Sofirn SF14 V2.0 Flashlight Review
The Sofirn SF14 V2.0 flashlight is an updated flashlight offering AA and 14500 support, with a reverse clicky switch and a Cree XP-G2. Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Sofirn SF14 V2.0 Flashlight product page.
Versions
This is the new version (v2.0). So there’s an original version and this one. Among the 2.0 edition, there are two possibilities. One is with charger and cell, and one is without. Here’s what Sofirn says about the upgrade to v2.0: “NOTE: We upgraded SF14 with better-anodized shell, more reasonable construction, and more stable performance. It’s a better mini flashlight you deserve!”
Price
This light is currently $19.99 on amazon. I have a 35% off code for this light on Amazon! The code is YL87LKX4.
Short Review
This is a nice little light, and I appreciate that it supports Li-Ion and other chemistries. It has a simple UI, and I appreciate that!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Sofirn SF14 V2.0 | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-G2 (5350-5700K) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $19.99 |
| Cell: | 1xAA |
| High Runtime | – |
| LVP? | No |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 230 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 160 (69.6% of claim)^ |
| Claimed Throw (m) | |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 90lux @ 3.873m = 1350cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 73.5^ |
| All my Sofirn reviews! | |
| Sofirn SF14 V2.0 | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Cree XP-G2 (5350-5700K) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $19.99 |
| Cell: | 1×14500 |
| High Runtime | – |
| LVP? | No |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 550 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 520 (94.5% of claim)^ |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 112 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 232lux @ 4.191m = 4075cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 127.7 (114% of claim)^ |
| All my Sofirn reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- Sofirn SF14 v2.0 Flashlight
- Sofirn 900mAh 14500 li-ion cell
- Sofirn Li-ion charger
- Charge cable
- Lanyard
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Key hook
- Manual and paperwork
Package and Manual
This light ships in the usual Sofirn package, where the only light-specific part is the Amazoninventory sticker. Unfortunately for a while, Amazon had their stock wrong, and as you can see below, the sticker is wrong. I’ve had this review ready for a while waiting for the go-ahead from Sofirn, to confirm that Amazon’s inventory is fixed. It is fixed, and now if you order this light, you’ll get the correct light.
The manual is again, typical Sofirn. It’s complete and has a nice diagram of the light.
Build Quality and Disassembly
This is a good quality light. It feels solid in the hand.
The clip, like many of Sofirn’s clips, isn’t my favorite. That said, it’s a step above the stamped-out, thin steel clips on some of their other lights.
The head and tail come off the cell tube easily. The tail switch is held together by an aluminum retaining ring. On the tail there is a medium thickness, medium springy spring. On the head, there is only a brass contact button.
The threads are square-cut, and anodized, which makes locking the light out physically as easy as a 1/8th turn on the head or tail.
Size
Officially: Weight of flashlight: 39 g. Size: 96mm (length)× 19mm (diameter) × 20mm (head). It’s a pretty good size for an AA light.
But it’s by no means the smallest AA light available. Below, see it with the Lumintop Tool (AA version). The Sofirn is thicker, and slightly longer too.
Retention
There’s a pocket clip included. The clip is not technically reversible for bezel up or down carry, but the cell tube is. So in effect, the clip is actually reversible. The clip is passable, but not nearly deep enough.
A lanyard is included, too. It can connect through two holes on either side of the tail cap, or possibly through the pocket clip as well.
Power
The SF14 v2.0 is powered by AA-sized cells. The driver supports both low and higher voltage cells. Alkaline, Lithium, NiMH, and also Li-ion cells work just fine. Though the head has only a brass button, the flattest 14500 cell I have on hand still worked fine. Sofirn includes a 14500 cell with this light!
Here’s a runtime on High with the included 14500 cell. There’s a heavy step down after a short time (just around 2 minutes), and the output is fairly stable at that level. The light will reset to the highest output level, but this seems to track with cell voltage and never regains the highest, initial output.
The runtime with a NiMH cell is very different. Output is greatly reduced, but the stepdown still occurs. The light may be reset to the highest output, with little change throughout the runtime.
In both runtimes, the light did not exhibit LVP. However, on the bench power supply, there does seem to be LVP which kicks in around 2.6V, which is safe for a cell (generally speaking).
Sofirn also includes a charger (if you purchase the package with a charger.) I’ve tested this charger before in my C8F review. It’s a fine charger, but not meant for NiMH (which is fine, since NiMH isn’t included.)
User Interface and Operation
There’s just one switch on the SF14, a mechanical tail reverse clicky.
It’s a fine clicky. In fact, it seems to have addressed a problem I had with a previous Sofirn reverse clicky, in that there was some weird pause after clicking and before the action. This light does not have that. It works exactly as it should.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click | Low |
| On | Half click | Mode advance (L>H direction) |
| On | Click | Off |
And that’s it…. It’s a very simple UI.
Modes
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14500 High | 550 | 1h 6m | 520 | 0.95 |
| 14500 Medium | 100 | 5h 34m | 112 | 0.19 |
| 14500 Low | 5 | 75h | – | – |
| AA (NiMH) High | 180 | 56m | 165 | 1.50 |
| AA (NiMH) Medium | 50 | 9h 35m | 50 | 0.20 |
| AA (NiMH) Low | 5 | 71h | – | – |
LED and Beam
The emitter of choice is a Cree XP-G2. The reflector is smooth.
This results in a beam with a distinct hotspot (with sharpish edges), and a good bit of spill.
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
First are beamshots with a NiMH cell.
Next are beamshots with the supplied 14500 Li-ion cell. The light is noticeably brighter with the 14500!
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
Random Comparisons and Competitive Options
Here’s a relevantly filtered page on parametrek.com. There aren’t all that many competitors, but what’s available is made by the likes of Fenix, Sunwayman, and JETBeam. All good brands! I think the XP-G2 emitter is a bit dated, so it’s likely that much of the competition has moved on to newer emitters, like the XP-L HD. The other brands are, on the whole, more expensive than the Sofirn.
Conclusion
What I like
- Good build quality
- Multi-chemistry support!
- Simple user interface with no strobe messiness
- Full package includes 14500 cell and charger
What I don’t like
- I don’t care for the emitter choice here, but it’s not strictly bad.
- Stepdowns are quite heavy.
Notes
- This light was provided by Sofirn for review. I was not paid to write this review.
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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