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SFT40 is a very interesting LED that can shine both brightly and far. That is just what the average user is looking for. Of course, Sofirn did not bypass it and released two versions of a long-range flashlight. As usual inexpensive, with a capacious battery and fast built-in charging. Let’s see what came out of it.
Specification
datasheet on SFT40
Difference between IF22A and IF22:
A) optics.
IF22A has a TIR optic with a range of 629m, IF22 is a smooth reflector with a range of 683m.
b) dimensions.
IF22 (136.7mm) is slightly longer than IF22A (127.1mm)
Characteristics
- 1x Luminus SFT40 LED Operating voltage: 2.8-4.5V
- 1x Li-ion battery 21700
- IF22 Size: 136.7mm (length) × 42mm (head diameter) Weight: 132 grams (excluding battery)
IF22A Size: 127.1mm (length) × 42mm (head diameter) Weight: 120 grams (excluding battery) - Lantern body: 6061 grade aluminum alloy with anti-abrasive coating
- tempered mineral glass
- Waterproof IPX-8 (up to 2 meters underwater, not for diving)
- Mode memory: remembers the last brightness level used in general modes (Low / Medium / High)
- Reverse polarity protection
- Low Voltage Warning: When the battery voltage is too low, the LED indicator on the side switch will flash quickly. Please charge the battery.
- Low Voltage Protection: The flashlight will automatically turn off when the voltage is lower than 3.0V. It will also turn off automatically if the voltage gets too low. Please charge the battery.
- Advanced Temperature Control Technology (ATR): When the temperature rises (above 55℃), IF22 / IF22A are programmed to automatically dim and brighten to prevent overheating.
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Packaging and appearance
The most ordinary beige cardboard box, nothing new. Not very good for a gift
The kit includes absolutely everything you need: a flashlight, a 21700 5000mah battery, a lanyard, o-rings, a charging cable, a manual, an adapter for 18650. Only a case is missing, but Sofirn never had them
Both flashlights are quite compact for long-range shooting on a 21700 battery. 126 and 137mm is not so much. In the case of a short If22a, the length is actually EDC.
Sofirn IF22(a) are designed in the general Sofirn style. Inexpensive but neat. They are devoid of any obvious individuality and outwardly it is rather just a “flashlight-flashlight”. In general, nothing new.
The flashlight is divided into three parts. The middle part can be installed in any direction, there will still be contact and the flashlight will shine.
The clip is double-sided. Removes with reasonable force without scratching the anodizing.
The flat tailcap has a lanyard eyelet.
Spring of medium thickness. Despite the fact that instead of it there is a peg of the contact pad on the head, the contact is not interrupted upon impact. I hit the wooden table with an effort — the flashlight shone without turning off. The thread is well lubricated.
The knurling is the simplest, the flashlight is quite comfortable to grip, especially with a clip on.
In length, the head occupies more than half of the body. On its opposite sides, there is a type-c charging connector and a button closed with a thick tight cover. Charging is wonderful — 3A is very good.
No worse than a button. It does not play, it is located in a small recess and due to this it is easy to find it blindly. There is a small indicator in the center of the button. Everything is convenient here, which cannot be said about, for example, three times more expensive Imalent MS03 (from fresh) and Fenix PD35v3 (with the same LED).
Actually, this sealed head and optics inside it is the most important difference between both versions. We have a classic reflector in IF22 and a TIR lens in IF22A.
A dash in a long-range flashlight is a cool thing, I have already seen one in a great line of Acebeam long-range flashlights (here here you can see all three of its representatives)
So far so good. The flashlight looks simple, but Sofirn’s budget is recognizable. But fast charging, 21700, a convenient button and a choice of optics are wonderful.
Control
As is often the case with Sophirne (and which you will not find in its expensive competitors), there is a group with classic preset operating modes and a group with smooth brightness control.
There is a mode memory.
Preset modes:
On/Off — 1 click
Change brightness level — hold (in ascending order Lo-Med-Hi)
Turbo — 2 clicks from any mode (by clicking in Turbo — return back)
Strobe — 3 clicks
Instant access to Eco — hold from OFF. This is a dead end mode, you can’t get out of it to a higher level.
(Un)lock — 4 clicks
Holding the button in locked gives access to ECO. I once stole this wildly convenient chip from Lumintop and advised the sofirs.
Switching between groups — four clicks from ON.
Smooth brightness control (ramping)
Similar to group 1, only the brightness goes smoothly up to turbo. Those. if you screwed it up to the maximum, 2 clicks will not give anything, you are already in a turbo.
As for me, it is very convenient.
How Sofirn IF22(a) shines
And here is the trouble. Well, it’s not that it’s a disaster, but there is a reason to sadly stretch out “well, you are cheeeeeee.” There is a lot of active thermoregulation, but there is no complete stabilization. What is the difficulty? Even Fenix could make it in PD35V3, which is both in terms of light and functionally more primitive on the head …
I understand if Sofirn, like Imalent, would not do stabilization at all. But they either have it or they don’t. Here she is not. Can I use? Can. Would you like the brightness to be stable? Wanted!
