The tube is just barely of enough width to slide in the included cell. The newly arrived NCR (aka Liticola) cell does NOT slide in. But I still like this light. Of all my recent purchases, I am happiest with it when price is taken in to consideration. This is the light I have it clipped on me all the time. Even with some of the limitations/oddity, this is one of the light flashaholic should have.Finally received this via slow boat from China. For about $10, it is a good light. There are never any good zoomies but this one is good and has lots of features for the price. The only thing odd about it is that USB-C socket is recessed too much but the included cable does work. My USB-C from PowerAdd power bank triple connector does NOT fit. The charging via USB-C is slow though (about 0.3A) Has decent quality lanyard with quick disconnect and cinch adjustment, pocket clip, magnetic tail cap, very good tint, great zooming capability, 3mode Hi-Med-Low with memory. The mode change is by long press which is nice. It came with Sofirn 3000mAh battery which I understand is decent. Even has two leds in the e-switch which lights up to show the current battery level. The light is NOT beefy (you will NOT mistake it for a Convoy!) I would say it is average but much better than other $10 lights except the recommended PeetPen but only if you managed to snag it for $10 instead of its normal price.
In a nutshell, highly recommended and a great light both as useful novelty (zoomie with good tint) and for gifting if I had few more.
The zoom is good and does NOT have sharp cutoff and zoomed in is even better as it becomes more throwy but maintains the spill. The hotspot is like normal light when fully zoomed in. The zooming is by twisty action and it will maintain the position but the light would be little longer when zoomed in.
If you buy it, please let me know your impressions. I am amazed at what flashlight can get these days at such ridiculously cheap prices. Falling off the wagon has been fun so far
Got A New Flashlight...
- Thread starter Warstud
- Start date
Is it a protected cell?
non-protected but it is slightly thicker than the included Sofirn Black 3000 cell. If I jam it in, it will not come out. These are the new batteries.
www.aliexpress.com
7.12US $ 20% OFF|Hot Liitokala NCR18650B 3.7v 3400 mAh 18650 Lithium Rechargeable Battery with Pointed (No PCB) For Flashlight batteries|Replacement Batteries| - AliExpress
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Perhaps those LiitoKala cells have two or more layers of heatshrink on them?
What is the base cell?
I bought 2, Orbitronics protected 18650's years ago, their heatshrink seemed fairly thick, but super fragile, and tore easily.
I bought a roll of new cheap gray heatshrink and rewrapped them and that rewrap, even though thinner than that which came on the orbitronics, has proven quite durable.
Sharpie marker does not seem so permanent atop it though.
I keep thinking about cell shopping, but cant yet justify a purchase. My armytek c2 Promax needs a cell which can handle at least 10 amp CDR( continuous discharge rate) to handle the 9.33 amps I measured on Turbo2( 3720 lumens), and the only one I have that can handle that, is the 21700, 5000 mah cell it came with that is supposedly rated 15 amp CDR..
The proprietary Olight H2R 18650 cell I have, which says high discharge, I can't find any specs as to its CDR .
I have another 18650 cell, from thrunite, which came with my C2 portable 18650 usbA surce, which claims 3400 mah and high discharge, but from what i have read on BLF, is likely a panasonic ncr18650b, which is I think 5.4 amps CDR max. Enough for the C2, but ....
What is the base cell?
I bought 2, Orbitronics protected 18650's years ago, their heatshrink seemed fairly thick, but super fragile, and tore easily.
I bought a roll of new cheap gray heatshrink and rewrapped them and that rewrap, even though thinner than that which came on the orbitronics, has proven quite durable.
Sharpie marker does not seem so permanent atop it though.
I keep thinking about cell shopping, but cant yet justify a purchase. My armytek c2 Promax needs a cell which can handle at least 10 amp CDR( continuous discharge rate) to handle the 9.33 amps I measured on Turbo2( 3720 lumens), and the only one I have that can handle that, is the 21700, 5000 mah cell it came with that is supposedly rated 15 amp CDR..
