Sofirn HS43 Headlamp Review
The Sofirn HS43 headlamp is a USB-C rechargeable light featuring three modes with three TN-3535 emitters and one red mode. The rotary interface is very simple!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Sofirn HS43 headlamp product page.
Versions
Only one version of the Sofirn HS43 headlamp is available.
Price
The Sofirn HS43 headlamp lists for $62.99, but the street price is 40% off, at $37.99.
What’s Included
- Sofirn HS43 headlamp
- Sofirn 21700
- Charging cable
- Headband
- Lanyard
- Spare O-rings
- Pocket clip
- Manual
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
The Sofirn HS43 headlamp has fine build quality, but I have never loved headlamps designed this way. For the HS43, it makes sense because the top end that sticks out above the right-angle emitter area (at left, above) is the rotary control. Thus, I don’t like the look, but it’s functionally appropriate.
Again, the build quality is fine. Threads on the tailcap are unanodized, and there’s a magnet held in place by the beefy spring. Nothing at all unusual.
The positive terminal has a spring, too. The head is not removable.
Size and Comps
Size: 28.3 × 29.4 × 121.5 mm (≈ 1.11 × 1.16 × 4.78 inches)
Weight: 81g (≈2.86 oz) without battery
Here’s the light in hand:
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!
Also in the photo above, my Standard Reference Material (SRM) flashlight is the Hanko Machine Works Trident, an 18350 light. While I have not reviewed or tested the Gunner Grip version seen here, I have tested a Hanko Machine Works Trident Total Tesseract in brass. I love the Trident, and it’s a striking contrast to the inexpensive Convoy S2+, another great SRM.
Retention and Carry
The Sofirn HS43 headlamp has a pocket clip. As you can see below, fitment on to the light isn’t fantastic. There’s a bit of play along the body of the light. It’s a two-way clip, but the light can accept the clip on the head or tail end.
I promptly removed this pocket clip because of how poorly it connects.
A lanyard is also included, but unfortunately attaches to the pocket clip. So I would not call attachment via a lanyard at all secure.
But the most important carry aspect is that the Sofirn HS43 is a headlamp. A soft headband is included, and it has an over-the-head strap, too.
The light fits into this hard plastic mount by simply clicking in. This seems plenty secure.
The light can rotate in the mount, but the pocket clip can not be used at the same time.
Power and Runtime
The Sofirn HS43 headlamp runs on a single 21700 lithium-ion cell, and a 5000mAh cell is included. It’s standard, but mostly flat top (very very tiny bump).
The cell goes into the Sofirn HS43 headlamp with the positive end toward the head. In case you forget that, there’s a little printed icon on the tailcap as a reminder.
There are only three white LED outputs, and you can see runtime tests on all of those below.
The temperature lines in these charts are included as general context, not precise measurements. The values represent the range (min to max) during testing, but should not be taken as exact readings. A temperature sensor is not always attached to the bezel (or even the hottest spot, assuming that could be defined). Even with ideal placement, too many variables affect temperature to definitively state a specific max value.
An indicator on the head end displays the power level for 5 seconds after powering the light on.
Green: Sufficient power
Orange: Medium power
Red: Low power
Red flashing: Critically low power
Charging
The Sofirn HS43 headlamp offers onboard charging by way of a USB-C charging port in the head.
Sofirn includes a USB-C to USB-C charging cable.
Charging from A or C to C works just fine and requires over three hours.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 3200-1000 | 1m+2.5h | 2523 (0s) 2378 (30s) |
9.51 |
| Medium | 900-650 | 13m+3.5h | 741 (0s) 738 (30s) |
1.71 |
| Low | 310 | 6h | 266 | 0.52 |
| Red | 120-65 | 3m+7h | – | 1.62 |
Pulse Width Modulation
The three white modes do not use PWM, but the red mode has slow PWM. Still, I couldn’t observe the PWM on red, so maybe it’s ok.
Click here to see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
The user interface on this Sofirn HS43 headlamp is quite interesting. There are no buttons to press (which could scratch an itch for some specific market out there). The head rotary selects between the modes. Red and white are separated by the Off setting. It’s a neat setup.
Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Rotate clockwise | Low |
| Low | Rotate clockwise | Medium |
| Medium | Rotate clockwise | High |
| High | Rotate counterclockwise | Medium |
| Medium | Rotate counterclockwise | Low |
| Low | Rotate counterclockwise | Off |
| Off | Rotate counterclockwise | Red |
| Red | Rotate clockwise | Off |
It’s really very simple.
LED and Beam
The Sofirn HS43 headlamp uses three TN-3535 emitters and one SST20R red emitter, and a quad optic.
The beams are fine, even if the white emitters aren’t arranged exactly symmetrically.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
The white LED emitters are stated as 6000-6500K, but that’s optimistic. They are definitely cool white, and I measure them in the 6600-7700K range. Stark cold white! CRI is low.
CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) refers to the measurement of the color appearance of light, expressed in Kelvins (K), which indicates whether the light is warm (yellowish) or cool (bluish). A lower CCT (below 3000K) is considered warm light, while a higher CCT (above 5000K) gives cooler, bluish light.
CRI (Color Rendering Index) is a measure of how accurately a light source renders colors in comparison to natural sunlight. Scored on a scale from 0 to 100, higher CRI values indicate that colors appear more true to life and vibrant, similar to how they would look under the sun.
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.
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. These photos are taken around 18 inches from the door.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Summary and Conclusion
I appreciate the novel on/off that the Sofirn HS43 headlamp offers. I miss having a lower mode (for both white and red, honestly). The output falls a bit short of the claim, but with the massive stepdown a light like this will have anyway, that’s not a huge problem for me. I would love to have a better (not cold white) emitter option. For $38, the Sofirn HS43 headlamp is a good light to consider if you want to avoid clicky switches!
The Big Table
| Sofirn HS43 Headlamp | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | TN3535 (3) (Cool white) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $37.99 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | ? |
| Switch Type: | E-switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | ? |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | “with cell: all modes without cell and/or tailcap: no modes” |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 3200 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 2378 (74.3% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 2.8 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 184 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 299lux @ 5.208m = 8110cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 180.1 (97.9% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 6000-6500 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6700-7700 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Sofirn |
| 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 I like
What I don’t like
Notes
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