Multiple would require a new custom TIR, which based on the past seems unlikely for Sofirn to take a risk on. But a 12v emitter seems entirely possible, or 6v. Do they have another light that specs 6800lm that might explain the listing here?
We need Barry to pipe in. 
It’s XHP70.3. Don’t know if it’s the HD or HI. 70mm bezel.
claims 6800 lumens and 915m throw.
HD could do close to 6800lm maybe, HI could do closer to 915m though…
looks pretty sweet
Oh, that’s very interesting! Maybe a replacement for the ill-fated SF47T, or a cross between that light and the SP70.
I wonder how they’ll handle safely charging two cells in series, though. Unless they’re loaded in some kind of cradle with a BMS, I’d be worried about overcharging one.
I also noticed in the description:
AUTOMATICAL LOCKOUT: When the flashlight turns off after 3 minutes, it will automatically enter lockout mode.
I guess Sofirn is starting to do that with their lights - some have reported the recent IF23 exhibits the same behaviour. Probably good for safety, but perhaps annoying if all their lights going forward do this.
Ah, thanks for that! I noticed the ali link I posted died. Here’s the new ali link and it has a photo of the emitter - looks like the XHP70 HI but it’s hard to tell. No info on temp but the photo makes it look cold. OP reflector.
I noticed that autolock right away - confused as to whether it’s 1 minute or 3 minutes, but if that feature can’t be turned off it will probably be a deal killer for those who might use this light for work/professional uses.
Price on ali is a lot higher at $95/$107 (with or without cells).
I’m not at all pleased to see Sofirn making the SP70 mistakes all over again!
70.3 in a textured reflector? Oh please! Lost me, and the auto shutoff when there’s a mechanical switch ?
Bye Sofirn.
Yea almost certain that’s the XHP70.3 HI. Makes more sense with the performance anyway. The Ali page shows a “600k-6500k” and “4700k-5300k” option so it looks like neutral white is available but might not be an option forever - they might just have a small batch of them with the neutral temp, according to ali theres only 5 in stock, but I don’t really trust those numbers.
Price just changed to ~$80/$90 on both their site and ali.
It does look neat. I would like if it had kept the tail switch from those models, though I’m probably in the minority on that. Seems the SP60 is side-switch only.
I know with 2 cells in series the XHP70.3 HI can put out some serious power. The Lumintop PK21 with 70.3 HI and 2x 21700s put out ~8000 lumens and 1300m throw at startup, out of a 65mm bezel. So the performance claims seem quite plausible at startup, or even at 30s - hopefully it has better sustain than the Lumintop.
Automatic lockout
This does seem super annoying and unnecessary, potentially a dealbreaker. I hope it’s something that can be turned off.
Putting 70.3 HI (and HD) in an OP reflector is very common, to smooth out artifacts and prevent a donut-hole in the hotspot. The PK21 I mentioned uses one along with many others. It’s fair not to like OP reflectors but it’s a valid design choice for them to have made. I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker feature for most.
Also, like I mentioned, looks like the SP60 is side-switch only, so no worries for you on that front.
Though I will say I do pass on most Sofirn models because of the cheap drivers they use (and generally low-ish build quality but it’s fine/forgivable for the price point). I have no idea why the FET-driven IF22A is so popular when there are similarly priced lights with far better drivers available. It’s not a huge deal on a flooder that won’t be used at max output very often, but why would you want a thrower that loses throw the more you use it, and/or steps down sooner from heat? Of course as just a mostly-toy and with light use it’s probably fine.
Anyway…bringing that off-topic rant back to relevance, I wonder how good of a driver the SP60 will have. With 2S there must be some kind of buck channel, but the max output can still fall with battery voltage. edit: forgot it’s 6v/12v. I do hope the max regulated output is close to high/turbo. Otherwise, the Convoy M21G at $44/$55 seems like the better buy to me. The regulation on that seems very good though the brightness is only ~4500lm and 657m throw due to the much smaller 55mm bezel, so maybe they’re not quite directly comparable.
Are there really though? At that price? That perform better? Like what?
I mean doesn’t everything lose throw the more you use it?
Funny I use my lights the complete other way around. The floods are much more often at max. I actually don’t think I’ve ever used the if22a on high long enough to notice it stepdown. But that’s just my usage. Floods are worklights, often used indoors, often left on for hours. Throwers are for walking the dog at night or messing around with. I never have a throw on max long enough for thermal stepdown to ever matter.
But that’s just my usage.
Doubt it. It’s 2S. Why would there be?
