Flashlights that are great but you hate them

Sidney_Stratton · 2020-04-16T22:53:09.000Z

S42 - awkward UI. Changed to a Lexel driver with Narsil, kept the on board charging. My first mod, somewhat difficult but works great. Astrolux corrected the fault w/ s43 but I prefer the knurled option.

SF14 v2.0 was my dreaded light. Always turns on low mode - ok; turn off and back on goes to next level. Argh! Then occurred to me to use as a drawer light (you know, finding that odd thing lost in the miscellaneous pile of odds & ends). Great light as low is about 10 lumens.

Next was the SP10A; single press to turn on is very low (<2 lm) and long press to turn off. BUT, once driven into subconscious to long press from off, which starts at last mode, then the corresponding long press to turn off. My daily pocket light (got so cheap, if I’d lose it I wouldn’t make a fuss). I’m an urban guy, moonlight has no use for me. There’s enough reflected light from streetlights; I have low night lights about the apartment to get to the bathroom without stubbing my toe or walking into a door.

Now everybody rants and raves about Convoy. My S2+ has a non responsive switch, that I changed. Still the switching doesn’t always move to next level. So I had gotten an L2, with e switch. Long press to Off is way too long (>1 sec) and have to really press good (almost hard). There is a blue led at the switch, but it’s on one side (that annoys me) and stays on with the light. I’d rather have the led On when not in use, to find the switch in perfect blackness. Then turn off when the light is on - I don’t need the indicator.
Well, I’ll eventually change those naggins.

Rusty_Joe · 2020-04-17T00:16:27.000Z

Any headlamp, any flooder, any multi-emitter “fatty” light. Any head-heavy light with poor ergonomics.

rizky_p · 2020-04-17T03:50:03.000Z

basically any flashlights beyond my budget

Nismo · 2020-04-17T20:21:43.000Z

Sofirn SP10S, so much potential for a great EDC that can use both AA and 14500, but terrible UI. Also 90 CRI LH351D in a medium-throwy orange peel reflector.

I just want Anduril, raised button ring and maybe an AUX LED in the button.

ValuseekeR · 2020-04-17T21:40:26.000Z

I guess the Sofirn C8A. Sofirn makes solid lights by all accounts and I still have a bunch of other ones from them, but this one was given away. Didn’t care for the smooth body and other C8’s are available with better hand feel, emitters, and UIs (for me).

Bwana · 2020-04-17T21:44:54.000Z

Any that have a UI of more then low - medium - high - off

Hugh_Johnson · 2020-04-18T00:36:55.000Z

Nismo:

Sofirn SP10S, so much potential for a great EDC that can use both AA and 14500, but terrible UI. Also 90 CRI LH351D in a medium-throwy orange peel reflector.

I just want Anduril, raised button ring and maybe an AUX LED in the button.

I think many of us want exactly this.

D_AVerk · 2020-04-19T16:42:55.000Z

Sofirn IF25. The idea was brilliant. We could dynamicaly change color temperature for our needs. Fine finish. Embedded charger.

So we could be use it like excellent combination of backpack lantern, hand flashlight, home romantic light and everything with HiCri. And reasonable price of course. And good diffuser like EDC18 in complectation

But visible PWM, strange proprietary UI (not anduril), LowCRI cold leds (with Hicri warm), lack for complectation diffuser, non-informative button, only one mode on charge available makes this revolutionary flashlight simply cheap toy. I like it’s 2700K light, but can’t use it like candle (in candle mode). I like it size - but in turbo it makes hot in seconds. I like charger, but i d’t like only one mode when charged.

It’s a little bigger for EDC, lack of modes for home lantern, lack of Hicri (and awfull greenish of 5000k SST20) in all CT above 3500-4000K for photograf light, and lack of power for hand heavy duty light.

Sidney_Stratton · 2020-04-19T17:38:27.000Z

@D’Averk;
DBSAR is working on a BLF mini lantern. The IF25 is his starting light. I believe he’ll be incorporating Anduril and will address some of the issues you mentioned.
link

D_AVerk · 2020-04-19T19:01:09.000Z

Sidney Stratton:

DBSAR is working on a BLF mini lantern. The IF25 is his starting light. ….

I know it, but there are a lot of questions there.
Firstly - if this diffuser cap would be removable. So, i am truly sure, that only backpack lantern in this form factor is very expensive for weight and size (carry, and if diffuser would be unremovable - i would avoid it.
Second - if cap would be removable and LH351D used for hicri light - before Sofirn inform that they d’t use such leds in IF25 because of ugly beamshot. If this was false, or in new lantern after cap remove we would have - ugly beamshot declared before?
And finally - price question still open. If they would sell it for something like 50USD, i think deal not worth it.

hcanning · 2020-04-20T14:08:43.000Z

I don’t hate any of the lights in my collection really. I like to research and know what I’m buying beforehand.

