un·der·dog
ˈəndərˌdôɡ/
noun
noun: underdog; plural noun: underdogs
a competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest.
| long shot, dark horse, weaker one, little guy, David;
downtrodden, victim, loser, fall guy, etc
The Sofirn IS the underdog.
But remember folks, yesterday's underdog could be today's champion. I paired these two up for a few reasons:
1.Wuben is a lighting veteran. They're top notch. Company started in 1981.
2. Sofirn was registered in 2010, MUCH younger, but putting out some surprising lights .
For this battle, it'll be a test of points, the most points win. Every category is one point. You can win, lose, or draw (both awarded).
Categories:
Fit, finish, build quality.
UI and interface
Pocket clip and lanyard
Perceived brightness. (My beamies)
Packaging
Charging systems (If applicable)
  1st; Fit, finish and build quality. I'll preface this by saying that the Ano on the Sofirn is wearing off in some spots, and light scratches have already went to the metal. Both lights are well built, the Wuben, in particular feels more solid. However, taps on the tube do illicit battery rattle. But, experience shows and it pays..winner.. WUBEN. 1 POINT  2nd; UI and interface. Sofirn, single side button. Wuben, two side buttons. The Sofirn with it's super clean UI is sweet. Go from standard to ramping, simply press through modes, or press and hold to ramp, easy peasy. The button is tactile, and easy for me to find in the woods. The Wuben; this is a great UI. I've always liked it. But in the dark, it was hell finding those side buttons, I kept spinning the light in my hands looking for it. Winner: Sofirn 1 point ** I understand UI stuff can be subjective. But try my positioning in this test..I was patrolling in the forest, at night. Simple is a godsend in real world situations. Pocket clip and lanyard. Although the Sofirn clip works well, the Wuben clip can be attached on the other side of the body, or, upside down. Giving you a heads up or down carry choice. The Sofirn clip is static in place. Winner: Wuben 1 point Lanyard; the Wuben lanyard of mine came with a error in the printing of the Wuben name on it, although a minor detail, I expect better from them. The Sofirn lanyard was good, it was rounded unlike the flat type of the Wuben. Winner: Sofirn 1 point Next, packaging!    If you had these boxes, you'd tell in a second who won this. The Sofirn packaging is adequate. It's a thin box, with a plastic tray insert. The Wuben is a very strong display type box, with a foam insert for the light. Winner with a category knockout Wuben 1 point Next Charging systems!   The Wuben comes with a nice 2600 mAh 18650, and a very nice braided micro USB cord for charging. The light has a built in USB port, with water/dust cover built into the light. Various colors tell you the current charging level. The Sofirn comes with a nice 3000 mAh battery, a simple single bay charging cradle and a micro USB cord for it. I tested it and it did work. However, it's far cry from the system on the Wuben. Winner: Wuben 1 point. Perceived brightness: Pictures taken while on a actual trail patrol. Moderate humidity and storms in the area. * In the pictures you may notice a magazine, that was used only the pictures where I used the Wuben. I did this to make sure I didn't mix pictures up later. Apparent bushcraft thing, 25 foot away on high
Trail intersection up ahead, trash can at 80ft out
The Wuben uses a CREE XP-L2 Reflectors on both are very similar on size and depth Which is why I have no freaking clue who won this one haha! Winner? DRAW! Both get 1 point! Sofirn 3 points. Wuben 5 points.  This was close in many ways The Sofirn DID perform just as well as the Wuben did while on patrol for actual output and brightness. It was a match step for step. That says alot for Sofirn, as Wuben makes some formidable lights. The things that can keep light cost lower are the very things that made the Sofirn lose. My advice to Sofirn: Keep this wonderful one button UI. Get better Anodizing, re-think your belt clip. Look into built in charging systems. My advice to Wuben. Because of the history and experience I hold Wuben to a high standard, a lanyard like that should not get out on the market. And the side switch buttons at night are very hard to use, I'm not sure if they can be raised? Finally, this was fun! Did you guys like the format of this? Thoughts?  |
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