Sunwayman V11R (XM-L, 1xR/CR123A, 1xAA/14500) Review: RUNTIMES, VIDEO, BEAMSHOT+

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,005
Location
Canada
Warning: pic heavy, as usual. :whistle:

V11R004.jpg

V11R003.jpg


The 1xCR123A/RCR-based V11R is the new version of the V10R from Sunwayman. Although I haven't tested the older V10R, I did review the 1xAA-version, the V10A – which shares the same head.

For this review, I have also picked up the Sunwayman AP-05 AA-extender for the V- and M-series lights. So you can look forward to a wide range of testing across all supported battery types here. :wave:

Reported Manufacturer Specifications:
  • LED: CREE XM-L U2
  • Output/Runtime using 1 x CR123A: Max 190 lumens (1.5 hrs), Min 1 Lumen (35 hrs)
  • Using 1 x Li-Ion 16340, Turbo Mode: 500 lumens (25 min) - CAUTION: Do no run for more than 5 minutes in Turbo Mode
  • Constant current circuit, constant output
  • Effective range of 456 feet (130 meters)
  • Uses: One CR123A Lithium battery, or one RCR123A. AA extender allows for use with AA Alkaline and 14500 cells.
  • Working voltage: 0.9~4.2V
  • High quality OP reflector maintains great throw distance and spread with an ideal beam pattern
  • Dimensions: 3.3" x .9" (84 x 23mm)
  • Weight (w/o Battery): 1.7oz (49g)
  • Aerospace-grade aluminum alloy
  • Military Specification Type III hard anodized body
  • Waterproof, in accordance with IPX-8 standard
  • Ultra-clear tempered glass lens resists scratches and impacts
  • Tactical forward click switch with momentary on
  • Tail stand capable (can be used in "candle" mode)
  • Accessories: Clip, O-ring, lanyard, holster
  • MSRP: ~$85
V11R001.jpg


Standard Sunwayman packaging includes a belt holster, clip-on style pocket clip, lanyard strap, extra o-rings, manual, warranty card and product insert.

V11R040.jpg
M11R016.jpg

From left to right: CR123A; Sunwayman M11R, V11R, M10R; JetBeam PC10; Thrunite Neutron 1C; Zebralight SC30; 4Sevens Mini 123.

All dimensions are given with no batteries installed:

Sunwayman V11R: Weight 50.5g, Length: 84.3mm, Width (bezel): 23.1mm
Sunwayman M11R: Weight 45.8g, Length: 76.4mm, Width (bezel): 23.1mm
Rofis JR10: Weight 75.0g, Length (max): 110.6mm (angled): 92.9mm, Width (bezel): 24.8mm
Jetbeam PC10: Weight: 50.5g, Length: 93.6mm, Width (bezel): 22.6mm
Lumintop ED10: Weight: 21.5g, Length: 70.4mm, Width (bezel): 20.7mm
Thrunite Neutron 1C: Weight: 45.2g, Length: 91.5mm, Width (bezel) 22.0mm

As mentioned above, Sunwayman also sells an optional AA-extender for the V11R:

V11R014.jpg

V11R015.jpg


With this extender in place, you can now run AA/14500 batteries. :) Note the extender has a narrower internal diameter than the regular CR123A-size battery tube, thus preventing AA-size cells from rattling inside the light.

V11R017.jpg

V11R016.jpg


V11R027.jpg

V11R019.jpg

From left to right: Duracell AA NiMH; Sunwayman V11R with AA extender, V10A; Foursevens Quark AA; Fenix LD10; Jetbeam E3S; Tiablo E2A; Zebralight SC51.

Sunwayman V11R with AA extender: Weight 59.70g, Length: 100.5mm, Width (bezel): 23.1mm

V11R010.jpg

V11R005.jpg

V11R013.jpg


The build has a number of updates to the earlier V10R/V10A.

But first what hasn't changed – you still get the same rich, dark gray natural finish anodizing. Sunwayman has always had one of the best quality anodizations, with a very attractive finish (IMO). As always, all labels are fairly small and bright white against the dark background.

