Joined in 2023 
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Build quality is typical of Sofirn. It’s perfectly fine. There are no significant issues but the fit & finish don’t wow me either. Threading the body and head together feels a little gritty but I don’t know if that’s due to the threads or the batteries & brass ring. It’s worth noting that the tail springs are pre-bypassed on my sample but they appear to not be doing that anymore, which is a shame. Size & Measurements The Sofirn Q8 Pro is not for the small handed. I am 6’2” and 215 pounds (Thanks holiday food!) and it fits well in my hands, but dwarfs the hands of my children. That being said, in my hands, it feels quite good. The knurling gives quite a lot of grip so I had no fear of it falling (again), even though it is very smooth.
I find that these fin edges to have anodizing that’s a bit frail. Just a bit of usage and the anno will probably begin to wear off. Below you can also see the stainless bezel. This bezel has a bit of shape, and that’ll allow light to escape when headstanding. The Sofirn Q8 Plus flashlight is powered by 3 x 21700 Li-Ion batteries. The battery indicator lets you know when the battery is low, charging, or fully charged. This flashlight can charge the battery with an integrated charger, and it works with a USB power source. This flashlight has a built-in low voltage protection (LVP) to prevent damage to the cell from over-discharge, so protected cells are not necessary. The box is the same as most Sofirn products: basic thin cardboard with some foam and bubblewrap on the inside to protect the light. It’s not fancy but I’ve never received a damaged light from Sofirn. The following items are included in the box:
Of course, this new driver has a Type C port for built in charging. And also acts as a battery bank, providing outward charge to, say, a phone. And it is an FET + 1 but times three. Three banks to the emitters in 3 pairs. Thus, one FET and it’s accompanying 7135 chip supply two XHP-50.2’s. Easier on the FET obviously and thus a cheaper version can be used. Still, the 22 ga wires are carrying something like 16-18 Amps so for me, insufficient.
ANSI FL1 standards: The runtime is measured until the light drops to 10% of its initial output (30 seconds after turning on). This does not mean that the flashlight is not usable anymore. The last column shows how long the light actually works till it shuts off. If there is a + symbol, it means that the test was stopped at that particular point, but the light was actually still running. This happens on certain occasions, with certain drivers, firmware, or batteries. Peak beam intensity and beam distance measurements Mode Yes, when in operation, the light steps down brightness gradually until turning off when the cell is around 2.9 volts. The Q8 driver easily powers four emitters of any kind, in fact it easily powers 17 emitters in my Ham’r build. No need for three FET’s or 3 pairs of wires. I have a spare Q8 driver even now. Have used them in BLF GT’s to drive the SBT90.2. Yes, memorizes last on state setting either smooth or stepped ramping, but does not remember blinkies Another great way to tell, thanks to a reader is to see what the lowest level of ramping is. Advanced UI has a quite low low. Simple UI has a much higher “lowest level.” LED and Beam
The Q8 Plus is tactical strobe ready. The strobe light is disorienting to the person it is aimed at which makes it difficult for them to concentrate. It has the SOS beacon function for an emergency situation. The SOS flashes Morse code so you can signal for help when needed. The SOS signal is recognized as an international distress call and is used to indicate an urgent need for assistance. Features Battery Here’s a better look at that cell holder. The cells are surrounded by aluminum very snugly. This seems like it might be just for holding the cells in place (and it is!) but it also serves to move the heat generated from the cells when the light is in high output directly into a fairly good mass of aluminum for heat management.
Smarter Indicator: with green/ blue/ orange/ flashing led indicator to inform us about changing modes or charging status No carry methods are included. You could put this in a belt holster but it’s a little big for that and I don’t know of any that would work well. If you need a lanyard, you’ll have to make one and tie it around the body tube in the milled slots. There’s no lanyard included nor are there any lanyard attachment points. As far as the beam, well, it doesn’t really have one. It has an incredibly wide hotspot that, even at 6 meters, is already 2.5+ meters wide. This is in addition to the fact that it is very soft and blends in well with the spill, essentially giving it a full flood effect and just blankets anything you shine it at in light. Now the box indicated this was the 6500k variant (it also comes in a 5000k model), however, this particular light, using my Opple Lightmaster Pro at 10 meters, came in just above 5500k on lower modes but shot up to about 5900k on higher output modes.Regulation on the settings I used was about what I expected. The higher modes are not regulated and the lower modes are. You just can’t get great regulation on mega flooders like this, regardless of the type of driver they use. They just pump out too many lumens from too few batteries to be able to well regulated. Thermal regulation: works really well. Anduril 2 has some of the best thermal regulation available. It actively raises/lowers the brightness of the light in response to temperature fluctuations to ensure you get as much brightness as possible without overheating. Sofirn has used four Cree XHP50.2 emitters in the Q8 Pro. Mine are 5000K, but the most available option is 6500K.
Does anyone know more about whether different emitters are used in the Sofirn iteration and if so how they're differing from the ones in the Astrolux?Did already someone get his hands on both so the discrepancy in flux can be confirmed by one person using the same equipment? While the link above shows there’s just one version available – there are clearly two. All other things are the same, but the listed version is 6500K, while my review copy is 5000K. That’s a great difference (as I’d say 5000K is much better!)The light ships with Andúril2! I love it, I think it’s an improvement over the first iteration(s). There are some things some users might not love about it, but I think overall it’s much more approachable. I will note though that the nomenclature might be a bit confusing – the light (all lights with Andúril2) ships in Simple UI. This is not Muggle Mode. You may think “well duh” and by now you’ve already seen the blistering runtime on turbo of Simple, so you get it. But just be aware, don’t hand this light to the uninitiated thinking they won’t set their hand on fire while using Simple UI. Here is where I’d tell you how to switch to muggle mode. There is no muggle mode. The emitter of Q8 Plus manufactured by Cree, a US-based LED manufacturing company. Cree is a well-regarded LED manufacturer known for its high-quality products and innovation in the lighting industry. Color temperature is a characteristic of light. It is measured in units called Kelvin (K) and is used to quantify the color appearance of light sources, particularly white light. The Q8 Plus has a smooth reflector. The properly focused smooth reflector gives you a more cohesive hotspot and therefore throws better. Multi-color Indicator: It features a multi-color battery level indicator, providing information regarding charging, discharge, and remaining power.
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