Sofirn SC13 Review
Disclamer
I recived this product from Sofirn for a very small fee in exchange for a review. The opinions in this review are completely my own.
Introduction
The SC13 is Sofirn’s new mini flashlight. Is it worth getting the little guy, or should you get something bigger?
Pricing, availability and options
The SC13 costs $19.39 with the optional battery. You can get the flashlight in black or green, or even with a different LED (the nichia 519a in 5000K). The version shown here has the SST40 in 6000K to 6500K. Sofirn are often running sales, so you might be able to get it for even cheaper.
What comes in the box
Sofirn included the following in the box:
- The flashlight itself
- The optional battery
- A charging cable (USB-A to USB-C)
- A landyard and spare o-rings
- A pocket-clip
- The user manual
Build quality, size, weight and handling
Recently, Sofirn has stepped up the quality of their flashlights. This light is no exception. The anodization feels grippy and premium. The machining of the light follows this trend, with no sharp edges and good precision. The switch is made of rubber, with a battery indicator in the middle. It has nice feedback and resistance when pressing it, also the sound it makes is nice.
The size and weight is where this light really shines (no pun intended). It has a nice weight to it. It isn’t heavy, but it still has some weight. This adds some quality feel. When it comes to size, the light is really small. You can easily fit it in your hand, or put it in your pocket and forget it’s there. Infact, Sofirn says this light can be used as a keychain flashlight. Because of the size and weight, it is nice to hold and carry, especially for shorter periods of time.
User interface
The user interface is really simple.
- Press and hold the button from off to turn it on in the lowest mode.
- Press from off to turn it on in the last used mode.
- Press and hold while on to cycle through the different modes.
- Double press at any time to enter turbo (the highest mode).
- From turbo, double press again to enter strobe. From turbo or strobe, press the button once to return to the last used mode before turbo.
- Lastly, triple click from off to use the lockout mode. To get out of lockout mode, press the button three times again. If you try to activate the flashlight in lockout mode, it will flash twice to let you know that it’s in lockout.
Light quality
The flashlight can be had in the SST40 as shown here, or in the 519a. The 519a definitely looks nicer, but isn’t as efficient. I would probably choose the 519a if I could though. The SST40 gets the job done easily anyways. The beam isn’t the nicest though. This isn’t only because of the LED, but also because of the lens. It uses a fresnel lens. This makes for a ringy beam, but saves space and allows the light to be as small as it is.
Performance, battery, charging and runtime
The Sofirn SC13 uses an 18350 battery. The one that came with the flashlight claims 1100 mah. The flashlight has built-in charging through USB-C. A full charge takes about one and a half hour. The charging indicator lights up red while charging, and turn green when done.
For the perfromance and runtime, I used this review since I don’t have the adequate equippment for the measurements myself. Here is a summary in bullet points:
- 1000 lumens on turbo (lasts 1 minute before stepdown)
- The highest sustained output is 400 lumens down to 200 lumens over 1 hour
- About 200 meters of throw on turbo
Competition and comparison
There aren’t really any other flashlight that come to mind when thinking about competition, but the Wurkkos TS10 is another small flashlight that I have reviewed, so why not compare that?
You aren’t really going to notice too much difference between the TS10 and the SC13 in terms of size and weight. The TS10 has a (lot) more advanced user interface. The beam and light quality of the TS10 is also a lot better than the SC13, while also brighter. This is at the cost of efficency though, and the TS10 gets a lot warmer. Both have electronic switches, but the SC13 has it’s on the side, while the TS10 has a tail switch. The SC13 also has built-in charging, something the TS10 lacks.
As an enthusiast, I would get the TS10, but as a (significantly) more practical option for day to day use, the SC13 wins.
Conclution and where to buy
The SC13 definitely impressed. 1000 lumens in this from factor, really easy carry while also cheap. If you want a small and practical flashlight on a budget, the SC13 is definitely not going to disappoint. If you want longer runtimes, and a higher peak and sustained output, you may need to go for something larger. Check out the review of the Sofirn IF24 PRO then.
Here you can buy it at Sofirn’s official website : https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/sofirn-mini-sc13?srsltid=AfmBOorGmQ7uau0oAspKKNn76BfOEjKjtuARoMODyYJ1UEZHcjmfm5rc
Here you can buy it at Sofirn’s official Aliexpress store : Sofirn Mini SC13 SST40 LED 1300 lm Taktische 18350 wiederaufladbare Taschenlampe 6000 K Schlüsselanhänger Notfall-Taschenlampe LED-Licht mit Magnet - AliExpress 39