The SC29 is a general-purpose flashlight running on a single included rechargeable 21700 battery. It features USB-C charging and a distinctive TIR optic.

1. Introduction
2. Manufacturer Specifications
3. Package Details
4. Build
5. User Interface
6. Circuit Measures
7. Emitter Measures
8. Beamshots
9. Testing Results
10. Runtimes
11. Pros and Cons
12. Overall Rating
13. Preliminary Conclusions
14. Acknowledgement

Introduction

Still working through my backlog – this SC29 sample was received back in March of this year.

The SC29 is another in a long line of compact 1×21700 flashlights from Sofirn, this time featuring the mid-range Cree XHP50.2 emitter. What’s distinctive here is the TIR (total internal reflection) optic, which I expect will help with the typical chromatic aberrations you can see on XHP50.2 HD emitters (especially the older ones). It also features in-light charging and a magnetic tailcap. It comes with a ~6000K cool white emitter, and Sofirn-branded 5000mAh 21700 battery.

I’ve been pleased with the quality and performance of many Sofirn lights for their price. They generally have reasonably good circuit efficiency, although with fairly basic linear regulators (to help keep the cost down). How does the SC29 stack up?  Let’s find out …

Manufacturer Specifications

Note: As always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides – scroll down to see my actual runtimes.

Package Details

The SC29 came in the modern “cellphone box” style packaging common for higher-end Sofirn and Wurkkos models, with a good number of descriptive labels on the outside. Included:

• Sofirn SC29 flashlight
• Sofirn-branded 5000mAh 21700 battery
• Pocket clip (removable)
• Wrist lanyard
• USB-C charging cable
• 2 Spare O-rings
• Manual

Al always, this is a decent package for a “budget” build. But I would like to see a holster included.

Build

From left to right: Wurkkos 21700 (5000mAh), Vapcell 21700 F56 (5600mAh), Emisar D4K, Wurkkos WK15, Armytek Wizard C2 Max, Wurkkos TS22, Sofrin SC29, Speras E21, Wuben X1 Falcon, Sofirn SC33, Sofirn SP35T, Cyansky P50R, Cyansky P25.

The SC29 is definitely smaller than the SC33 (or SP35T) that I reviewed earlier this year – it is more in keeping with compact Wurkkos TS22.  I find it a very comfortable size to hold and use, a good mid-range size (although larger than the similarly powered Wurkkos WK15).

The switch is located in the head, and has a good look and feel. It is larger than some competing lights, and slightly concave, making it easier to find by touch than many. In the center is a green/red LED to show you charge and battery status.

The charging port is located on the other side of the head from the switch, under rubber dust cover. This should provide decent splash-resistance, but I wouldn’t recommend dunking the light in water.

The pocket clip is the simple press-on variety, but seems to hold in please fairly sturdily.The clip is not reversible or bi-directional though, bezel-down carry is the only option.

The tailcap is flat with a small cut-out for the wrist lanyard. The light tailstands stably (but the lanyard may introduce a wobble, given its location). There is a strong magnet in the tailcap, which will affix the light to a metal surface should you desire hands-free operation.

Body threads at both the head and tail are square-cut and anodized, allowing you to physically lock-out the light with a simple twist.

The SC29 uses a concentric ring design on the body, with some additional cut-outs on the head, to help with grip. With the included clip installed, I would say grip is excellent. Also thanks to included clip, the light will not roll when laid on its side. Anodizing looks to be good quality, with no damage on my sample. I would describe the finish as matte.

Inside, the light comes with a Sofirn-branded standard-sized 5000mAh 21700 battery, with a slightly raised flat-top. There is no spring in the head, just a slightly raised post (helping keep the length down).

This is a solid but comfortable light, with good grip and handfeel. I would consider it still “pocketable”, but at the upper-end of that range.

The SC29 comes with a pretty distinctive TIR optic, with a nice smooth beam. But don’t let the pic above mislead you – the beam is actually very white in practice. There is a greenish-yellow tint shift near the immediate edge of the spillbeam – but his is only noticeable in the very near distance at the angle my desk is capturing it.  Rest assured you can’t see this at a distance. In fact, I find the spot and main spill to both be very even and very white. Scroll down to see actual outdoor beamshots.

There doesn’t seem to be any kind of anti-reflective coating on the lens. The bezel is flat aluminum, with no crenelations. Light can headstand stably.