One of the main physical differences is the addition of reasonable knurling to both the body tube and control ring, thus enhancing grip. This makes the control ring easier to access by feel, and improves the overall gripability of the light.

The clip-on style clip is of improved quality, and holds more firmly against the light now. It is still not as robust as a screw-on clip (e.g., see the M11R I have just reviewed), but a definite upgrade from before.

The switch cover is something else that has changed – you now have a distinctive-looking metal boot cover. Personally, I have always preferred rubber boot covers – the main issue with metal ones is that you have to hit the cover right on the center, or you may not activate the underlying switch (i.e., less forgiving than rubber). The switch feel with this type of cover is also different – you may worry about not reliably activating the switch, due to the perception of less direct contact. However, I understand Sunwayman will soon begin shipping a rubber cover with the light, so you will have the option to change it yourself. :thumbsup:

The light can still tailstand, but with more scalloped edging around the base (which facilitates access to the switch).

Screw threading size and diameter has not changed from the early Sunwayman lights, which means you can still mix-and-match heads and bodies across all models. Screw threads are anodized, for head lock-out.

User Interface

As before, you activate the V11R by the tailcap switch. Half-press the tailcap for momentary-on, click for locked-on

Output level is controlled by the magnetic control ring in the head. As before, the V11R features a continuously-variable interface – you control the output level by twisting the ring. You can thus select your desired mode while the light is off (at least approximately).

And that's it - no blinking modes, no standby modes. :) For a more detailed examination of the build and user interface, please see my video overview:



Video was recorded in 720p, but YouTube typically defaults to 360p. Once the video is running, you can click on the configuration settings icon and select the higher 480p to 720p options. You can also run full-screen.

PWM

There is no sign of PWM that I can see, at any output level – I presume the light is current-controlled, as claimed. :)

Circuit Overhead

There is no Standby/Off mode on the control ring – if you click the switch on, the light will come on at whatever level the ring is set at (i.e., from Min to Max).

At the lowest output level, I measured the current as 19.7mA for 1xCR123A installed, and 14.4mA for 1xCR123A. Although only approximate, that gives you an estimated runtime at the lowest level of just over 4 days on 1400mAh CR123A, and just over 2 days on 750mAh RCR. These exceed the 35 hr max runtime spec provided by Sunwayman. :)

Output Ramp

One question users often ask is whether a given continuously-variable ramp is "visually linear". The short answer is the V11R – like its predecessor V10A/V10R - is generally "visually-linear" (in the sense commonly understood here).

The reason that this is an issue is that we do not perceive brightness in a linear way, relative to actual lumen output (e.g., a 200 lumen does not actually look twice as bright as a 100 lumen light to us). So if the light varies the output through a control ring in a lumen-linear fashion, it will seem very distorted to our relative perceptions (i.e., it will seem to spend a lot of time at the higher end of the output range, with little perceptible difference).

The common solution that flashlight makers have adopted for this problem is to adjust the variable interface to correspond to a logarithmic ramp of circuit power. This is what is known as "visually-linear" here, as there is a long-standing belief in many lighting/electronic/optic communities that we perceive light in a logarithmic way.

To compare two otherwise similar lights – one with a circuit-linear and one with a logarithmic "visually-linear" ramp – see my reviews of the Jetbeam RRT-21 and the Sunwayman V20C, respectively.

While most consider a logarithmic ramp a huge improvement over a standard circuit-linear ramp, it is still not perfect from a relative perception viewpoint. This has become increasingly obvious to me as flashlight makers have expanded the dynamic range of their offerings (i.e. both higher Highs and lower Lows) – the logarithmic relationship for our perceptions just doesn't seem to hold true at the extremes

In reviewing the scientific literature, I have discovered that the logarithmic adjustment model actually dates back to 19th century testing methods. More recent psychometric research from the late 20th century to today has indicated that the range of relative human sensory perceptions appear to more closely follow specific, discrete power relationships. For perceived brightness of a non-point source of light (which would include a flashlight beam), current research findings typically find power values in the 0.30 to 0.35 range (i.e., very close to a cube root, or 0.33).

For a full discussion of this issue - including detailed graphs and primary literature references - please see this post and the subsequent discussion.

