Sofirn IF25a

[3_gun]

A lot has been said about this light, figured I'd add my 2 cents.

Best feature? The UI. Lets you make the light your own

Worst feature? The UI. Scares people away as being to much

Don't fear the UI. As it comes with the default settings, it a great light. Learn the UI & you can make it even better.

Default settings are very inclusive. From OFF you can start from a low of 1L or your last used (memory) level or up to 3800L+(depending on battery). From OFF you can ramp up & down from a low of 1L to a high of about 2000L either in steps (7) or seamlessly. Run times are good at under 500L levels & there isn't much of a heat issue at that level either. Charge the battery(internally w/usb) click it on, hold for ramping, click if off. You never need to do anything else to have a bright, small, useful light from the start.

BUT if you want to make the light your own, if you want to get the full potential from the light .. learn the UI. There are several very good YouTube videos out there that will walk you thru each feature step by step. And if you mess up? So. If you do somehow "mess up"; the default settings can be reset in about 3 seconds. YOU CAN'T BREAK IT (unless you take it apart & try to "flash" the chip)

The included battery doesn't let the light perform as well as it can as 3rd party testing hinted. It's true a Samsung 30T cell will boast your turbo lumens by a claimed 900L. I did see an increase but can't confirm it was 900L, but it was noticeable in my lights (yea I have 2)

The 6500K light looks brighter at every known level when compared to the 4000K light. The 4K light looks better when colors matter. Neither is glaring or even very noticeable until you compare them side by side. The light is very compact for a 21700 format. The only thing that keeps it from being a great EDC is the head size. It's a bit big for jeans pockets but works fine out of cargo pants or a jacket pocket.

Everyone should have this light. It does nothing badly & more than a few things really well. Figure in the $35 cost & it gets to be a hard deal to equal much less beat

 

[chip100t]

anduril is the reason my sofirn lights are my go to lights right now. Currently carrying my sc31 pro but if wearing my big coat or carrying a bag I carry my If25a.

The only customising I have done to all my anduril lights is turn the switch light off when off and when locked out. And have the ramping set to stepped with mode memory set to the around 100 lumen setting.
To me the ui is perfect.

 

[knucklegary]

The batteries offered 4000mah (Samsung 40T?) and/or 5000mah, are they proprietary?

 

[3_gun]

The batteries are not proprietary but oddly the supplied battery provides excellent run times but not peak lumen levels

 

[Olumin]

Don't fear the UI.

I am now scared of the UI.

 

[3_gun]

I am now scared of the UI.

UI is your friend .. Be scared of AI

 

[3_gun]

Just got the clips that are made for the light but not included .. wtf? Got 1 for each of the lights & man do I like'm. If they had come with the light(s) my unicorn search may have been over a lot sooner. Look for the clips in the accessory link at Sofirn. They have belt pouches for the different lights at a cost that can't be beat ($0.01) plus a couple of under $25 lights that are worth looking at. Just don't be in a rush shipping can take a while

 

[chip100t]

I have a lumentop clip on mine, did not know you could get clips for the If25a from sofirn, just ordered a magnetic tail cap for my sc31 pro too, and some short tubes and a couple of type c to type c charge cables.

 

[3_gun]

Got bored so I did a run time test. Fully charged Samsung 30t, rested for 1hr before the start. Light was memory set to factory claimed 125L level (first ON after replacing the battery) Light indicated 4.2v to start & 3.0v at the first step down. It looked to be about a 50% reduction. I didn't run to shutdown.

Total time to step down was 8 1/2hrs. The light never got warmer than room temp. It wasn't cooled & it was used in 3 different rooms. Test was done on the 4000K version of the light & the battery & light had been paired thru 3 charge/discharge cycles before today. Spec on the 30T is 3000mah as I understand it so a 5000mah 21700 should/could show a 30-50% improvement in run times.

Tested. Trusted. I really like this light

 

[Buck91]

Nice, concise review.

 

[chip100t]

I have many more expensive lights but I could happily live only owning my sofirn If25a and sc31 pro as they are the only torches I really use other than my headlights. All my other lights with last use memory mode I can stop myself cycling through modes when I first turn them on just to check. Where as as I can set the mode memory manually in my anduril lights I don't need (feel compelled) to check what mode it is in. I'm I the only one who does this?

