So a few weeks ago I [consulted](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/1bcy3g4/help_me_make_a_decision_for_christ/) r/flashlight looking for some advice on what Hanklights to order, and in what configuration. Well they arrived, so of course I did what any normal person would do: I took my new flashlights down to the nearby ABANDONED INSANE ASYLUM for testing. Very normal!
Beamshots:
[Part 1](https://imgur.com/a/hHnfNPg)
[Part 2](https://imgur.com/a/dW6PurG)
White balance is set to \~5000K, I think very slightly above because the Pixel UI for this is awful. In terms of the photos vs how it looks in real life, I’d say all the images are ever so slightly brighter. They’re certainly a tad brighter than the raw images, but I wasn’t going to try getting those edited and uploaded; just getting these on to Imgur was a significant drain on my mental health. Speaking of which, the album is in two parts because Imgur is so incredibly unstable and just kept borking everything until I split it up (and even then…)
To be clear, this is my regular dog-walking route, and I bought my Hanklights specifically so I would be better prepared this coming winter than I was last winter. I live in Ireland, and from late October to late January the sun sets before 5pm, which is also when I finish work. This means that for about 3 months of the year, I basically *need* a flashlight to give the dog an appropriate walk. I’d been getting by with my now-venerable FW3A, but while I love the floody beam (it’s the light that converted me to TIR fanaticism) and UI, I find the tail switch impractical, the sustained output only just adequate, and the color rendering pretty poor. Having decided it was time for an upgrade, I sought advice above, and wrote out my decision and how I came to it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/comments/1bcy3g4/comment/kvkdvh7/). Once again, big thanks to u/warmeclaire, u/IAmJerv, and u/Sypsy for their input, as they all made decisive contributions of one kind or another.
This post is the promised follow-up. I’m going to talk about:
1. my impression of how the DW4 and DM11 perform in general
2. how those two lights perform for my use-case
3. How the D4V2 performs
4. how I feel about my choices
5. misc thoughts
I know it’s pretty long, and I know I said I’d post this in r/Hanklights, but I think it’s important that when a community helps you out, that you give back appropriately if you can. I felt like pictures from my route might be instructive for anyone else interested in these lights, and I hope they can be of use and add something to the community.
1. So first of all, everybody kind of knows how these lights perform, and I’m not going to say anything that hasn’t been said or isn’t expressed better through the beamshots, so I’m mostly going to let them do the talking. With the frosted optic, the DW4 chucks out a great, big, lightly focused dollop of very neutral, high-CRI light. There’s no hotspot to speak of, but there is an *emphasis*, if that makes sense. At least for me, it matches my visual field quite nicely: on level 5 of 7 (where 7 is turbo), the first 25 meters in front of you is usefully lit up, petering out at the end of that range and to the sides. And what you can see looks the way it ought to—I’ve been walking this route most days for the past 9 months, so I can tell that the colors are right to my eye. With the boost driver and a little temperature configuration (I have it set to 55 Celsius), it seems to hold that output pretty well. It’s hard to tell if it would sustain it indefinitely, because I can’t help fiddling with it while walking, but I have yet to see it ramp down from there.
The DM11 throws a usefully tight beam out to considerable distance, while adding meaningful context with the gently fading spill. The SFT40 might not be high-CRI, but in 5000K it doesn’t wash things out too much, or contrast jarringly with the DW4. I haven’t really tested the sustained performance, because frankly I don’t get the chance (more below). It definitely heats up if left on turbo, and will step down, but in terms of use the output itself is great. Inside 25m I think it’s pretty impractical; you can get a sense of this in figure 2.4. The hotspot is just too tight and sensitive to movement in practice. But between 50-150m it really hits its stride—anything in that range is getting well lit up. You can see this in figure 6.3, where it’s lighting up the treeline in a very legible way. 8.3 shows that it’s still very respectable out to about 180-200m, and in figure 5.2 it is illuminating the treeline which is around 270m away. This is actually still pretty useful for getting a rough read on what’s going on out there, but as you can see from the photo it is relatively dim. To my mind, 50-200m is where this light does it’s best work.
The ergonomics of the light appear to be a point of controversy. I have smaller hands than average, and the light sits perfectly in my hand with my thumb on the switch and my index finger underneath. But I have noticed that as it heats up, it gets slightly uncomfortable for those two digits. Ideally, you could just grab it by the tube, but doing so leaves my pinky hanging off the end. So in that sense I can see where all the 27800 enthusiasts are coming from. However, right now it fits perfectly even in my smaller coat pockets. If the tube were bigger, it would be sticking out at the back. So I don’t know if the light could be any better ergonomically without losing its appeal for me. I also haven’t seen any other lights offering the same performance profile in an equivalent footprint. If the light could magically have a proportionately smaller head and longer tube, I suppose that would be ideal, but I imagine there’d be a trade-off I wouldn’t like.