To show this graphically, let's start with what the V11R's ramp would look like in terms of estimated lumen output. To measure this, I slowly turned the ring at as close to a constant rate as I could manage, over ~25 secs or so. My lightbox collected output readings every second, which I then converted to estimated lumens and plotted against the estimated degree shift of the ring (i.e. with 360 degrees being a complete turn). Note the ring only turns about 1/3 the circumference of the light, or about 120 degrees.

V11R-EneRamp.gif

V11R-14500Ramp.gif


I have blown-up the first quarter of the ramp in the inset graph, to show you that output does indeed increase over the whole ring (albeit seemingly slowly at first). As you can probably tell, the pattern does look rather logarithmic (i.e., if I were to plot these on a log scale, you get something approximating a straight line).

But again, as more recent research has showed, we don't really perceive light in a perfectly logarithmic way. Plotting with a cube root transformation should give the best indication of what you are likely to see by eye.

V11R-EneRampPower.gif

V11R-14500RampPower.gif


The point to the above is to show that the V11R uses a logarithmic ramp (like the earlier V10A), but rises to a higher max output. I haven't plotted the performance on 1xCR123A, but it should look intermediate to my AA and 14500 ramps above. :wave:

Beamshots:

V11R007.jpg

V11R022.jpg


The V11R has a fairly typical looking head for a light this size. The reflector is lightly textured (i.e., LOP). Emitter was not perfectly centered on my sample, but it was pretty good.

And now, the white-wall beamshots. ;) All lights are on Max output on the identified battery type. Lights are about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.

1xRCR (AW Protected 750mAh) Li-ion Comparison:

M11R-RCR-Beam001.jpg
V11R-RCR-Beam001.jpg

WK21-Beam001.jpg
i1-Beam001.jpg


M11R-RCR-Beam002.jpg
V11R-RCR-Beam002.jpg

WK21-Beam002.jpg
i1-Beam002.jpg


M11R-RCR-Beam003.jpg
V11R-RCR-Beam003.jpg

WK21-Beam003.jpg
i1-Beam003.jpg


M11R-RCR-Beam004.jpg
V11R-RCR-Beam004.jpg

WK21-Beam004.jpg
i1-Beam004.jpg


1xCR123A Comparison:

M11R-CR123A-Beam001.jpg
V11R-CR123A-Beam001.jpg

J10R-CR123A-Beam001.jpg


M11R-CR123A-Beam002.jpg
V11R-CR123A-Beam002.jpg

J10R-CR123A-Beam002.jpg


M11R-CR123A-Beam003.jpg
V11R-CR123A-Beam003.jpg

J10R-CR123A-Beam003.jpg


M11R-CR123A-Beam004.jpg
V11R-CR123A-Beam004.jpg

J10R-CR123A-Beam004.jpg


1x14500 (Aw Protected 14500) Li-ion Comparison:

V11R-14500-Beam001.jpg
V10A-14500-Beam001.jpg

WK26-Beam001.jpg
E2A-14500-Beam001.jpg


V11R-14500-Beam002.jpg
V10A-14500-Beam002.jpg

WK26-Beam002.jpg
E2A-14500-Beam002.jpg


V11R-14500-Beam003.jpg
V10A-14500-Beam003.jpg

WK26-Beam003.jpg
E2A-14500-Beam003.jpg


V11R-14500-Beam004.jpg
V10A-14500-Beam004.jpg

WK26-Beam004.jpg
E2A-14500-Beam004.jpg


1xAA (Sanyo Eneloop) NiMH Comparison:

V11R-AA-Beam001.jpg
V10A-Beam001.jpg

WK25B-Beam001.jpg
E03-Beam001.jpg


V11R-AA-Beam002.jpg
V10A-Beam002.jpg

WK25B-Beam002.jpg
E03-Beam002.jpg


V11R-AA-Beam003.jpg
V10A-Beam003.jpg

WK25B-Beam003.jpg
E03-Beam003.jpg


V11R-AA-Beam004.jpg
V10A-Beam004.jpg

WK25B-Beam004.jpg
E03-Beam004.jpg


Ok, those are a lot of beamshots. :sweat: But the take-home message is that the beam pattern is what you would expect for a light this size.

