AardvarkSagus
Flashlight Enthusiast
SunwayLED M10R
Attempting to break into a saturated but lucrative market, new manufacturer SunwayLED has definitely come out swinging. With their sleek and interesting products, they also want to prove that the M10R is more than just eye candy.
SunwayLED M10R
Meat and Potatoes
The user interface of a multimode light is a difficult hurdle to overcome at best. How do you make it simple enough, and yet provide easy access to however many output modes you choose to provide? I have seen many different types of user interfaces on lights, and yet one of my my absolute favorites still remains the control ring. Having direct access to your desired light output that is independent of the power switch is a very desirable feature. The control ring of the M10R has an excellent feel with light tactile feedback letting you know when you are switching modes and yet maintaining silent operation.
SunwayLED has chosen basic Low, Medium, and High constant outputs plus the seemingly obligatory strobe mode. The constant levels are rated at 4, 20 and 190 lumens respectively, however I feel I have reason to question these numbers. Though the High output seems plausible when compared to other lights in the same vicinity, the Medium output seems far to close in appearance for such a disparity in numerical value. At the same time, the 4 lumen low more closely resembles the "Moon" mode of the 4Sevens Quark series. It is only slightly brighter to the naked eye. I am not saving this for the constructive criticism section strictly because I don't necessarily believe these to be poorly chosen levels. I just find the labeling to be suspect.
Utilizing an R2 bin Cree XR-E LED, the SunwayLED struggles against the well established and even infamous Cree ring common to these LEDs. Thankfully the textured reflector goes a long way toward smoothing out these imperfections and creating a usable beam. Also of interest to some (myself included) is the complete lack of any kind of preflash when you start the light in the lower modes. There is actually some evidence of the opposite in effect, an ever-so-slight hesitation before hitting full brightness in the higher modes. This is by far more tolerable than being hit with a painfully bright flash when trying to preserve some semblance of night adapted vision.
Cree XR-E R2
Slim and compact, the M10R incorporates this normally bulky UI into a trim and attractive package. The machine work on this light is absolutely superb. All the appropriate edges are bevelled or chamfered leaving no sharp points to catch. They have chosen to leave out the standard crosshatch diamond knurling common to the industry, favoring instead a more unique ridged grip pattern for the barrel of the torch. Close attention to detail has been paid and SunwayLED has managed to turn out a very smart looking product. Thick dark olive anodizing and robust square threading compliment the aesthetic design of the light and make it appear that this light will easily withstand the test of time.
SunwayLED M10R
Constructive Criticism
During daily use of the M10R I have discovered that occasionally the light does not behave in a completely predictable manner. There are times that the torch will activate in low mode when I know for certain that I have put it into another setting. Occasionally, this problem will self correct within a second or two as the light realizes what is supposed to happen, but more often than not, it will stay there until I adjust the output while the light is on and change it back. This seems to happen most in the strobe mode but since that end of the control ring's travel has some play beyond the last setting, I am not always certain what mode I am in. This brings me directly to my next points.
One interesting note, since I am testing this light concurrently with the larger SunwayLED M20C, I am presented with an interesting dilemma. The control ring UI on these two lights are effectively identical with only a sole exception. While facing the light away from you, the M10R rotates the ring to the left (counter-clockwise) to increase brightness where the M20C rotates the ring to the right (clockwise) for the same effect. Taken as an individual light, this poses no trouble at all, but since I am repeatedly switching between the two I find myself selecting an unintended mode relatively often. It presents the question that possibly these lights could benefit from visual indicators as to which output is being selected.
Since it appears an unwritten rule that every new LED flashlight must have a strobe feature included, I would like to start seeing them tucked a little further out of the way from normal day to day operation. Not in any sort of way that makes them actually difficult to access for those who wish, but just enough to prevent stumbling into that mode by mistake. With the control ring of the M10R I believe this would be relatively simple. My thought for the best separation would be to somehow increase the tension of the tactile click between modes just for the last step up to strobe. This would keep it completely accessible as it is currently, but give it just that little bit of separation that would prevent accidental activation.
The M10R comes prepacked with a lanyard and removable pocket clip. I am not personally a big lanyard fan so not many points are won that way. However for those that are, this one seems adequate for the task at hand. The included pocket clip is a wonderful shape allowing the light to be carried deep in your pocket with just the tip of the tail protruding when carried bezel down. The problem is that it is a relatively loose fitting tension attachment that allows the clip to rotate relatively easily around the barrel of the light and is even easily removed. I would like to see some more secure method developed to attach the clip. In the mean time, my light is travelling clipless.
Tension Clip
Conclusions
Compact, easy to use and really quite bright. The M10R is a single-cell light with a control ring UI that is small and sleek enough to be carried as an EDC torch. The fact that it looks this good while doing it is just icing on the cake. It still has a couple areas where it could improve, but overall it is one excellent introduction piece.
SunwayLED M10R
Also SunwayLED M20C
Provided for review by the kind folks at SunwayLED via Battery Junction.