User Interface

The SC29 uses a paired-down, basic interface compared to the SC33 (which had the option of both stepped and smooth ramping). The SC29 has stepped levels only. It also lacks the Moonlight and additional blinky modes of the SC33.

Levels: Eco, Low, Mid, High, Turbo, Strobe.

From OFF:

• Press-and-hold: Turns on in Eco mode.
• Single-click: Turns On in last memorized mode.
• Double-click: Turns On in Turbo.
• Triple-click: Activates Lockout mode. Triple-click to unlock and return to memorized mode.

From ON:

• Press-and-hold: Advances through the output modes.
• Single-click: Turns Off.
• Double-click: Jumps to Turbo. Single click returns to last memorized mode. Double-click jumps you to Strobe.

From Lockout:

• Press-and-hold: Momentary Eco mode, until you release
• Single-click: Nothing (does a double flash to show lockout status)
• Double-click: TNothinge.
• Triple-click: Disable Auto-Lockout.

Mode memory:

Yes.

Shortcuts:

• Eco mode: Press and hold the switch.
• Turbo mode: Double-click the switch from On or Off.
• Strobe mode: Double-click the switch from Turbo.

Battery indicator:

When first activating the light, the indicator on the side switch shows the battery capacity remaining (lasts for ~5 secs upon activation):

• Solid green: ~75-100%
• Solid red: ~25-50%

Low voltage warning:

Yes, the button will flash red as the battery is nearly completely drained.

Lockout mode:

Physically at the tailcap, or electronically by a triple-click lockout. No auto-lockout that I have found.

Reviewer Comments:

This interface is very straight-forward, and largely performs as you would expect. It does have a few quirks though. Unlike most modern light lights, lock-out mode is on triple-click instead of four-click. And there is no way to activate Strobe from off (i.e., the usual triple-click option) – you need to go through Turbo first. This takes a little getting used to, but is not a deal-breaker for me.

I would have liked to have seen a true Moonlight mode, a Beacon mode, and the choice of smooth ramping or stepped levels. At least there was no auto-lock-out mode here (which enthusiasts tend to find annoying).

Circuit Measures

No Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM):

Moon:

Lo:

Med:

High:

Turbo:

There is no sign of PWM, the circuit appears to be fully current-controlled. There is no circuit noise on any level. This is a very good result, similar to the SC33.

Note that circuit noise is not a concern, as it common to many lights. But do find that its absence (as in this case) bodes very well in terms of regulation and output/runtime efficiency. Scroll down to see actual results.

Strobes:

Strobe:

Strobe alternates between 8 Hz and 25 Hz every ~1.5 secs or so. Very disorienting and distracting.

There is no Beacon or SOS mode on the SC29.

Charging:

There is a small LED under the switch which shows solid red when the light is charging. Changes to solid green when the charging is complete.

Resting voltage <3.0V

Resting voltage >3.0V

Unlike a number of modern lights (e.g. SC33), the SC29 does not show two-stage charging (i.e., where there is a lower initial charging rate when the cell is heavily discharged). Here, the initial charging rate starts at ~1.33A and slowly rises as the cell charges. This is a reasonable charging rate for the class, and will charge a 21700 cell relatively quickly.

Standby / Parasitic Drain:

Due to electronic switch, there is bound to be a parasitic standby drain when the light is not in use. I measured this as 26 uA, which is completely negligible (i.e., it would take nearly 22 years to fully discharge the cell). Still I recommend you store the light locked-out, either electronically or at the tailcap, when not in use.

Emitter Measures

In this section, I directly measure key emitter characteristics in terms of colour temperature, tint, and colour rendition. Please see my Emitter Measures page to learn more about what these terms mean, and how I am measuring them. As tint in particular can shift across levels, I typically stick with the highest stably regulated level for all my reported measures.

As explained on that page, since I am using an inexpensive uncalibrated device, you can only make relative comparisons across my reviews (i.e., don’t take these numbers as absolutely accurate values, but as relatively consistent across lights in my testing).

SC29 on Hi:

The key measures above are the colour temperature of ~5600K, and a small positive tint shift (+0.0102 Duv) to a slight greenish-yellow at this temperature. For CRI (Ra), I measured a combined score of 63.

These values are consistent with the performance of a cool white XHP50.2 emitter, although I find the main beam to be very white in actual use. I must say, there is much less tint variation than on other lights with XHP50.2 HD emitters that I’ve examined.