Testing Method:

All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, a la Quickbeam's flashlightreviews.com method. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling.

I have devised a method for converting my lightbox relative output values (ROV) to estimated Lumens. See my How to convert Selfbuilt's Lightbox values to Lumens thread for more info.
Throw/Output Summary Chart:

My summary tables are reported in a manner consistent with the ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Effective March 2012, I have updated the Max Output ANSI FL-1 lumen estimates to represent peak output measured at 30 secs (my earlier gray tables were based on a later time point for Max output). Please see http://www.flashlightreviews.ca/FL1.htm for a discussion, and a description of all the terms used in these tables.

M11R-FL1-Summary1-1.gif


The reported 190 lumens Hi output spec on 1x CR123A seems pretty accurate in my testing. But the 1 lumen Lo output spec seems very conservative - mine went down to one of the lowest levels I've ever seen. :eek:oo:

M11R-FL1-Summary2-1.gif


On 1xRCR, the reported 500 lumens Hi output spec again seems pretty believable for the light. Although the Min output increased somewhat, it is still among the lowest I've seen for this battery type.

The reported 130m Beam Distance spec seems rather optimistic. On 1xRCR, it does approach something close to that – but the ANSI FL-1 spec should relate to 1xCR123A performance.

V11R-14500-FL1-Summary1-1.gif


On standard AA batteries, V11R output has increased my older XP-G-based V10A, but throw has decreased (as you would expect for an XM-L emitter)

V11R-AA-FL1-Summary1-1.gif


On 14500, you get comparable characteristics to the 1xRCR, naturally.

Output/Runtime Comparison:

1xRCR:
M11R-HiRCR.gif

M11R-MedRCR.gif


1xCR123A:
M11R-HiCR123A.gif

M11R-MedCR123A.gif


The V11R performs well for the output levels (i.e. overall efficiency is good).

One oddity however – on all levels below Max levels, the light doesn't hold its initial output. Rather, it drops off over time, eventually stabilizing at a level <60% lower than the initial output. :thinking:

This may be a quirk of my one sample, but on 1xRCR it actually rises in output slightly over the first 1-2 mins, before starting off on its descending trajectory (you can't really see it the runtime above, due to the scale height).

Although peculiar, this drop-off was still gradual enough that you will not notice it happening by eye.

1xAA:
V11R-L91.gif


V11R-HiEne.gif

V11R-MedEne.gif


V11R-HiAlka.gif

V11R-MedAlka.gif


Overall efficiency is again very good, on all standard AA-class batteries, at all levels tested. :)

1x14500:
V11R-Hi14500.gif

V11R-Med14500.gif


Again, overall efficiency is good on Li-ion.

But the same pattern of shifting output over time (with a delayed stabilization) is observed here. Indeed, it was even more pronounced on all my 14500 cells – there was a clear increase in output over the first 3+ mins, sometimes rising by as much as 30%, before descending into a gradual drop-off. As before with 1xRCR, the light eventually leveled off somewhere <40% of its initial output level. :shrug:

Note I observed this on a number of 14500 and RCR cells (including different brands), and the effect seemed to be consistently greater on 14500. Interestingly, if you scroll back up the standard AA runtimes, you'll note something similar (but far less pronounced) seemed to be occurring there too.

Not sure what it all means, but again it is not something you can notice very easily by eye (i.e. it is still gradual enough that you can't notice the change in output). And you can of course always turn the ring if you want more light later on – that's the advantage of continuously-variable.

Potential Issues

The included metal clicky switch cover can make it difficult to reliably access the switch, and the switch feel with these sorts of covers is never as good as with rubber boot covers. But I understand Sunwayman plans to start including a separate rubber boot cover with the light soon, so you will have the option of switching it over yourself.

As before, relatively few screw threads hold the head onto the body – but this means the light continues to be backward compatible with all the earlier M- and V- series lights.

Given the circuit overhead of the continuously-variable ring, runtime at the lowest output might not be as long as you would expect (i.e., 2-4 days, depending on battery type). This is comparable to the earlier V10R/A series.