The proprietary Olight H2R 18650 cell I have, which says high discharge, I can't find any specs as to its CDR .
I have another 18650 cell, from thrunite, which came with my C2 portable 18650 usbA surce, which claims 3400 mah and high discharge, but from what i have read on BLF, is likely a panasonic ncr18650b, which is I think 5.4 amps CDR max. Enough for the C2, but ....
I found yet another great use for that cheap zoomie. The tailcap is very light and I can use it as wall stud finder. Get it in the vicinity of a stud and it just magically slides on and sticks sticks to the hidden drywall screw! I had never used this method of finding stud in the wall because (of course!) I have $30.00 fancy multi-LED stud finder purchased from Costco!
Got this for about half price; No instructions in the package but trying to figure it out. The build quality looks good. Has both 4500 and 6500 LED's in it for high and low beam. The built in phone charger is a plus but non-replaceable 21700 battery is minus. I wonder who else got the new CSTEBOKE unpronounceable name brand light! Most of you know that you have to get the discount code from the "other forum".
I've been using and comparing all three of my more powerful Headlamps, often.
The Rantizon Sofirn d25 clone, the Armytek Wizard C2 pro max warm, and the Sofirn HS40 with the warmer of the two LED offerings.
The tasks have been worktable, Underhood/under vehicle, or walking my Dog.
Walking the dog, I like putting the body of the headlamp low enough on my forehead, that I can position it to block car headlamps from my eyes, yet Still hit the trail ahead.
The larger 21700 based Armytek C2promax works better at blocking oncoming car headlamps, but it has such a wide hotspotless beam, that all the light outputted from 10 to 2 oclock or higher, is above what my eyes can see, and this light is basically wasted.
I modified the holder to fit my forehead better. I like how easy it is to rotate up or down, compared to the silicone loops of the sofirn holder, which resists rotating up or down
The Sofirn HS40 has a much tighter hotspot, and I found I can get my dog to follow the hotspot and I can also dictate the pace easier than with the Armytek. I can set it to a lower overall light level than the armytek, and light up what I/we need to see, like other dog bombs or shiny tree sap, or burrs/foxtails.
I like the stepless ramping feature of the Sofirn, but it brightens and dims quickly and I usually go past what I intend, and it takes a while to dial in a light level, say between medium and high, if I were to use the moonlight/low/medium/turbo options instead.
On the workshop or on the vehicle, the Sofirn hs40 and armytek emitter, off on the side of the head, will cause a shadow on the left side of taller objects, whereas the sofirn d25 with emitters in center of forehead, there are no shadows. The d25/Rantizon is not as bright as HS40, and it is not as good at blocking car headlights when walking the dog and is a distant third choice for that reason, for that task..
The 2000 lumen claim of the HS40 seems a bit high, if the d25 is 1200 lumens. The armyteks 3720 lumens on turbo 2 is rather insane, but the sofirns narrower beam can throw further, and I am finding I like a hotspot with throw more so than the wide even light everywhere ahead of me.
Especially last night, as I saw a pair of eyes that reflected a really weird blueish green light, and thought to myself I never have seen a dog's eyes reflect that color, then I saw no collar on the dog, nor Human with the dog, then I noticed the dog was a coyote that was trotting directly at me. I double clicked turbo, spotlighting it, and then My dog saw the Coyote, and went absolutely next level nuts barking and snarling, and the Coyote veered off, trotting down the middle of the right lane as traffic was approaching and braking.
I saw another pair of those same color eyes closer to my home, off in the distance as well. If I did not have the headlamp on, seeing those blue eyes reflecting back at me I might have walked right into the oncoming Coyote.
If I purchased the Sofirn HS40 first, I would not have purchased the the $$$ Armytek c2 pro max, even though I really like it and its 5000 mah battery. Every time I think it must be getting depleted and run my USB meter when charging to see how many mah the battery takes, only once did it approach 3000Mah showing I had tons more potential use before a recharge was needed.
