EDITS:
Beamshot comparison : DOUBLE 1 AND ½ "REVIEW": Sofirn SP10A and Sofirn SF14 *[added night / distance shots] - #2 by MascaratumB
Nightshot comparison : DOUBLE 1 AND ½ "REVIEW": Sofirn SP10A and Sofirn SF14 *[added night / distance shots] - #19 by MascaratumB
Hi BLF!
This is my review of 2 flashlights I recently bought: the Sofirn SF14 and the Sofirn SP10A .
I purchased 3 lights (2 SF14 - 1 to offer, and 1 SP10A) on Sofirn Official Store at AliExpress.
Here are the links (non-affiliate):
SF14: Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com
SP10A: Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com
Well, first, an explanation about the title! This is a review 2 lights but somehow in the middle of the process I fu…. damaged the SP10A: a chip of the driver burnt so I couldn’t make the review with the beamshots. Therefore, I’ll present the things I can from both lights.
Also, there is already a review of SP10A from k-wong here (Review: Sofirn SP10A Best value AA/14500 for everyday carry?) so you can see some of the things I’ll miss here.
GENERAL SPECS (for both flashlights)
Body Material : Aircraft 6061 grade-aluminum alloy, Premium type III hard-anodized anti-abrasive finish, anti-crash and better heat exchange
Body Colour: Black
Reflector : Orange Peel
Lens : Toughened glass lens with AR coating, anti-crash and wearable
LED : XP-G2 S4 (5350-5700K) / Neutral White
Batteries used : AA Alkaline / AA Ni-MH / 14500 Li-Ion
Working voltage : 0.9 - 4.2 Volts
Reverse Polarity Protection: Yes
Low Voltage Protection : For 14500 Li-Ion batteries. Flashlight shuts off when battery is at lowest level (2.8V ?).
Low battery indication : Battery level below 2.8V – blinks 2 times per second.
Brightness stepdown : After 3 minutes on High light steps down to Medium, when using 14500 Li-Ion battery
Impact resistance : 1 meter
Distance throw of luminosity : 80 meters
SPECIFIC SPECS
SF14
Switch : Reverse click, on the tail.
Waterproofness : IPX8 (2 meter)
+Beam Intensity: 4000 candela
Brightness levels & Runtime (AA / 14500) :
Low – 3lm / 5lm ||| 110h59m / 100h
Medium – 33lm / 110lm ||| 10h27m / 5h
High – 230lm / 600lm ||| 1h30m / 50m
Lock-out : Just physical lock-out, unscrewing the tailcap or the head.
User Interface :
- Full click on the tail switch to turn the flashlight ON or OFF.
- When ON, make half presses to change modes from Low > Medium > High
- When on Low:
a) if the light is switched OFF and then switched ON within 3 seconds, it will advance to the next mode (Medium). To reset it to start in Low, we must wait 11-13 seconds. Otherwise, after being in Medium, the light will always advance to High when turned ON.
b) if the lights is switched OFF and then switched ON after 3 or more seconds, the light will switch ON in Low.
SP10A
Switch : Electronic switch, on the side (head).
Waterproofness : IP68
+Beam Intensity: 3500 candela
Brightness levels & Runtime (AA / 14500) :
Low – 5lm / 10lm ||| 73h / 43h20m
Medium – 50lm / 89lm ||| 8h07m / 4h40m
High – 270lm / 500lm ||| 1h24m / 50m
Strobe - 270lm / 500lm
Lock-out : Just physical lock-out, unscrewing the tailcap or the head.
User Interface :
- Press and hold side switch for 0.3 second to turn the light ON or OFF. The light will turn ON in the last used mode (flashlight with memory mode, remembers the last used mode (L, M or H)).
- When ON: Click to the switch to advance on the modes from Low > Medium > High.
- Strobe (double frequency):
a) From ON: Double click to activate it and single click to return to previous used mode.
b) From OFF: Double click to activate it and single click to turn it OFF again.
THE PACKAGE
Ordered: 20/09/2017. Arrived: 24/10/2017.
