Sunwayman D40A (XM-L2, 4xAA) Review: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, VIDEO + more

[Disciple]

Does anybody know whether the bezel can be easily removed or is it glued, since it doesn't seem to want to budge and i don't want to invalidate the warranty by breaking an adhesive seal?

The bezel on mine (or rather my father's) loosens by hand but that is after vinhnguyen54 worked on it. He would know if it was glued or not; try asking in the Modding/Repair Helpline thread in his forum section. I'm glad you like the light.

 

[froggyted]

In my opinion this is because there is more than one kind of "brightness" and I think the 9:1 ratio for "doubling" is quite plausible. Let me explain. If you are not measuring a light by the details you can see with it, but only how bright a featureless gray or white target appears, and you have no prior "calibration" from experience with known illumination levels, it take a lot of additional light to appear significantly brighter, especially in absence of a reference level (ambient illumination). I believe that perceived brightness is not only greatly dependent on the circumstance but also varies between people. For that reason I think it is better to compare an objective metric such as the inverse square law of throw. Nevertheless this 0.33 exponent was determined empirically and I suspect that it is true for the majority of viewers in that specific environment. I think it also helps to explain why lumen increases are often perceived as less significant than expected, if discernible at all.

Certainly i would agree with Revscott that the perceived difference between High and Turbo isn't that large, so this would seem to bear out your argument. I will do a short night walk in the next few days and test the two levels for throw. Given that Fenix quotes 270m for the 680 lumen LD41 and Sunwayman quotes 315m for the D40A i am expecting a noticeable difference in throw between the High (550 lumen) and Turbo (980 lumen) levels on the D40A.

 

[gkbain]

Received my D40A NW from GoingGear yesterday. I cycled a set of Eneloops through it and everything seems to work well. The neutral white is nice and only the second one in my collection but I am about to be converted. I am impressed as others with the solid feel. It is a very good size for a light, good output, and easy UI. My lanyard was also too big. I emailed Sunwayman about it but haven't received a reply. I put a spiral ring on it for now. I do not store my lights with a lanyard on them but instead use my favorite one on the flashlight I am using at the time by way of a spiral ring. Very satisfied.

 

[froggyted]

I had a short night walk through woodland and an unlit lane this evening and was impressed with the performance of the light. 30 lumens was surprisingly decent for such conditions. I will post my thoughts in greater detail during the next few days.

 

[froggyted]

Further comments re. the lanyard positioning: i now have a 20cm (excluding lariat loop) round-profile lanyard. This is just about long enough to tie a slipknot and wear around the wrist. Feed the lariat loop thread between your two middle fingers (for using with switch upwards). As long as you don't have the slipknot too tight around your wrist this provides a very secure and comfortable grip, and you definitely won't drop the light if you lose your grip.

 

[Talbingo]

I'm new here and recently purchased a D40A (thank you SB for your many wonderful reviews) from Ledtorchshop here in Oz. I must say, as a new comer to this environment, I was staggered by the quality and performance from this little 4 AA light sabre. Sunwayman have great quality.

I'm using it for walking my dogs in the countryside (lonely country roads) and city (cycleway/footpaths). I find the moonlight & low the most used with the turbo coming in useful when I want to check the path ahead of behind for security. This light can throw a powerful beam a nice distance. It has also given me more reason to walk the dogs so it's a win for the dogs & a win for me.

I find the light a little thick for a pocket EDC but in the holster it's fine.

I love this flashlight.

 

[selfbuilt]

I'm new here and recently purchased a D40A (thank you SB for your many wonderful reviews).

My pleasure, glad you are enjoying the light.

And :welcome:

 

[Aahhyes68]

SWM lists a cool white and a neutral white on their website. I can't seem to be able to find which is which when looking at websites price shopping.

Is there a D40A-CW and a D40A-NW or something similar ??

 

[selfbuilt]

SWM lists a cool white and a neutral white on their website. I can't seem to be able to find which is which when looking at websites price shopping.
Is there a D40A-CW and a D40A-NW or something similar ??

Unless the website specifically specifies it is a Neutral white version, it will definitely be the Cool white model. There is no specific model number variant.

Neutral white versions are always relatively uncommon in the wider flashlight world.

 

[CDK]

Thanks for the fine review, it prompted me to buy this Sunwayman flashlight.

 

[Tmack]

My d40avn has served me well every day since I received it. I constantly have two fresh sets of charged AA at all times.
Before I religiously started locking out, it got turned on in my pocket and was almost too hot to touch. Threw in some fresh batteries and it didnt skip a beat. Great light, before the "v54" treatment, and excellent after.

 

[selfbuilt]

Thanks for the fine review, it prompted me to buy this Sunwayman flashlight.

Thanks, and :welcome:

Before I religiously started locking out, it got turned on in my pocket and was almost too hot to touch. Threw in some fresh batteries and it didnt skip a beat.

Good to hear ... yes, always good to have a lock out option.

 

[Albinoni1967]

Hi Selfbuild just regarding this torch does the red M and power buttons glow as in backlit. Thanks

 

[selfbuilt]

Hi Selfbuild just regarding this torch does the red M and power buttons glow as in backlit. Thanks

No, there is no LED or glow with the buttons on the D40A. It is only the Nitecore EA4 and JetBeam SRA40 that have that feature in this class.

 

[Albinoni1967]

No, there is no LED or glow with the buttons on the D40A. It is only the Nitecore EA4 and JetBeam SRA40 that have that feature in this class.

Thank you Selfbuilt, very nice light though might end up getting one.

 

[credo]

Thank you very much for this review, it prompted me to buy this light, my first 'proper' flashlight, and I love it. The only problem is - I fear the floodgates have opened now, what to buy next?

 

[texbaz]

Thanks, Selfbuilt. been using the GX25A3 for about 9 months, the EA4 for about 10 months (my button cover blew got a replacement from vendor) and ever since picking up the SX25L3 MT-G2 version I really started liking the Neutral White versions. Hope the D40a NW I receive is near as nice as my MT-G2. Thanks again for the review and updates.

update: received my New D40a, fantastic build,plus looks good. the little micro switches sometimes require a second push maybe I'm not pushing hard enough. The Tint is almost identical to the SX25L3 MT-G2, just a much smaller version in format and beam profile. Marshall's crew at GG hooked me up as always, fantastic little light.
If sunwayman wanted to capitalize on this design, maybe a 18650 version, and a more robust build. Wonder why Manufacturers dont make a rubber/silicone outer cover for these lights, for use in extreme environments. one small drop and this guy is going to get dented or damaged INOP.

 

[Nalhcal741]

I recently got a D40A and the switch seemed to quickly become pitted and torn. On close inspection it appeared to have a plastic film over the switch. To remove it i had to undo the metal surround on the switch. It seems to work alright but i am worried that due to the difficulty in removing it, it may not have been meant to have been removed and this may affect the waterproofing of the switch.
Any suggestions / has anyone else experienced this???:thinking:

 

[Tmack]

I didn't have any type of film on mine. Just the smooth plastic. Is still like the day I got it, and I edc this light often.

 

[cpfdemigod]

Amazing review Selfbuilt. Always thorough. Anyways, I just wanted to let you guys know that I found the D40A for $49.99 shipped. I created a separate thread here, with a link to this review, as I just want to get the word out about this amazing deal on one of the best AA lights out there! It's definitely my favorite looking. Again, thanks for the amazing review. We need to spread the word about how amazing this light is!

On a side note, I feel like CPF needs a complete overhaul on how the forum categories are organized. I have been a CPF lurker for over 10 years, and lately I feel it has diluted so much that it's impossible to find what one needs