Why so little talk of the SWM V20c?

I have seen much talk on the V10and V11 lights, but why no interest in the V20c? Seems like the best all around light to me.

- Ti Bling?
- Easier carrying a spare batt for runtime than making a 2 cell pocketable?
- IV ring users not too concerned about runtime anyways?

I really like the look of the c20c. But heard of some red light issues with it. Also I`m a poor old boy, I don`t want to spend...and then re-spend to get a brighter light. For $30 bucks more I would rather get the neutral white Sc600w and be done with the 18650 pocket rocket size. Same general output with better tint...automatic step down as the battery weakens...maybe a bit more efficient.

But for sure like the cuteness factor of the c20c more. I`m old school though. Brighter better...longer run time better...tint matters. Trumps the cuteness factor.

It is a question that I'm doing. Not only the V20C is the design flashlight Nº 1 (V10R is Nº 2) (IMHO), but the performance itself is at the same level of the competition. With Led U2, it offers nearly 500 lumens with a good runtime. This is plenty of power for almost any purpose, except perhaps to illuminate the place where you want to shoot your gun (hunting, police).
The build quality is excellent.
No best interface on the market (IMHO).
For my taste, it just needs a version with neutral white light (IMHO).
Better if there was Champagne V20C that V20C Ti (IMHO).

The Sunway V20C may not be too popular because it:
(1) is not a 16340/18350 size light, which is most pocketable, hence most popular for edc.
(2) the infinite ring control is not critical on a more medium or small-medium sized flashlight; infinite control is more important in smaller 16340/18350 sized lights which are used more for short distances and indoors.
(3) the V20C's balanced flood/throw beam is not as popular as the pure flood lateral spill beams.
(4) the V20C doesn't pack as many lumens as competitors eg it packs only some 460 or 500 lumens, where the ZL SC600 packs 750 lumens.
(5) the V20C looks a bit bland compared to the SC600; but very personal comment though.

The greatest competitor for the Sunway V20C is probably the Zebralight SC600.
The SC600 has a side clicky only, so it is a short 107mm long, and continuous adjustment is generally not in great demand for this size of flashlight.
The SC600 has a pure practical flood beam, with less throw than the V20C.
The SC600 outputs 750 lumens, which is about 1.5 times more than the V20C.
The V20C has a lot of catching up to do.

The V10 and V11 lights are popular because:
(1) compact 16340 size,
(2) infinite continuous ring control adjustments, while the ZL SC80 has a side clicky for 3/6 levels of brightness only.
(3) XP-G and XM-L emitters available, where the Zebralight SC80 only uses an old XP-G emitter with a tiny hot spot.
(4) the V's have style, where the SC80 looks quite bland; the SC80 needs to be quickly replaced by an SC800 XM-L....

I think the system continuously variable intensity and attached on/off switch is the best control system for almost any type of flashlight. Only if that proves essential to accurately control the runtime system will be better spot-controled intensities, and even in this case the runtime will depend on the manufacturer's specifications and the quality of the battery and / or battery type used.

The intensities "turbo", "please, no more than five minutes", do not seem a factor to consider in choosing any flashlight. A good balance between power and runtime I think is a good reason to buy, except very specialized uses.

In relation of Zebralight SC600, I think another good buying criteria is the ability to use primary batteries (also rechargeable batteries), because primary batteries usually offer more runtime performance against the rechargeable Li-ion; SC600 failed in this matter.

SWM V20C offers superior quality and appearance and performance at the top level (except the lack of neutral light), and its UI is the best available on the market.

I like a lot of the Zebra, but I prefer de Sunway.:laughing:

The perfect light IMO would be the T20cs with some moonlight settings. The reason I found the v20c was the search for low lumens and long runtimes.

I used to want to own this light, but with all the new lights coming out, there really isnt much on the V20C that warrants a second look. (sorry to say)

But its a good solid light. Just a bit dated though and there are others out there already that are brighter, and look better.

It was great back then, until the competition caught up.

cancow said:

... The reason I found the v20c was the search for low lumens and long runtimes.

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Interesting... did you know variable rings consume power roughly equivelant to a 3 lumen mode or ~10 ma? If you tend to use low lumens like 3 lms or moonlight (~ 1ma) a lot, you will likely be cutting your runtimes by well over 50% vs a clicky. This overhead drain is not material in relation to the higher lumen modes though (eg, 100lms ~ 300ma).

