SunwayLED M10R XRE R2 Impressions

(wouldn't mind if it was moved to the Reviews section...LOL)

well today I received my SunwayLED M10R XRE R2.....

and seems I am glad I was fast to order the light 'cos the LED is being replaced by a XPG R5.....I am all for throw these days and could not risk a wider beam.

So...Why I bought the light

I had been tempted by the JetBeam RRT-0. Indecisiveness and lack of the necessary funds kept me from it...Then SunwayLED came, the RRT-0 was updated to an XPG, and I got a new seasonal job. Within the first week I started the process of buying the M10R....

This is my first Magnetic Control Ring Light, and if I waited any longer I would entirely miss the generation of. Who knows, in a year or two you might have all-programmable lights from every manufacturer (or maybe a combination of both methods, yeh I wish!).

And I do like the looks...Lots of clean lines and squared edges, a striking difference from the Icon models. It is almost Teutonic. And the RRT-0 seems so busy and extravagant, especially at the tailcap.

The M10R is as fat as any CR123 light should be and it beats the competitor regarding length...had the RRT-0 been a bit longer I see no reason not to go to a slim 18650 light....

more Body & Style Impressions

The light is almost what I expected...

Anodization is grey black though I expected it to be a dark brown one.
It is a bit longer than I thought, but the control ring is less raised than I thought would be.
And it smells funny! Grease like, exactly like some oil covered tools do, after you take them off the packaging

There isn't a tailcap and you can access the switch from the back...there are 2 tinny holes at opposites sides around the tailcap bootie and seems you open it this way.
So batts are placed unscrewing the front end...good enough, but like another member commented, there should be some more threads there...It takes only 1.5 revolutions to put/take the parts together...

Form & Function

Much will have to be said when I start EDC'ing the light clipped in my left jeans pocket...
There is a lot of movement in that place, punishing the wire clip of the Akoray AAA I EDC at work...Both lights are the same height and carry the same with only the botton and rim showing....
So I would like to see what happens to the Sunway Clip....which has to small projection on the ends that clip around the light body... Lets see how they affect the pants cloth...BTW the altter is enameled and a bit rough at its sides (yes i can be that picky LOL)

I also wan to see what happens with the control ring when I will carry it this way. Will it turn to another mode?

For the moement I will not comment on the click feel of the magnetic control ring.. I have not used it enough.
But I do like the placement of Low at one end and strobe at the other. If you want to EDC it you can leave it at low or twist it at that level easily before putting the light on. If you are using it "Tactically" you can easily jump form High to Strobe...

Performance

One cannot say that it is an eye scorcher, at least with the XRE...
But I am gladly loosing some lumens for the FLAT constant current regulation. (please see Selfbuilt & HKJ reviews)

I immediately took some measurements comparing the M10R to 2 other EDC lights. My venerable Rexlight 2.0 that was blessed with a crazily LOW Vf Q5 (up'ed the performance of Eneloops 100%) and a tricked out Ultrafire XPG

So....Performance is right between the two... Not a bad choice, for me at least!

The bad of it....

The M10R offers no proper function with Rechargable Li-Ions. Looking at the spec sheet that came with the light we see a handwritten 0.9-3.2 Volt note....
AND a small sticker on the light level specs...it says 60 lumens for the medium setting, but underneath the original printed text said 20!!!

Exactly what most users here would wish for!

BTW lightbox readings show that medium is at 50% of high. Not that bad but at close range it does not seem like that.

Furthermore...by comparing the High mode reading to other lights measurements I strongly believe that this is not a 190 lumens one...My various Q5 drop-ins fall at the 500-520 range so in extrapolating M10R output I would say it is at 150 real lumens.

SunwayLED M10R XR-E R2 Eneloop Readings

As an afterthought to my review, I measured performance with an AA Eneloop

..............A draw.....Lux @box
Low............0.84.............182
Medium.......2.05.............280

Impressive huh? Now why didn't Sunway will not sell stand-alone M10A and M20A bodies?

