Flashlight High Lumens, 1747 LM Sofirn C8A Light with CREE XP-L2 LED, Powered by 18650 Battery (Included)

I was curious about the difference between the C8A and C8T, so naturally had to get both from 77 Outdoor to add to my already large C8 Army. Of Sofirn's C8s, I already have a few C8Fs, from the first-generation 18650 lights with XP-G2s, to the newer model with XP-L2s, to the newest model which takes 21700 cells, all hella impressive, so I'm already familiar with Sofirn lights and C8s in general. The 'A and 'T are two nice additions to the family (or army).Given the descriptions, I was given to understand that based on the emitters, the 'A belts out more light more efficiently, over a wider hotspot, whereas the 'T concentrates the light into a smaller hotspot for greater throw at the expense of some absolute light output, and I was correct. So a nice mnemonic would be C8A for absolute, and C8T for throw.Unlike most C8 variants, the 'A and 'T are both devoid of any knurling, giving a nice smooth sleek look. They rely on the shape of the body and tailcap for grip, and it works quite well. The knobby tail (and of course the head) keeps the light from slipping out of your hand. All in all, it's a nice change of pace from the usual square-cut or diamond-cut knurling that seems to be on every light in existence. It's not better or worse, just different.Anyway, unboxing both was like Christmas morning for me. :D Nice hefty lights, 18650 cell included inside the light, along with the charger, cable, packet of spare O-rings, and the user's manual. Just eyeballing the lights, you can see they ooze quality, from the hefty solid feel, to perfect anodisation, nice solid clicks of the tailswitch, and perfectly mirrored reflector (not even a speck of dust, let alone fingerprints). They're supposed to have AR-coated glass, but I didn't notice any telltale hue when looking at the glass from an angle. Just as well, as AR-coated glass sometimes imparts a nasty greenish tint to the beam, which these thankfully don't have.Flicking on both lights, my guess was spot-on. Ceiling-bounce showed the 'A to be a bit brighter, visually, but the 'T concentrates the light into a tighter hotspot for more throw. If you want to spot owls in trees, go for the 'T, as you'd be hard-pressed to find a better compact light that throws as well, but spotting what's in the backyard, the 'A would probably be the better general-purpose light. They're both hella bright, though, make no mistake.Oh, and I was using the cells as they came from the factory, *not* charged. If the lights could light up the whole room at an almost-dead 3.4V or so, I can only imagine how bright they'd be at a topped-off 4.2V. :DOut of the box, both come with the 5-mode group: moonlight, low, medium, high, and SOS. Yuck, blinkies. Do the 3-click trick and switch to the 3-mode group of just low, medium, and high. Both groups will still have strobe available with a doubleclick, no avoiding that. Plenty useful, though. I'm not sure when or why you'd use moonlight mode in lights that are dedicated throwers, but hey...No artifacts in the beams, just cozy white hotspots, a bit of a yellowish corona in each, and slightly bluer spill. Nothing objectionable at all, which is nice. A slightly bluish dot in the center of the hotspot in the 'T tells me everything's perfectly in focus, as it's the same dot I see in my GT Micro and other tight-focus lights. To me, that's a good sign. :DI admit, I'm biased, as I've had good experiences with Sofirn lights, and the 'A and 'T don't disappoint. Expect good things from these lights. For the price, just the lights themselves would be a good value, but the kit (charger/cable/cell) makes it a bargain. I'm running the cells now to do a capacity test, and expect close to or over the rated 3000mAH. The 4-pack of 21700 cells I got for my C8Fs are rated 4000mAh, and 3 of 4 were almost 4100mAH, only 1 was just short of 4000, around 3950mAH. So the included cells are *not* the usual CrapFire recycled cells that come with cheap lights, but fresh from-the-factory cells.All in all, highly recommended. They're not quite pants-pocket lights, but certainly jacket-pocket lights, nightstand lights, etc. Useful right out of the box, no "tweaking" needed.

The C8A is a very nice all purpose flashlight. The multiple brightness modes are well spaced and it has a nice strobe mode last in sequence after the brightest level. The highest mode is very bright and has a strong beam and usable flood. The light does get pretty warm on the highest mode, even with the supplied battery. I'd imagine the rated spec of 1700 lumens isnt that far off from the actual lumen output. I compared to the Utorch UT02 which is rated at 1300 lumens and the C8A is noticeably brighter, while having a wider, more usable beam.The supplied battery seems to be good quality, as with the charger and USB cable. This light would be an excellent choice to keep in a car or truck, and for use around the house. The light is easy to use and has mode memory(which is awesome). If you turn it off in high mode, it will turn back on in high, instead of having to cycle through modes to get where you want to be like some cheaper lights.Build quality seems very nice. The machining looks very nice with no flaws, and the threads on the tube/cap/head all engage smoothly. The button has a nice solid click to it and does not feel cheap. The anodizing is also very nice without any defects. Weight is good, the light feels very solid. The barrel does not have knurling for extra grip but still fits very nicely in the hand.I would recommend this to anyone looking for a general-use flashlight.

It's a nice light with pretty decent throw, and a bright, neutral white light. It has two mode groups: Low, Medium, High; and Moonlight, Low, Medium, High, SOS. A double click from any mode will go to strobe. I would prefer a group with Moonlight but without SOS or any Blinky modes, and may try to reprogram it at some point.The anodizing is smooth, glossy, and consistent. The threads are square cut, smooth and were lubricated when the light arrived. A couple edges on the bezel were a little sharp, but most edges are smooth.I dropped in a lighted switch, and the light seems perfectly happy with it, all modes function as they did when I received it.I like the light and need to play with it outside at night more.

I'm updating this rating one year, 4 months after my purchase. Probably 2 months ago I noticed that I started to have difficulty using this flashlight. It would blink on and off. (not strobe) Now, I can't get it to stay on more than a couple of seconds. Next flashlight I buy, I'm going to look for a warranty. This one is worthless to me now.Pros: Exceptional reach. I'm able to see clear into a large field across from my home.Cons: Their switch for turning the light on is horrible. This switch also is the one to use to switch modes. I hate this because the button barely sticks out and have to use my finger nail to try and even turn it on. They need to redesign this flashlight with the button placed maybe along the shaft of the flashlight and a button that at least sticks out so you can turn it on and off, easily.

I liking my new C8A Performance thrower 1747 Lumens XP-L2 LED emitter then SF36 1070 Lumens first generation XP-L emitter old direct Ceiling Left C8A And right SF36 Just change groups 3 tapping times really 1 Group 3 Modes, Group 2 with 5 Modes also hidden Strobe double taps I think can Run both Sofirn 3,000mAh and all Unprotected 18650 Battery work better LED tint Neutral White output very bright

You don't have to fully depress the button to change the brightness of the light. We live out in the country and have coyotes and other critters. It worked great the other night when the mountain lion got close to the house. I would purchase these lights in a heartbeat.