I like the ThorFire! I also like the Convoy!
The one I own is the
ThorFire C8. Frankly, I think the
ThorFire C8s, which dumps the blinky modes of the C8 in favor of an added moonlight mode, is the better of the two. As far as I know, the
Convoy C8 does not offer a moonlight mode.
The following comments pertain to the ThorFire C8. It is similar to the C8s, but some of the videos I watched indicate that there may be some differences. The biggest one I saw was the switch. A couple of the videos show the C8s using a forward clicky. My C8 uses a reverse clicky. Another biggie is the driver. According to two reviewers of the C8s, it does not use the same driver as the Convoy C8. Instead, its driver features a large inductor that is probably necessary in creating the moonlight mode of the C8s.
Positives: The ThorFire C8 is a solid, very well-built flashlight. It uses square-cut threads on the body tube, and has a screw-in, removable pill that holds the driver and emitter. Anodizing and fit-and-finish are excellent.
Negatives: The user interface uses "on-time memory" to implement mode memory. When a mode has been on for only a short period (2 seconds or less), a half-press of the tail switch will take you to the next mode. If a mode is active for longer, then the next off-on cycle or half-press will leave you in the mode you are already using.
This works great when you turn off the flashlight. When you come back later and turn it on, it remembers the last mode you were using, and wakes up in that mode. When the light is already on, however, and you just want to go to the next mode, on-time memory means that the first half-press does not change modes. It simply flashes the light off and on. The second, and subsequent, half-presses then cycle through the modes.
This is a bit inconvenient, but I understand that there are many flashlights that work this way. I do not own a Convoy C8, but I recall reading that its user interface works the same way.
In his YouTube review, OldLumens observes some whining in medium mode of his C8s. CPF member JFong has the same C8 that I have. When we compared them, we found that his has a very low whine in medium mode. According to him, mine does not. (With my poor hearing, I did not hear any whining from either of them!) The C8s reviewed by FlashLion did not have any whine.
OldLumens was also unhappy about the pill in his C8s. It has a hole in the center, directly beneath that part of the MCPCB where the LED is mounted. He says that detracts from the flahslight's abilty to shed heat. In my own usage, however, I found that my C8 does not run very hot, especially compared to tube lights like the
Convoy S2+ or the
BLF Special Edition A6.
Subjective factors: The ThorFire models come only in cool-white. Convoy gives you a choice of tints. Convoy also lets you choose how many 7135 chips to include in the driver. I do not know what driver is used in the ThorFire models. The C8 may be a standard driver that uses 7135 chips. See this
photo from the review by David Moore. My C8 also has four 7135 chips on the bottom of the driver board. Mine, however, are in different positions than David's. As noted above, two reviewers, FlashLion and emarkd, say that the C8s does not use a standard C8 driver.
Here are links to the excellent reviews by
FlashLion and
emarkd.
The following YouTube review of the ThorFire C8 is by David Moore. It's a good one. It includes photos of his tear-down. One nitpick: David says the lens is plastic, but I think it is glass. In their reviews, FlashLion, emarkd, and OldLumens all report finding a glass lens (without AR coating).
This next review, by OldLumens, is for the ThorFire C8s.
At the end of the day, your choice may come down to tint vs. moonlight mode. If you need neutral-white, buy the Convoy. If you want moonlight, get the ThorFire.
One final note about user interface. With a forward clicky switch, the C8s has a momentary-on capability. Changing modes, however, is then best performed when the flashlight is off. Each successive half-press shows you the next mode. When you see the mode you like, click all the way to turn on the flashlight.
Alternatively, when the flashlight is on, you can change modes by quickly turning it off and back on.
When a mode is active for more than 2 seconds, it will be stored in mode memory. That is the so-called "on-time" memory feature. As above, when the flashlight is on, and you have been using it for a while, this means that the first time you rapidly turn off and back on, your light will stay in the same mode you were using. The second and subsequent times you rapidly turn it off and back on, it will advance to the next mode.
Did I already say that mode selection on a flashlight with a forward-clicky switch is best performed with the flashlight off? You bet.
