Sofirn Diving Torch SD05 Led Flashlight Super Bright 3000 Lumen, Underwater 100 Meters EDC Light with Rechargeable 21700 Battery for Diving Fishing Caving and Outdoors Waterproof…

I've bought and tested quite a few flashlights. From my testing (swimming in a river and leaving it submerged), the Sofirn SD05 is a great waterproof light.It uses a 6000K (cool white) CREE XHP50.2 LED and puts out 3000lm on high. It takes a single 21700 sized cell, though will work with 18650 cells too.The original SD05 version stepped down from high after 3 minutes to keep the light cool, which isn’t so useful in a diving light. Sofirn listened to customer feedback and have released this new SD05 flashlight without the timed step down. The old version was listed at 2550 lumens and the new one claims 3000 lumens. Some quick tests and comparisons to other known lights and a cheap lux meter show this to be true.The Amazon listing shows this light as 294g - that's probably the box weight. It's actually 120g (without the cell) and 187g with. The listing doesn't show the body diameter either, which I measured at 29.0mm.*** Appearance and quality ***The SD05 has 2 O-rings at each end of the body tube to help with waterproofing. There’s 2 o-rings, 1 either side of the glass too. The box only comes with 2 spares but they’re easy to source if you need new ones. The body tube is asymmetric, with much thinner threads on the head end (the same size as the bezel threads). I have no idea why they went with 2 thread sizes. There isn’t any knurling, aside from a few bumps. The SD05 has fairly thick springs at either end. This means it can take a range of different length cells and doesn’t flicker when it’s shaken. The SD05 takes a 21700 cell, so is a bit bigger than most 18650 lights.*** Carrying and everyday use ***The SD05 comes with a standard lanyard, which is attached at the tail at the side (so it can still tail stand). There’s no clip but the light’s probably a bit big for most pockets anyway.*** Underwater use, swimming ***I have a few lights that are IPX8 rated (so should be waterproof enough to be in water for 30 minutes at 2 meters depth) but don’t have any that are designed primarily for use underwater. I’m by no means a diver (I’ve never been anywhere near the 100m depth rating of the SD05) and I rarely go in water when it’s dark or deep enough to need a flashlight. I wanted to put the SD05 through its paces though, so I took the SD05 to a nearby river. I’d normally be nervous putting electronics in water, especially a river that was so murky. The SD05 did fine though and allowed me to see fish and stay out in an inflatable dinghy well past dusk. I have to admit, having a flashlight underwater is pretty cool at night. The 3000 lumens allowed me to see over 2 meters through the cloudy parts of the water. I lowered the light on a string down 2 meters a couple of times too. The river wasn’t anywhere near as deep as the 100m rating that Sofirn give. When I was done I gave the light a rinse and dried it. As expected, there weren’t any signs of water ingress.*** Interface and switch ***The SD05 has a rotating “switch” instead of a button, presumably because it’s hard to make a physical button fully waterproof. I’ve never used a flashlight with a switch like this before. It’s incredibly intuitive and doesn’t need any explanation. The switch feels very slightly loose and has 0.5mm play either way at each mode but this doesn’t seem to be a problem. The switch changes mode when it’s about 2/3 of the way towards the mode you’re changing to, whether that’s up or down. This is good, as it means there’s no half way point for it to flicker at. The switch has very slight knurling and can be rotated with just a thumb, albeit slightly awkwardly. Using the switch with gloves on works fine. Not a problem using both thumb and index finger though. More knurling would mean use with just a thumb or finger would be easy. The SD05 uses a magnet in the switch (a reed switch) to work out which mode it should be on. That means the light can be turned on with any magnet! This is unlikely to be an issue in most cases but is good to know.*** Cell and charging ***The SD05 came from Amazon with a cell, cell sleeve and a charger. The cell is a Sofirn branded flat top 21700, that says it has a capacity of 4000mAh and current of 40A. The cell measures 21.5mm diameter by 70.8mm long. The 21700 cell protrudes about 5mm from the tail. My XTAR VC4 said it put 3829mAh into the cell from an almost full discharge, which is pretty close. If you’re actually using the SD05 for diving then buying a 5000mAh 21700 cell would be worthwhile for 25% extra run time. Changing cells underwater is not recommended. The sleeve is designed for 18650 cells but it’s a bit wide, with an innder diameter of 19.5mm. This didn’t seem to be a problem though and a flat top 18650 worked fine with it: sitting flush and making a good connection with the springs. Almost any 21700 or 18650 should work with this light. The only cell I had that didn’t fit was a 77.6mm 21700 cell with integrated charging. The single cell USB charger is basic but seems to do the job. It’s rated at 1A and a quick check showed it pulled 0.85A via from the included micro USB cable when the cell was getting full. The charger is spring loaded and should charge cells between 31mm and 72.5mm and mentions cells from 26650 to 10440. The charger is only 19g, so would make a good travel charger for lithium cells.*** Light output ***There’s only 3 modes but they’re nicely spaced. The modes seemed fine for use in water but 300lm is quite high for general use. When packing up after being out on the river, the 300lm low was a bit bright.Mode | Lumens | RuntimeHigh | 3000 | 1h 38minMedium | 900 | 2h 30minLow | 300 | 8h 16minThe SD05 uses a 3V LED and takes a 3.7V cell so it can use simple driver. There’s no voltage boost circuit here, which means the output reduces as the cell voltage drops. My light meter setup isn’t calibrated but does accurately show relative light output changes. Left out on a hot day on high the light will step down from 3000 lumens after a minute. The supplied cell then lasted over 2 hours above 600lm before the low voltage protection kicked in. Holding the light and on a cooler day will probably let the light stay brighter for longer, meaning the cell won’t last as long. The SD05 got up to 55°C on high. I tested the SD05 in water, to check the thermal regulation and also just because I could. The SD05 stayed above 2000lm for about 30 minutes, then started to drop off and only lasted 45 minutes on high. You can also see the low voltage protection kicking in, dropping the light to medium, then low and giving some warning flashes.*** LED and beam ***The SD05 has a 6000K XHP50.2 LED and orange peel reflector. The large head makes this slightly throwy (270m), with a smooth transition from spot to spill. 6000K is way too cool for my liking but neutral white 3V XHP50.2 LEDs seem hard to come by. The driver uses PWM to dim the light in different modes. The PWM isn’t noticeable by eye.*** Pros **** Very waterproof* Rotating switch is intuitive and well designed* Beam profile works well underwater* Stays on high as long as the cell can provide power* Comes with cell and charger*** Cons **** 300lm low isn’t very low* 6000K LED is too cool for my liking*** Summary ***The Sofirn SD05 was more fun than I expected – I’m now checking the IP rating of all my other lights to see if they can be used in water. The SD05’s quality is great and I have no doubt that this would be a solid light for actual diving. Sofirn listening to user feedback and updating the light is a great sign.

