Thanks to the nice folks at Sofirn, I was asked to review the 3rd version of the SP31, that is, the SP31v3. Hmm, a dual-switch tubelight? Sure, count me in! 
PACKAGING
So, the light came in the usual black and orange retail box, nicely packed and protected, with the usual accoutrements of extra O-rings, a lanyard, etc., with the battery already installed but with protective insulating disc to keep it from accidentally being turned on in transit, so be sure to remove that when you get the light. Thereâs the printed manual page as well.
THE INCLUDED CELL
A quick test of the 3000mAH cell clocked in at 2844mAH on my pessimistic Opus, no complaints whatsoever. No surprise, as I always had good luck with Sofirn-branded cells.
FIT AND FINISH
Finish is excellent, with an as-always perfect hard anodisation thatâs more matte dark gray than the usual semigloss black. No sharp edges anywhere, not even the lanyard holes.
Grip
That said, the light is extremely grippy. The texture is smooth but not slick, just a hint of roughness. And deep triangular-profile cuts (rings) into the body tube make sure that the light isnât going anywhere unless you deliberately let it go. It actually takes a while to get comfortable with the deep grooves, but once you do, itâs incredibly reassuring. Oil, grease, soap, whatever you might have on your hands, this light isnât going anywhere.
Construction
Now, unless Iâve got it totally wrong, the light opens only at the head, not at the tail. Iâve tried grabbing the tube and unscrewing a perhaps-nonexistent tailcap, but that just ainât happening. Glued? One piece? Neat trick to get the switch in there and secure, but I really like the idea of one fewer set of threads and possible leaks if submerged, or loosened connections. [Confirmed with Sofirn, itâs a glued tailcap.]
The Clip
The light has a nice stiffânâspringy glossy black clip. Not quite deep-carry, so the tailswitch will stick out a bit, but itâs got decent room to be able to clip onto/into a jeans pocket, and pressed against the grooves, grabs the material nicely and doesnât let go.
THE BEAM
The business end of the light is a 20mm TIR lens which gives a wide spill and average hotspot, so while it may be a bit narrow for extremely close work (eg, reading something in the dark), it does have decent throw. Thereâs a bit of corona around the hotspot which is also more yellow vs the bluer spill, but nothing too objectionable. In practice, itâs hardly noticeable, as Iâve witnessed last night in my backyard. It lights up the far end decently and is wide enough at-distance to see a good amount of stuff. It should be pretty good in a basement or attic, too, so best range would be the far end of intermediate. So itâs not a flooder nor dedicated thrower, but in between. All in all, a good general-purpose light. If using it âtacticallyâ like in security, it would excel, as having a good bit of âreachâ, especially in its brighter settings.
That said, the beam is a bit greenish, especially at lower brightnesses. For use as a âtacticalâ light, it probably wonât be objectionable, but purists might object to it. It all depends on how you feel about it. If I want to find out whatâs making that eerie noise in the backyard at night, it wonât bother me as long as I can at least see whatâs about to eat me.
The beam is fairly clean, a bit of a âbullseyeâ pattern but nothing objectionable, as you really need to crank it up to high if not turbo on a white wall to see it. The hotspot is the main attraction, and aside from a yellower corona around it, the hotspot is tons brighter than any spill.
THE USER-INTERFACE (UI)
The UI is simple, but good. Itâs pretty intuitive for a dual-switch light. The tailclicky is on/off with momentary-on, so you can half-press to get a silent flashânâdash without having to click through. Any activation of the light will show the battery status for 5sec via the LED in the sideswitch. Blue is 70%-100% (âfullâ), red is 30%-70% (ârunning lowâ), and flashing red is under 30% (âcharge me now!!â).
Clicking through, or pressing halfway, will light up at the memorised brightness level, 1 of 4 (low, medium, high, turbo). You cycle through the 4 modes by pressing the sideswitch. Holding the sideswitch gives you strobe. Clicking further cycles through strobe, SOS, and beacon. This isnât memorised, so if you want the beacon each time, you have to go into blinkies and click twice to get there, as it always start on strobe. Longpressing gets you back to your previously memorised brightness.
Thereâs a shortcut to moonlight from off, by holding the sideswitch and then clicking on. Subsequent clicks get you into the main cycle.
ONBOARD CHARGING
Finally, the light has a built-in charger with a usb-c connection. The sideswitch light glows red when charging, blue when finished.
PROS/CONS
Pros
As usual, the light has excellent fit and finish, and perfect anodisation, with spectacular grip for a tactical light.
Brightness on turbo is substantial, and a rather throwy beam is best at intermediate range, very well-suited for a tactical light.
A simple and intuitive UI, plus forward-clicky switch, are excellent for tactical use.
Cons
The clip is not a deep-carry clip, so leaves a lot of the light sticking out of a pocket.
The beam is a bit greenish, especially at low levels, and a lot of people dislike that.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I thought Iâd find it hard to get jazzed over Yet Another Tactical Light, but the SP31v3 impressed me. The grip might be a bit rough for an EDC light, but for tactical use, especially if youâll be wearing thick gloves, is probably one of the best Iâve ever come across. Even rasp-type knurling doesnât seem to give as much grip as the deep-cut grooves this has. Brightness is excellent, despite the greenish beam. Tactical lights are usually used at intermediate range, which is where the beam excels. The convenience of onboard charging is a nice bonus as well.
So, all in all, while other âtacticoolâ lights are just regular lights with âtactical ringsâ and other doodads, designed to talk the talk, the SP31v3 actually walks the walk with some nice features that are actually appropriate for tactical lights. Iâm definitely happy with it.
