Now I have a use for my Sofirn C01R and that H25LR headlamp with 670nm LED's. Cool. 3 minute exposure to 670nm light in the morning apparently improves color perception for the rest of the week. I'll read more closely to find the right intensity and so on.

The full review is available here

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

Summary

For years the Wurkkos TS10 has often been recommended when people are looking for a small EDC flashlight with lots of functions. Compact, fun, great light and also inexpensive. Over time, different colors and materials such as titanium, brass and copper were added.

If you think the TS10 was too small and not bright enough, you should take a look at the new Wurkkos TS10 Max. It has a larger 18650 battery with four times the capacity and Nichia 519A LEDs with even higher light quality, but is otherwise very similar to the classic TS10.

I've got 8 of these things, had them for a few years, never seen this weirdness.

Last time I charged it, it seemed fine until I turned it on. Now it's cycling through every mode; low -> high -> red -> red blinky. It's been doing this for 3 days! Had to shove it in my desk drawer because it's driving me nuts. No, it won't turn off.

Can't find any reference to this behavior. Ideas?

Review: Skilhunt EC200S (warm) - a compact 18650 EDC light with two color temperatures and USB-C

https://zakreviews.com/skilhunt-ec200s-warm.html

#flashlight #flashlights #EDC #EveryDayCarry #review @flashlight

Some background: I love flashlights. Been in the hobby for years. I have an original group buy version of "Giggles" the GigaThrower, and upgraded it with the new emitter and driver when the GT70 came out.

I've got a group buy LT1 and C01 as well.

I've EDCed a D4 for as long as I can remember, added Lexel custom aux emitters before they came standard. Wore out my first D4, had to replace the switch. Upgraded to a D4v2, used it for years. I forgot it on a job site a few weeks ago and it got stolen. So I have a D4v2 dual channel in the mail.

I'm pretty sure I was the first to mod a D18 with aux emitters, there's proof on Reddit somewhere. Definitely modded my fair share of headlamps with custom Lexel drivers and emitters, upgraded springs, etc.

All this to say: I've been around. But I definitely haven't been active in a long time, and even when I was I definitely focused on stuff that runs anduril. So I don't know what's out there these days.

I love the idea of a big fat heavy flashlight. I have a maglite, and I keep it by my bed. I know it's silly, but I like the idea of having a short club in hand if I hear a bump in the night..

I put an LED conversion bulb in it. But what I want is something like an xhp50.3, and anduril. I could modify it myself, 3d printed trays for 18650s and such, but I worry it won't have the weight I want.

Giggles is too big and expensive for the task. I want something maglite shaped and weighted, running anduril, but not ridiculously expensive. Doesn't even have to be that crazy bright either. Just big lol.

Any suggestions?

The full review is available here

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

Summary

How does someone come up with such an idea? The Cyansky Vanguard is a great toy for flashlight enthusiasts and gun lovers – definitely a flashlight with a high fun factor. What makes it so special? Its unique design, which is slightly reminiscent of a Glock and that it is loaded with a “9 × 19 mm” battery after the slide has been pulled back. Crazy!

As a flashlight, it is a pretty decent thrower. The beam shape is perfectly fine, but it has a strong green tint. The (matching) green laser is a nice extra. After all, you need something to shoot with, right? When it comes to the buttons, design comes before ease of use.

Got curious? You can preorder the Cyansky Vanguard now here on Kickstarter.

They apparently do this every year. You have to make an account on their site which subscribes you to an email newsletter (you can unsubscribe) and deal with some popups and upsell attempts, but it's a decent basic 1AAA light from everything I've heard. 90 lumens, 1 level, 60mm long, maybe not great LED tint, i.e. sort of a less nice version of the Skilhunt E3A but still fine.

Users supposedly get free shipping on their first order and someone on reddit claims to have actually received this, but I didn't, and had to pay the $5.

It's 1 per person and there are apparently a lot of people trying to scam the site, so my payment got flagged as possible fraud (card declined). I called the card company and they fixed it, so my order went through.

I'm not a huge fan of Olight for various reasons, but hey, a free light, I'll take it.

The full review is available here

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

Summary

When you first see the Nitecore EDC31, it may not appear that special. But a closer look reveals its special secrets. A compact EDC flashlight with a touch of tactical flair, a rather unusual LED with nine dies and a super simple control scheme with a two-stage electronic switch. While most modes are optimized for throw, the “Lumin Shield” mode impresses with a bright and floody wall of light. I also like lockout with a slide switch, called “Rapid Lock”.

Given the compact design, it is not surprising that the flashlight heats up quickly and cannot maintain the high brightness for long. In the lower levels however, the constant current driver keeps the brightness pretty constant. Unfortunately it is not possible to choose freely between the wide and narrow beam for each brightness level. The permanently installed rechargeable battery can also be seen as a disadvantage.

It's an old "Soshine" branded NiMH AAA cell claiming 900mah. I'm not about to test it but I did use it for a while. I've standardized on Eneloops since then. Anyway this is FYI so you know that NiMH leaking is a thing.

