Sofirn SP32A

Man_Without_Shadow · 2018-06-11T04:42:41.000Z

I was offered a free SP32A for a usage testing. Based on that and other evidence from the forums, Sofirn seems like a nice company to deal with. They seem to listen to our opinions, make changes to their lights and seem very pleasant and helpful in the forums. I thought that before the sample, and was nicely surprised to be picked for a light! I have many Sofirn lights.

I wanted the SP32A anyway…so this was a nice and welcome surprise.

My review is not technical at all, I haven’t taken it apart or ran any electrical tests, but I do find I use it very often…it is my go to grab for quick lighting around the house and garage. A very handy and bright tube light for everyday use.

It’s a reported 1550 lumens…seems like it in comparison to some of my other lights and a rudimentary ceiling bounce.
Nice bright tint…Cree XP-L2 LED with 5350-5700K.

Well machined…fit and finish are nice. Reversible battery tube to change the clip orientation. It has a side switch (which I prefer).

Driver spring is bypassed from the factory…a nice touch.

This light has a ramping mode. Ramping is a newer user interface in recent boutique lights. It is nice to find it on a production light. You can also turn on a 5 level discreet click mode. I have grown to prefer a ramping interface, and this one is nice.

Double click turbo.

It does not ramp as smoothly as a Q8 or a Emisar light…it is also slower. But no production light can match a user interface authored by the talent on this forum.

Even though I have dozens of current boutique lights found on this forum, I find this light very impressive and was going to purchase it merely on the fact that it is a Sofirn and I enjoy their lights. Frequent Amazon sales don’t hurt either.

I find them to be consistently useful in their price range and format.

The kit also came with a 3000 mAh 18650 and a single battery charger as well. This makes it useful to a person that doesn’t have a drawer full of batteries and chargers already. One’s first single 18650 and charger can easily add $20 to the price of Li-Ion flashlight, so it’s inclusion is a nice addition.

It is nice to see Sofirn take forum advice in to consideration and engineer lights with wanted and inovatative features.

LightUpTheDark · 2018-06-11T05:20:39.000Z

Looks very much like a Thrunite Neutron 2c v2/v3…

I’ll consider getting one for my father. Will read more reviews.

pennzy · 2018-06-11T14:25:56.000Z

I think you mean Sp32A. I also have this light and like it very much . Sofirn has become my #1 manufacturer . The 32 is my brightest tube light and the flood is nice. Just heard there is a new model coming.

hank · 2019-01-20T21:43:58.000Z

Has anyone seen a 32A v3?

My v2 is my regular nighttime light — three clicks from off to strobe, ideal for crosswalk protection against distracted celphone-using drivers.

d_t_a · 2019-01-31T17:44:52.000Z

Just like to report my observations of the SP32A (the "1550 lumens max" version), which I have ordered again recently.

Looks like Sofirn makes revisions of this flashlight silently.

(the version numbers below are what I designated myself... they are not really designated at all)

v1.0 = the first SP32A that I encountered, it had a slow ramping (about 8 seconds to ramp from top to bottom or vice-versa), 2 blinks upon reaching the top or bottom of ramp (I don't have this flashlight on hand anymore)

v1.1 = this updated SP32A seems to have been around for a longer time, basically it improves the ramping speed (ramping from top to bottom or vice-versa now just takes between 4-5 seconds), 2 blinks upon reaching the top or bottom
= the lowest ramp level is a Moon mode (measured 0.001-0.002A on my DMM when ramped to lowest level), my estimate maybe 1-2 lumens
= when replacing the battery, it appears to remember the last brightness level used previously (mode memory even when removing/replacing battery)

v1.2 = I just noticed this new SP32A recently (maybe the last month or so?)
= the ramping speed is similar to v1.1 (around 4-5 seconds from top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top), but now it only registers a single blink when reaching top or bottom (this behavior is similar to the SP32A v2.0)
= the lowest ramp level is brighter than what I consider as Moon level (I measured 0.015A tailcap current with my DMM) (again this is the behavior on the SP32A v2.0, the lowest ramp brightness in SP32A v2.0 is brighter than "Moon", I haven't check what's the tailcap current on the SP32A v2.0 yet though)
= when replacing the battery (remove/insert battery), the flashlight will start at a pre-set brightness level (around 0.65A tailcap current), rather than the previous brightness level before replacing the battery (I think this is again the same behavior as the SP32A v2.0)

*although when replacing the battery, the previous brightness level seems to be "forgotten" or "reset" to the default level, but if the battery is not removed, then the SP32A has mode memory (remembers the previously brightness prior to turning off)

Also, I notice my earlier SP32A seems to have a more rosy tint, and no center hotspot mark; but in the later SP32A, it seems to be a bit more "yellowish" (corona), and the center focus appears to have a "yellow" center spot (visible when shining on a flat wall).