so the forum has been a little flooded with the C8s reviews since Thorfire sent out 30 on a high discount…
so lets flood some more!
I did some testing with this little bad boy to see how it compares to the convoy c8 and the xintd c8 in runtimes and hot spot brightness.
Link: Amazon.com (link is external)
Test 1:
we testing a stock Thorefire C8s with an Xintd C8 (xpg-2) and a Convoy C8 (xml2) with spring braid bypass
tailcaps:
Thorfire: .01 / .08 / .63 / 1.68
Xintd: .0 / .05 / .45 / 1.58
Convoy: .09 / .77 / 2.03
This was done with a really cheap harbor freight DMM.
Runtimes:
Thorfire: 90 min @ 2.80V
Xintd: 137 min @ 3.1V
Convoy: 106 min @ 2.90v
so you can see that the thorfire got beat out in runtime and brightness by the others.
the test batteries were LG MJ1
Test 2
I realized comparing a stock light to a spring bypass wasn’t fair. So I bypass the springs on both ends of the thorfire with 18ga silicone wire.
new tailcap:
thorfire: .01 / .08 / .66 / 2.23
runtimes:
thorfire: 78 min @ 3.09v
Convoy: 85 min @ 2.89V
Xintd: ended early (sorry I got bored)
slightly different results. The Thorfire was initially brighter than the convoy, but faded fast. I used Samsung 30Q batteries for this test.
notice the runtimes are quite a bit lower.
Test 3:
so I decided that the xpl-hi on a 20mm noctigon was just begging to go into this thorfire. This time I only retested with the convoy
Tailcaps:
thorfire: .01 / .08 / .68 / 3.02
convoy: .13 / 1.09 / 2.73
this time the readings were done with a better quality DMM
runtimes:
thorfire: 90 min @ 3.10v
convoy: 98 min @ 2.90v
Ceiling bounce test:
initial (0 min)
thorfire: 1007 lux
convoy: 1001 lux
40 min test
thorfire: 740 lux
convoy: 888 lux
just testing the bounce of a wall at about 2 feet. Did this because the xpl-hi has a MUCH brighter hotspot and wanted to get a better idea of total output.
That thorfire hotspot is incredibly bright with an xpl-hi. the brightspot stayed brighter for the entire time. quite an improvement.
Beam Shots
Convoy C8 Vs Stock Thorfire
Pretty much identical! only the slightest difference
Xintd C8 Vs Stock Thorfire
The Xintd has such a nice focused beam!
Thorfire xpl-hi Vs Convoy C8
so it ended up being a very nicely focused beam, and literally like 20k more lux at the hotspot than the xintd and Convoy.
Conclusion:
the runtime is a little disappointing to me, but I think with some fussing I can get it to improve. I am super happy with the xpl-hi in the light and will not be changing it back. I think that the Thorfire has the best mode spacing of the group. and is a pretty solid performer for the price. My methods are not the most scientific in the world. There is definitely alot of error in that I used different batteries, and different times of day and ambient lighting. But I do think that this shows pretty clearly that this light is good competition for the Convoy, and that with a simple xpl-hi upgrade it can easily out throw even the xintd c8 w/ xpg2. If you take the price of the thorfire and the LED you are still cheaper than the xintd, and the thorfire ships from amazon so you can have it at your door in like 2 days! With all that in mind, this is an awesome option for people in the states who don’t want to buy from oversea sources, and if you are handy with a soldering iron you can made this into a really awesome thrower for next to nothing!