Meanwhile, I have received my SP33 XHP50.2 some days ago. As there's quite some interest in the new version I thought I share some impressions of it.
Please excuse my modest English and photography skills as well as the picture quality.
I wouldn't advertise them with "shot on iPhone", though. :-D
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First of all, I felt a bit worried when unboxing the SP33 from its carboard box and found it backwards/wrong placed in its blister pack. Due to this wrong position the side switch was partially pressed down all the time. Fortunately, it did not seem to have taken damage from it.
Lo and behold, the SP33 with its accessories, i.e. the flashlight itself, a lanyard, spare o-rings, an out-of-date manual (more about it below), a thank you card and a small bag of silica gel.
Okay, what's wrong with the manual? Well, it actually is the SP33 manual but it's the one for its predecessing SP33 that came with XP-L and less lumens. The good news is, you can download the new one right away from this ► link ◄ both in English and German language.
A closer look onto the tailcap and its spring.
A closer look into the tube, onto the driver and its spring reveals that the SP33 can be operated with all kinds of 26650 batteries.
Threads are well-fabricated but not lubricated at all. Make sure to apply some grease on it.
The side switch is raised and rather easy to find when in complete darkness.
Its working point is nice and neither too firm nor too squashy. In its center you see an indicator LED.
It comes with a simple but effective 18650 adapter tube.
The SP33 does not use an AR coated lens, i.e. there is a potential to increase output by a better glas lens.
The XHP50.2 is well-centered into the orange peel reflector.
My Keeppower 6.000mAh (PLB55-A cell) slipped gently into the tube without any sensible friction along the inner tube side. The tube is rather massive and hefty.
Once you turn on the SP33 the indicator LED will light up in green (if battery voltage is fine) for some seconds.
Sofirn successfully managed to keep away most of possible dust from the reflector and the inner side of the lens. Well done Sofirn!
Neither my highly sophisticated super-duper iPhone 6S camera nor my poor eyesight managed to discover any PWM even on low modes. Outstanding! :-)
A quick'n dirty whitewall (approx. 1 1/2 feet from distance) shot on low mode...
Another quick'n dirty whitewall shot on turbo. It's a typical beam pattern for XHP50.2 with a nearly invisible yellow dot in the very center, a bright close to neutral white spot and a yellowish corona that tends to bleed out into a blueish spill.
Some final words:
The SP33 is another great flashlight and possibly a fine evolution of the old SP33 (that I don't own). FWIW, its size is still EDC-like and although quite hefty (with regard to the quite similarly sized HaikeLite SC26) it's still not too heavy to carry in one's pocket. I did not find any imperfections in the anodization. Generally, quality is on a very good level and with a look on the price/performance ratio the SP33 is truly a bargain. Unlike the unlucky Rofis MR30 the boost driver of the SP33 did not let me down but worked like a charm. The only things I would recommed to improve here are the AR coated lens and lubricated threads but this would only be the icing of the cake.
So, maybe someone else could be so kind to measure the diameter of the glass lens.
