Sofirn IF25 USB-C 2500lm Variable Temempeture 2700K-6500K quad led

jimahi · 2020-11-25T07:57:35.000Z

I have many multi-click lights and have never had this problem on any of them except this one. I also have a technical background and I can usually figure things out without the manual. Maybe it could possibly be a difference in click timing between production runs that makes the one I received so frustrating.

I tried it, tried it again, then read the manual, then tried it again, and again. Not a good unboxing experience.

Bottom line - IMHO, this is not a good UI design.

And I’m not bashing Sofirn here. They make great lights. In fact, I have several other Sofirn lights and I like them. This one seems to have slipped pass the design review team (or maybe the QA team if the problem is possibly due to timing differences between production samples).

PiercingTheDarkness · 2020-11-25T07:58:19.000Z

jimahi:

I have many multi-click lights and have never had this problem on any of them except this one. I also have a technical background and I can usually figure things out without the manual.

Have you used Anduril before? I find it much harder. 3 clicks stepped/smooth, 4x clicks for config mode and many times have had confused customers messing up settings

thefreeman · 2020-11-25T08:23:27.000Z

I also had some issues switching mode group with my first IF25 (similarly it took me a lot of tries), with my second one, no problem, maybe they tweaked the timings.

PiercingTheDarkness · 2020-11-25T08:31:47.000Z

thefreeman:

I also had some issues switching mode group with my first IF25 (similarly it took me a lot of tries), with my second one, no problem, maybe they tweaked the timings.

How were the click timings for the rest of the settings?

jimahi · 2020-11-25T08:41:02.000Z

Answering Funtastic’s question: Yes, I have several Anduril lights (including the IF25A 4000K version). They can be complicated with all of the configurability, but they can be consistently navigated with the cheat sheet.

On the IF25 I have, the cheat sheet excerpt would look something like this:

3 clicks from on: Strobe
3 clicks from on (but at a different clicking pace which is not documented): You are on your way to 4 clicks
4 clicks from on: If you did 3 clicks from on at the right pace, then you will change groups. If you didn’t, then you will have experienced strobe and then turned strobe off.

PiercingTheDarkness · 2020-11-25T08:52:06.000Z

jimahi:

Yes, I have several Anduril lights (including the IF25A 4000K version). They can be complicated with all of the configurability, but they can be consistently navigated with the cheat sheet.

I had to make this for my customers. Sofirn also requested a copy, hopefully they’ll print it and include

KyleGates · 2020-11-25T15:33:58.000Z

Blggg:

OH, that’s nice. How is the beam? Nice, even, floody?

It’s a nice even beam, more floody than the SST-20 but not overly so. I like it!

Serlite:

Nice! Do you have any tips for reflowing a multi-emitter board like this?

I am not what I would call an expert at reflowing but I have had pretty good success. I’ve used two methods where I clamp the board in my helping hand. Blowing from underneath with my hot air station until the solder melts or holding my soldering iron on the bottom of the board. Once I see the solder go liquid I pluck the emitters off with some precision tweezers and place the new ones on. It’s important to make sure there is enough solder remaining on the pads of the MCPCB especially the center thermal pad or you will cook your leds. Good luck!

PiercingTheDarkness · 2020-11-25T15:39:02.000Z

Make sure to use solder paste when reflowing.

Easiest way to reflow

Serlite · 2020-11-25T15:59:35.000Z

Thanks for the tips, everyone! Once I muster up enough courage to mess with this light, I’ll give it a shot!
(I may end up buying a second one as a backup, juuuust so I don’t destroy my only working version of the light.)

thefreeman · 2020-11-25T16:17:36.000Z

Funtastic:

thefreeman:

I also had some issues switching mode group with my first IF25 (similarly it took me a lot of tries), with my second one, no problem, maybe they tweaked the timings.

How were the click timings for the rest of the settings?

No problem with the other commands.

Blggg:

Please post the measurements if you swap for other leds

Here with E21As I put in my second one

Quite a bit more rosy than with the LH351Ds

roostre · 2020-11-25T17:48:10.000Z

I have no problems using multiple clicks on Anduril lights, but my IF25 purchased from Amazon US during the first week of November is very difficult to "quadruple click" fast enough to toggle between the "ramped" and "stepped" brightness modes (while the light is on) or to toggle between the "electronically locked out" and "electronically unlocked" modes (while the light is off).

Because of this I leave the light in ramping mode and loosen the tail cap for lockout to avoid using the "quadruple click".

The switch on my IF25 occasionally ignores single clicks (even though I hear and feel the click) and I need to click a second time and sometimes a few more times before it works. I normally press rubber switches using the pad of my thumb (to avoid damage from my fingernail) but the switch on the IF25 works more consistently when I press it with the tip of my thumb (maybe because it gets depressed further).

The IF25 is a unique light and a nice lantern with an empty white pill bottle used as a diffuser. I only wish the ramping brightness levels changed more slowly while near the moonlight level to allow for more control of the brightness level selected when you stop ramping.

Blggg · 2020-11-26T02:05:31.000Z

thefreeman:

Funtastic:

thefreeman:

I also had some issues switching mode group with my first IF25 (similarly it took me a lot of tries), with my second one, no problem, maybe they tweaked the timings.

How were the click timings for the rest of the settings?

No problem with the other commands.

Blggg:

Please post the measurements if you swap for other leds

Here with E21As I put in my second one

Quite a bit more rosy than with the LH351Ds

The king of rosiness.

Serlite · 2020-12-09T21:58:31.000Z

Firelight2:

The light feels solid and well-built with good tint. However, apart the tint-ramping nothing about the light really stands out. Some things that could be improved:

Sometimes when using turbo the light forgets last used non-turbo mode and turns on in turbo.