Sofirn has improved in shipment, sending the flashlight’s boxes inside a plastic bubble envelope. It is better for shipping avoiding damages as when I got my first Sofirn SF10.
Inside, the three boxes, all Sofirn branded. It seems to me that the boxes were also improved, being made of a more thick cardboard.
ACCESSORIES
The flashlights arrived with identical accessories in each box: 2 o-rings + 1 lanyard + 1 keyring clasp + 1 User Manual. Well, and a silica gel bag 
USER MANUAL
The manual is written in English and Deutsch, providing the important information about the constitution and working of the flashlight. I always read and advise reading the Manual. It exists for a reason, I’m sure
I could only read the English part and it was well written and explained, clear enough to know the basics!
NOTE: On the SP10A, the runtime is in the wrong order, as the AA is attributed to 14500 batteries and vice-versa. This is a small mistake, though.
ACCESSORIES
The accessories are simple and effective. The o-rings are not thin, being ideal to sealing water on the battery tube.
With the keyring clasp (it didn’t scratch the anodizing on the tailcap hole):
With the lanyard:
MEASUREMENTS
SF14 (Left) > SP10A (Right)
Weight is without batteries, in all flashlights weighted.
I think it is better to compare with other lights to put the reviewed here in perspective:
Lumintop Tool AA (Left) > Sofirn SF10 (Right)
Also, a general size comparison with other lights. Please note:
a) Sofirn SF14 is almost as tall as the Sofirn SF10, but it is thinner and lighter. It is taller, thicker and heavier than the Lumintop Tool AA.
b) SP10A is just slightly taller than the Manker E11 (that has a magnet on the tail on the photo), it is slightly lighter than the E11, and both have the same diameter.
DISASSEMBLING
Each flashlights’ body is composed by 3 parts: head, battery tube and tail.
Both lights came with a pocket clip, not deep carry, but very sturdy and very effective. Can’t tell about its material, but it is strong!
SF14
This is the light in pieces! It has a sealing o-ring above the glass lens, and a small round gasket that helps to centre the LED on the reflector.
The driver has a “different” shape, closer to e-switches, and the pill has 2 pins to “place” the driver and help to fix it. It also has an adapter ring to secure the driver, below the pill.
All the materials seem well made and well place. The driver’s wires seem to be a bit fragile concerning its length and soldering. It is the only thing I can point so far.
Everything was clear inside this flashlight, no dust.
LED & PILL
14mm plate (aluminium); the LED is not dirty and is well centred; the soldering points on the plate are well done; the conductive paste was thin and white.
DRIVER
The driver (16.7mm) has no spring and the central contact points seems to be recessed. However, it can be used with flat top batteries (I’m using it with Sanyo UR14500P, flat top battery).
The pill adapter and the pill are counter clockwise threaded.
It is similar to a e-switch. As mentioned above, the soldering points and the wire’s length seem to be a not so positive point, specially when “disassembling” the flashlight.
TAIL
Well, not that much to say except that it needs a strong press to activate the switch. I don’t know it is the rubber cap or the reverse clicky, but this is sturdy, not easily activated.
Other than that, it seems well built, no flaws.
BATTERY TUBE
The tubes are similar in both lights, at least in length, threads and external diameter. The tube from the SP10A fits the SF14 and vice-versa!! They arrived lubricated, but they will need some more grease; they have 1 o-ring in each tip to work as sealer.
In terms if internal diameter, the tubes of the SF14 flashlights are from the first batch, that are narrower. All Ni-MH cells I have don’t fit. Only Alkalines and 14500 (unprotected) batteries fit well.
As mentioned in k-wong thread, Sofirn was going to solve this. Perhaps I got a tube from the first batch…
The tubes can’t be reversed upside-down as the threads won’t screw correctly on the head or on the tailcap. This way, the pocket clip can’t be reversed as well.
SP10A
This is the light in pieces!
The head has a detachable “bezel” where we can find a sealing o-ring above the glass lens, the OP reflector, a gasket and the emitter.
