Sunwayman V10a XM-L or XP-G differences / impressions

I'm thinking about getting the Sunwayman V10A. I want something that's infinitely adjustable and the Nitecore I just bought is defective. I noticed both the XM-L and the XP-G versions can still be purchased. I wanted to know if anyone has these lights; and what the general impression is of them, and the differences between the same model with the different emitter.

I see the XM-L version is rated at 110 Lumens and the XP-G is 140.. Is it really not as bright?, or is that just on paper. I do know the newer version can take a 3v Li-on and put out something like 400 lumens..

Have you looked at the jetbeam RRT-0? Great light, and it has 4 different battery options it will run off of 1x Cr 123, AA, RCR123 16340, or a 14500.

If you haven't experience both emitters driven equivalently, just a word of caution. An XP-G will "appear" brighter due to the smaller hot spot, and it will throw light further. The XM-L will be more floody and not appear as bright side-by-side, even if total output on the XM-L is higher. Often you can perceive the difference easier by doing a ceiling bounce test (aiming the light straight up in a bedroom).

I had played with a couple smaller lights (Xeno E03, Balder SE-1) with the XM-L/XP-G versions and I personally preferred the XP-G. In a bigger light (bigger than that sunwayman) using 18650 or 2xCR123, and driven hard, such as the 6p format lights, you will get much more of a wow factor with the XM-L.

My V10A XPG is relatively throwy, but still more floody than typical XRE's like my D10 and Quark (XPE NW). I crave a neutral emitter in it much more than more flood.

i'm in the same boat as the OP, but i'm leaning towards an XM-L variant personally

Yes, I did look at the Jetbeam. I believe the company is somehow related to the Sunwayman, or maybe I am thinking Nitecore and Sunwayman.. Their lights seem super bright and extremely well made, but I want something smaller. That was the major reason I got that Nitecore D11.2

John, that's some great info, and the first hand experience that I was looking for. There will definitely be a lot of wow if I run it with the 18650.. I have zero experience with these, I assume that's an AA size protected Li-on battery. I'm seriously considering getting one of these batteries and chargers to get the lumens.

I'm not sure what neutral emitter, is that color? If it is,, I don't know why, but it seems to me a warm or neutral emitters light is easier to see and discern colors, and seems brighter to me..

I am leaning towards the XM-L too. I'm thinking it's possible there may be other small upgrades/changes that would come in the that version.

I really wished that the V10A was just a bit smaller,, less than 23mm and shorter then 100mm. It seems to be on the large size of the EDC's. As it is now, there isn't anything smaller, with a tail click, that can ramp like that (other than my defective nitecore)

DavidMB said:

I see the XM-L version is rated at 110 Lumens and the XP-G is 140.. Is it really not as bright?, or is that just on paper. I do know the newer version can take a 3v Li-on and put out something like 400 lumens.

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The old numbers are different.
Manufactures are switching from 'emitter lumens' to 'Out-the-front (OTF) lumens', which is like ANSI FL-1 standards.
XML is brighter and floodier.
XPG has a little more throw, but less bright overall.

Johnbeck180 said:

Have you looked at the jetbeam RRT-0? Great light, and it has 4 different battery options it will run off of 1x Cr 123, AA, RCR123 16340, or a 14500.

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It's true that RRT-0 can use variety of bat forms, but still a big difference of $$$ btw V10A & RRT-0.

Totally agree with you. For V10A sized light, I would go for XP-G.
Run time and heat management is other things to consider, I guess.

jondotcom said:

If you haven't experience both emitters driven equivalently, just a word of caution. An XP-G will "appear" brighter due to the smaller hot spot, and it will throw light further. The XM-L will be more floody and not appear as bright side-by-side, even if total output on the XM-L is higher. Often you can perceive the difference easier by doing a ceiling bounce test (aiming the light straight up in a bedroom).

I had played with a couple smaller lights (Xeno E03, Balder SE-1) with the XM-L/XP-G versions and I personally preferred the XP-G. In a bigger light (bigger than that sunwayman) using 18650 or 2xCR123, and driven hard, such as the 6p format lights, you will get much more of a wow factor with the XM-L.

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Is this light going to be a EDC? And if so how much would you use it?

Definitely will be an edc light. Mostly it will be in my bag; but once in a while I'd like to carry it, but it seems a little bulky for a front pocket..?!

DavidMB said:

I'm thinking about getting the Sunwayman V10A. I want something that's infinitely adjustable and the Nitecore I just bought is defective. I noticed both the XM-L and the XP-G versions can still be purchased. I wanted to know if anyone has these lights; and what the general impression is of them, and the differences between the same model with the different emitter.

I see the XM-L version is rated at 110 Lumens and the XP-G is 140.. Is it really not as bright?, or is that just on paper. I do know the newer version can take a 3v Li-on and put out something like 400 lumens..

Click to expand...

I own this light, here's the lowdown:

1. V10A is a general use light, it will light a wider area at the cost of throw. Both models do not have very deep reflectors.
2. Of course the bigger XML will have a bigger hotspot.
3. The newer version ROCKS with a 14500 bustin out 460 lumens which is hella brighter than my alternate EDC, the Quark AA also running on 14500. (punches a little over 200 lumens same with the older version of the V10A)

Here's the catch: If you plan to use regular AA batteries, the XPG version looks brighter due to the tighter hotspot (higher lux no doubt).