I’ve got a little stainless Coast A5, which I love, but its beam pattern is very, very much inspection torch. Dead circular, even spread.

Is there anything similar in body, but with a more every-day torch beam? I don’t really want some black knobbly military-cosplayer’s thing, I’m not too bothered about a built in charging port, I want minimal. I love the simple, smooth stainless body of the A5, it lives in my smart jacket pocket along with an elegant little pocket knife, I just wish it had a thrower-style beam.

The full review is available here

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

Summary

Despite its slim head, the new Sofirn SR12 is a real thrower – the deep reflector and the Luminus SFT-25R make it possible. With a length of only 112 mm and a diameter of about 24 mm, it should still fit easily into your pocket, making it perfect as an EDC flashlight. It becomes even more interesting when combined with an optional short battery tube for 18350 batteries, which reduces its length to 79 mm.

The full review is available here

English review at BudgetLightForum
German review on my website

With this little review I wish you a merry Christmas! Have fun, but don’t overdo it with the lights. The tree should not start to burn at any time! 😉

Summary

When the Wurkkos TS10 was released in mid-2022, only few might have imagined what a great success this flashlight would become. Compact, playful, great light and also affordable. Over time, different colors and materials such as titanium, brass and copper were added.

The Wurkkos TS10 SG is a successful update of the classic TS10. With the new optics and the Luminus SFT-25R, the throw has been significantly increased. Otherwise everything has remained the same. There’s a reason the TS10 has enjoyed great popularity for years.

I've got a streamlight microstream that I've had for a few years now. I really like the general size and power. It'd be super ideal if it had a very dim mode. I'm only really dissatisfied with the microusb charging.

Is there anything out there that I should be looking at? Ideally rechargeable with a pretty simple UI... Honestly that's about all I'm looking for. Any suggestions?

Flashlight review: The Sofirn IF24 offers two white light sources and a colorful one, USB-C charging, and an 18650 battery.

https://zakreviews.com/sofirn-if24.html

#flashlight #flashlights #EDC #EveryDayCarry #review #ProductReview #FlashlightReview @flashlight

Rating: 4.5/5.

I needed another headlamp and was familiar with an earlier, micro-USB, white-led-only version of this light. Build quality of both is fine, I'd say not fantastic but perfectly usable for not too demanding purposes, and a terrific value for the price. Claimed water resistance level is IPX6. Headband is comfortable given that this is not a tiny light. I think it is still small enough to not need an over-the-head strap. Weight is about 108g including battery and strap.

Wurkkos and Sofirn both sell these lights and I think I heard somewhere that the actual manufacturer is Boruit. There are various models with different configurations. The H25LR has one white led, one 660nm (deep red) led, and USB-C charging.

Order date: Nov 22 2024. Got shipping notice on Nov 24. Package delivered December 5, so about 10 days transit from China to California, not bad. Cost was $19.99 including an 18650 battery. Shipping was free due to order being above $19. This is hard to beat.

The included battery is labelled with Wurkkos branding and says 3000 mah. It is an 18650 button top. I didn't test the capacity or charge current, but I measured the length at around 66.5mm not including the button, with the button adding another 2mm or so. So maybe it's a protected cell, I don't know. The springs in the light are pretty stiff. If you loosen the "tail" cap by 1/4 turn or so, the light breaks contact with the battery, giving you a lockout from accidental turn-on and also from parastic drain. I tried swapping in an unprotected flat top battery and that worked fine including the lockout.

The UI is fairly sane given that it's a 1-button light with multiple colors and levels that doesn't run Anduril. Short click to activate white led at the same level as last time, long click for red, also at same level as before. Once either led is on, hold down button to cycle through 4 levels. I didn't attempt brightness or runtime measurements.

My general comment about the beam is that it's more directional that I'd prefer, particularly for close-up usage. This is for both the white and red leds. It's not terrible, it's just that I like floody beams for reading and fixing stuff.

The lowest levels of both leds are ok, not super low. Some people appreciate ultra low levels and I can understand that. These are just regular low. I find that level 2 of the white led is about right for reading, walking indoors in the dark, etc. The higher levels are there when you need them.

The red led goes from low to quite powerful, like several watts. I don't quite understand the purpose of a powerful red led. Does anyone really want long distance outdoor illumunation in deep red? I would have been fine with just the low level, or a redesigned light with two full sized white leds, plus an auxiliary small red led. The red led for me is for minimal disturbance to your own night vision and that of others around you. So it should be just bright enough to maneuver in the dark or see an object (telescope, say) well enough to reach and turn a knob. I don't remember ever wanting a bright red light.

There is a handy featue of an RGB led under the on-off switch. When you first turn on the light, that led acts as a battery level indicator (green=charged, etc.) and it stays on for a few seconds. Also, when you plug in a USB charger, it lights red during charging and green afterwards.

