Has anyone done a review like this? RCR vs 14500 (or something like V10R vs V10A)

Chicken Drumstick

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
1,651
Location
UK
I guess I'm interested in the general principle here, but also of the specific lights in question (hence why not posting in the battery section).

Sunwayman just happens to provide two prime examples of the overriding question I'm asking. Which is, which is the best power source? RCR123 or 14500? And what are to pro's and con's to each flashlight?


In the case of Sunwayman, sadly their website seems a bit outdated and lacking in useful info for such a comparison. But from what I've managed to find out so far you have:


Sunawayman V10A XM-L which can run on a 14500 and produce 460 lumens.

or

Sunwayman V10R XM-L which can run on an RCR123 and produce 460 lumens.


Size wise the 'R' is 82.8mm long vs 100mm long for the 'A' but there is only 0.2mm difference in width.

They also both seem to be available to buy for pretty much the same money.


So assuming you are starting fresh at this and don't already have a stack of batteries to use in them and you only intend to run either RCR's or 14500's - is there any benefit to one or the other? Or as the V10A is longer, why would you buy it over the V10R?



N.B.

I don't know if the lumen claims above are correct... these are figures I've seen in ads for people selling the flashlights, not from Sunwayman themselves.


I guess it would be great if someone like Selfbuilt could do one of their detailed side by side comparisons of these two lights. That way any difference in lumen output, throw, run time, heat, etc. would be easy to see. And it'd provide a good reference point for any other similar lights.
 

mr.snakeman

Enlightened
Joined
May 17, 2008
Messages
592
Location
Stockholm, Sweden
One advantage the A has over the R is that if for any reason you are out and run out of juice on all your 14500 batteries you can just drop in a standard AA cell-cheap and available from just about anywhere. Hard to do with a CR123A-expensive and hard to find "in the bush" so to speak.
 

Chicken Drumstick

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
1,651
Location
UK
One advantage the A has over the R is that if for any reason you are out and run out of juice on all your 14500 batteries you can just drop in a standard AA cell-cheap and available from just about anywhere. Hard to do with a CR123A-expensive and hard to find "in the bush" so to speak.
I guess. But I don't think it'd be an issue if I'm honest. CR123's are pretty easily found in many shops these days (well in the UK at least). And in all honestly I truly doubt I'd ever been in such a need. I'd just carry a 2nd flashlight as a backup.
 

ico

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
554
Location
Philippines
Mr.snakeman was right.

With your situation, the rcr maybe fine.
For others, the 14500 is the way since cr123 are hard to find in other areas
 

Chicken Drumstick

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
1,651
Location
UK
Mr.snakeman was right.

With your situation, the rcr maybe fine.
For others, the 14500 is the way since cr123 are hard to find in other areas
So apart from the convenience of using an AA. does the 14500 'A' offer any other benefits?

I guess specifically I'd be interested in max lumens, run time and stability of the regulation using either setup. mAH capacities seem to be varying for 14500's and RCR123's and with many claims that they don't make the rated numbers.

I'd have no probs getting a V10A if it offered the same output and a few mins longer run time. If however it doesn't, then I'd rather opt for the more compact V10R and achieve the same result.
 

pacmanftw

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
1
I just ordered a V10A a couple days ago after going through this same thought process. I finally chose the AA model because of a couple reasons:

1) The AA lights, as far as I can tell, are all a bit slimmer that the *123A models. This is especially true for 2x CR123A models which also support 18650's which are an even larger diameter. The AA just lends itself to pocket-carry easier in my opinion. I keep the light in the same pocket as my cell phone so I want to keep the light as slim as possible so that they will sit nicely side-by-side without too much bulge. The extra length does not bother me on a single AA model; I actually find that I appreciate the more substantial length for ergonomics/aesthetics.

2) AA models can (sometimes/usually) take a huge variety of batteries for different scenarios.
Alkaline for convenience
NMh for recharge-ability
L91 Li for extended life with modest output
41500 LiIon for huge power/recharge-ability (there's your RCR123A replacement!)
41505 Li for increased power and longevity (there's your CR123A replacement!)

It just seems like the most practical/versatile option for my needs.
 

kbark

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
46
I bought a V10r a few weeks ago and I debated getting the V10a instead. Why did I pick the cr123 version?

The V10r is shorter and if you want to run it on AA's you can just use the AA spacer. So the R can be made longer but the A can't be made shorter!
The AA spacer can also be bored to 17mm allowing you to run 17500's in the R version.

To me the R is more versatile, and it is brighter on primaries than the A.
 

jorn

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 8, 2008
Messages
2,499
Location
Norway
The V10r is BUTT-UGLY with the extention. I will not put it on my v10r ti. It will have to be in a emergency..
14500 have a little more runtime than the 16340. They have the same mAh, but for some reason the 14500 will give some extra minutes runtime over the rcr123 (16340).
 

roadkill1109

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 11, 2011
Messages
2,309
+1

that's right! tested both, 14500 give better run time. just last night, was using my two edc's the Quark and the Lumintop L1C, the latter died sooner and needed a recharge, the quark, i'll be using it as a nightlight in a few minutes! haha :)
 

kbark

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
46
The V10r is BUTT-UGLY with the extention.

I'm hoping that someone will make an aluminum extension that looks a little better and is already bored out to 17mm. :whistle:

Maybe anodized in a few colors, black, red, blue etc. I don't know if my local machine shop would be up to the task, or I would look in to it!
 
Top