Quality-wise, you wont be disappointed, though the XML version i got had one tiny scratch in the butt due to the assembly (most likely). I'm just OC about my lights i guess! ahaha!

Go ahead, pull the trigger. One thing AA lights have over CR123 lights are the greater compatibility with generally available batteries. Great on AA's, Wow on 14500's!

But dont get me wrong, i dont hate on Cr123 lights, i buy those too!

octaf said:

It's true that RRT-0 can use variety of bat forms, but still a big difference of $$$ btw V10A & RRT-0.

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Also the AA/NiMH brightness is rather... low (60~ lumens..). Its more of a backup capacity more than anything really.

Its still better suited for 3V primary, or 3.7V protected li-ion (with max limited to a few mins of use at most).

I'd say stick to Sunwayman, as AA/NiMH usage is likely to be better (at least THAT goes above 100) as a potential daily use cell.

Oh yeah, this V10A's the ONLY light that knocked my Quark AA w/14500 from being my default EDC. But I keep my dear old Quark in my bag, so it still travels with me. 460 lumens is hard to pass up in a tiny EDC!

So for those CPF'ers still rockin' a Quark AA 14500, check this out!

I was going for the 650 lumen Jetbeam PA10, but not being able to change modes using a 14500 is a NO-NO for me. NEXT!

DavidMB said:

I wanted to know if anyone has these lights; and what the general impression is of them, and the differences between the same model with the different emitter.

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I have a V10A(XM-L T6 version). It's an well-made & small EDC light powered by AA sized batteries(1.5V alkarine, 3.7V li-ion, 1.2V Ni-Mh).
As you say, the control ring on the head is very convenient to access any brigness level(low~high) and no PWM. It's a shame that few screw threads hold the head on the battery tube.
The runtime is not as long as you might expect on the very low level(1 lumen). There seems no difference in exterior of the lights.
You can refer to Selfbuilt's great review of V10A(XP-G R5 version).

Throw is less with XM-L version on 1.2~1.5v batteries than XP-G due to the larger size of the XM-L.
But the XM-L is a bit brighter & more throw on max on 14500 li-ion than the XP-G.

I think it's difficult to distinguish the difference between 140 and 100 lumens.

First off, sunwayman is in no way related or associated with nitecore or jetbeam. Both nitecore and jetbeam are owned by the same company, however.

I have had the nitecore d10, the jetbeam rrt-0, and the sunwayman v10a. I have been missing my d10 for awhile now. I had hoped the rrt-0 would replace it, but I was always wishing I had my old d10 back. I never bought an upgraded d11 because of all the quality control issues they seemed to have, not to mention the several issues I had with my old d10. You can still find current threads of people here who love their d10 and d11s, but they are getting fewer and fewer if for no other reason than qc issues.

I finally got the sunwayman v10a and decided to bite the bullet and get some li-ions as well. Since I had the extender for the rrt-0, I put them in that as well as the sunwayman v10a. The rrt-0 I have has the xpg led. No contest, sunwayman all the way. The rrt-0, which was my edc for over a year, hasn't been used since the first day I got my sunwayman v10a.

I have also stopped wanting my old nitecore d10.

The difference in brightness from the 14500 to the nimh aa is drastic, but I would still prefer the aa sunwayman v10a to any other single aa I have seen or used. If you are wondering whether to go with the xpg or the xml, I guess that is personal preference, but if you have any kind of question on if you will be buying li-ion rechargeables, go with the xml. The performance boost you get with the xml is so much more than with the xpg. Even if I would not go with 14500s, I would still prefer the xml v10a, but that's me. You might be different.

Imo, if you are getting the sunwayman, it would be worth it to go with 14500s. I absolutely love it and I am blown away by how much light comes out of such a little package. Speaking of, it is tiny. I don't know why somebody would want it smaller, because I can't believe any other single aa lights are going to be more than 5mm smaller, and 5mm is not going to be noticeable. Now the rrt-0 is going to be noticeably bigger than the v10a, that's for sure.

Anyways, at this point, the v10a is just the perfect edc light for me. There will have to be something spectacular to remove this from my pocket, that's for sure.

Such helpful information! I appreciate so much, the help and advise that everyone has given me! I decided to purchase the V10A XM-L version, and am looking forward to it's arrival. The poor Nitecore D11.2 is on it's way back. I thought it was a great light, but it was unpredictable. If they work out the issues with the ex11.2 and d11.2 I would definitely look into purchasing them again (I still think Nitecore is a quality company), but for now, it seems there are better options. I've never used the 14500's before. I purchased 2 ultrafire batteries and a charger, I'm curious what 400 lumens looks like..

Congrats on your purchase! You won't be disappointed! Since you are new to 14500's running them on your new V10A, always be wary of the light's temperature. It WILL get hot, so make sure you give it ample time to cool in between max outputs. This will extend the life of your light and it will serve you a VERY long time. If you have to keep it running for long periods, leaving it at about half (200+ lumens) will allow it to run for several hours on end. Also, dont allow the 14500 cell to drop to zero voltage, it will NOT recharge anymore, even if its a new battery. I learned this the hard way! (DOH!) haha...

DavidMB said:

I've never used the 14500's before.
I purchased 2 ultrafire batteries and a charger.

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Buy a cheap digital multimeter with auto-ranging.

Here are my two EDC's! The Quark AA and the SWM V10A. Never go anywhere without 'em!