I want to warn you right away and apologize for the fact that this is not really a in-depth review, just a user-experience review as a consumer. Without measurements, graphs and photos (photos can be taken from here - ➤ Sofirn LT1S review (1*21700, 2700-6500K, Type-C) I think we have a winnner, the appearance doesn’t differ at all, except for the addition of “Pro” in the name). Although if you need, I can take a photo on my phone, I just don’t see the point. Let’s finish the introduction and move on to the review.
Briefly about the flashlight. As it is clear from the name, it is a copy of LT1S from here - ➤ Sofirn LT1S review (1*21700, 2700-6500K, Type-C) I think we have a winnner with improvements. Namely, the firmware is Anduril 2 and the LEDs are Nichia 519A 2700k + 5000k.
Why I bought it.
For the lanterns I had only Fenix CL26R, and in general it suits everything, except for the cold main light, and not very high quality and bright warm light. A lot of people also don’t like the stupid stepdown. In theory I don’t like it either, but in practice it has never strained me. Oh, and it shines too much in the eyes, not on the table for example, because of its shape (tapers to the top).
That’s why I always wanted to buy either LT1 or LT1S, but somehow had no reason to buy it. But here we were going camping, and a discount unexpectedly came up, though on LT1S pro. Looked that there nicia and anduril 2. And although for a camping lantern I think the simpler the better (a lot of people should be able to use it), I decided to take a chance, especially with a coupon it was sold cheaper than the non-pro version.
Pros:
- light is divine. To the eye - no greenness, no violet - nothing. Very pleasant in the whole spectrum from 2700k to 5000k. Before that I considered my Lumintop FW3a on SST-20 to be the benchmark, but this one is even nicer, although I can’t say why.
- Anduril 2. At first I thought it would be a disadvantage, but in simple mode everything, you know, is quite simple, and if necessary, you can customize everything in complex mode. Turn on, turn off - with a click. 2 clicks from any mode - turbo, change brightness by holding. This is from what is as clear and intuitive as possible. Changing the tint is a bit more complicated, but about it later, in the “Control” section.
- Cool modes. Unlike LT1S, you can make the red like for one lumen, for example. And there is also a mode with red changing to warm, changing to cold (as brightness increases), there is a mode of auto tint adjustment depending on brightness (from warm to cold), there is a mode with red to white mixture on the whole range (and adjusting the percentage of this mixture). Of the really interesting - red-warm-cold and auto-temperature adjustment. In addition, I left pure red and manual temperature adjustment, the mode with admixture of red on the whole range was turned off. Modes are changed by 3C, temperature is regulated (where it is) by 3H.
- All the pros from the LT1S - the shape of the flashlight which helps to shine down rather than in the eyes, 21700, charging on board, powerbank, etc.
Cons:
- A conditional disadvantage is the controls. Although I liked the simple mode, and liked the possibility of customization in the main mode, I had to torture myself still. For some reason from the factory there was a manual memory on the timer. That is, you turn off in some mode (for example, 2700k at half brightness) - a minute later turn on in same mode as well. And after half an hour - it’s turn on in a mixture of red and white (wtf??). To fix it, in the main mode you need to make 10H (10 clicks with holding the last one) and after the first flash you release, and when it starts flickering - press once. Then auto-memory will turn on and everything will work as it should. But for my wife, even with actual manual, it will be pretty much impossible to fix. So no matter how simple the simple mode is, the need for initial customization may arise.
- Manual. It’s not incomplete, it’s just wrong. I had to google, go to reddits, read the text manual from the toykeeper and figure out what exactly is relevant to this lantern. Since the complete and accurate instructions for THIS flashlight, as I realized, does not exist in nature. For example, the manual says that in the main mode 3C (3 clicks) from the on state will switch us from smooth ramp to step ramp and back again. In reality, the 3C from on will change light modes (red, auto temperature control, auto with red, etc), and to change from step to smooth ramp, you have to make 6C. Or, nowhere does it say that 3C in the simple mode will also change the light mode, and 3H from off will turn on the strobes (very convenient, and then the manual these modes only available in the advanced mode. Also no one will tell you how to control the light modes (turning off unnecessary) and the type of tint control. In general, there are a lot of possibilities, and everything is realized quite well. You can read the full manual here - http://toykeeper.net/torches/fsm/anduril2/anduril-manual.txt.