Given the IF22A is in the ~$30-40 range:
Convoy S16, M21B, M21C, and L21B with CULPM1 or SFT-40 use buck drivers. Also C8+ and M21A, not buck but still better than FET regulation. Also the Z1. Probably a couple others I’m forgetting.
Noctigon DM11 uses a CC driver so heat-wise it’s similar but it will achieve a higher output on lower battery. Also the Noctigon KR1 and Emisar D1.
The Sofirn C8L throws a little less but is brighter and has great regulation with the boost driver.
The Amutorch XT45 and XT35 Are like $43 if you can swing the extra couple bucks.
And of course if you can stretch an extra ~$10-15, or keep an eye out for sales, there’s more, better options that I’d argue offer better value, but that’s not your original question.
Not talking about thermal stepdown, yea, every light does step down from heat eventually.
What I mean by that is a boost, buck, or CC driver can achieve a higher output on a lower battery than a FET driver. As an example, you can see here the Noctigon KR1 with SFT-40 and CC driver achieves very close to max output when the battery is at 3.8v, whereas with the IF22A, max output tracks downward linearly with cell voltage.
That is interesting. People use lights all kind of different ways! The way you describe your IF22A usage, I can see the regulation not being a huge deal - and you’re likely not the only one with that use case. In fact I often use throwers similarly to you, but I personally think having the max output/throw available even if I’ve been using the light for a while or don’t have a full battery is an extremely valuable feature, especially on something like a pocket thrower. Others don’t seem to care about that as much - to each their own.
Oops, you’re right, I brain farted and was thinking about 3v LEDs.
Oh they’ve totally copied the PK21. That one has Anduril though and a lot better output. I really did get 8000+ Lumens and over 1200 M throw (on start). Mayne this one has a better driver? Probably not though for $100! Waiting for someone to test it.
Easiest way for regulation, efficiency and high output in this case range could probably be achieved with boost driver. Boost 6V-8.4V to 12V for XHP70. Could be done quite easily by tweaking their existing boost driver a bit. That way output numbers like 12V and 7A are achievable and it should be enough for good output for whole battery range.
The IF22A is $28.90USD all-in with battery right now on AliExpress after all the discounts. I believe that’s a good deal cheaper any of those. At least the ones that come with a battery. Except the c8+ I guess.
I didn’t realize all those 8a convoy drivers were buck. I thought they were linear fet for some reason. Makes sense tho. I do want an m21b now.
I want a d11 but can you seriously not get it with a magnet unless you spend $25 on the 26800 tube? What’s up with that. I mean the if22a doesn’t have aml magnet either but there’s tons of room for one. And I already have a d1.
That was kind of cute how you schooled Dale on reflectors. lol
Yes, it does dip a dollar below $30 sometimes on a sale. It’s $35 without a battery on the Sofirn website right now. It’s ~$40-45 on amazon (because you’re basically just paying for faster US shipping). Generally it hovers around ~$35 when not on sale. I’d still call it a light in the $30-40 range.
There’s a bigger conversation about price vs value, which often comes down to personal preferences and priorities. I’d argue that $45 for a DM11 is a better value than $28.90 for an IF22A, given the better driver/regulation especially, but also better build quality, better UI, multiple LED options, SS bezel, aux LEDs, lighted switch etc… Others might argue the IF22A is better value due to the lower price, more body color options, integrated charging, amazon availability, etc… The IF22A is less expensive, sure, but they’re still close in price when similarly configured, and at least of comparable value.
And that’s just the DM11. I think a stronger value argument might be made by something like the M21B or C8+. To that end…
I was naming lights in the $30-$40 range like I said. But I think we might have a different idea of what constitutes “a good deal cheaper”.
Just from the store page, not taking into account any ali discounts:
M21B SFT40 w/ battery - $32.50
S16 SFT40 w/battery - $33.89
M21C SFT40 w/battery - $42.50
L21B SFT40 w/battery - $38.88
C8+ SFT40 w/battery - $28.99
Z1 SFT40 w/battery - $38.27
M21A SFT40 w/battery - $31.46
All would be ~$2 less if you buy them without the bundled liitokala battery and instead add the EVE 50E battery from the convoy store.
So, fair, for the ones closer to $40, I’ll concede the IF22A at $28.90 may be considered “a good deal cheaper” - though those also throw a lot further than the IF22A (There’s that price vs value thing again).
But I wouldn’t call the IF22A “a good deal cheaper” than the M21B, or any of the others around~$35 when there’s (currently, including sales), a less-than-$4 difference between them.
I will say you’ve helped me understand why the IF22A is so popular. A lot of people do consider a ~$5-15 difference significant in the budget space, and don’t value the driver as much, or have a use case where it’s less of an issue. Still, I’d always recommend an M21B or any of the others I mentioned over the IF22A - because to me a decent driver with good regulation holds a lot of value, and I believe most people will benefit from that added value over a FET driver, even if it’s not something many people directly notice when using a light.