In do know the rings use power but the v20 runtimes were great compared to any othe ring light I found data on.

reppans said:

Interesting... did you know variable rings consume power roughly equivelant to a 3 lumen mode or ~10 ma? If you tend to use low lumens like 3 lms or moonlight (~ 1ma) a lot, you will likely be cutting your runtimes by well over 50% vs a clicky. This overhead drain is not material in relation to the higher lumen modes though (eg, 100lms ~ 300ma).

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What other lights do you recommend? The lumen race is already a moot issue for me. Once a light is pushing 500 lumins, any more is worthless. Does a 600hp car really do more for you than a 300 hp car for real world situations?heck , I have been using my 4 D maglight for 31 years with no complaints.

roadkill1109 said:

I used to want to own this light, but with all the new lights coming out, there really isnt much on the V20C that warrants a second look. (sorry to say)

But its a good solid light. Just a bit dated though and there are others out there already that are brighter, and look better.

It was great back then, until the competition caught up.

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I recently got the V20C for hiking and search & rescue. It is a general purpose light --- in my uses --- that gives a range of outputs. With the variable control ring I get useful lows and high up over 400 otf lumens.

I find that for my purposes a higher high is not important. Already have a stable of lights w/ more lumens.

In sum, I like the V20C --- especially the control ring.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

cancow said:

What other lights do you recommend? The lumen race is already a moot issue for me. Once a light is pushing 500 lumins, any more is worthless. Does a 600hp car really do more for you than a 300 hp car for real world situations?heck , I have been using my 4 D maglight for 31 years with no complaints.

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Well, if you'd like an EDC which most people will agree is one of the best here, the Zebralight SC600 (cool or neutral white) 95 bucks shipped. Good thing about strong lights is that when you need the extra lumens they are there, but you'd normally use it on medium or low modes.

So with the car analogy, given the same weight, the 300hp car will max at 300hp while a 600hp car can run at 300hp then when you need the extra kick, step harder on the gas and get it up to 600hp for the extra punch.

If I were to guess, I'd say the v20c's biggest weakpoint is its output, which is at least 20% less than most competitors, and in some cases more like 40%. Whether or not that really matters practically, I think the advertised 438 lumen top-end is something most people can't look past. Beyond that, it has a lot going for it -- arguably the best general-purpose UI going, a great useful beam pattern (again, arguably more useful in more situations than the SC600 or the more throwy lights), ability to run off both primaries and rechargeables (again, advantage over SC600).

How would this light do with a XP-G2 mod?

The sc600 always sounded nice, but I am not really an edc kind of guy so smaller to me just means harder to hold, more difficult to manipulate, and less runtime. I would rather have a larger 2 battery (cr123/AA) setup than not.

I almost bought a V20C. The Jetbeam RRT21 ended up being my choice. Slightly more output and a bezel diameter of 33 mm. I can use diffusers and Fenix traffic wands on the Jetbeam. The SWM was a slightly smaller bezel and did not have diffuser options. Some people complained about the ramping of the control ring brightness on the V20C. A dead area at first followed by a quick increase in brightness.
I still would get one if it had more output or came in neutral.

How low of lumens does the rrt21 go?

?

Lou Minescence said:

I almost bought a V20C. The Jetbeam RRT21 ended up being my choice. Slightly more output and a bezel diameter of 33 mm. I can use diffusers and Fenix traffic wands on the Jetbeam. The SWM was a slightly smaller bezel and did not have diffuser options. Some people complained about the ramping of the control ring brightness on the V20C. A dead area at first followed by a quick increase in brightness.
I still would get one if it had more output or came in neutral.

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cancow said:

How low of lumens does the rrt21 go?

?

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Not low enough ! About 3 lumens. That sounds low enough, but you first have to turn it on to about 4 lumens and then back it down to 3. That is my only complaint with the RRT21. Sometimes wish I had the V20C for the low low.

I bought a V20C off of the marketplace earlier this summer, and I like it a lot. Do I wish it had a higher top end lumen count, or came with a neutral emitter? Sure. Overall though, as others have touched on, it is a very solid, general purpose light that does a lot of things very well.