Beamshots

All outdoor beamshots are taken on my Canon PowerShot S5 IS at f/2.7, 0.5 secs exposure, ISO 400, daylight white balance. Learn more about my outdoor beamshots here.

Click on any thumbnail image below to open a full size image in a new window. You can then easily compare beams by switching between tabs.

As you can see above, the SC29 has a narrower spill than the reflectored lights, with more relative light in the mid-ground and distance. Personally, I think the SC33 achieves a better balance between throw and flood – although it is a slightly larger light (with more powerful XHP70.3 HI emitter).

But also note that the green-yellow tint shift at the edge of the periphery is actually not very noticeable in actual use. In fact, I find far less visible tint shifting here than in most XHP50.2 lights

Testing Results

My summary tables are generally reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. In addition to the links above, please see my output measures page for more background.

All my output numbers are based on my home-made lightbox setup. As explained on that methodology page, I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values to estimated lumens. Note that my lightbox calibration runs higher than most hobbyists today, but I’ve kept it to remain consistent with my earlier reviews (when the base calibration standard was first established). On average though, I find my lumen estimates are ~20% higher than most other modern reviewers.

My Peak Intensity/Beam Distance are directly measured with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter.

SC29 Testing Results

The SC29 seems to match fairly closely to the specs on all levels (given that my lightbox’s relative calibration is generously high). I also like the overall spacing. Note that “Eco” is lower than most lights – mainly would consider this more of a “Moonlight” mode (although I would prefer a sub-lumen level for that).

My NIST-calibrated luxmeter is accurately calibrated to an absolute standard, and similarly reports fairly comparable beam intensity on Turbo compared to the specs (although it drops down by 30 secs post-activation to just slightly below spec). I find these output and throw measures very reasonable for this kind of emitter.

To view and download full testing results for all modern lights in my testing, check out my Database page.

Runtimes

As always, my runtimes are done under a small cooling fan, for safety and consistency. To learn more about how to interpret runtime graphs, see my runtimes methodology page. Note again that on average, my lightbox’s calibration seems to be ~20% higher than most modern reviewers.

Overall performance is *very* comparable to the Wurkkos WK15 – which similarly uses the XHP50.2 emitter. Both lights have a relatively efficient, if basic, linear regulation drivers (i.e., you can see the generally direct-drive pattern above). Note however that the SC29 does have some explicit step-downs near the end of the run, which is a good way to extend performance when the battery is nearly exhausted.

This is very reasonable for a budget light, and I do find the level spacing good. Note however that the initial step-down level on Turbo is lower than most lights.

Since I know many are interested in how the initial Turbo modes compare (i.e., how quickly and how far the lights step-down), here is a blow-up of the first few mins of runtime on max output:

Again, very similar performance to the Wurkkos WK15.

Pros and Cons

Overall Rating

Preliminary Conclusions

The SC29 is a more budget-oriented light than SC33, with a scaled down emitter and circuit, as you might expect. In a sense, the SC29 is basically a TIR optic version of the budget Wurkkos WK15, in a slightly beefier build with some revised output levels and a tweaked user interface. It mainly comes down to which beam pattern you prefer between the two.

The circuit performance is certainly reasonable for the budget class, as it features a linear regulator with good efficiency. Of course, this doesn’t compare to the fully-regulated competition, such as the efficient Wurkkos TS22 or the Skilhunt M300 V2 – but those light are also more expensive.

I do like that the published output specs seem pretty accurate for this model, and the range of output levels is good.

The XHP50.2 HD emitter is known for a lot of tint/chromatic variation across its beam, but the TIR seems to be helping here. It is only at the periphery of the beam that you will notice the tint shift.

The build and handfeel is a small step up from the WK15, but I still think this light fills the same niche with the same overall performance (just a different beam profile). As such, I think 3.5 stars is a reasonable score here as well. A very decent budget TIR pocket light, it would be a good choice for the general-use crowd.

Acknowledgement

The SC29 was supplied by Sofirn for review. As always, all opinions are my own and the light received the same rigourous and objective testing as all other lights that I have reviewed. At the time of review, this light with battery retails for ~$30 USD (~$40 CDN) on sale on the Sofirn website here.

The C8L is a budget tactical flashlight featuring fairly high output and very good throw, running on a single included 21700 battery. Also features both tactical and general user interface options.