Anyway…uh…so how about that SP60 huh?
Sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever gone this far off topic before but I couldn’t stop typing lol. Maybe jeff and I should start a new thread on this because evidently I have lots of thoughts.
I didn’t mean to be confrontational. I guess I was expecting DB Custom to explain why an OP reflector is such a dealbreaker to them.
Though they did mention “Sofirn making the SP70 mistakes all over again!” and I don’t know exactly what that was referring to, but I do remember the SP70 had some major QC issues with the shelf being uneven and leading to burned emitters. I think it was funtastic28/piercingthedarkness who discovered that issue.
I do think it’s fair to be more wary of Sofirn and Wurkkos QC than we have been in the past. My sense is that they’ve become more popular over the past couple years and we’ve subsequently seen more QC issues, especially in the first few batches of a new release.
I bought an SP35T on launch because Jackie mentioned it had a buck+FET driver, but turned out it’s just a FET driver, so that was massively disappointing. I know it was likely just a miscommunication but I felt deceived.
I still appreciate Sofirn/Wurkkos for what they are, but I’m never buying a light on launch from them again. I’m interested in the SP60, but I’m going to wait for reviews and posts here, and if it meets performance specs, has good regulation, and the autolock is toggle-able, I may look to pick it up on a sale.
I do think the 2x 21700 form factor is nice. I thought it might be bulky, heavy, and clunky to use, but once I actually got a couple 2x21700 and 2x18650 lights in hand, I found it’s actually quite ergonomic and comfortable to carry. And VERY satisfying to flip around in your hand! Old-school club-light vibes.
And it’s awesome that the XHP70.3 HI benefits so much from 2S. I haven’t seen a single-cell light push it much more than ~4500 lumens. Crazy that 2S gets close to double that! You don’t see that with something like an SBT-90.2 . So it seems like a good LED choice for this form factor.
Found my way back on topic again, but I need to stop typing at this point lol.
I know…my comment was in good fun, just ribbing ya a little. I won’t speak for him but suffice it to say that he’s extremely knowledgeable and skilled.
I hope Sofirn isn’t slowing down too much or less concerned about quality. They seem to be tapering off a little or something but still put out solid products usually. Wurkkos just started out of the gate with QC problems from lack of testing, but they’re really receptive to input on both design/features as well as correcting problems. I’d be more apt to buy a Sofirn release sight unseen than Wurkkos, but yeah, I usually like to see some first-tester comments first (with just about any brand). It’ll be interesting to see what people think about this light and what teardowns & testing tell us.
I have one on the way to review, although I can’t publish it until mid May when they’re mass produced.
My contact said it’s using a special tube so that unbalanced cells aren’t an issue with the USB C charging. Most likely 2x 21700 in parallel which would mean it’s using a boost driver
Cute, I rebuilt my SP70 by throwing away its textured reflector and cranking massive lumens out it’s Anduril controlled SFH55. Schools out.
16 cores and no donut hole.
I’ve built over a thousand lights. Tried so many different things it’s really pretty staggering to think about . I was helping prototype the GT. And the GT94. I built lights around Convoy prototype reflectors (to my knowledge the reflectors that were sent to me are the only ones made) that bested the GT, Simon decided not to join the fray.
For me, mostly concentrating on a focused long range beam, a textured reflector fails to deliver. I’ve seen it and replaced them on many brands of lights.
I can only speak of my own experience though, my conditions and my parameters may not be the same as someone else’s. I never told anyone to do as I do, would actually prefer the opposite… prove out what works for you, if anything I’ve shown helps you get there, wonderful!
I do this to humor me. I tell y’all about it because, well, I talk too much.
Special tube…? Looking forward to details and your tests!
Here’s the comment
There is a thing to keep safely charging, seems some kind of tube.
BTW, two batteries of the same mAh can be installed in the flashlight, or two batteries of different mAh can be installed.
If there is no tube inside, for two batteries with different mAh, if one battery is fully charged first, it will not be protected, which will cause the battery to be overcharged.
If there is a tube inside, no matter which battery inside is full, it will play a protective role.
multidie led in op reflector is not that bad, assuming it is a right reflector, solarforce got it right more than 10 years ago with l900 model, and p7 led. of course it is not as throwy as smooth reflector with single die led, but not bad at all.
auto shut off with a lockout is a deal breaker for me, when i camp i often put a light inside a paper towel roll and point it up illuminating white gazebo “roof” i often have light stay like that all night.