As for the “saw” during thermoregulation. In general, this is unpleasant. Quite (and from the worst side) she knows Klarus, which has long put an end to their flashlights for me. But what I categorically do not accept in models for $70-80 is already tolerable in a model for $30. In High, you are separated from the saw by 12 minutes and, it seems, you will simply go to a lower brightness before the onset of these “swings”. In most cases, Mid will actually suffice. 4 minutes for a turbo is also really great. It is worth understanding that the numbers here are relative and will change depending on windiness and street temperature. In winter, you may not see this saw at all.
But in the world everything is fine here. Before that, I had encountered SFT40 twice before (in Fenix PD35 v3 and some other, I forgot). In both cases, the flashlight gave a disgusting green light and I could not understand why this LED was praised on the BLF. And so I got Sofirn IF22(a) and everything fell into place. In the budget Sofirn, they put a normal LED in color and shade. Cold, of course, but normal cold light. And the expensive Fenix gives the user something swamp green. However, for a Fenix user, color temperature and shades are not important at all, I’m sure — if only it shone and didn’t break, but Fenix has everything in perfect order about this. I will clearly show this difference in color temperature in the next review of Wurkos FC12. By the way, I suspect that things will be similar with the SST70, which I have already come across in expensive branded models and also fell into the green in lower modes. Interestingly, these big brands stupidly don’t understand what exactly they are doing there, or is it a combo of conscious penny savings and a disregard for the user? Honestly, after this comparison, my opinion about Fenix has pretty much fallen. I wasn’t even a fan of them anyway…
For me personally, a review of the Sofirn IF22 IF22a compact long-range flashlight showed that the slight advantage of the reflex version in range is offset by a less convenient overall light distribution. I (and, according to the reviews I saw, other users) definitely liked the Sofirn IF22a more with its TIR optics. Although, however, this is a matter of taste and my opinion here is nothing more than my opinion.
Attention! composite photos have FHD resolution and do not give a clear picture when enlarged. Here The album contains all materials with the highest possible resolution.
I wonder where the 600m+ range came from, if any of the flashlights here already covers 400m somehow. Not that frankly there was no sense at such a distance, but there will be no miracles of brightness. The review contains a comparison with Sofirn C8G (review). Only then I realized that this is the 5000k xhp35 version that is no longer on sale. With the current sst40 version, I’m sure there will be no significant difference in color temperature and range. I think that then I will take a photo at a distance of 200m.
And because of the built-in charging and the smaller size of the Sofirn IF22a, it may be more interesting for someone. I’ll add a photo here too.
Video review Sofirn IF22 (a) contains other interesting materials
General impressions
Sofirn, have done what they have done well more than once. What do I mean, actually … so they decided to make a compact long-range flashlight, with the most convenient control and fast built-in charging via Type-C. With a good bright modern LED. Not super-awl like some Osram, but covering almost all the needs of ordinary users. We decided to power it from a capacious 21700 battery and ask for a traditionally small price for all this. That’s just honey and sugar.
And, bam, all of a sudden they’re doing the same feint as in the potentially hit Sofirn SP33 v3 — namely, they deprive stabilization and add active thermoregulation with jumps in brightness during cooling (however, I don’t think there is a chance to just get to them in warmth and calm).
Ok, okay. The same wurkkos ts21 I wildly liked without any stabilization. And IF22(a) can certainly be used. The question is that it could be much better, just really wonderful in terms of price and functionality. And now he’s just very a good and pleasant to use compact long-range flashlight, after all, the advantages listed at the beginning cannot be discounted. Isn’t that enough for a flashlight?
I’m directly very sure that for an ordinary user who does not bother about stabilization and active thermoregulation of the user, this will be enough. Bate is there, uncle, neighbor, friend — there are no Andurilov control tricks, but there is built-in charging and a good combination of brightness and range. And taking into account the low price, it will be a good gift or magarych.
But an experienced user, having seen these graphs, will already begin to drive his nose, weighing all the pros and cons. For ease of understanding, here is a list of them, as I see it.
+ completeness
+ 21700 battery
+ choice of optics
+ pleasant light distribution in the model with TIR lens
+ good brightness and range
+ excellent, without nasty greens, a kind of SFT40 LED
+ the very fact of installing this bright and long-range modern LED
+ fast type-c charging
+ excellent control
+ frankly affordable price
— no stabilization
— thermoregulation saw
In short, if you want to choose an inexpensive all-in-one option for general use, then Sofirn IF22a will please you quite well. If you need a little more range, or 5 bucks of savings is critical for you, or you need a long-range flashlight for a gun, then you should look at Sofirn C8G. I would, choosing from these two for ordinary needs, prefer IF22a — it has more convenient light, built-in charging and it is more compact.
If we talk about other brands, now (from what I had on hand and the same price segment) I see Lumintop D2 (review) as its closest competitor in terms of power supply, range, 21700 and sane control. But it is a third more expensive ($47 without a 21700 battery versus $33 of a complete set for the IF22) and worse in terms of greenery in lower modes, it has easier control. But he has complete stabilization. In general, I do not consider the difference in only the latter to justify the cardinal difference in price. I admit that there is another model with the same set of characteristics, my memory is far from ideal.
Well, perhaps that’s all.
Where to buy and how to save
you can buy sofirn IF22(a) in the official Sofirn Aliexpress store
► YANDEX-MARKET ►SBERMEGAMARKET
You can save on purchases with coupons and promotional codes from the discount channel in telegram, see the link to it below in the block «about the author»
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