[Review] Cyansky M3 || Titanium , 1 x 16340 , Cree XP-G3 S4 || An Impressive ultra-compact EDC

The flashlight was sent to me by Cyansky for review.
Here's the product's page: Cyansky M3



The M3 comes in a little plastic box.



Here's a closeup of the box's rear side that contains the manufacturer's output ratings per mode.



Other than the flashlight, the box includes the following accessories:

  • Micro-USB charging cable.
  • Lanyard with key-ring.
  • User manual and warranty card.



The Cyansky M3 is made out of Titanium and hence its dark grey body color.
The overall fit and finish is flawless.



It's operated by an e-switch that's mounted in the head of the flashlight.
The switch is tactile and barely protrudes the flashlight's head.



The head incorporates some heatsinking fins, while the body also makes use of some engraved grooved for added grip.



The head's bezel is flat and it helps protect the glass lens.



The M3 comes with an orange peel reflector and a Cree XP-G3 S4 emitter.



The tail of the M3 is completely flat, which allows it to tailstand.
The manufacturer has also included a small horizontal hole to allow for the installation of a lanyard.



The head also houses the driver, which seems to be press fit.
In order to save space and decrease the overall resistance, a brass tab is used as the positive terminal.



The body and tail is a unibody piece.
Looking down the body tube, we can see a copper spring being in place.



The head's threads are cleanly cut and are also anodized, which allows the M3 to get mechanically locked-out.



As can be observed, the M3 comes with a removable, deep-carry pocket clip.
The clip provides good retention and is quite slim.



The manufacturer also includes a Cyansky 16340 cell.



The cell contains a micro-USB charging port.
Once plugged it, a little indicator LED will glow in the top of the cell to indicate the battery's charge level.



I run a discharge test of the battery @500mA with cutoff at 3.2V and got 686 mAh of capacity.



While charging the cell, I recorded a maximum of 350mA of input current, so a full charge should take around 2 hours.



The Cyansky M3 is very compact - in fact it's the most compact flashlight I currently own.
From left to right: Cyansky M3, Klarus Mi7C, Skilhunt M200 w/ 18350 tube, Jaxman E2L, Convoy C8+



User Interface

Here's all the actions supported by the flashlight's firmware:
Turn on / off : Long press (0.5s)
Mode cycle: Single press (Low > Mid > High > Turbo > Low > ... )
Strobe: Long press ( > 1s)
Lock / Unlock: Double press.

Low Voltage Warning and Low Voltage Protection is present.
Mode memory is off - The flashlight will always turn on a Low mode.

Output

Here's the output I measured along with the respective current draw of each mode at turn on.



The Cyansky M3 is able to push more than 600 lumen at turn on, which is surprisingly bright for its size.
Additionally, the parasitic drain was measured at 4.7μΑ, which is excellent.

Bottom Line

The Cyansky M3 is a great, ultra-compact EDC flashlight.
Its design and construction quality is excellent, it has great mode spacing and is able to produce an impressive output for its dimensions!

Note: Thermal regulation graphs will become available during the upcoming weekend.

Thanks for the review bilakos10! :+1:

Another “great small light” with an UI that could be so much better and be a best seller…but it is not :zipper_mouth_face:
Anyway, seems a good light and I hope you enjoy it :wink:

$80 is a bit much, no?

Funny, I love it and hate it in equal measure :person_facepalming: - it’s like half of something I’d really like design wise and the other half is not what I’d like at all, also it seems a bit pricey for what it actually is.

Good review , I have a M3 and a Fenix E16. Both serve as spare battery carriers for the most part. Can’t stand the long press, Morse code style operation of both.
Although, low and medium level run times are very impressive on both of my samples.
If you ask the maker directly, the M3 is also available with a 4K SST-20 emitter. These lights are tiny, I have dedicated CR123 battery holders that are larger than the M3/E16.
If these lights had a simple ramping UI I would easily give up carrying larger torches.

I’m in the same boat with you.
Even though I don’t mind using the current UI, having a ramping UI plus implementing a few more UI shortcuts would definitely be something I’d enjoy!

the titanium Factor
would be $40 otherwise

i HATE long press on and off!

i just got a cyansky M1R, their keychain light

it has this bug/feature

i HATE it, after anduril i hate everything else, pretty much

I want to love this light, but it needs driver, emitter, and reflector swapped. For $80 and all that work, it’s just not worth it. And with my luck the switch is probably on the driver board somehow, so the only real chance is a driver piggyback…

i would consider a non titanium version for $40

even with the hated long-press UI

wle

At that size, I’d take a Ti host in the 40-50 range

Why is there no photo of the light turned on?

Why are there no CCT, CRI, and Tint DUV specs?

Despite the recent Opple availability, many are not capable of measuring even CCT, let alone cri/tint/duv.

It’s a xp-g3 in a reflector, it’s guaranteed to be ugly.

turning the light on to show the beam does not require special instruments

and many manufacturers provide CCT and CRI info. (though usually no Tint DUV)

Hi jon I did a review on this early last year. I asked cyansky to send out a m3 in sst20 and they listened to my recommendation. i will try to get you some beam shots later. Great review btw! thanks for the photos. I might make a video update on the year use of the m3.