The instruction pamphlet says charging takes 4-5 hours, suggesting a 500 ma charge rate similar to the micro-USB version. I.e. it's likely to be the same charging circuit except with a USB-C connector. That is ok with me. The instruction pamphlet also amusingly says that questions and problems should be emailed to [email protected], heh.

A slightly more "premium" approach would be to include faster charging (3 amps) and maybe powerbank output. I do like lights with built-in chargers, as opposed to the kind where you have to remove the battery and charge it outside the light. Sorry about that, Hank ;).

Wurkkos now has the interesting HD10 Mini which is a 14500 powered anglehead flashlight / headlamp with Anduril, sort of like the Emisar DW4 but smaller. I don't really care for the 14500 battery type but it would be nice to have a lightweight 18650/18350 version of this light (the DW4 is too heavy). Or it would be of more interest if it could run on 1.5 volt AA cells in addition to 14500. As it was, I went for the 18650 version instead. For a lightweight headlamp I have a Nitecore HA11 and might get or concoct something ultralight at some point.

Anyway that's my new light day for now and it has been a good one.

Addendum (December 26): I noticed something interesting about the front of the light, center, above and below the main leds (see circled green areas in the pic). There are two milled slots that look like they were designed to hold tritium markers. I guess I'm off to mixglo.com to get some. I'll have to measure the slots but basically 2x5mm or thereabouts.

Update: Mixglo situation is that 1.5x6mm vials are $6.50 so two vials plus a $6 tube of Norland adhesive (1 ml) would total $19. BUT, Mixglo offers untracked shipping for $6 only if the order value is $15 or less. Otherwise you need tracked shipping which costs $22. It's cheaper to make two separate orders. I think I'll order one vial plus the adhesive, try to install the vial, and then order a second vial if the first one goes in ok. I'll update if and when there's a new development. Fwiw, tritiumworkshop.com (in the UK) is another well regarded source of tritium but it ends up costing a little more, depending.

Update 2: more careful examination convinces me that those little holes weren't intended for tritium but were just part of the heat sink-like styling. But, it should still be possible to do something there or nearby between the "fins", possibly with a bit of Dremel-ing. I want to take some caliper measurements before ordering vials.

Addendum 2 (2025-01-12): I just checked and a protected Fenix flat top cell (67.8mm long) works fine in tihs light.

The full review is available here

English review at BLF
German review at my website

Summary

The Sofirn IF23 Pro has a lot to offer: a bright spotlight, a floody side light with adjustable color temperature and various RGB effects. It is controlled quite intuitively via a button and a rotating ring. The battery can be swapped easily and the flashlight can also be used as a power bank in an emergency.

On the other hand, some details are not fully thought through to the end: finding the right position of the rotating ring in the dark is a matter of luck, the magnet is too weak to hold the flashlight reliably in horizontal orientation. The spotlight needs more throw to better stand out from the floodlight. Whether you like the flashlight depends very much on your individual requirements.

The full review is available here

English review at BLF
German review at my website

Summary

Earlier this year, Wurkkos released their first “flat” flashlight with a floody sidelight and a green laser. Now they added a variant with UV instead of the laser: the Wurkkos HD01 UV.

White spotlight and UV light, plus white and colored floodlight, combined with an elegant, flat design – the Wurkkos HD01 UV has a lot to offer. It is rare to find such a variety of light sources in a single flashlight.

Although the driver is simple, this should be acceptable considering the low price. With the HD01, you get a versatile companion for EDC use.

I took it out of my pocket and tried to turn it on, hmm, twist switch was rather tight. Tightened it down or maybe it was already down. It didn't turn on but I figured I maybe had left it on all night by accident and drained the battery. Started to remove the head and heard a popping sound. Battery (alkaleak but fairly new) had some kind of black stuff on the casing near the negative terminal, no other obvious damage to the light or battery. I put in a new battery => won't turn on. So I guess the circuit is blown.

I like the light and they are affordable so I guess I'll get another, but it seems like a shame that I don't see much of a way to repair it or scrounge usable parts from it. I will try to remove the circuit board when I get a chance. Not now though.

Oh well. Bring a spare.

Looking for a quality light in a compact form factor and most importantly no extra modes. I want a single button that turns the light on and off. No brightness settings and for the love of god no strobe mode and no colors.

There's a new highest-capacity 14500 battery, but it falls a bit short of advertised.

#flashlight #flashlights #battery #batteries #14500 #vapcell @flashlight

The full review is available here

English review at BLF
German review at my website

Summary

The Nitecore EDC23 EDC flashlight has been my everyday companion for a few weeks now. Thanks to its flat design and compact dimensions, it disappears nicely into the pockets of my pants. Nevertheless, it offers unexpectedly high performance for its size and a long runtime. I particularly like the operation with a separate button for turbo and a slide switch for the lockout.

The beam was optimized for high efficacy and throw. Therefore you have to accept some compromises, particularly with the light color: a slightly green tint and low CRI are the result. It would be nice to have a clip that allows the flashlight to be carried deeper in the pocket.