2) I gotta say, I’m really, really pleased with this combo. I’ll get the negatives out of the way first: clipping the DW4 to clothing is slightly more annoying than I’d hoped. It can just be fiddly to get it to sit right, though once I do, it’s great. I would just love a magically better way of attaching it I guess. I also kind of wish it could use a 21700 battery/tube, because I’m not wearing it on my head, and it would be great if it could run off the same battery as the DM11. Speaking of the DM11, I suppose in an ideal, magical world it would have a smaller head and longer tube, put out and sustain 2-3x the lumens with the same throw (e.g. a bigger hotspot), without being any bigger or having any other significant changes. A guy can dream, right?
Really though, the DW4 with the frosted optic lights up the trail just the way I want. I get a great big splodge of light out in front of me without any intense hotspot, everything is clear and legible, and my hands are free for the dog without any uncomfortable headgear that makes me look like I’m going to the Moon. And it lasts the whole walk. I don’t know if the DM11 lasts the whole walk, but that’s because it doesn’t need to. A lot of the trail consists of windy paths or obstructed views. I not only don’t need it all the time, it would be actively annoying to use on many parts. But it fits comfortably in my fist within a jacket pocket, ready to hand when space opens up. So a non-boost, max-output/range light fits the bill best. And on this, my regular trail, it can handle all of the distances involved. I’m glad I didn’t get anything shorter range, because it’s hitting its limits in places. But I don’t need anything longer range either, it would just be for giggles at that point. In combination, they are perfect.
3) The D4V2 (linear+FET 519a 3500K standard optic) is a totally different story in terms of use-case, and I didn’t bother with beamshots because hell, you all know what it looks like. But I will *describe* how it performs in its intended role, which is as an indoor light. Basically, it’s great. The low level on the aux lights is so handy for grabbing it from my bedside unit. The moonlight mode is perfect; I don’t think it’d be super useful if lower, and it might be glaring if brighter. My partner has complimented it several times for its softer beam (unprompted, really!), which is tremendous when I’m bumbling around the house at night. Functionally, the color is really good. At lower levels, it could charitably be described as like acacia honey, or uncharitably as like faded or recycled paper. Personally I like it a lot. I never mind turning it on when I wake up and go to the bathroom at night. It’s soft, gentle, yet makes everything nice and clear. I could see how the beam might not appeal to some people at the lower levels, but at medium-high levels it’s just a really pretty, golden yellow, like butter. Outside or in the yard, it’s *okay*. I mean it does just fine, but I really do prefer a more neutral beam temperature for outside. The same golden beam that’s just ideal in an environment made of white ceilings, doors, and tiling, tends to mush colors together outdoors, in such a way that you have to increase output to compensate. It looks pretty, but it doesn’t look super clear—the 5000K of the DW4 is just obviously superior for outdoor use in my eyes. But the whole point of this light was as a round-the-house-pants-pocket light, and it’s more than adequate for occasional ‘expeditions’ to… the yard.
4) So, how do I feel about my choices? I’m not gonna lie, pretty great. The DW4 has exactly the kind of form-factor and performance I was looking for. Clear, consistent, compact, hands-free illumination for close-range. The DM11 with the SFT40 in 5000K is a perfect partner, easily slipping in and out of any coat pocket, and able to handle all the ranges I need it to. This pairing covers my use-case perfectly. I’m also really happy with the D4V2, it’s a huge improvement indoors over what I had previously. It’s a lot closer to the FW3A in form and function than the other two, but still manages to be in a different league, at least for me.
5) One funny thing that came out of buying these lights, is that it’s put me in a bit of a bind with regard to my next purchase. Basically, my idea was to try these out, and on that basis, choose a pairing for travel. I was and am pretty set on the hosts: a D4K and a DM11, the idea being to match them to an Xtar PB2S so I’d have two 21700 flashlights, 4 cells overall, both boosted for max efficiency. The D4K would be a 4000-4500K 519a setup (so that it’s usable indoors and out, still not certain which temp), and the DM11 with either the XHP50.3 or B35AM in a similarly neutral temperature for general outdoor use (but in a floodier format, in contrast to the SFT40 version, so it’s more versatile). But comparing the moonlight of the D4V2, to that of the DW4—which is brighter and has an annoying jump start that brought me back to the first Zebralights I bought \~13 years ago—has really put me off the boost driver for the D4K. It’s a bit annoying, because I really would prefer to have the sustained output of the boost driver over the ‘wow’ of the turbo, especially in a travel light. But I’m not willing to give up a proper moonlight mode. That’s core functionality for me. It’s just a shame, as it’ll end up not being substantially different from the D4V2, and I do wonder if I could have gotten a single light to cover both use cases. But that was never going to happen, was it?
Anyway, that’s that. Hope you enjoyed the beam’n’read!
by mysternee
![[Review] Sofirn SK30: Very nice budget tactical flashlight](https://www.edctips.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/7hx3r1yrpbpg1-770x515.jpg "[Review] Sofirn SK30: Very nice budget tactical flashlight")