Comparison Pics

from the left: Rexlight 2.0 AA, UltrafireA20, M10R, AkorayK102 AAA, FenixL0D-CE, 18650 IMR

It's a pity

but so much effort launching a new company with promising lights and to spare the cost of a good translator...

Here is the back of the packaging



That "Flashlight Elf" needs explaining....

That was all folks! Stay tuned

I would only comment on selector ring and the clip.

When i go out to tried M10R i found the selector ring accidentally could switch to another mode. I carry this in my right pocket.

As for the clip, i doubt it will shred and tear your pocket. I found mine has a little bit traction compared with my Nitecore Extreme. On my test, M10R much easier to draw and deployed compared with my NEX.

Because the clip does not give enough "bite" on pocket, sometimes i'm afraid it will snag on something and dropped from my pocket. I'm wondering if you could provide more info about this after you EDC'ing M10R for few days..

Waiting fo some pictchas!

here are some, plus the ones I put in the first post





Did you notice the small clip "ears" on the upper right? these are what i am concerned with....

I love the look of the light, but read some poor reviews on the ring action smoothness and a few other issues. That and the price was a bit high for me with an XR-E. If it had a XP-G at the same price, I'd heavily consider it. Though I wish they'd make an extender for it to run AA/14500 also (or as you mentioned, sell the AA body).

jsr said:

I love the look of the light, but read some poor reviews on the ring action smoothness and a few other issues.

Click to expand...

I would like to read that "negative" review for M10R, do you still have the link?

jsr,
there IS an XPG version now....

you are right about the enxtender, but I do not think it will ever be...Sunway won't even sell standalone M10A & M20A bodies

njet212,
hmm I have stumbled in a comment that the ring action is not that firm as the RRT-0 and the clicks are less pronounced....the latter I noticed myself.
There are there, not flimsy, but now something a person next to you would hear...

Comments on EDCing it

The test it is over....for a month I was EDC that long slim AAA flashlight shown above, the Akoray, cliped in my left jeans pocket....Honestly guys I cannot understand how you cope with this....It jabs you constantly....espsecially when you are driving, the only bearable way to keep it is turning sideways on you body pointing at *that"* area of.

Anyway, teh M10R was better in that regard. Not only because it is shorter, but also because it is fatter, ergo less pointy.
The Clip gave no problems but 2 days of is too little to judge.
No movement of the ring was observed even when driving.

Now that i ahve no longer have to weat T-shirts I have the light clipped in a shirts flaped pocket. It seats almost between my arm and chest and I am not noticing the weight. Did taht with teh Fenix L0D and the clip was softer than the M10R making it slip.

I am sorry but I have to confirm what I stated a few weeks ago: :shakehead

Kilovolt said:

For me M10R has been the worst purchase of 2010. Very ringy beam and an awful spacing of the levels. Also the strobe is too easily accessible but this might not be a defect to somebody.

Click to expand...

More importantly, did the flashlight elf ever show? That alone would be worth the price. oo::duck:

No on the elf,

yes on teh ringy beam....I am still exploringt it.....having the experience of focusing my P60 modules to Cree Ring reduction and them measuring the chance in hotspot intensity, I would - at the moment- say that the led should be a hair thin up in the reflector for the best intensity.....

Who carries the XP-G version? I like mine, no issues with the selector ring other than it not fully engaging on low. I fixed the ringy beam with satin tape.

Matt at BJ will, he said so in the cpf marketplace sunway thread...

Thank you for taking those pics!

I agree on the AA extender thing, it's one of the things that make the RRT-0 so appealling. Versatile, and the fact that in one of the configurations (with the AA extender), no spare parts are left - as is the case when it's another body.
Not so appealing is the apparent blue'ish color and the occasional donut holed unit some folks complain about.. :duh2:

I'm thinking of opening threads from time to time, for flashlights i'm interested about, but mentioning (lack of) features or problems that make me hesitate on buying them.
Feedback for manufacturers to chew on.. or not heh