I don’t have any 18650 lights that are rechargables. I really like my Convoy lights for their sizes. I have some S2+ and the S2+ with the 18350 tubes. The Sofirn SC32 looks like a great light. I’d like to have longer run times and stick with the 18650 in a small size like this and I want rechargable lights from now on. I saw some reviews are saying the SC32 is quite green, but I don’t know if they have the 5000k or 6500k led. I usually like neutral tints so I like 5000k, but for the purpose of this light and the convenience of being able to charge it with USB C I’m ok with either one.
I also seee their is an SC18 which is about the same size and also rechargable. I’m not sure of the pros and cons between these 2 lights. They both have lockouts which I like the option to have. I did see the SC32 has a new type of digital tail switch that looks interesting.
I’m open to ideas, but I am looking for something as small or smaller then the S2+ and rechargable.
There may be a tint lottery involved, but generally it is more likely for the SST40 to be green at 5000k than 6500k. The SST40 will also be more green at lower power levels.
I would love to see a SC32 with Anduril 2 and SST40 or SFT40 6500k.
I can’t stand green tints. I highly recommend trying some minus green filters. They’re a game changer. Even better, consider getting a soldering iron and trying an mcbcb swap. It’s easy on the S2+. I don’t know about the SC32 but I’d guess it’s not hard either (bezel might be glued).
The 519A isn’t an option in this light unless you mod it.
Whilst I prefer high CRI LEDs, low CRI/higher output/higher efficiency LEDs such as the SST40 and SFT40 have their place in tactical and general purpose lights.
Agreed. And as with most emitters it often comes down to the chosen bin (or available bin, as is often the case with Luminus). SST40 actually has some decent bins…still low CRI but for most use honestly 70CRI isn’t the most horrible thing in the world (high CRI certainly preferred, though). Powerhouse of an emitter and it fills the bill nicely for many applications. It’s been trendy to knock it lately (and the SST20 and LH351D) but these are quite nice emitters and when they were introduced everyone latched onto them pretty quickly for good reason. 519A is a wonderful emitter but not the best for high power (as is usual with anything Nichia in these footprints…).
On the SC32 from pics/videos shared I think I’d be inclined to get their whiter 5700K in this case. Sofirn doesn’t seem to choose the higher quality bins for whatever reason, and the 5000K in this one does look on the greener side (and warmer due to that). May not bother you out in nature and/or during the greener growing seasons but at lower levels and where there are more colors, it doesn’t look that nice (could be that the optic is contributing to this as well).
The tint of the 5000K SST40 is not green compared to a 3V XHP50.2 at the same CCT. It is also not green when comparing it to natural light on a clowdy day. It depends on the environment you use the light in. Take any two lights and and compare them side by side: One will be green, the other one rosy. There is no absolute perception of the tint of a modern white LED.
Outside at night, both the SST40 and the XHP50.2 look great at 5000K.
Thanks I went with the 6000k on the sc32. If I like this I can get another with a better LED in the future. Right now I just want an EDC that’s small enough to carry with me at work and I can recharge it with USB at work or in the car.
How long does it normally take them to ship from China?
Both lights arrived today and I went with the higher tints. They both look alright. The CRI is not high on either of them, but is definitely good enough for my uses for them most of the time. If I’m working with colored wires I can grab a neutral light I already have but that’s extremely rare. The tail cap on the SC32 pushes in very easy on 1 side, but is very stiff on the opposite side. It still works good. Not sure if I should complain about that or no for the price of the light.
They both charged perfectly with a USB C cable.
I noticed the 18650 battery is shorter then my Nitecore 18650 3500mah batteries. I didn’t try to shove it in there for fear of damaging a spring.
Yup the Nitecore are protected cells. Is that why they are longer? I thought protected cells are safer. I wonder why Sofirn wouldn’t be using protected ones?
The protection circuit makes them longer since it is added to the base cell. In my mind it’s arguable if protected cells do anything if 1) you’re not using multiple cells in series, 2) your light has LVP, and 3) you have a decent charger.
It’s also another point of failure and who knows what quality the circuit is or how well it’s been added to the cell? In addition they can limit the draw on high power lights.
I have a bunch of protected cells where I removed the protection circuit because I didn’t think it added anything of value.
Low voltage protection, where the flashlight will warn you by blinking, shutting off, etc to let you know that you’re at whatever cut-off voltage has been set for the light.
Basically means the battery has been depleted and should be replaced or recharged.
For the IF25A model with 4 SST20, the cooler white 6500K low cri model have much more effective usable brightness than the warm white 4000K hi cri version. One would need to run the warm white version at higher current for around the same brightness with Cold white version in real practical use. So it would be not as sustainable.
For the SC32 model with single SST40 would this be as pronounced nor not much practical different?