 

[3_gun]

A quick update on my IF25a's. Both still working great. My "outdoor" light (6500k) gets the Samsung 30t for max brightness & the "indoor" light (4000k) the included Sofirn battery for more run time. Both lights are set up differently because of their intended use(s), a fantastic feature of the UI. Once programed neither have had any issue with holding said UI customization(s). The Sofirn clip does allow for use on a hat brim but it's a bit heavy for long term use like that, otherwise the clip really goes unnoticed in use. Run times at under 125L w/Sofirn 5K/mah battery is mind boggling. I had the cut power the the second floor for some electric work, I used the 4K light as a night light on the landing at about 25L for 4 days straight w/o turning it off or recharging. Battery started at 4.22 & was down to 2.89, both readings from a meter which when rounded matched the lights blink number. Run time at 125L easily exceed 6hrs straight & still "blinks" around 3.3v'ish before charging. Another neat thing about the IF25a it will run at 125L(or higher?Haven't tried myself) off a usb cord hooked to a power source of your choice for as long as you want it to. Neither light has been "used hard" ie: drops, overheating, frozen, submerged, etc. But at this point I don't think they would have a problem with anything less than out right abuse.

Got to give both lights a solid A grade at this point.

 

[that nashville guy]

Just went down the rabbit hole of high-powered LED flashlights, and I've just received, last week, 3 new flashlights (Sofirn SP35, Sofirn IF25A 95 CRI 4000K version, Wurkkos FC12 for wife, and have an HS40 headlamp on order).

I've been really enjoying the 4000K color temperature of this IF25A! I've heard it described as "afternoon sunlight", and I think that's pretty accurate.

The floody beam profile of the 4 Luminus SST20s is great.

I'm starting to learn the Anduril 2 UI, and having fun with it. I like the stepless ramping, and I've set it to autolock the switch after 1 minute.

Next up is to raise the temperature regulation threshold, as I've found the light to step down off turbo pretty quickly. The light gets quite a bit warmer than my SP35. I assume that this is due not only to the fact that it has 4 LEDs instead of 1. But I also wonder if the 4000K color temp is less efficient, producing more heat than the more typical 6500K of the SP35?

Also ordered a Samsung 40T (4000 mAh, 35A) and a Molicell P42A (4200 mAh, 45A) to experiment with in it.

Continue to be amazed by the affordability of such great flashlights from the budget Chinese companies like Sofirn, Wurkkos, etc!

 

[3_gun]

+1 on these lights needing good batteries for best performance. My only complaint about the Anduril UI (I have 4 A1 lights) is they all seem to have about a 10% shorter run time then similar lights with equal batteries but different UIs. It's not a big thing but it is noticeable. I've also noticed that just as with my Acebeam the supplied Sofirn 5k/mah battery gives more run time at lower lumen levels (200 & under) than my Samsung 3k/mah, as you'd expect, once you get up in out put that reverses. Plus the Samsung clearly makes more turbo lumens. Enough that the 4k light with the Samsung will look bright that the 6.5k light with the Sofirn. Both using the same battery things go back to normal with the 6.5k light looking brighter.

 

[that nashville guy]

+1 on these lights needing good batteries for best performance. My only complaint about the Anduril UI (I have 4 A1 lights) is they all seem to have about a 10% shorter run time then similar lights with equal batteries but different UIs. It's not a big thing but it is noticeable. I've also noticed that just as with my Acebeam the supplied Sofirn 5k/mah battery gives more run time at lower lumen levels (200 & under) than my Samsung 3k/mah, as you'd expect, once you get up in out put that reverses. Plus the Samsung clearly makes more turbo lumens. Enough that the 4k light with the Samsung will look bright that the 6.5k light with the Sofirn. Both using the same battery things go back to normal with the 6.5k light looking brighter.

That's impressive!

I'm looking forward to my high-performance batteries arriving so I can try them out.

Ordered from the 18650 Battery Store yesterday and they shipped them out same day.