a lower brightness level. It’s just basic power consumption.
I don’t think the average person even understands the rated throw distances. I don’t like throwy lights because they are not very useful. You need a specific reason to use a throwy light. They are not good for general purpose stuff, like walking at night or working on things in the dark.
I find that muggles don’t actually know what they want in a light because they don’t know what’s available. I tend to think muggles need easy recharging. Meaning they don’t have to take the battery out. Instead, they just plug in a USB cable. Also, clicky switches with a simple interfaces seem to work best. Like low, med, high. The clicky switch means no parasitic drain to worry about. The muggles I know also want a white light with no yellow, this typically means cool white.
So obviously, opinions vary about what is best for muggles.
“Muggles” that I know tend to prefer an Eagle Eye X2R rather than a Convoy C8…
USB recharging is a must have, you charge your light like a smartphone or any other battery powered gadget.
Tail clicky switch is simple, everyone knows it… though modes can be hard to understand for some
Compactness is not THAT important, but people usually don’t care about throw, so a tube light is often choose
I wish Convoy didn’t failed with the S9… side switch are the second choice after tail clicky in my experience (the third being a combination of the two), but that UI is terrbile
I recently sold some Sofirn, SC31 (simple, cheap, USB…) and SP30A (one switch to power, one switch to change modes, USB…).
- think Klarus Mi1C, Olight S1 Mini, Fenix EC16, that kind of thing.