[…]

I was playing around with my IF25 recently and I just diagnosed this!

It seems that if you’re in turbo and you click to turn off, it’ll memorize turbo if your click is too long.
What seems to happen is that before it turns off, it ramps - just a tiny little bit, but enough to update the mode memory.
It’s hard to notice when you’re in turbo, but the same behaviour can be observed in lower levels too - just a flicker of ramping, and that’s enough to change the memorized mode.
Anduril avoids this by delaying ramping when you initially press the button, so the “off” window and the “ramp” window never overlap like this.

I guess to avoid being surprised by unexpected turbo, just make sure your clicks with this light are very sharp and quick.

roostre · 2020-12-09T22:41:14.000Z

Serlite:

... if you're in turbo and you click to turn off, it'll memorize turbo if your click is too long.

... just make sure your clicks with this light are very sharp and quick.

Thanks for the tip. I checked my IF25 and it behaves the same way.

Serlite · 2020-12-14T22:39:53.000Z

I finally modded my IF25! Well, twice really.

I started off by just replacing the two 6500K SST-20s with 5000K LH351D emitters. And…well, I can see why mixing emitters can be a bad idea. On their own, the NW LH351Ds and the WW SST-20s looked great. But when ramping through the tint mixing, you ended up with stuff like this (the photos don’t really show just how bad it looks):

Basically, the throwier SST-20 dominated the hotspot, while the LH351D was more prominent in the spill.
So the center of the beam was warm white, while the edges were neutral white. Like CREE tint shift, but DIY!

So I pulled the light apart again, and this time put in some new 2700K LH351Ds that I got in the mail. And they fit under the optic!

Though if you look closely…you’ll see that one of the 5000K emitters looks really scratched-up on the side. That’s probably due to my carelessness - somewhere during my constant disassembly/reassembly of the light, I had probably misaligned the optic, and then forced it down by screwing the bezel in place. Eventually it settled into alignment, but not before messing up part of the LED’s dome. At the lowest mode, you can see how light filtering out of that scratched part is made bluish:

And it’s even apparent after slapping on DC-fix:

On the plus side, my glow-in-the-dark tape around the bezel looks pretty cool!

And even without DC-fix, the beam looks more even now:

However, while I couldn’t photograph it, I could see why Sofirn might’ve gone with SST-20 instead of LH351D in this light - because the LH351D is floodier, the “petals” from the optic are much more prominent at the edges, making for a weirdly-shaped beam. And some artifacts appeared in the hotspot too, so this optic is probably just an ill fit for the LH351D. Anyway, that’s why I threw on some DC-fix:

This was a lot of fun! And my first multi-emitter reflow. Thanks for all the tips people gave me along the way!
I probably won’t swap out that messed-up emitter for now, since the beam looks fine and I’m rather tired of opening this light up.

Its imperfect nature just makes it more uniquely mine, haha!

torchfanatic · 2021-02-11T23:34:19.000Z

Hey guys

Anyone know where I can get a silicone diffuser for the if25?

Looking for a square shape one

Thanks

Budged · 2021-09-10T11:33:30.000Z

Hello there!

Came to this thread by googling for answers to mode-switching difficulties.
Found the answer overhere and now I can honestly say the IF25 rapidly became my favourite (for the moment) out of a bunch.
Were it comes down to:

would there be more enthousiasts like me be interested in a titanium version of this versatile beauty?

I already read 1 commend on the size … Can imagine some weight-reducement paving a smoother path to the pocket…

Thanks in advance for any reply - and pardon my language for mistakes, I live in The Netherlands were the language is Dutch. And my name is Ed as short for Eduard, thanks again and have fun with all the amazing lights given birth to these days, enjoy!!

Ed.

thefreeman · 2021-09-10T11:45:09.000Z

I don’t think Sofirn ever made a titanium version of their flashlights.
Personally while I like this light for the tint ramping function I find it borderline ugly, like most Sofirn stuff, it also has sharp edges that I filed down, again like all their lights, uninspired knurling and design in general, it’s a pretty cheap brand.

BTW the USB charging function stopped working in one of the two I own.

Budged · 2021-09-10T14:35:11.000Z

Hi freeman,

thanks for your rapid reply!
On which I react fast as well to inform you that:

- yes, I ve read your earlier commend and it made me think I was lucky … as far as roughness goes, no sharp edges at all. Maybe later batches qc has improved?! Mine was recently received and the last one arrived today in perfect order. Earlier issue of mode-changing doesnt exist anymore since I read on thread about ‘rapid-fire-quadrupl’

- cheap, yes, since I m Dutch I value that a lot, as my nick shows
My reference is and has been - since the nineties of last century - the magcharger made by maglite which was in daily use at my profession and later on at home too. Lots of improvements since by all kinds of producers, altough the anodisation can still be referred to imo.

- At the start of this millennium I payed a lot for a hypermodern led-lenser which ended his life after a button breakdown and no after-sales possibilities…
So, yeah, I appreciate the idea of the ability to buy 2 budgetlights for the price of one with fancy marketing.

- that being said: dont like the idea of weak usb-c connector, so time has to show if improvement has been made in that aspect.

- for me also the tintramping stands out, was initially the main reason for purchase.
After that form, weight, handling, the whole picture pulled me over into this love-affair …
Of course I m aware of beauty as a subjective phenomena so thats what me made curious for other, more recent, opinions.

- Also right: no Sofirn ti-lights yet. For that reason I mailed Sofirn for any possibilities in that direction … firm respons: Yes, we can! and that is the background for my question here since I m no musk, not even a branson, equal minds are needed to get a ti-sofirn in my hands!

Thanks again freeman, with the hope you can find more enjoyable lights too

Regards, Ed.

raccoon · 2021-09-10T14:36:42.000Z

Temempeture?

Wow, that's bad!