The initial sub-maximal output levels set by the ring are not full stable on Li-ion batteries, but rapidly rise and slowly drop-off over time, eventually settling at a much lower stabilized level. I don't know if this was a quirk of my one sample, but it is not a problem in practice – the change in output is gradual enough for you not to notice by eye, and you can always adjust the ring for more output later if needed.

UPDATE July 2, 2012: The control ring is a bit stiffer than I would like, and you can potentially unscrew the whole head (breaking contact) when trying to turn it (depending on how you are holding the light). Others have commented on this latter point, but it hasn't been a big issue for me in practice for single-handed use (I think because the longer length of the AA-size makes it easier for my hands to grip it solidly - may be more of an issue in default 1xRCR length).

Preliminary Observations

Over the years, I have carried a number of different lights on my person – from Fenix, Jetbeam, Zebralight, 4Sevens, Liteflux, Nitecore, Sunwayman, and more. One key spot is a 1xRCR or 1x14500 class light in a holster on my belt – and for last six months or so, that position has been held by the Sunwayman V10A. It has done the job well, which is why I haven't felt compelled to replace it. Until now, that is. ;)

The V11R (with the 1xAA extender tube) fixes a few of the minor concerns that I had identified on the V10A. To wit, the lack of suitable tactile differentiation of the control ring from the rest of the head, the lack of sufficient knurling/grip elements on the body, and a weak clip that can easily be pulled off. All of these are better on the V11R (I wouldn't say perfect, but much improved certainly).

About the only new feature that I don't like is the metal switch cover on the V11R – I am therefore glad to hear that Sunwayman will be offering an extra rubber boot cover with the V11R from now on. :)

I am also glad to see what hasn't changed – most notably, the logarithmic "visually-linear" ramp of the control ring. :thumbsup: The lack of detectable PWM, the good overall output/runtime efficiency, the excellent anodizing, and the consistent threading (allowing you mix-and-match heads and bodies across the whole M- and V-series line) are all worthwhile things that I am glad they kept unaltered. The circuit glitch of not maintaining the initial set output level on 3.7V Li-ion sources is a bit strange, but not really a problem in use (i.e., gradual enough not to notice, and can always adjust the ring for more light eventually).

Oh, and the natural-anodized AA-extender piece is a nice addition, so that you don't have to buy a whole new light for added AA/14500 flexibility. :)

At the end of the day, this is really more of a cosmetic upgrade to the V10A/R line. There may not be a lot here to compel an upgrade from those who hold the earlier series (although I appreciate the extra grip features and improved clip). Certainly, if you are in the market for a well-designed, continuously-variable light in the CR123A- or AA-class sizes, the V11R is a strong contender.

----

V11R was supplied by Battery Junction for review.
 
Last edited:

dc38

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 22, 2011
Messages
2,086
Location
On the east coast of the yoosah. In the place wher
As always, a wonderful review! Just out of curiosity, I noticed on your comparison chart of the RCR 123 size cells; the Sunway man actually OUTSHINED the Jetbeam PC10?!?!?! Although it doesn't seem to be by much, do you visually notice any difference between the outputs, and how do the tints compare??
 

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,005
Location
Canada
As always, a wonderful review! Just out of curiosity, I noticed on your comparison chart of the RCR 123 size cells; the Sunway man actually OUTSHINED the Jetbeam PC10?!?!?! Although it doesn't seem to be by much, do you visually notice any difference between the outputs, and how do the tints compare??
There's not much of a difference. The V11R is touch brighter overall, with a slightly wider spill beam. The PC10 seems to have a touch more relative throw.

