[review] Sofirn SP31v3 Dual-Switch Tactical Light.

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! :smiley:

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. There’s 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 that’s 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 isn’t going anywhere unless you deliberately let it go. It actually takes a while to get comfortable with the deep grooves, but once you do, it’s incredibly reassuring. Oil, grease, soap, whatever you might have on your hands, this light isn’t going anywhere.

Construction

Now, unless I’ve got it totally wrong, the light opens only at the head, not at the tail. I’ve tried grabbing the tube and unscrewing a perhaps-nonexistent tailcap, but that just ain’t 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, it’s a glued tailcap.]

The Clip

The light has a nice stiff’n’springy glossy black clip. Not quite deep-carry, so the tailswitch will stick out a bit, but it’s got decent room to be able to clip onto/into a jeans pocket, and pressed against the grooves, grabs the material nicely and doesn’t 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. There’s a bit of corona around the hotspot which is also more yellow vs the bluer spill, but nothing too objectionable. In practice, it’s hardly noticeable, as I’ve 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 it’s not a flooder nor dedicated thrower, but in between. All in all, a good general-purpose light. If using it “tactically” like in security, it would excel, as having a good bit of “reach”, especially in its brighter settings.

That said, the beam is a bit greenish, especially at lower brightnesses. For use as a “tactical” light, it probably won’t be objectionable, but purists might object to it. It all depends on how you feel about it. If I want to find out what’s making that eerie noise in the backyard at night, it won’t bother me as long as I can at least see what’s about to eat me.

The beam is fairly clean, a bit of a “bullseye” 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. It’s pretty intuitive for a dual-switch light. The tailclicky is on/off with momentary-on, so you can half-press to get a silent flash’n’dash 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% (“full”), red is 30%-70% (“running low”), and flashing red is under 30% (“charge me now!!”).

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 isn’t 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.

There’s 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 I’d 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 you’ll be wearing thick gloves, is probably one of the best I’ve ever come across. Even rasp-type knurling doesn’t 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 “tacticool” lights are just regular lights with “tactical rings” 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. I’m definitely happy with it.

5 Thanks

Thanks for sharing such a great review for us. :+1:
And we received your suggestions, which will be of great help to our future designs. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

1 Thank

Great review for an outstanding true Tac light.

I just ordered one form AliExpress … :beers:

Use code: CODE205

… SOFIRN SP31v3 …

$26.99 25%OFF | New Sofirn SP31 V3.0 SST40 2000lm Tactical LED Flashlight with Dual Switch Type C Rechargeable Power Indicator 18650 6000K Torch

26.32€ 36% OFF|Neue sofirn sp31 v5.3 sst40 2000lm taktische LED Taschenlampe mit Doppelsc halter Typ C wiederauf ladbare Strom anzeige 3,0 6000k Taschenlampe| | - AliExpress

1 Thank

Yeah, I never was much of a 'tactical light" person, being reminded of mall cops, etc., but for going out at night to the mailbox around the corner, etc., it’s more of an edge vs a utilitarian light for close distances.

It lets you look at what’s in that alley (again, intermediate range, ie, perfect for this), and worst case, gives you a whole pile of light on turbo or even an annoying-enough strobe if needed.

Last time that chupacabra ever sneaks up on me, that’s for sure…

1 Thank

Whoa, hey, I asked and received… a discount code! :smiley_cat:

25% off: 0524SP31V3

So that’s 32bux down to 24, wuhu!

Does this have a buck driver? I thought it did but saw conflicting answers when looking it up

It seems to be.


Credit: Darren Yeo Youtube

Noice! I was going to say that I was under that impression but not 100% sure, but damn, that graph is clean!

I gotta find that vid…

1 Thank