The full review is available here

English review at BLF
German review at my website

Summary

If you often have to charge a lot of Li-ion batteries, the XTAR VC8S might be a good choice for you with its eight slots and powered by a USB-C port with 45 W USB PD. It also comes with helpful extra features like internal resistance measurement and a capacity test mode to check the performance of your batteries. To prepare them for storage, it has an storage mode that automatically charges/discharges them to 3.6 V.

NiMH batteries can be charged as well with the VC8S, but it only charges them with a fixed current of 500 mA and might terminate a bit early. That’s enough for casual charging, but if you want more control over the charging process, you might prefer a different charger.

Unfortunately the charging current cannot be manually set for each slot independently, only for four slots at once. If you rely on the automatic current selection, some batteries might be charged with a little too much current. This limits the flexibility of the charger when you want to charge different sizes of batteries at once.

I love using warm lights. With the W1 Amber and the candle flicker mode in Anduril, I can relax and imagine I'm in some ancient torchlit bathhouse.

Full review here

German review at my website

Sorry, I haven't got the time yet to translate it into English. But as it seems to be discontinued, I wanted to share this PSA with you!

Summary

If you like it colorful, the Wurkkos WK40 is the right flashlight for you, a little rainbow in your pocket! The four LEDs (white, deep red, green and blue) are controlled with a ring and a tail switch. It also has a buck driver for mostly constant brightness, USB-C charging and a short battery tube. You can choose from seven fixed colors or an infinite color gradient. Various blinking modes for your next party are included as well.

As this light seems to be discontinued, you might want to get one now as long as you can!

I'm thinking about getting my first decent flashlight. I find that most of the time when I want a decent light, it's when I'm walking the dog or taking out the compost, and I'm struggling to juggle a light with what I'm doing, so I'd like something I can tuck in a pocket and have it illuminate what I'm doing.

I'd prefer something with a fixed right angle; I'm not terribly interested in a swivel.

USB-C charging woul be best. I can see the appeal of magnetic charging, but I've got so used to having everything on USB-C that I'd rather not have another proprietary cable around.

I'm a little bit intimidated by some of the programming diagrams I've seen. I don't think I need a light with over a dozen different lighting and strobe modes. On/off is fine, high-mid-low is also great, but much more than that and I worry about getting lost.

I've seen some with the option for a red light as well as white, and that's appealing, but not essential. I like the idea of not having to totally lose my night vision when I turn on my flashlight. Powerbank function, similarly, is appealing but by no means essential.

Budget is $70, tops, but if there are models that are cheaper but still quality construction, I'm open to suggestion.

Thanks for the help!

The full review is available here

English review at BLF
German review at my website

Summary

With the Prime C2 Pro Max, Armytek managed to make a robust and powerful flashlight that fits perfectly into the Prime series. Its slightly floody beam and up to 4000 lm in turbo – even without a fully charged battery – makes it a perfect partner for your adventures and gives you a great overview of your environment.

There are just a few things I would have liked to see: a better lanyard hole, a clip and maybe a domeless LED. Just minor details, overall the Armytek Prime C2 Pro Max is a great flashlight.

First impression: It's nice, I really like the new switch that Sofirn used here. It's like the large switch from Wurkkos, just smaller and far better than the hard, wobbly switch they used in the past.

The tint is mediocre and the Fresnel lens creates some rings. Unfortunately also some tint variation from spot to spill. Overall pretty soft beam, but not too floody.

It appears like the bezel is press fit, but it has a small gap and it might be possible to open it.

Interesting place to attach the clip. There's this large groove at the front. Looks little weird without a clip, though.

A magnet is included as well, but it can only be used when no lanyard is attached (D'oh!).

I will write a full review, but it will take some weeks because I have quite a lot other flashlights in the queue.

It can certainly turn night into day

The full review is available here

English review at BLF
German review at my website

Summary

Looking for a powerful flooder, with simple user interface and easy to find tail switch? Then give the Sofirn SC33 a try! With its boost driver it is able to achieve constant low to medium brightness for a long time and up to 5200 lm in turbo.

There is not much to complain about the SC33. It is a little large for a 21700 flashlight and the autolock should be off by default (but you can turn it off manually). Overall I am very satisfied with the SC33.

Last month I got an email from us@sofirnlight.com titled "Help Us Test Our New Products!" asking if I was interested in testing a new product and providing honest feedback. I've bought a few of their lights that I was happy with so I was glad to provide feedback (I assume that's where they got my email).