I've used this on 8 dives, including to 40m. No sign of any leaks. Battery confidently lasted for 2 dives a day, although it's impossible to say how much of the battery was left. It feels well made. The switch can be a little hard to operate with one hand if you aren't holding the torch in the perfect position. It is very bright compared to a Mares torch costing four times as much (making my dive buddy very jealous).

Great torch, working really bright and with a long battery life. I got it in August, charged it, and it was used from time to time for a couple of minutes here and there. Today, it started blinking - sign that battery is low, turned it off, unscrewed, charged the battery, put it back in - and it doesn't work any more. I've checked the battery, seems ok voltage wise, but sadly it seems that it's not made to last :(

The media could not be loaded. Had my 1st Sofirn SD05 since September 2022, works great so far. Have logged 30+ dives with the initial purchase, most of those dives over 20 meters deep, around 6-8 to 30 metres and 1 dive past 45 metresUsed it while penetrating caves + wrecks and generally under rocks, reefs etcIt is very bright on the 3000 lumen setting, only gripe is the light output seems very orangey and not a cool white light that I've experienced with other dive torchesThat being said the torch itself is quite small and can be stored permanently in BCD pocket with almost no perceptible weight. It's very light in the hand also and the on/off magnetic ring/wheel works wellI put some silicon o-ring grease on every now and then after charging the battery, see below linkhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/ProDive-Diving-Silicone-Grease-Lubricant/dp/B01E1IG5Z0/ref=sr_1_5?crid=IGA1H7T3SW5L&keywords=silicone+grease+diving&qid=1690286670&sprefix=silicone+grease+diving%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-5i've purchased a second SD05 recently mainly for a back/up 2nd battery as the original is still going strongI had used 18650 Li-ion rechargeable batteries but experienced flickering after torch was on for longer durations, I'd have to turn off then turn back on the SD05 and it would work ok, also LED's weren't as bright with the 18650 batteries, hence why I purchased a second torchAdded a video, not sure if it will play correctly as it was filmed in 120 fps on my GoPro, it plays ok on the QUIK app but sometimes when exported is a bit jerky or in slow motionOverall happy with my purchase, as I said the LED colour very orangey rather than cool white but have had the SD05 well past the limits of recreational diving and it's still going strong

This is my 13th( and still lucky) Sofirn light. Despite the diving light description this is a good , easy to operate and bright light that possibly delivers close to the 3000 lumens promised. Water cooling may possibly extend run times underwater at the higher levels but this light is just as good out of water as standard torches. Out of water the step down kicks in after a couple of minutes and levels off at about half power for maybe up to an hour. This is pretty good even compared to conventional lights. There is a good central hotspot and adequate spill .It comes with a 21700 battery and separate charger ( so no vunerable charging port to let in water). It is apparently good down to 100 meters so no problems at all using in water, though I have not tried yet. The simple twist wheel user interface is a joy after grappling with Anduril so if you want a simple and bright light this could be the one for you. Not bad at all for the £32 I paid after a 20% discount was applied.