As for tint, that is likely to be highly variable across samples. For what it's worth, my V11R seem to be a more consistent premium white tint across the whole beam pattern (The PC10 had some warmer tint shifting in the corona relative to the hotspot). On the whole, the V11R was probably a touch cooler than my PC10 sample - but again, that could be completely different for another two samples. :shrug:

Certainly not a lot to distinguish one from the other, at the end of the day.
 

peterharvey73

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 12, 2011
Messages
1,005
Wonderful review as always Selfbuilt.
Nice to hear that the V10A has been your EDC; sounds like you prefer the V10 for its compact size, and the V10A for the run time over the V10R.
Wow, I wish Jetbeam themselves or BatteryJunction would lend you an RRT-01 18350 for testing, but without a AA 2200 mAH, it may still not make it as your new EDC...
 

fishndad

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
Messages
460
Location
ohio
the build in the tailcap on the pc10 is cheep not excited about that however i still like the light.
i just dont think everything comes down to how many and how far.
i dont own a sunwaymay yet! but this review convinced me they build lights better than jetbeam and i do own some of those.
thanks for your time and effort.
 

Dubois

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 12, 2012
Messages
660
Great review, as usual, Selfbuilt. I'd also be interested in your views of the RRT-01, which I guess is the closest competitor to the V11R.
 

briankanderson

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
1
Sunwayman V11R (Mods?)

Thanks for the great review. I'll be purchasing one of these very soon as my new EDC. :)
As always, I'm thinking of mods and I'm wondering if anyone out there who already has one of these in hand could comment on the likelihood of this working:

Bore out the 14500 adapter piece to around 17.3mm so it would accept a 17500 cell in place of the 14500. With a rough calculation, that's almost a 50% increase in energy and therefore worth a small bit of hassle if feasible. There's a reviewer out there on a certain "limited money"-light-forum that mentions the body can accommodate a 17mm cell (if just) so in theory the spacer is all that stands in the way of much improved run times...

Continuing that train of thought, it seems that one (with modification to spacers /and/ main body) could also accommodate an 18650 cell with the utilization of two spacers back to back, assuming they screw together. Definitely a bit of work on the lathe but theoretically possible...?

Thoughts on either mod?
 

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,005
Location
Canada
Wonderful review as always Selfbuilt.
Nice to hear that the V10A has been your EDC; sounds like you prefer the V10 for its compact size, and the V10A for the run time over the V10R. Wow, I wish Jetbeam themselves or BatteryJunction would lend you an RRT-01 18350 for testing, but without a AA 2200 mAH, it may still not make it as your new EDC...
Great review, as usual, Selfbuilt. I'd also be interested in your views of the RRT-01, which I guess is the closest competitor to the V11R.
The RRT-01 does look interesting, but I have not been sent one to review. The 18350-option on that light is appealing for extra runtime capacity (does the circuit have a protection feature though? all 18350 cells I'm aware of are unprotected).

In any case, one thing for me is that I prefer the AA-length. My hands are fairly large, with relatively long fingers - anything smaller than a typical 1xAA light feels a little too small (i.e. hand cramps up try to operate it). I have the same issue with little mini travel mice or fold-up keyboards - I like a full size computer mouse and keypad.

the build in the tailcap on the pc10 is cheep not excited about that however i still like the light.
For some reason Sysmax (parent company to Nitecore and Jetbeam) has settled on a common switch for most their models that has a somewhat "squishy" feel. :shrug: I don't know about the RRT-01, but the PC10 definitely uses this switch.
 

Kilovolt

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
2,400
Location
Lake Como, Italy
Thanks for the excellent review. :thumbsup:

I have quite recently received one of these lights and in actual facts a rubber switch boot was installed while the infamous metallic cover was in a ziplock bag together with its mounting hardware and a spare switch. I do not plan to put it on but I have to say that the switch cover of my Ti2 after some initial scraping noises has now settled down to an absolutely unobtrusive behavior.
 

Bl4ckSheep

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 10, 2012
Messages
5
I wasn't 100% sure if i should take the V11R or the V10R. But now i know that i must buy the V11R.
I love this light and i love your review.

Thanks a lot!
 

MichaelW

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
1,788
Location
USA
Since Energizer has seen fit to upgrade the L91 & EA91 cells, going from 8x to 9x & 4x to 6x respectively, will the upgrade of the L91 affect your testing?
Did the upgrade from 7x to 8x do anything noticeable to a reference light?
 