They replied with some instructions to search a specific term on amazon, send a screenshot where that item showed up in the listings, buy it, and send them the receipt for reimbursement.

It sounded like they were trying to game amazon, but they're a shit company so I didn't care. After sending them everything they requested (twice), it's been over a month with no reply. Before they would reply within 24 hours.

So if you see this email, ignore it. Or take your chances; Just make sure you return it before the window is up. And say it's a defect with the light, so you're not out for the return shipping.

Below are the emails.

Hi Sir, Greetings and good times. As a valued customer of Sofirn, we are excited to invite you to test our latest products.
Your feedback is incredibly important to us as we strive to continually improve our products and provide the best possible experience for our customers. If you have any inquiries about SC18.SC33.SC28.BS01.SP35T.HS41 and some other products， We would like to send you free products for them. All you need to do is try out our new products in your own environment and provide us with your honest feedback on your experience.
Your insights will be invaluable in helping us refine our products and make them even better. If you're interested in being part of this exciting opportunity, please reply to this email.
Please know that the quantity is limited, so please let us know if you'd like to participate as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued support of Sofirn. We look forward to your participation in our product testing program. Tips:

1. This test is only available on Amazon US.
2. This is legitimate.
3. please DO NOT share this in public because it's a private offer.
4. If you are not interested in this test, I can also offer you discounts on some models. Feel free to ask me. Best regards, Sofirn

Hello, Would you like to test the bike light ,BS01? If you are interested, I will send the steps. If not, it's ok. All the very best to you

Hi, Here is the steps for BSO1:

1. Please search the keywords " bike lights" on Amazon to find it, and take a screenshot including the search term. Thank you for your patience in searching. Please let me know if you can't search.
2. Please add a regular item to the cart and place the order.
3. Please send me the screenshot you have taken in step 1, the order number, grand total, and your PayPal account. I'll refund you the money. If there are any questions, please let me know.Please don' post a review until I ask for it. Wishing you good health and happiness.

Flashlight is an S6 with Osram W1. The mount is designed to aim at about 10 degrees down from the level of the top of the stem, whatever that is. With the Osram the hotspot ends about 20' out.

I'm officially the flashlight guy of the family, according to this present 😭
#flashlight @flashlight

I've bought two of these now and lost both. One just disappeared from my pocket and the other I dropped somewhere in a dark forest.

Now I want a new EDC. Is it a good idea to get another TS10 or are there better alternatives now?

I want decent brightness and small size. Andruril is a huge plus and aux leds are also fun. And not very expensive in case I lose one again.

Arbitrary List of Popular Lights - Winter Solstice 2023 Edition

In honor of Winter Solstice, I've made an updated list of popular lights. Today is the day you're most likely to need a flashlight in the northern hemisphere; if you're shopping for one, I hope this will help.

https://zakreviews.com/arbitrary-list-2023.3.html

#flashlight #flashlights #EDC #EveryDayCarry @flashlight@lemmy.world @flashlight@kbin.social

Early Christmas present from family - Hank's Emisar KC1 Keychain light.

Super tiny, photo below of it next to the D2.

LED: SST20 4000k

Body: (Red)

Currently using an AAA battery as I don't have any 10440s

Perfect for a keychain (unsure if the bands included were meant for what I chose to use them for... But it works)

Review: Sofirn SP10 Pro - a high-CRI AA/14500 light running Anduril 2

The Sofirn SP10 Pro is the only flashlight running Anduril 2 and supporting both AA and 14500 batteries. It offers high CRI and a low price. I've reviewed it here:

https://zakreviews.com/sp10-pro.html

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

Alt text: Image of the character James Holden with a flashlight in S04 E7 "A Shot in the Dark" of The Expanse.

Hello all - hoping to find out if this is a real flashlight or not. In season 4 episode 7 of "The Expanse" James Holden has a flashlight that toggles between a normal light and UV (seen below).

I know often props are just props, but was curious if this was available as a real light.

The P20iX is a tacticool type 21700 size light. It's very floody - perfect for inside buildings or close range outside where you need a big field of view, and bright enough at 4000 lumens .

The bumps on the front are something super tough for breaking car windows etc - so I guess aimed at first responder types. I quite like the double clicky tail switch. One is a really solid on/off click and the other cycles between light levels.

