SunwayLED is a new manufacturer that is making a big splash on the flashlight market with their attractively designed lights. The M20C continues to prove that these lights seem to have the performance to back up their looks.
SunwayLED M20C
Meat and Potatoes
The M20C further expands SunwayLED’s initial line of control ring based lights filling a gap with a nice medium-format light. It is powered by either 2 CR123A cells or a single 18650 if you want to take advantage of the usefulness of a rechargeable cell. SunwayLED has again shown they have a propensity for “getting it right” when it comes to the tactile feel and near silent activation of the control ring UI. It just feels excellent. There is no slop or play anywhere and it’s very well blended into the aesthetics of the light.
On that note, the overall aesthetics of the M20C are fantastic. The machine work is superb and the, dark olive anodizing appears thick and flawless. It is beset with coarse square threading furthering the impression of durability given off by its rugged visage. SunwayLED has definitely shown that their designers are competent in creating products that you can’t wait to show off.
SunwayLED M20C
It has the same Low-Medium-High-Strobe settings of the smaller M10R, however this time they are very well spaced, visually. The Low is very adequate for nighttime navigation and the High is really quite bright. More importantly, the Medium mode seemingly halves these two extremes very nicely, allowing for greatly extended runtime and yet much increased brightness over the minimum. I realize that if I were to put the question of what 3 levels would be best to 100 different enthusiasts like ourselves, I would likely receive 89 different answers (statistically some of you have to agree). I do however view myself as particularly average when it comes to lighting desires. Since these levels are right about where I like them, I suspect many of you will feel the same.
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
Constructive Criticism
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 M20C 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.
One interesting note, since I am testing this light concurrently with the smaller SunwayLED M10R, 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.
The M20C 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 fairly nice allowing the light to be carried deep in your pocket with just the tailcap protruding. 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. Also, for lights of this size, the inclusion of a high quality holster would be an excellent benefit to many people. I don’t really consider many 18650 sized lights to be all that pocketable, so the best method to carry it without it being cumbersome, is holstered.
SunwayLED M20C
Conclusions
An entry level light with a ton to offer, the M2C is a fantastic worklight that isn’t too bulky. Excellent design and workmanship come together with a fan favorite control ring UI to make a quality product that stands out from the pack.
Provided for review by the kind folks at SunwayLED via Battery Junction.