I guess I am used to having about 2500 to 2800 mah to use, so its useable 4700 mah is quite an increase in runtime.
The rantizon/ D25 clone excels above the worktable, and under the hood, and I am leaning towards favoring the HS40 over the c2promax for dog walking due to the hot spot's farther throw, and stepless ramping.
I think 3 headlamps are just about the right number, to keep one handy in various places, rather than drag just one from task to task.
The Sofirn's HS40 included 3000 mAh battery. ....... Yesterday, I was tasking at near turbo output levels for a while when it dimmed. When it was done charging, it had accepted 2860mah out of its rated 3000mah. I think it is a decent capacity battery, especially as it only adds 2 or 3$ to the light itself when ordered with it. My older panasonic ncr18650b cells rated at 3400 mah, only seem to accept about 2800 or 2900 when recharging from lowe voltage disconnect, so this 3$ 3000mah Sofirn cell is basically on par, capacity wise.
I used the rantizon/D25s while it was charging and missed the ~ 600 more lumen potential of the HS40, on the specific task.
I think the Sofirn HS40 is a lot of bang for the buck. (Under 30$) I do wish it were easier to aim up or down inside its holder, and that when stepless ramping up or down, that it ramped slower. Also while it ramps upto the 2000 lumen turbo, it does not ramp down to the moonlight mode, it ramps down to low, when I would often choose a setting between moonlight and low.
The HS40's USB-C charging port's rubber cover does fit nice and tight with some manipulation/persuasion, but I would not really trust it for hard rain or submersion, where I would the Armytek, which is rated for 10 meters submersion. I also often forget to return the rubber cover after charging as I am more used to the magnetic tailcap charging of my previous Olight H2R or the Armytek.
I've taken no amperage readings of the Sofirn HS40 at various output levels, but the battery life has been better than expected.
The Rantizon Sofirn d25 clone, the Armytek Wizard C2 pro max warm, and the Sofirn HS40 with the warmer of the two LED offerings.
The tasks have been worktable, Underhood/under vehicle, or walking my Dog.
Walking the dog, I like putting the body of the headlamp low enough on my forehead, that I can position it to block car headlamps from my eyes, yet Still hit the trail ahead.
The larger 21700 based Armytek C2promax works better at blocking oncoming car headlamps, but it has such a wide hotspotless beam, that all the light outputted from 10 to 2 oclock or higher, is above what my eyes can see, and this light is basically wasted.
I modified the holder to fit my forehead better. I like how easy it is to rotate up or down, compared to the silicone loops of the sofirn holder, which resists rotating up or down
The Sofirn HS40 has a much tighter hotspot, and I found I can get my dog to follow the hotspot and I can also dictate the pace easier than with the Armytek. I can set it to a lower overall light level than the armytek, and light up what I/we need to see, like other dog bombs or shiny tree sap, or burrs/foxtails.
I like the stepless ramping feature of the Sofirn, but it brightens and dims quickly and I usually go past what I intend, and it takes a while to dial in a light level, say between medium and high, if I were to use the moonlight/low/medium/turbo options instead.
On the workshop or on the vehicle, the Sofirn hs40 and armytek emitter, off on the side of the head, will cause a shadow on the left side of taller objects, whereas the sofirn d25 with emitters in center of forehead, there are no shadows. The d25/Rantizon is not as bright as HS40, and it is not as good at blocking car headlights when walking the dog and is a distant third choice for that reason, for that task..
The 2000 lumen claim of the HS40 seems a bit high, if the d25 is 1200 lumens. The armyteks 3720 lumens on turbo 2 is rather insane, but the sofirns narrower beam can throw further, and I am finding I like a hotspot with throw more so than the wide even light everywhere ahead of me.