1. Introduction
2. Manufacturer Specifications
3. Package Details
4. Build
5. User Interface
6. Circuit Measures
7. Emitter Measures
8. Beamshots
9. Testing Results
10. Runtimes
11. Pros and Cons
12. Overall Rating
13. Preliminary Conclusions
14. Acknowledgement

Introduction

My first Sofirn review was of their fairly basic 1×21700 IF25A model, which has been around for a couple of years now. While certainly solid and serviceable, it did have a fairly generic build and presentation. In contrast, the newer C8L has been recommended to me as more representative of what Sofirn is producing now.

The C8L is in the style of a “tactical” light, with a larger head (for better throw, and likely higher sustained output due to great thermal mass) and an actual forward clicky tailcap switch. The C8L comes with the XHP50.3 HI emitter, which should provide for excellent throw and decent output.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to expand beyond my initial focus on compact, EDC-style 1×21700 lights. Let’s see how the C8L performs in my testing.

Manufacturer Specifications

Note: as always, these are simply what the manufacturer provides – scroll down to see my actual testing results.

Package Details

The C8L comes in a modern-looking hard cardboard box with printed specs cover and cut-out foam interior. This design offers good protection for the light (e.g., although the outside corner of the box got dinged in the mail, everything inside as unaffected). Inside, I found:

• Sofirn C8L flashlight
• Sofirn-branded 5000mAh 21700 battery
• Spacer to allow the use of 18650 batteries
• Basic wrist lanyard
• USB-C Charging cable
• 2 Spare O-rings
• Manual

It’s a decent package, consistent with other lights of this class. I would have liked to have seen a holster, since that is my preferred way to carry a light like this, but that is not typically included with budget lights.

Build

From left to right: Armytek 18650 (3500mAh), Sofirn 21700 (5000mAh), Acebeam 21700 USB-C (5100mAh), Acebeam E70, Acebeam P17, Armytek Doberman Pro, Convoy M21F, Lumintop D3, Nitecore MH12SE, Nitecore P20iX,  Sofirn C8L.

The C8L is a nice and solid build, with very good handfeel. It’s about what I would expect for a tactical-style light in overall dimensions and weight – substantial enough, but still pocket-able.

There is a physical forward clicky switch in the tailcap used for the turning the light on/off. I must say, it’s been awhile since I tested a light with an actual physical clicky switch – it is nice to see them again. Switch feel is good, and you can easily flash/momentary signal with the forward clicky.

There are two raised tailcap guards that allow the light to tailstand, and serve as the wrist lanyard attachment point. I note that some earlier reviews reported the light couldn’t tailstand stably, but my sample does fine. Tailcap threads are square-cut and anodized, with good feel. I always recommend you keep a light stored locked out when not in use. Thanks to the anodized tailcap threads, you can do this easily on the C8L by a simple twist of the tailcap.

There is a raised side-mounted electronic switch on the side of the head, with red and green LEDs underneath to show charge status. Feel and traverse of the electronic switch is decent, but could be a bit tighter/firmer (i.e., the cover has a bit too much play). The switch shines a bright red when charging the battery through the light’s USB-C charging port (green when fully charged). The port is located on the opposite side from the switch, with a thick rubber cover. Like the IF25A, I found the cover to fit rather tightly, making it hard to full depress. But I suppose that should help with waterproofness if you can press it down enough.

There is no actual knurling on the light, but concentric ring reeling around the body tube and a good number of deep cut-outs on the head and tailcap that provide good grip. The head fins have flat areas to help minimize rolling (but it can still roll with enough force). Anodizing looks to be good quality, with no damage on my sample. I would describe the finish as satin. Its a nice package, comfortable and well-balanced in the hand with decent grip – but nothing too sharp to rip through clothing or anything.

Inside, the light comes with a Sofirn-branded standard-sized 5000mAh 21700 battery, with a slightly raised flat-top. A battery sleeve is also included, in case you want to use older 18650 cells. There is a good size spring in the head, ensuring good contact.

The C8L uses the XHP50.3 HI, which is basically a low-profile emitter known for its excellent throw while still maintaining decent high output. Reflector has a light orange peel texture. Together, this should provide for decent throw while minimizing any chromatic aberrations.

The bezel is crenelated black aluminum – not too aggressive, so you can headstand stably. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of anti-reflective coating on the lens (which is surprising nowadays). You can see the reflections of my cell phone camera in the macro shots, for example. Still, at least its not contributing to any chromatic aberrations – the beam is pretty consistently cool white across its full range.

User Interface

Gone is the Anduril user interface – instead, we have a more common dual physical/electronic switch interface.

