Sofirn SC21

[3_gun]

Another in a growing line of Sofirn lights, this time a SC21. I was lacking a high lumen compact light & this one caught my eye with a good price & promising even better performance. Sadly it only fully delivered on one of those.

It is compact at 2 7/8" long, 7/8" wide & less than 3oz. It has 5 well spaced levels; ML/1L, low/10L, mid/100L, high/400L & turbo/1000L. Unfortunately I don't believe it hits those numbers above low. Rough guess they're off by 10-15%. Still bright & useful but off from claimed levels.

UI is pretty good. From OFF you can press/hold the side button for ML; press/release for memory/last used; double press for turbo & triple press for blinkies. Blinkies, turbo & ML can not be saved in memory. Default is a 3 step ramp of low to high or you can reset to a smooth ramp if you prefer. Smooth ramping runs from ML to turbo, plus you can reverse, something stepped ramping doesn't allow.

Charging the 800mah Sofirn battery is quick using the USB-c & as a bonus the light will run w/o the battery from a power bank. More surprising you have use of all 5 levels. The power button also works as a battery gauge, green for over 30%, red for low & flashing red for "you messed up".

Light has a nice color & beam pattern, strongly to the flood side of the spectrum. Peak throw is a claimed 135m but really 80m or so is closer to the true useful throw. Still not bad for such a small light. If you bought this for search n rescue you're doing it wrong.

Really the only minor gripe I have is I don't believe it hits the claimed lumens on Mid, high & turbo. Still the spacing is good & the delivered light is useful for how this light should really be used. If they did ml, 20, 80, 200 & 400L, this would be prefect.

Leaving turbo(1000L) off of the light would be a good idea. It doesn't even make 60 seconds w/o visible dimming. It doesn't have the mass or mah to run it. It's why I'm happy stepped ramping leaves it out.

All said n done, give it a solid B. It may not hit the numbers promised BUT the numbers it delivers in lumens & run time(s), ML to high are useful

 

[3_gun]

A bit of an update on my SC21. Works just like I'd hoped it would to date. It has been thru 5 recharge cycles. Battery doesn't take well to heavy use on high & turbo but that's to be expected from a rated 800mah battery. When it drops off of green it's time to hit the charger. Magnetic tail cap works well & gets used more often than I expected. Really a rock solid light so far. Small size carries well, has a good beam & color, I'd back throw down from 80 to 60 meters, easy to use UI. Great choice for under $30 w/battery & shipping. (current pricing)

 

[Megalamuffin]

Nice review. I am curious how sofirns and their batteries hold up over a long period of use, because they sure are cheap compared to a lot of the competition.

I've had my SC21 about a week and have some thoughts. It's a great little light for the money, not perfect but for the price it's just awesome. I have used it at work a bit and was pleased with it, especially with the nice 4000k tint. The beam has a very pleasant profile for close up use which is likely no accident. The UI is well done and I like the temporary moonlight you can get to when the light is locked out. Very nice feature, especially considering you may actually want to carry this light locked since the button can be activated somewhat easily. The clip a bit tight for some thicker pants pockets, and the light sticks out a bit when clipped to a hat, but it is a sturdy clip and holds tight on your pocket (or hat). The magnet could be a little stronger but it is not too weak like the fenix e16. Also, my sc21 does not work well with cr123's which is unfortunate.

The biggest downside with the sc21 is the same as with all single cell 16340/123 size lights in that they just lack runtime on high modes. I love the form factor of these lights though, and for a daily carry where you don't usually need high brightness for a long time these kind of lights are just perfect.

 

[3_gun]

Still a nice little light. Survived a trip thru the washer n dryer which was not planned. Great light to put in the watch pocket of your jeans when you want a bright light, OK run times & to go unnoticed (see above). Good light for the "better to have it & not need it...etc" crowd. Ridiculously easy to use up the battery in a single use but if it gets you thru a tire change it did it's job. One of my most carried, least used lights but I'm always glad to have it with me when something bigger/better would be to noticeable.

Unless I break it there's not much more to be said