Especially last night, as I saw a pair of eyes that reflected a really weird blueish green light, and thought to myself I never have seen a dog's eyes reflect that color, then I saw no collar on the dog, nor Human with the dog, then I noticed the dog was a coyote that was trotting directly at me. I double clicked turbo, spotlighting it, and then My dog saw the Coyote, and went absolutely next level nuts barking and snarling, and the Coyote veered off, trotting down the middle of the right lane as traffic was approaching and braking.
I saw another pair of those same color eyes closer to my home, off in the distance as well. If I did not have the headlamp on, seeing those blue eyes reflecting back at me I might have walked right into the oncoming Coyote.
If I purchased the Sofirn HS40 first, I would not have purchased the the $$$ Armytek c2 pro max, even though I really like it and its 5000 mah battery. Every time I think it must be getting depleted and run my USB meter when charging to see how many mah the battery takes, only once did it approach 3000Mah showing I had tons more potential use before a recharge was needed.
I guess I am used to having about 2500 to 2800 mah to use, so its useable 4700 mah is quite an increase in runtime.
The rantizon/ D25 clone excels above the worktable, and under the hood, and I am leaning towards favoring the HS40 over the c2promax for dog walking due to the hot spot's farther throw, and stepless ramping.
I think 3 headlamps are just about the right number, to keep one handy in various places, rather than drag just one from task to task.
The Sofirn's HS40 included 3000 mAh battery. ....... Yesterday, I was tasking at near turbo output levels for a while when it dimmed. When it was done charging, it had accepted 2860mah out of its rated 3000mah. I think it is a decent capacity battery, especially as it only adds 2 or 3$ to the light itself when ordered with it. My older panasonic ncr18650b cells rated at 3400 mah, only seem to accept about 2800 or 2900 when recharging from lowe voltage disconnect, so this 3$ 3000mah Sofirn cell is basically on par, capacity wise.
I used the rantizon/D25s while it was charging and missed the ~ 600 more lumen potential of the HS40, on the specific task.
I think the Sofirn HS40 is a lot of bang for the buck. (Under 30$) I do wish it were easier to aim up or down inside its holder, and that when stepless ramping up or down, that it ramped slower. Also while it ramps upto the 2000 lumen turbo, it does not ramp down to the moonlight mode, it ramps down to low, when I would often choose a setting between moonlight and low.
The HS40's USB-C charging port's rubber cover does fit nice and tight with some manipulation/persuasion, but I would not really trust it for hard rain or submersion, where I would the Armytek, which is rated for 10 meters submersion. I also often forget to return the rubber cover after charging as I am more used to the magnetic tailcap charging of my previous Olight H2R or the Armytek.
I've taken no amperage readings of the Sofirn HS40 at various output levels, but the battery life has been better than expected.
Got this neat keychain light with USB-C charging. For such a small light, the output is impressive, and tint is decent, too.
$9.99 if you have Prime.
$9.99 if you have Prime.
I got one of those bug light/lanterns. Does that count?
Owen Lucas
$100 Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2021
- Messages
- 2,608
Looks nice but this is a real keychain flashlight. Smaller than a key and bright enough when you need it. I've been using them for years. Paint wears off and battery lasts a long time. $6.Got this neat keychain light with USB-C charging. For such a small light, the output is impressive, and tint is decent, too.
$9.99 if you have Prime.
10 real Lumens but if you are reading this topic, minimum requirement is triple of quad digits of Lumens.
LOL!
I like the size of that Streamlight, but the four LR41 button batteries - not so much, although that 8-hour runtime is very respectable, although they say it's "declining."
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This light a while back was priced @ $13.50 with a additional 50% off coupon, and I could not resist:
I linked this to a friend, whose order arrived before mine did. He was raving about it, and had bought 3 more instantly.
I too was impressed when mine arrived. 1000 lumens believable, great throw, 5500K or so, but noticeable PWM strobe effect on some output levels, which I did not really mind.
