Boruit C8

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Specifications

Brand/model	Boruit C8
LED	Osram CSLNM1.TG
Lumens	1050 lm
Beam intensity / beam distance	1000 meters
Battery config.	1*18650
Material	Aluminum
Modes	3
Blinkies	Strobe, SOS
Reflector	Smooth
Waterproof	IPX7
Review date	December 2020

One of our readers asked us to review the Boruit C8 since he thought this was the best thrower in this category. I ordered it and 3 weeks later received it. Although Boruit isn’t an unfamliar name for me, this will be the first Boruit flashlight I own.

According to its specs, it can reach up to 1000 meters with an output of 1050 lumens. We’ll find out if these numbers are trustworthy! If somebody would ask me about a C8 style flashlight (that is what this is) I would recommend the Convoy C8 or the Astrolux C8 instead…. even before reviewing it. But would that be a fair assessment? We’ll find out.

Package quality.

There was no package. It came in an envelope, wrapped in bubble wrap. It included the following:

• The flashlight: Boruit C8
• Lanyard
• USB-charger

No manual, no box.

If you are looking for an affordable long-range flashlight, you might have come across the C8s . This type of flashlight has been on the market for many many years. Every few months, another company produces it with a different emitter or driver.

This C8 flashlight is made by Boruit, a budgetfriendly brand. Although I don’t know if Boruit is an actual brand.

The switch is located in the tailcap, and it’s a reverse-clicky switch. That means that you have to complete press the switch and release it to turn the light. It’s probably the most common switch on the market, especially in the budget world of flashlights.

Grip isn’t a problem with this flashlight. The flashlight body has rough knurling that gives excellent grip. The tailcap has no knurling, but together with the head, it has flat sides that make it stay stable when put on a flat surface. If you don’t like to carry it, you can always use the included lanyard! Although there is no holster included, these are pretty cheap to get on websites like Aliexpress, eBay, Banggood etc.

In Medium mode I can hear a high pitched sound, which is pretty annoying in a quiet room.

We are talking about a $20 flashlight including a battery and charger. For that money, I am a bit suspicious in terms of quality and trustworthiness. The charger I won’t be using except for unlocking the protection circuit on some batteries. I would advise you to do the same, and use a lithium-ion charger that is made by a major brand! Just to stay on the safe side.

The flashlight itself is not bad for $20. The body has anodized threads on the tailcap side, and no anodization on the head side. This is great, since you can unscrew the tailcap to get a second lockout. (the first being the tail switch).

Anodization is done very well across the light. I couldn’t find any blemishes or problems with machining.

One reason for buying the C8 is the use of this particular LED. It’s using the famous Osram CSLNM1.TG. This is an extremely high intensity LED that can throw really far. It’s probably the farthest throwing 3.5mm LED on the market. The LED itself sits on an aluminum mcpcb and not copper.

The reflector is deep and smooth. It’s exceptionally smooth, and it’s most likely made of plastic. Smooth reflectors are needed for throwers! (or a convex lens system). The reflector gets protected by a glass lens, which doesn’t seem to have any AR coating. So it’s just clear glass.

When you shine the beam on a white wall it looks very white. It’s definitely on the cold side. The specs mention a color temperature of 6000K, and that is probably correct.

• Length: 142 mm / 5.59 ”
• Head diameter:  44.55 mm / 1.75 ”
• Body diameter: 25.3 mm /  1”

Weight: 

• Empty: 142.3 g / 5.02 oz
• With battery:  187.7g / 6.62 oz

LONG-RANGE FLASHLIGHT COMPARISON

Below is the Boruit C8 compared to other thrower flashlights.

From left to right: Lumintop GT Mini, Boruit C8, MicroFire Falcon H8, Astrolux FT02, Astrolux FT03

Here is where it’s getting weird.

Upon arrival, it was working like this: Low, Medium, High, Strobe, SOS. But now it’s working like this: Low, Medium, High, without the blinky modes. I then realized it has 2 mode groups, even though the specs on Aliexpress don’t mention anything like a 2-group firmware.

To change mode groups, set the flashlight to Low and wait about 5 seconds. The light will flicker, and you should turn the flashlight off. This way you move from 3 modes to 3 modes + 2 blinkies.

Available modes:

• Low, Medium, High
• Strobe and SOS in 2nd mode group.

From OFF:

• Single-click:  (to last used mode, mode memory, including Strobe and SOS)
• Double click: off again

From ON:

• Half-press: Cycle through the menu from Low to High
• Single-click:  Off

Mode memory:

• Yes, including strobe and SOS

Blinky modes menu:

• Strobe and SOS.. But only in the 2nd mode group.

Low battery warning:

• It starts blinking at low output.

Lock-out mode:

• No, not necessary either with this a mechanical switch like this

PWM:

• Yes it does, but at a high rate.

Before I continue, I’d like to point out that the included charger should only be used as a backup, and when you are keeping an eye on it. Since it’s so cheap I wouldn’t trust it enough to charge it unattended.

The battery that was included has a very low capacity. It’s a 2200mAh battery, and although low on capacity, it works well. 2200mAh sounds like a battery from the year 1999. Take a look at the runtime graphs below to see what it is capable off. It also doesn’t perform badly in terms of output. Its throw numbers are the same compared to the Samsung INR18650 30Q (pink).

You can either use protected, non protected, button top or flat tops.

Lumen measurements:

All output numbers are relative for my home-made Integrating Sphere. It is set up with an Extech SDL400 Lux Meter for measurements including a Kenko PRO1D ND-16 filter. The base measurement is done with a Convoy S2+ that has been tested at 255 lumens.

Flashlight	Mode	Amps @start	30 sec	start
Boruit C8	Low	0.02 A	27.58	27.58
Osram w1	Med	0.22 A	193	193
Boruit 2200mAh	High	1.01 A	435 lm	441 lm

The output wasn’t really bad for an Osram W1. It also didn’t drop in output really badly. Check out the runtime below. But it was advertised at 1050 lumens and that is just BS. It doesn’t even reach 50% of the claimed output. Don’t trust anything Boruit says, it’s probably not even a real brand name anyway. Just like alonefire,ultrafire, beamfire, uranusfire and the like.

Runtime:

The runtime test was done with the 50cm integrating sphere, including the Kenko Pro1D ND-16 filter and Extech SDL400 data logging Lux Meter.

Starts blinking when the output is low. The battery was 2.85 Volt when I stopped the runtime test. The flashlight didn’t turn off yet.

You can see that the runtime graph for both batteries look very stable, but that the 30Q (with supposedly 800mAh more capacity) runt a bit longer. It’s interesting that both batteries start dropping in output at the same spot. That is a little strange.

Throw Measurement

Measurements were taken outdoors with a professional Hagner E4-X Lux Meter and 2 types of batteries. The first one was the Boruit 2200mAh, and the second was a Samsung 30Q, both had the same throw numbers!

• (20m): 120,000 cd = 693 meters / 758 yards of throw

These numbers are quite a bit lower than advertised. Brands like Boruit shouldn’t be trusted when it comes to specifications etc.

For the following beamshots I used a Canon EOS 5D Mk2 and a 50mm lens. manual settings: ISO1600, 1/4sec , F4, 5000K

The shed is about 65 meters / 71 yards away and the fence about 200 meters.

Disclaimer: This flashlight was bought with my own money. I have not been paid to review, nor have I been holding back on problems or defects.