And many features of the flashlight are discussed here - Reddit - Dive into anything - PWM. It has a visible PWM at near-moonlight brightness. Very visible. And, most unpleasantly, audible PWM. At a brightness of about 50% to 95%. Maybe not so loud, but in complete silence from a 3-6ft away it’s easily distinguishable. To me, there should be no PWM in flashlights of this price category.
- The moonlite level is too low from the factory. I didn’t think I would ever say such a thing, but realistically - you can barely see it in total darkness, while it illuminates nothing. Coupled with PWM at that level of almost 100 herz and 100% (by eye), this option is better not to exist at all. It’s THAT terrible Good thing it’s an Anduril, so I limited the moonlight to level 5 (out of 150). PWM is still visible, but not so terrible, and the flashlight at least illuminates something around itself within a few inches.
- Whether it’s a bug, defect, or a feature, I don’t know. But the point is that the flashlight, without being particularly bright (it’s less bright than the tiny CL26R in maximum mode) resets “turbo” (funny to say) in a few seconds almost to 50% brightness. Coupled with the fact that at this brightness it starts to make noise, it is doubly unpleasant.
Controls.
I’ve already gone over it above, but nevertheless. If you want to fine tune it, I recommend to focus on these 2 links:
https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/136fi05/sofirn_lt1s_pro_modestint_ramps_ui/
http://toykeeper.net/torches/fsm/anduril2/anduril-manual.txt
But as far as simple mode is concerned, it’s very simple indeed
1C - on-off
1H - moonlite while off.
2C - turbo from any
2H - turbo with smooth fall from off, just decrease of brightness while on.
3C while on - change color modes
3H while on - temperature change if applicable to current mode.
3H while off - strobes from on, 2C to change strobe mode, 1H to change brightness. From what is not in the manual (paper) - cool mode with flashing white and red, it is between Thunderstorm and Candle.
5H while on is the sunset mode. By default the flashlight will turn off after 5 minutes, if you keep holding the button there will be blinks, each blink adds 5 minutes.
This is all in a simple user interface.
The modes are described in the Pros. And if 5 modes are too much for you, and you want to disable some of them, you should do it this way. In the simple mode while off - 10C will switch to the advanced mode. Then, while on - 9H will take us to mode control. The lantern will start blinking, will do it 5 times. For example, we want to disable the red-white mode like I did. Then we need to wait for the 5th blink, and after it, when the flashlight starts to flicker, do not press anything. This mode will turn off. If we need to turn it back on, then during the flicker after the 5th blink, we need to press 1 time.
If the memory will be timed from the factory, then from the advanced mode you can enable auto-memory after 10H while on. The button should be released after the first blink and you should press the button 1 time during the flicker.
If you want to correct too low muntight for simple mode (there is no sense to keep the flashlight in complex mode at all, as even strobes and Sunset were moved to simple mode), from off state you should make 10H, release it after the first blink, and during flicker click as many times as you need brightness level on muntight. I don’t see the point of setting it below 5, for the reasons described earlier.
By the way, all this is difficult only on paper, in practice counting even 9-10 clicks is not difficult.
IN SUMMARY
The flashlight is, to put it lightly, a bit of a contradiction. If we assume that the immediate step-down from the already dim turbo mode is a defect specific to my unit, then the overall performance wouldn’t seem that bad, and the flashlight wouldn’t quite be a letdown. However, the visible PWM at low brightness and the audible PWM at medium-to-high brightness are considerable drawbacks, preventing me from deeming this flashlight a total success. Furthermore, the factory setting for a low, aggressively pulsating moonlight mode is perplexing — who exactly is it intended for? Thankfully, rectifying this seems straightforward.
On the other hand, despite these shortcomings (barring the confusion around the turbo), I’m leaning towards the pro version due to its intriguing modes, superior light quality, the option for red moonlight, and extensive customization possibilities. However, I would only recommend opting for the pro version if it’s priced lower than the standard version. Otherwise, the non-pro version would be my choice.