If I had to pick the one that disappointed me the most it would probably be my Astrolux S41, and that’s probably just because it doesn’t feel quite as “hewn from granite” as Convoy’s lights. The output for the size is great, and I like the BLF A6 UI.

A friend of mine has the S42 though and the UI is really hideous. Completely hopeless. No idea how they came up with such an abomination.

Scallywag · 2020-04-20T15:10:42.000Z

D'AVerk:

Sidney Stratton:

DBSAR is working on a BLF mini lantern. The IF25 is his starting light. ….

I know it, but there are a lot of questions there.
Firstly - if this diffuser cap would be removable. So, i am truly sure, that only backpack lantern in this form factor is very expensive for weight and size (carry, and if diffuser would be unremovable - i would avoid it.
Second - if cap would be removable and LH351D used for hicri light - before Sofirn inform that they d’t use such leds in IF25 because of ugly beamshot. If this was false, or in new lantern after cap remove we would have - ugly beamshot declared before?
And finally - price question still open. If they would sell it for something like 50USD, i think deal not worth it.

DBSAR was extremely thorough with the LT1. I had nearly decided against buying one, when my wife got it for me for Christmas. But I really didn’t expect to use it nearly as often as I do. Toss a small S-biner on the hanger and suddenly it’s a super-useful work lamp. I had it shoved all kinds of places while I was doing home improvement projects. The darn thing never got hot - barely warm, to be honest - and went for hours.

So, as much as I lean towards pessimism, I think he’ll do it again. It doesn’t seem to me like he got lucky with the LT1, it seems like he tried until he got it right.

Mandrake50 · 2024-09-12T18:53:14.252Z

Why not open a WTB (want to buy) thread. It probably would get more of the views that you need to find the light.

Just a thought.

Good luck!

Jvrthp321 · 2024-09-12T19:00:20.567Z

I did both thanks I really want one. Really have missed mine. Seems like they are pretty hard to come across

Mandrake50 · 2024-09-12T19:33:43.499Z

I meant to say create a new WTB thread. It looks like you posted in a three year old WTB thread. Worth a try anyway…

Jvrthp321 · 2024-09-12T19:40:22.648Z

doh

turkeydance · 2024-09-18T00:06:50.551Z

Bwana:

Any that have a UI of more then low - medium - high - off

i agree.

fiveseven808 · 2024-09-18T01:13:01.815Z

Well… since this thread has been brought back from the dead, I might as well contribute lol.

I just picked up a Sofirn IF24 Pro. Hardware wise it’s practically my ideal light. Software wise, it’s a bit of a mess.

Hate that it auto turns on when switching modes
Hate that I can’t control RGB brightness
I miss smooth ramping from anduril
I wish I could get anduril like battery voltage readout instead of just green-red-blinking
I wish it had momentary (turbo/high/anything)
I wish the side lights were buck or boost driven
I wish I could vary USB charging speed (2A is a bit much and the light gets uncomfortably warm when charging)
I wish the tail magnet was stronger.
I wish there was a piece of glass in front of the optic.
I wish the SFT-40 was offered in 6500k (yes I know no one cares about cool white except me).
I wish it had aux of some sort (or trit slots at least???)

I feel like this is such a good light, but the software is garbage (especially the auto turn on at memory, I wish it were configurable). I’m probably gonna EDC it for a while before returning to an anduril light or two since it ticks all of my boxes. It just has a lot of annoyances.

nicodimus22 · 2024-09-18T04:28:21.911Z

fiveseven808:

Hate that I can’t control RGB brightness

That was the biggest flaw with the IF23. I’m sorry to hear that it hasn’t been fixed in the sequel. 100% or nothing…meh.

Chris100575 · 2024-09-18T07:42:09.638Z

I have two that I don’t hate but that disappointed me.

Sofirn IF24 Pro, they did get a lot right with this one but:

I dislike that it turns on when switching modes, especially as the only way to get constant moonlight is to unlock it first, which then switches it on in its memorised mode. Which could be anything. The only way around this is to decide whether you want side lights or the main light in advance and leave it in that setting but unlocked. Which leads me on to -
I wish there was a pip or something on the dial so that you could tell where it was pointing by feel. You wake up in the night and grab it. Did I leave this unlocked? If I did was it on side lights or main? The only way to find out is to press the button and see what happens. Side lights, damn, wanted the main one. Which way do I have to turn this now? Aaargh! Bright eye-searing red!
I wish there was an easy way to remove the tail magnet.
I wish there was glass in front of the optic. It is well recessed, but even so.

Lumintop Tool AA. This one is so close to being brilliant, it just needs a way to disable mode memory. For every light I want it to either always start in the lowest mode, or give me a shortcut to the lowest mode.

I always want the lowest amount of light that I need, especially with dark-adapted eyes, so any light where it’s a lottery whether it turns on in low or supernova is bloody annoying.