Review: Sunwayman M11R Mr. Elfin (XM-L U2 | 1 x R/CR123)


I might be compact (and some may dare call me cute) but to you, it's still Mr. Elfin SIR!!


MFG SPECS
MSRP: $78USD
● CREE XM_L U2 LED, with a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours;
● Output and Runtime of three constant output modes (uses one CR123A)
- 180 Lumens (1.5hrs) - 60 Lumens (10hrs) - 4 Lumens (70hrs)
- Turbo Mode: 230 Lumens (uses one 16340 battery, do not run the light continuously at turbo mode for more than 10 minutes)
- Two Hidden Modes: Strobe, SOS
● Digital Sensor Magnetic Control system, slightly twist the rotator ring to select from different modes
● Constant current circuit, constant output
● Effective range of 130 meters
● Uses one single CR123A (RCR123A/16340) battery
● Working voltage: 0.9~4.2V
● High quality OP reflector maintains great throw distance and spread with an ideal beam pattern
● Dimensions: 75mm (length) x 23.2mm (head diameter)
● Weight: 45.5g(battery excluded)
● Aerospace-grade aluminum alloy
● Military Specification Type III- hard anodized body
● Waterproof, in accordance with IPX-8 standard
● Ultra-clear tempered glass lens resists scratches and impacts
● Tail stand capable- can be used as a candle
● Accessories: Clip, Holster, O-ring, lanyard


SIZE


L to R: AW IMR | Zebralight SC30 | Sunwayman M11R Mr. Elfin | SureFire E1E | Sunwayman V10R Ti



MEASURED PERFORMANCE
As part of my new standards for my reviews, I measure the performance on my PVC LMD by first calibrating the sensor's positon w/a Xeno G10v2 (immediately perfectly regulated in med. mode):

L: Quick calibration w/G10v2 in M | M: Mr. Elfin SIR!! shortly after turn-on | R: Lux @ 1m

Mr. Elfin is rather particular about his outputs depending on the battery being used. Case in point, Turbo (replaces H) can only be achieved via 4.2v LiIon (regardless ICR or IMR). Even LiFePO4 and primary cells create different outputs. Below are what I've measured for 3 different battery types.

AW16340
Turbo - 288lms (~1600lux @ 1m) | Med - 82lms | Low - .3lms


Turbo was taken @ roughly 37 seconds but was 288 @ 31 seconds

LiFePO4
Turbo - 137.8lms | Med - 29.2lms | Low - .3lms



SF123
Turbo - 215lms | Med - 55.4lms | Low - .3lms



The LiFePO4 output is rather curious since I had expected it to be higher than for the primary given the nominal v. I'll recheck its measurement and add a RCR3.0V as well.


BEAMSHOTS
WHITEWALL HUNTING
I've been receiving a bunch of requests to produce white wall beamshots so I decided to use selfbuilt's exposure settings (clockwise: 1/25, 1/100, 1/800, 1/1600 @ f2.9 on AWB) to allow for some consistency (and thus reference) in these shots (however, in my shots, the light is ~.4m to wall / camera ~.59m) . Of course they will never perfectly match up due to differences between our cameras.

The first set is on AW IMR's and second on LiFePO4's to allow you to compare the difference between Turbo vs. High modes.

AW IMR



LIFEPO4



QUICK WALL SHOT COMPARO vs. V10-R XP-G (not color corrected)


L: M11R | V10R Ti (XP-G)


RUNTIME
The relevant battery stats are provided above each runtime graph along with:

- Voltage of the battery at the start and end of the test
- Current draw as taken right before the test
- Actual runtime using ANSI FL1 (first in HR and then in M so for the TNGY read this as 1.3 Hrs OR 86 Min)
- Also captured the temperature: ambient, the head at start and the max it reached (fan was used w/all bats)



Turbo can only be achieved through the use of LiIon RCR's. Case in point, the yellow run is for a LiFePO4 and would not enter Turbo mode. Sunwayman doesn't provide the runtime on RCR's since they warn against running in Turbo for longer than 10 minutes, however, as you can see above the temp doesn't really get too bad (keep in mind though this is w/a fan on). As for the runtime on High, they quote 1.5 hrs on primaries and given that I was able to achieve 1.4hrs using LiFePO4's which have very little capacity, I expect that runtime to be met if not exceeded.

Also, looks like this can be a battery vampire provided the light remains on during the entire run. Case in point, the AW IMR and LiFePO4 were both overdischarged. I can't recall if the PCB kicked-in w/the AW ICR but if using RCR's, it'll be best to stick w/protected cells.

I had a used primary w/resting voltage of 2.89 and was able to power all modes. Another w/resting v of 2.57 wouldn't even turn on in low mode. I was hoping that this would indeed be a true battery vampire (ha, Mr. Elfin... the battery vampire) since I have a few primaries I'd love to drain completely.


WE ARE FAMILY, I'VE GOT MY BROTHERS, SISTERS & ME!

Mr. Elfin's head/body is completely interchangeable with his V brethrens.

MORE TO COME...

Literally just got this in and sorry, not full blown review yet. However, I'll add to it as time allows but likely won't get to it soon since I have a few other reviews queued up.

However, I think I've captured the more important details that inquiring minds would like to know but in the meanwhile, any questions just ask away.

My initial conclusion after a few minutes: You must address this one as Mr. Elfin SIR!!

Cheers,
Tim

HI there. I've been plenty interested in this light since it was announced but, interestingly enough, Jetbeam have just come out with the RRT-01. I think I'm gonna wait and see how these 2 lights compare. I already own 2 CR123 lights but they're XPG's. The XML's should be floodier.

One thing though, the colour options on the SWM M11R are fantastic. If I were to choose based on colour and finish it would definitely be the SWM

All, bunch of new material added.

@BanglaBob - they're not going to compare as it'll be apples to oranges since max output on the M11R is only high 200's. The V11R (and perhaps Niteye's forthcoming EYE10) would better match up against the RRT-01 so you may wish to take a look at that (although not sure it'll have the same color options).

TurboBB, you're absolutely right. I just noticed the RRT-01 is over a hundred dollars

That's more than I'm willing to spend on a single CR123 light.