Thanks for your review. My SD05 arrives tomorrow.
Sharp edges should be chamfered. Often they’re not.
I wonder if there’s a Chinese word for that.
includes a LOT of considerations worth thinking about. Including this one which I think I’ve seen on flashlights:
I noticed the Astrolux MF01 Mini's use the same sort of lanyard hole design and also have the same sharp edges :FACEPALM: . I really should go through my collection and review the lanyard setups. I know some lights do much better in smoothing out surfaces around the lanyard hole - I'm thinking the old ThorFire/Shadow JM07's and MaxToch lights, but sure there's more. Just about every cheaper budget light has the rough edges. I know in the past we on BLF pointed out these issues more than once.
I've communicated the issues about the lanyard design to Zoe at Sofirn - she said she passed the list along to engineering. I asked her about the Amazon reviewers who posted they lost the light on their first dive from the metal clasp of the lanyard giving way - she said the were contacted and sent replacement lights.
I listed the obvious problems with a cheap metal clasp on a dive light, I don't even like them on any flashlight, and also suggested some bright color be added. In deep water, if that cheap lanyard let's go, you lose the light, but in the shallows, it's dropped to the bottom and may be difficult to find a 100% small black object.
The entire lanyard setup was not thought out for something marketed as a dive light. The grounding may or may not be an issue as well - not sure myself about that.
I do like the honest lumens and throw ratings (very close to what I measured), and it also draw a very low 0.07 mA when OFF, which is very good for a mag switch. On Hi, it draws about 9 amps which isn't too insane for a light this size, specially if it's in water. The XHP50.2 doing 2500 lumens at 9 amps is not too shabby at all. Some dive lights use heavy thick glass for the lens, reducing output, but this light uses pretty much a conventional lens.
I wonder if there is a way to differentiate the SD05 without stepdown and with stepdown?
I understand the older SD05 is rated “2550” lumens, has a stepdown.
The newer SD05 is now rated “3000” lumens, but are all “SD05” rated “3000” lumens the no-stepdown version?
I ordered an “SD05 without stepdown” direct from Sofirnlight.com website (because the site specifically mentions “without stepdown”, unlike other sites which also sell SD05 which do not mention “without stepdown”… Ordered it last 5/27/2020, the last shipping update was when it transited another country last 6/16/2020. There’s no further shipping status update after that date… Still in waiting mode… 
The Amazon listing says as of May 25th the step down has been eliminated but it still has it listed as 2550 lumens.
FYI
You are probably already aware of this.
Sofirn removed the 3 minute step down, but the Thermal step down, at 55 Celsius, remains.
When diving, it won’t come into play though, since the H2O cooling will keep it from ever reaching 55 Celsius, unless you do all your diving in hot tubs, thermal springs or geysers.
Step down is actually triggered at 44°C, pretty normal for most that haven’t been calibrated at the factory
This reviewer tested the thermal temp regulator on the Sofirn SD05, and confirmed Sofirn’s stated specification of ATR to be set at 55 Celsius, here: SD05 Thermal Stepdown Test
Where the reviewer states, “Sofirn’s brand new SD05 diving flashlight is advertised with a 3min timer-triggered stepdown and a thermal regulation that also reduces power/brightness when the driver’s temperature reaches 55°C.”
and
“I was not able to drive the heat beyond 53°C which is a good indicator that Sofirn’s ATR technology works effectively.”
As shown in this thermal imaging video of the SD05 here: SD05 Thermal Imaging ATR Test
Okay, well using my integrated lumen tube and IR thermal gun it started reducing at 44°C on the version with no timer. Mine were just above warm, 55°C is hot.
I see that review is for the timed version that uses an entirely different driver
Mine gets only warm the first time around but if it is reduced to med. and back up to high it gets toasty. Why doesn’t ATR kick in sooner the second time around? Mine is the newer version.
I reviewed the updated SD05 flashlight over on my blog:
Thought I’d reply here instead of starting a whole new thread as there’s already lots of SD05 threads.
Couple of high lights:
Underwater beam shot
Run time graph on high, in the water
Turning the SD05 on with the power of magnets!
I have 2 SD05. One from Amazon, no step down. And the other from Sofirn direct, supposed no step down as well. I noticed the threading between their body and head is not compatible between the 2. Not sure why their tail caps threading does match. But there are variations. Not sure if one was retrofitted or not. But I can confirm both doesn’t have noticeable step down at 30 seconds.
Regarding magnet on magnetic-controlled ‘diving’ lights.
I first noticed that on an Ultrafire DV-S9, which doesn’t seem to reach maximum output even when I slide the magnetic switch all the way to the top. I had to place a magnet near the top of the switch to actually turn on in max brightness. (when “max” brightness is reached, there is NoPWM, when just sliding the switch to the top, there is still PWM, indicating it’s not yet max). I check “PWM” by shining the light through a small portable fan’s blades.
The same magnet trick can be done on the Sofirn MS11, which uses the same sliding magnetic mechanism as the DV-S9 (on the MS11, it reaches max brightness without needing the magnet), but can be controlled with magnet too.
I haven’t tried the magnet trick on my SD05 or DF10 yet. Will try out next time…
I am very happy with the SD05 flashlight, also I think that the hole in tailcup is very very small and has sharp edges. This is a problem to secure the flashlight with a cord, the blue cord of the photo is cut with the edges. The original cord, mini clip and lanyard is in the box, I replaced it with a nautical cord and small 316 Stainless Steel bolt snap hook.
It’s just the usual Sofirn build quality. Need to pay a bit more for better it seems
Since this light reportedly pulls 9a at the tail, would swapping in an SST-40 kill the led at the high current? I want a little increased in throw, but mostly just want to change to tint closer to 5000k
Edit: I realized they are only offering the SST-70 version now, and since that’s a 6v led, it’s probably a different driver than the 3v XHP50.2 version? I own the 50.2 version and considering order the SST-70 version too. Anyone know is the 9a driver in the 50.2 is regulated in any kind of way? could it be resistor modded or something for lower current with an LED swap?
Maybe the answer is finding a high-cri 6v led and swapping it in the sst-70 version?
Check out this thread. Seems Sofirn recycled the original 6 volt 50.2 driver with timed stepdown.
Bummer on the step-down. I wonder which version is being sold on Amazon right now? Or banggood?
Is the “no step down” version with a 6v or 3v 50.2?
The Amazon listing still says 50.2 but I would ask them first to be sure. The 3 V 50.2 is a great light.
A Nichia 144 would be great if they fix the mode spacing / stepdown.