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,005
Location
Canada
Since Energizer has seen fit to upgrade the L91 & EA91 cells, going from 8x to 9x & 4x to 6x respectively, will the upgrade of the L91 affect your testing?
Did the upgrade from 7x to 8x do anything noticeable to a reference light?
Hmmm, don't know how much of that is just marketing spin. I know from my CR123A testing that manufacturers continually tweak their formulations over time, so i presume the same is true with L91. But it may not specifically correlate with packaging. For what it is worth, my L91s were from a "8X" labeled pack.
 

Rokron

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 29, 2011
Messages
184
Location
Fort Lauderdale, FL
:twothumbs Top notch review, Safebuilt! When I got my V11R back in early April, I too was disappointed with the crappy feel of the button so with all the switch assemblies that I had from my V10R conversion to Steve Ku trit switches I just went right ahead and changed the assembly right off and the V11R has been clipped to my pocket ever since. One thing though, SWM made things right by shipping new switch assemblies for us but one thing that I dont understand is why did they include the switch itself? :confused: The switches are the same. All they needed to do was to send out the white nylon washer with the raised collar, the rubber boot and the threaded ring. Thats all I used from the assemblies that I had. See http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?268740-Sunwayman-V11R&p=4647195#top "Sunwayman V11R" thread, post #11 for photo of parts.
 
Last edited:

srvctec

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 5, 2005
Messages
1,119
Location
Central USA
Amazingly detailed review as always, selfbuilt! How does the beam in real life actually compare to the V10A (kind of hard to tell in the photos)? I have a V10R and it has been my EDC for 8 months or so and absolutely love it, except for the clip and the non-tactile brightness adjustment ring. What I'm wondering is if the beam of the V11R is more floody, as I suspect it is, which would actually work even better in my line of work. Also, did Sunwayman mention when they would be including the rubber switch cover with these? I don't want one unless it comes with the rubber cover and Battery Junction doesn't mention the rubber cover yet, either.

Thanks for your great reviews over the years! When I want to check out a new light, I just hop on CPF and search for your reviews. :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,005
Location
Canada
What I'm wondering is if the beam of the V11R is more floody, as I suspect it is, which would actually work even better in my line of work.
Yes, in most senses of the word "floody": the V11R has a slightly wider spillbeam, a broader hotspot, and a brighter spill than the V10A. You add all that up, and the subjective impression is definitely "floodier". There is also a more noticeable beam ring around the spillbeam periphery on my V11R sample, though.

Also, did Sunwayman mention when they would be including the rubber switch cover with these? I don't want one unless it comes with the rubber cover and Battery Junction doesn't mention the rubber cover yet, either.
I don't have specific information, but I understood that all shipping lights now (soon?) would include both. And according to KiloVolt, his actually came with the rubber boot installed.

I would recommend you directly contact any vendor you are thinking of getting the light from, and confirm what they are currently shipping. Most dealers are typically fairly responsive on such matters.
 

GordoJones88

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Messages
1,157
Location
Tennessee
Looks like the new top dog . . . for now.

Thanks a bunch for the review and especially this graph I use.

Thank you Battery Junction for the Sunwayman V11R review sample.

Now I need to see the JetBeam RT-001 on here too. :naughty:

M11R-HiRCR.gif
 

GordoJones88

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Messages
1,157
Location
Tennessee
I noticed on your comparison chart of the RCR123 cells, the Sunwayman V11R actually outshined the Jetbeam PC10?

Referring that JetBeam PC10 claims 550 ANSI FL-1 lumens and Sunwayman V11R claims 500 lumens.

I had some PC10 questions Selfbuilt answered here and here.

Hmmm, I wonder how the V11R would respond to an AW IMR 16340 . . .

Oh well, I suppose we will just never know . . .

:whistle:


PC10-LumenSummary.gif



Obviously, you'll want to recharge your battery every 30 seconds for max brightness.
 
Last edited:

Teobaldo

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
130
Location
Santiago de Chile
Thanks for the great review. It was seeking a flashlight that functioned with diverse types of battery and this is the one that more I have liked. I bought it in KD and I am expecting that arrive at my house.

Thanks again and congratulations for you work.
 

Bl4ckSheep

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 10, 2012
Messages
5
I ordered it a few days ago from hkequipment.net and can't wait to hold it in my hands :D
 
Top