Personally, I find it great to see the classic forward clicky switch interface again: partially press for momentary on, clicked for locked-on. Easy-peasy. You change output levels by the secondary electronic switch in the head.

But there is some hidden sophistication here, as there are actually two different mode groups you can switch between. A press-and-hold of the electronic switch for 3 secs when the light is on will switch between the two modes. Let me describe them here in detail.

Mode 1 (default) available levels: Eco, Low, Medium, High, Turbo, Strobe, SOS, and Beacon

Mode 1, from OFF:

• Tail switch, partial-press: Momentary On in last memorized mode
• Tail switch, single-click: Turns On in last memorized mode
• Tail switch, double-press: Turns On in last memorized mode and then jumps to Turbo (click to stay locked-on in Turbo). You have be pretty rapid on the double-press to jump to Turbo.
• Side switch, press-and-hold: Nothing – but if you click the tail switch while holding down the side switch, the light will activate in Eco mode.
• Side switch, single-click: Nothing

Mode 1, from ON:

• Tail switch, partial-press: Nothing
• Tail switch, single-click: Turns Off
• Side switch, press-and-hold (3 secs): Switch to Mode 2 (see below)
• Side switch, single-click: Steps up to the next non-Turbo constant output mode (in sequence, Eco > Lo > Med > High)
• Side switch, double-click: Turbo
• Side switch, triple-click: Strobe
  • Side switch, double-click when in Strobe: Cycle through in sequence Strobe > SOS > Beacon (with no mode memory)

Mode 1, Mode memory:

Yes, for non-Turbo constant output modes.

Mode 1 Shortcuts:

• Eco mode: Press and hold the side switch while turning on at the tail switch.
• Turbo mode: Double-click the side switch from On, or double-press the tail switch from Off.

Mode 2 available levels: Medium, Turbo, and Strobe.

Mode 2 functions basically as a stripped-down version of Mode 1. The main differences are:

• Single-click of the side switch only selects between Medium and Turbo now.
• Double-click of the the tail or side switch goes to Strobe instead of Turbo.

Otherwise, the two modes function the same way.

Low voltage warning:

Yes, the main light will step down as the battery is running low. It will then turn Off at ~2.95V

Lock-out mode:

Yes, but physically – you lock-out the light by a twist of the tailcap.

Battery indicator:

When first activating the light, the indicator on the side switch shows the battery voltage  (lasts for ~5 secs):

• Solid green: ~70-100%
• Flashing green: ~40-70%
• Solid red: ~10-40%
• Flashing red: 0-10%

Reviewer Comments:

The default Mode 1 set is very serviceable, and functions largely as you would expect. I particularly like the shortcut to jump to Eco mode, by holding down the side switch when activating at the tailcap. And shortcuts to Turbo are always appreciated. I also like the very intuitive battery read-out when activating the light.

I have to say though, I really don’t get the point of Mode 2. I could maybe see the value of a scaled down output set that excluded the blinky modes. Or, alternatively, a simple “tactical” interface of just Turbo and Strobe. But I don’t know how many people would want this half-way in-between option.

Circuit Measures

Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM):

Eco:

Low:

Turbo:

There is no sign of PWM or noise on any level, the circuit appears to be fully current-controlled.

Strobes:

Strobe:

Strobe alternates between 7 Hz and 16 Hz every ~1.75 secs or so. Very distracting.

SOS:

Beacon:

Beacon strobe is a slow 0.5 Hz (i.e., one full power flash every 2 seconds).

Charging:

The switch button shines solid red when the light is charging (switches to solid green when the charging is complete).

Resting voltage <3.0V

Resting voltage >3.0V

The C8L lacks the multi-stage charging feature seen on many lights (i.e., with a lower charging rate for when cells are heavily discharged). Charging rate is reasonably fast for a 21700 cell. Charging terminated at ~4.19V on my sample.

One oddity when charging – if you click the side switch while charging, the light will activate in Eco. I must say I was a bit surprised when I discovered that by accident. But I suppose it could be useful if you need an emergency light/night light while charging.

Standby / Parasitic Drain:

None. That is one of the nice things about a physical clicky switch, no standby current. 🙂 And you can always lock-out the light by a twist of the tailcap, to prevent accidental activation.

 Emitter Measures

This section is a new feature of my reviews, where I directly measure key emitter characteristics in terms of colour temperature, tint, and colour rendition. Please see my Emitter Measures page to learn more about what these terms mean, and how I am measuring them.