Attempting to break into a saturated but lucrative market, new manufacturer SunwayLED has definitely come out swinging. With their sleek and interesting products, they also want to prove that the M10R is more than just eye candy.
SunwayLED M10R
Meat and Potatoes
The user interface of a multimode light is a difficult hurdle to overcome at best. How do you make it simple enough, and yet provide easy access to however many output modes you choose to provide? I have seen many different types of user interfaces on lights, and yet one of my my absolute favorites still remains the control ring. Having direct access to your desired light output that is independent of the power switch is a very desirable feature. The control ring of the M10R has an excellent feel with light tactile feedback letting you know when you are switching modes and yet maintaining silent operation.
SunwayLED has chosen basic Low, Medium, and High constant outputs plus the seemingly obligatory strobe mode. The constant levels are rated at 4, 20 and 190 lumens respectively, however I feel I have reason to question these numbers. Though the High output seems plausible when compared to other lights in the same vicinity, the Medium output seems far to close in appearance for such a disparity in numerical value. At the same time, the 4 lumen low more closely resembles the "Moon" mode of the 4Sevens Quark series. It is only slightly brighter to the naked eye. I am not saving this for the constructive criticism section strictly because I don't necessarily believe these to be poorly chosen levels. I just find the labeling to be suspect.
Utilizing an R2 bin Cree XR-E LED, the SunwayLED struggles against the well established and even infamous Cree ring common to these LEDs. Thankfully the textured reflector goes a long way toward smoothing out these imperfections and creating a usable beam. Also of interest to some (myself included) is the complete lack of any kind of preflash when you start the light in the lower modes. There is actually some evidence of the opposite in effect, an ever-so-slight hesitation before hitting full brightness in the higher modes. This is by far more tolerable than being hit with a painfully bright flash when trying to preserve some semblance of night adapted vision.
Cree XR-E R2
Slim and compact, the M10R incorporates this normally bulky UI into a trim and attractive package. The machine work on this light is absolutely superb. All the appropriate edges are bevelled or chamfered leaving no sharp points to catch. They have chosen to leave out the standard crosshatch diamond knurling common to the industry, favoring instead a more unique ridged grip pattern for the barrel of the torch. Close attention to detail has been paid and SunwayLED has managed to turn out a very smart looking product. Thick dark olive anodizing and robust square threading compliment the aesthetic design of the light and make it appear that this light will easily withstand the test of time.
SunwayLED M10R
Constructive Criticism
During daily use of the M10R I have discovered that occasionally the light does not behave in a completely predictable manner. There are times that the torch will activate in low mode when I know for certain that I have put it into another setting. Occasionally, this problem will self correct within a second or two as the light realizes what is supposed to happen, but more often than not, it will stay there until I adjust the output while the light is on and change it back. This seems to happen most in the strobe mode but since that end of the control ring's travel has some play beyond the last setting, I am not always certain what mode I am in. This brings me directly to my next points.
One interesting note, since I am testing this light concurrently with the larger SunwayLED M20C, I am presented with an interesting dilemma. The control ring UI on these two lights are effectively identical with only a sole exception. While facing the light away from you, the M10R rotates the ring to the left (counter-clockwise) to increase brightness where the M20C rotates the ring to the right (clockwise) for the same effect. Taken as an individual light, this poses no trouble at all, but since I am repeatedly switching between the two I find myself selecting an unintended mode relatively often. It presents the question that possibly these lights could benefit from visual indicators as to which output is being selected.
Since it appears an unwritten rule that every new LED flashlight must have a strobe feature included, I would like to start seeing them tucked a little further out of the way from normal day to day operation. Not in any sort of way that makes them actually difficult to access for those who wish, but just enough to prevent stumbling into that mode by mistake. With the control ring of the M10R I believe this would be relatively simple. My thought for the best separation would be to somehow increase the tension of the tactile click between modes just for the last step up to strobe. This would keep it completely accessible as it is currently, but give it just that little bit of separation that would prevent accidental activation.
The M10R comes prepacked with a lanyard and removable pocket clip. I am not personally a big lanyard fan so not many points are won that way. However for those that are, this one seems adequate for the task at hand. The included pocket clip is a wonderful shape allowing the light to be carried deep in your pocket with just the tip of the tail protruding when carried bezel down. The problem is that it is a relatively loose fitting tension attachment that allows the clip to rotate relatively easily around the barrel of the light and is even easily removed. I would like to see some more secure method developed to attach the clip. In the mean time, my light is travelling clipless.
Tension Clip
Conclusions
Compact, easy to use and really quite bright. The M10R is a single-cell light with a control ring UI that is small and sleek enough to be carried as an EDC torch. The fact that it looks this good while doing it is just icing on the cake. It still has a couple areas where it could improve, but overall it is one excellent introduction piece.
SunwayLED M10R
Also SunwayLED M20C
Provided for review by the kind folks at SunwayLED via Battery Junction.
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