The plate (aluminium, 14mm) sits on a shelf, not a pill, unlike the SF14. To (un)solder the plate, it has to be through the top of the flashlight.
Below the driver (e-switch shape) there is an adapter ring to fix it and the driver can be pulled with some pliers or tweezers (after unsoldering the plate).
Unlike the SP10A, the emitter was a bit dirty, especially close to the soldering points. The conductive paste was thicker and grey on this one.
The soldering points were not well made, and after unsoldering the plate it was damaged. Maybe it contributed to the damaged I got on the driver, despite I assume my fault on that.
Other than this, the driver’s wires seem to be a bit fragile concerning its length and soldering.
LED & HEAD
14mm plate (aluminium); the LED was not dirty but the plate was really dirty; LED is well centred with gasket; the soldering points on the plate were not well done; the conductive paste was thicker and grey.
The side switch is really silent and smooth (specially comparing with Manker E11) but not as smooth as Sofirn SP32 and it is easy to operate.
Due to the short wires, placing the driver on its “place” again was a bit complicated and required some time.
DRIVER
Similar to the one of the SF14, the driver (16.9mm) has no spring and the central contact points seems to be recessed. It can be used with flat top batteries (I’m using it with Sanyo UR14500P, flat top battery).
The pill adapter ring is counter clockwise threaded.
It is an e-switch. As mentioned above, the soldering points and the wire’s length seem to be a not so positive point, specially when “disassembling” the flashlight.
The damaged part (after the photos) was the black chip close to where the black wire is soldered.
TAIL
No switch on the tail, also no magnet (it could have one) just a spring that I didn’t try to take out.
_
OVERALL APPRECIATION SO FAR :
2 well made lights, with minor flaws, but than can be improved, namely concerning cleaning (Quality Control?), wires and soldering, and the battery tubes diameter in the SF14.
PROS
- TINT (see post #2): it has a nice neutral tint, with a slight shift (some yellow on the corona), but it is better than its predecessor SF10 and SF12.
- NO PWM : (at least on SF14), in any mode!!! EDIT : SF14 has PWM on Medium and High. RE-EDIT: SF14 does not have PWM. The lines on the photos on the post #19, from what I’ve recently learned, are marks of the Constant Current driver
- OUPUT : with 14500 the highest mode is really bright and can be used at least for 3 consecutive minutes (the light starts to get hot in the head).
- ELEGANCE : these lights are more elegant and “original” than the previous AA versions made by Sofirn (SF10 and SF12), very good for EDC. The anodizing is very good, and strong, doesn’t seem to scratch easily.
- POCKET CLIP : the inclusion of a pocket clip in both lights is a plus, as the SF10 didn’t have one, and the material of the clip itself is nice.
NOT SO PROS OR POINTS TO IMPROVE
- BATTERY TUBES : it would be a plus to be able to reverse the pocket clips, just by changing the polarity of the tubes. Also, to revise the inner diameter of the SF14 tubes to fit Ni-MH AA cells and protected Li-Ion batteries.
- SWITCHES : the SF14 is very sturdy to push, requiring more strength than usual; the SP10A could be improved to make a single click to ON (this is being improved in SP10B, also discussed here: Sofirn SP10B - Anyone?).
- CLEANING AND SOLDERING : I guess this must be really taken into account by Sofirn as the soldering work must be cleaned ad well done to prevent damaged of the plate and the driver. Also, the wire’s length should be improved to be easy to mod it and maybe due to heat transfer.
Scenes of the next chapter: beamshots!
Thanks for reading! Leave comments or questions…or not
EDITS:
Beamshot comparison : DOUBLE 1 AND ½ "REVIEW": Sofirn SP10A and Sofirn SF14 *[added night / distance shots] - #2 by MascaratumB
Nightshot comparison : DOUBLE 1 AND ½ "REVIEW": Sofirn SP10A and Sofirn SF14 *[added night / distance shots] - #19 by MascaratumB
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