As explained on that page, since I am using an inexpensive uncalibrated device, you can only make relative comparisons across my reviews (i.e., don’t take these numbers as absolutely accurate values, but as relatively consistent across lights in my testing).

The key measures above are the colour temperature of ~5970K, and the slight positive tint shift (+0.0101 Duv) to yellow-green at this temperature.

For CRI (Ra), I measured a combined score of 71.

These values are very consistent with the XHP50.3 emitter, and match my visual experience of this light.

Beamshots

All outdoor beamshots are taken on my Canon PowerShot S5 IS at f/2.7, 0.5 secs exposure, ISO 400, daylight white balance. The bend in the road is approximately 40 meters (~45 yards) from the camera. Learn more about my outdoor beamshots here (scroll down for the floody light position used in this review).

Click on any thumbnail image below to open a full size image in a new window. You can then easily compare beams by switching between tabs.

As you can see above, the beam pattern for C8L is very much on the throwy side, with a nice and bright hotspot (as expected for this emitter).

Testing Results

My summary tables are generally reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. In addition to the links above, please see my output measures page for more background.

All my output numbers are based on my home-made lightbox setup. As explained on that methodology page, I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values to estimated lumens. My Peak Intensity/Beam Distance are directly measured with a NIST-certified Extech EA31 lightmeter.

C8L Testing Results

The Eco mode is not as low in my testing as the specs report (i.e., more of a typical low). The higher outputs in my lightbox seem to correlate pretty well with the specs.

My beam distance measures are slightly lower than the specs, but are within a reasonable range to them (i.e., it is quite a strong thrower).

To see full testing results for all modern lights in my testing, check out my Database page.

Runtimes

As always, my runtimes are done under a small cooling fan, for safety and consistency. To learn more about how to interpret runtime graphs, see my runtimes methodology page.

The C8L seems to be very efficient, with overall output/runtime performance for the XHP50.3 coming in a little below the XHP70.2/SST-70 lights, but above the SST-40 lights, as you would expect. But max output rivals the higher output emitters, which is very impressive.

The regulation is very stable and flat on the Hi and Med levels, but showed an interesting step pattern on the Turbo run. I assumed this was due to thermal management and the effect of my standard cooling fan, so I did an additional Turbo run without the fan (red trace above). Based on earlier reviews, I expected the C8L to step down to the Hi level and stay there. Instead, without the fan, the C8L stepped down to a lower level than Hi, but still stepped back up to an intermediate level in an apparently thermally-regulated pattern.

I haven’t seen quite this pattern before, so I thought it would be good to compare the runs at a shorter timeframe (by default, all runs are under a cooling fan unless stated otherwise):

Interestingly, the light doesn’t actually step-down, but rather gradually ramps down to lower levels. After some variable period of time (presumably as the light cools), it then ramps back up to a higher level. But doesn’t level off at the defined Hi or Turbo levels, rather at a series of intermediate outputs. This is a fairly distinctive thermal management feature.

In any case, the light is certainly well regulated at every level, with very good efficiency for a XHP50.3 HI emitter.

Pros and Cons

Overall Rating

Preliminary Conclusions

The C8L is a very impressive light. The build quality and hand feel are top notch, on par with with more expensive lights (although I do find the electronic switch cover a bit loose in feel). I would also appreciate a few more package extras (like a belt holster), but this is a very good package for the price.

The beam pattern is what you would expect for the size reflector and emitter – a lot of throw, with decent spill. And there are no obvious chromatic abberations – a consistent (and accurately labelled) 6000K cool white beam.

I like the implementation of the dual switch user interface, with easy shortcuts to min or max output. The UI is very serviceable, although it could use a few tweaks (like a revised second mode set). Output levels are reasonable (note there is no Moonlight mode, but that is not surprising in a larger throw light like this).

Overall output/runtime efficiency seems very good for the emitter type. Regulation pattern is also very flat and stable, but with an interesting thermally-mediated ramp down (and ramp back up) on the Turbo level. It all seems very well thought out.

No surprises, this light works exactly as advertised – and is a great bargain to boot. After testing this model, I am definitely interested in reviewing additional Sofirn lights in the future.

Acknowledgement

The C8L was supplied by Sofirn for review. As always, all opinions are my own and the light received the same rigourous and objective testing as all other lights that I have reviewed. At the time of review, this light retails for ~$40 USD (~$55 CDN).