The 16340 battery provided is OK, I bought some vapcell T8s 16340's that require 200 more mah to recharge fully within the light and add significantly to the run time, which is not all that great, compared to when one is used to 18650's far greater capacity.
The Mini USB port cover is a little loose.
The headstrap itself is very good. Stays put, comfortable, adjusts up or down nicely
Great little light, could keep it on my forehead between uses, and forget it was there, or stuff it in a pocket T shirt chest pocket.
Unfortunately I swapped a battery , and reversed the polarity, and the next day it did not work.
So I had 3 16340 batteries and no device for them. Intolerable!
Decided to order the 4000K 95+ CRI Sofirn HS10 from sofirn dot com, ship directly from China.
Took 16 days to arrive. spent 4 days in LA harbor. Sofirn tracking quite good.
It Blows away the above linked budget light. Colors do pop, especially green trees. Great throw and nice even spill. 1100 lumens believable. Pretty insane amount of light for such a small light. USB C recharging. My armytek c2 pro max is also 4000k, and using them together on most objects their color seems to match perfectly, but green trees with teh 95+cri HS10 were a much brighter green than the armyteks 80+ CRI.
It starts blinking once, then twice, as battery gets low. I removed Sofirn labelled 800mah battery about a minute after the two blink warning, and battery read 2.87v. It took 599 mah maxing out at 0.83 amp rate, though it claims 1 amp charging.
It read 4.16v when Done charging via USB within the light.
I did not really expect to like these smaller 16340 based lights but I honestly see them getting the most use, other than dog walking, where the small body is not big enough to block oncoming car headlights from my eyeballs when mounted low on forehead.
But Combining the armyteks wide floody 4000k spill and 3720 potential lumens, with the HS10s throwy nature with same color light makes for a ridiculous amount of light available, far more than needed. Turn them off and go blind until eyes readjust.
The stepless ramping function of the HS 10 and HS 40 makes me wish the Armytek had it.
The ramping on HS10 is slower, more precise, and goes from 1 moonlite to 1100 turbo lumens, or back down, over ~4.5 seconds.
The HS40 ramps from low( not moonlite) to turbo or back down, in less than 2 seconds and much harder to dial in the desired light level without going past it three times and then saying good enough.
Now, I have a few healthy 14500's and only A decade old sipik 68 clone to use them in. HArd to believe I once found the clone so impressive, as it is just dwarfed by what is now available.
I have a separate charger ( nitecore I4v2) but most of the budget 14500 lights do not have built in charging, and I have decided I prefer it as opposed to an external charger.
I use 18650 cells in bluetooth speaker or a dog toe nail grinder, and I've been reaching for my 18650 headlamps to chartge those batteries within it, so I can use the USB meter and see how much amperage the battery is accepting and how much total mah the battery required.
I linked this to a friend, whose order arrived before mine did. He was raving about it, and had bought 3 more instantly.
I too was impressed when mine arrived. 1000 lumens believable, great throw, 5500K or so, but noticeable PWM strobe effect on some output levels, which I did not really mind.
The 16340 battery provided is OK, I bought some vapcell T8s 16340's that require 200 more mah to recharge fully within the light and add significantly to the run time, which is not all that great, compared to when one is used to 18650's far greater capacity.
The Mini USB port cover is a little loose.
The headstrap itself is very good. Stays put, comfortable, adjusts up or down nicely
Great little light, could keep it on my forehead between uses, and forget it was there, or stuff it in a pocket T shirt chest pocket.
Unfortunately I swapped a battery , and reversed the polarity, and the next day it did not work.
So I had 3 16340 batteries and no device for them. Intolerable!
Decided to order the 4000K 95+ CRI Sofirn HS10 from sofirn dot com, ship directly from China.
Took 16 days to arrive. spent 4 days in LA harbor. Sofirn tracking quite good.