It has two modes, I use it in the everyday mode where it remembers the light brightness from when you turned it off. There also a hard core mode where it always turns on in max.

The hard plastic holster has a hole in the bottom, which I assume is to avoid melting it with the 4 x 4 x CREE XP-L2V6 leds, but I have occasionally just turned it on in the holster for general lighting if I needed both hands.

Since it's quite easy to pull it out of the holster, I do have a slight worry that it will come out by itself if I'm clambering around somewhere - but it never has yet. The holster is intended for clipping on those massive duty belts - it would swing around a bit otherwise. I have a vague recollection it came with some clips to use on narrower belts but perhaps I've thrown them away.

The 21700 battery it needs is a weird Nitecore one with positive and negative contacts each end. I wasn't wild about that, but in practice I never carry spare batteries, so they can be weird or built in and it's no particular problem. If you really hate this idea, there is an optional caddy for 2 x cr123s - but less brightness and lower run times.

Je suis prêt pour le 8 décembre.

#Lyon #FêteDesLumières #Flashlights @flashlight

The RovyVon A5x is my EDC at the moment, and I love it enough that I bought another one when I killed it in the washing machine (it's IP66 - but only with the charging plug in - long story at the end).

Like a few of these little lights, it has ancillary LED's on the side. I chose the white+UV side LEDs. The other option is white + red which would probably be more useful, except this is the glow-in-the-dark case, and the UV supercharges that in a couple of seconds.

The GITD is not amazing, but if you're camping away from city lights, it's still bright enough to find the next morning right up till the sun comes up.

The choices for the main LED are CREE XP-G3 or Nichia 219C. I went with the Nichia with a warmer CRI. The Nichia is 450 lumens vs the Cree 650.

The battery is rated 330mAh and is USB-C chargeable (I think my old one was mini USB?). The story with the charging plug on my old one was I washed it in the pocket of some pants, and it still worked, but I could see a drop of moisture inside. I pulled the charging port stopper right out since it kept half closing itself in the rice. Then I couldn't get it back in (probably could have with tweezers) so I thought I'd do that later, then washed it again the following weekend without the plug in. I went all out with the drying attempts, but it was properly soaked through, and never came back from that.

It doesn't really tailstand unless you've got the magnet on (I do) and something to stick it to. It's just a lovely little general use torch for your pocket.

The full review is available here

English review at BLF
German review at my website

Summary

Seven LEDs in five colors, in a very compact flashlight. The Nichia 519A LEDs are just beautiful with their high CRI and lovely tint. Red, green and blue are less interesting to me, but the UV light comes in very handy. This paired with the great driver and magnetic charging make the MiX-7 almost perfect.

It’s hard to say anything negative about it. I’d like to see more brightness levels for the color channels and maybe the possibility to mix them. Sometimes it can be annoying that the colors were integrated together with the white channel into the low group.

Overall I’m very satisfied with the MiX-7, even at my high expectations I had for this flashlight. If you want a flashlight with multiple colors, you should definitely try the MiX-7.

I have mixed feelings. I'm glad he finally brought us a super small form factor light. But at the same time, it is kind of a let down as far as performance goes. It should have been a luxury rovyvon but it is more like a dollar store Keychain light at first glance.

Is anyone here considering it as their next investment?

Hello lemmy. I have one or two lights for every functional use case in my personal life, and then some. No more lights for me unless something breaks.

Beamshots and Comparisons

I just got a Convoy H1 519a 4500k for about $20 as a first decent headlamp, it's really great for the price with a few weaknesses.

The H1 is easy on the eyes and the TIR is nice and covers a wide view. Compared to my S2+ which uses 519a at 4000k the difference is noticeable (see photos in link).

The UI is cool as it's the first ramping light I used, but it ramps a bit too fast. Compared to the S2+, the H1 has some advantages like shortcuts for strobe/turbo/moonlight/batt check, while on the S2+ I just disabled those since I didn't want them in the main rotation. The button also takes some getting used to since you hold down the button (not half-press) for secondary functions.

The body feels really nice and sturdy and not as heavy as expected when wearing it with a head strap. More compact than the S2+. I got a magnet from Convoy and glued it to the tail which was super easy to do, just a bit messy. After removing the excess glue with alcohol, it looks great. The head strap is pretty hard to put on since you have to force it into the rubber loops, but once it's on it's very secure.