Somehow I’ve gotten on a flashlight kick.
As an aircraft mechanic working night shift, I often have the need for a good flashlight. A lot of the guys at work have Streamlights that they bought from the Snap-On tool truck guy, but I always knew they paid about $120 for them, and, while they’re very reliable, durable flashlights, I never could bring myself to pay that much for one, and I’ve used the typical hardware store flashlights that use disposable alkaline batteries (Rayovac, Coast, Energizer, etc). And, while they’ve served their purpose (especially since the company provides batteries), I decided I was ready to upgrade to something brighter and higher quality, especially since the aforementioned cheaply-made alkaline battery lights always seem to eventually start flickering or stop working altogether.
Through watching a lot of gun review videos on YouTube, I heard about a Chinese company called Olight, and got interested in them. A lot of people really talked them up, so I ordered a couple of them as Christmas gifts for family members (Warrior Mini 2). I tried them out, and was impressed. These are small form-factor lights (easily fit in a pocket) that are very bright (1700 lumens), and run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Through doing some research, I discovered that there are MANY Chinese companies making these powerful LED lithium-ion flashlights, and that Olight is actually one of the more expensive brands, and use proprietary batteries and a magnetic charging system that, while novel, is also proprietary (not really a good thing).
I like getting a lot for my $$$, so naturally I discovered that there are a few companies that make very good quality flashlights for not a lot of money (3 of them are Sofirn, Wurkkos, and Convoy). Apparently Sofirn and Wurkkos are affiliated, somehow.
I’d gotten some gift cards for Christmas, and kinda went crazy once I found out how relatively cheap these things are.
So far I’ve bought 3 Sofirn lights:
- SP35 (will be my primary work light. Has a constant-current buck driver for high efficiency)
- IF25A (really cool pocket floodlight with high CRI 4000K color temperature and sophisticated Anduril 2 user interface)
- HS40 (2000-lumen headlamp, on order, currently on its way, but it’s on the slow boat from China)
1 Wurkkos light:
- FC12 (pocket tactical spotlight with high-performance SFT40 diode, in purple, for the wife)
A few spare batteries:
- 2 Molicell P26A high discharge current 18650s
- 1 Samsung 40T high discharge current 21700
- 1 Molicell P42A high discharge current 21700
And a battery charger:
- Vapcell S4+
It’s really amazing how cheap all this stuff is. You can get these lights on Amazon, but they’re quite a bit cheaper if you order them directly from China, if you don’t mind waiting. And these lights are so bright! It’s amazing to me, as a kid who grew up in the 80s, fascinated by Maglites and Black & Decker rechargeable flashlights from K-Mart that never worked like they were supposed to. The technology that makes these lights possible is pretty amazing.
My next purchase will probably be a Convoy brand light. Most likely an S2+ or an S21, with a warm color temperature, high-CRI diode, because I have really enjoyed my Sofirn IF25A in 4000K.
The wife thinks I’m crazy. But I know im
not the only one. I’ve done some searching, and there are a couple of good flashlight threads here.
This one is 23 pages long!
And here is a more recent one.
If you’re still using your old Rayovac or 100-lumen, 5-pound Maglite, I encourage you to look around and do some research. There are some amazing flashlights available for CHEAP in 2022!
Life’s too short for crappy, dim flashlights!
As an aircraft mechanic working night shift, I often have the need for a good flashlight. A lot of the guys at work have Streamlights that they bought from the Snap-On tool truck guy, but I always knew they paid about $120 for them, and, while they’re very reliable, durable flashlights, I never could bring myself to pay that much for one, and I’ve used the typical hardware store flashlights that use disposable alkaline batteries (Rayovac, Coast, Energizer, etc). And, while they’ve served their purpose (especially since the company provides batteries), I decided I was ready to upgrade to something brighter and higher quality, especially since the aforementioned cheaply-made alkaline battery lights always seem to eventually start flickering or stop working altogether.
Through watching a lot of gun review videos on YouTube, I heard about a Chinese company called Olight, and got interested in them. A lot of people really talked them up, so I ordered a couple of them as Christmas gifts for family members (Warrior Mini 2). I tried them out, and was impressed. These are small form-factor lights (easily fit in a pocket) that are very bright (1700 lumens), and run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Through doing some research, I discovered that there are MANY Chinese companies making these powerful LED lithium-ion flashlights, and that Olight is actually one of the more expensive brands, and use proprietary batteries and a magnetic charging system that, while novel, is also proprietary (not really a good thing).
I like getting a lot for my $$$, so naturally I discovered that there are a few companies that make very good quality flashlights for not a lot of money (3 of them are Sofirn, Wurkkos, and Convoy). Apparently Sofirn and Wurkkos are affiliated, somehow.
I’d gotten some gift cards for Christmas, and kinda went crazy once I found out how relatively cheap these things are.
So far I’ve bought 3 Sofirn lights:
- SP35 (will be my primary work light. Has a constant-current buck driver for high efficiency)
- IF25A (really cool pocket floodlight with high CRI 4000K color temperature and sophisticated Anduril 2 user interface)
- HS40 (2000-lumen headlamp, on order, currently on its way, but it’s on the slow boat from China)
1 Wurkkos light:
- FC12 (pocket tactical spotlight with high-performance SFT40 diode, in purple, for the wife)
A few spare batteries:
- 2 Molicell P26A high discharge current 18650s
- 1 Samsung 40T high discharge current 21700
- 1 Molicell P42A high discharge current 21700
And a battery charger:
- Vapcell S4+
It’s really amazing how cheap all this stuff is. You can get these lights on Amazon, but they’re quite a bit cheaper if you order them directly from China, if you don’t mind waiting. And these lights are so bright! It’s amazing to me, as a kid who grew up in the 80s, fascinated by Maglites and Black & Decker rechargeable flashlights from K-Mart that never worked like they were supposed to. The technology that makes these lights possible is pretty amazing.
My next purchase will probably be a Convoy brand light. Most likely an S2+ or an S21, with a warm color temperature, high-CRI diode, because I have really enjoyed my Sofirn IF25A in 4000K.
The wife thinks I’m crazy. But I know im
not the only one. I’ve done some searching, and there are a couple of good flashlight threads here.
This one is 23 pages long!
And here is a more recent one.
If you’re still using your old Rayovac or 100-lumen, 5-pound Maglite, I encourage you to look around and do some research. There are some amazing flashlights available for CHEAP in 2022!
Life’s too short for crappy, dim flashlights!