It Blows away the above linked budget light. Colors do pop, especially green trees. Great throw and nice even spill. 1100 lumens believable. Pretty insane amount of light for such a small light. USB C recharging. My armytek c2 pro max is also 4000k, and using them together on most objects their color seems to match perfectly, but green trees with teh 95+cri HS10 were a much brighter green than the armyteks 80+ CRI.
It starts blinking once, then twice, as battery gets low. I removed Sofirn labelled 800mah battery about a minute after the two blink warning, and battery read 2.87v. It took 599 mah maxing out at 0.83 amp rate, though it claims 1 amp charging.
It read 4.16v when Done charging via USB within the light.
I did not really expect to like these smaller 16340 based lights but I honestly see them getting the most use, other than dog walking, where the small body is not big enough to block oncoming car headlights from my eyeballs when mounted low on forehead.
But Combining the armyteks wide floody 4000k spill and 3720 potential lumens, with the HS10s throwy nature with same color light makes for a ridiculous amount of light available, far more than needed. Turn them off and go blind until eyes readjust.
The stepless ramping function of the HS 10 and HS 40 makes me wish the Armytek had it.
The ramping on HS10 is slower, more precise, and goes from 1 moonlite to 1100 turbo lumens, or back down, over ~4.5 seconds.
The HS40 ramps from low( not moonlite) to turbo or back down, in less than 2 seconds and much harder to dial in the desired light level without going past it three times and then saying good enough.
Now, I have a few healthy 14500's and only A decade old sipik 68 clone to use them in. HArd to believe I once found the clone so impressive, as it is just dwarfed by what is now available.
I have a separate charger ( nitecore I4v2) but most of the budget 14500 lights do not have built in charging, and I have decided I prefer it as opposed to an external charger.
I use 18650 cells in bluetooth speaker or a dog toe nail grinder, and I've been reaching for my 18650 headlamps to chartge those batteries within it, so I can use the USB meter and see how much amperage the battery is accepting and how much total mah the battery required.
How hot does it get in turbo? And how quickly?
I'd imagine this much output (if true) in such a small body would get toasty right away. I know my Astrolux S1 with the shorty 18350 tube gets hot quickly. Thankfully, this HS10 is a headlight, so you don't have to hold it in your hand.
Yeah, the 16340 form factor is nice; however, I'm not aware of any li-ion cells in this size that can deliver higher amounts of current for extended periods of time. I do have one 16340 light that I would attach to my hat for night walking. I now have it mounted to my bike and use it as a blinky to attract attention when biking during the day.
OLD Dorcy : Needs a new battery . Over 20 years old . Had great beam for long distance . Better than the NEW Dorcy .
The full body of this small light does gets hot, quick, on turbo, as do all the powerful ones, on turbo.How hot does it get in turbo? And how quickly?
I'd imagine this much output (if true) in such a small body would get toasty right away. I know my Astrolux S1 with the shorty 18350 tube gets hot quickly. Thankfully, this HS10 is a headlight, so you don't have to hold it in your hand.
Yeah, the 16340 form factor is nice; however, I'm not aware of any li-ion cells in this size that can deliver higher amounts of current for extended periods of time. I do have one 16340 light that I would attach to my hat for night walking. I now have it mounted to my bike and use it as a blinky to attract attention when biking during the day.
The big ones just take a bit longer.
Turbo is obnoxious, constricts pupils, kills night vision. But power is good, grunt grunt.
Stepless ramping down to desired/needed level..has memory. On off as needed.
The vapcell T8 16340s i got, claim 3 amps Continuous Discharge rate.
Not sure the Sofirn provided 16340 battery, just that it takes 150 to 200 less mah to charge fully compared.to vapcell, and 50 more than the 16340 which came with my smoked budget headlmp.
I did not measure hs10 tailcap current on turbo, yet, but i doubt it is 3 amps.
My old nitecore I4v2 charger does not seem to display charge level of the 16340s properly. Shows one of 3 bars , never changes, take battery out, it measures 4.14v, place in hs10 plug, into usb-c and it accepts only 0.14amp and few minutes later stops charging.
