A couple months back I received a Cyansky M2 as part of a K3 review flashlight package, so yes, before moving on, I got it for free, no strings attached, but this time 'no review requested.' I'll take it!
Time to be honest...I don't use it much (I use the Fenix E-Lite, H2A, SP10S and FWAA more), but I grabbed it off my shelf recently and despite some eccentricities, I'm starting to like it. I don't put flashlights on my keyring because I just throw it in my pocket. For a keychain light, it came in a nice package, with the familiar Cyansky blue and white motif and some nice accessories were included: keyring with lanyard, short micro USB cable for charging, a warranty card, and simple manual. For the record, Cyansky's manuals are up there with Fenix's and is very readable.
First off, this thing is tiny, and if you have meat mitts for hands like me, that's a problem since it really gets lost in there. Grip? There's no knurling, but the body does have indentations on the side to help with gripping though, and they do work somewhat. I found myself holding it mainly underhand or sort of like a cigarette since it's easiest to reach the switch. It's short (35mm, 1.3 inches long), but a little fat (20mm, .78 inches wide), and lightweight (a little over 1/2 ounce, 18.5 grams). This light is also rechargeable (not sure how they crammed that in there), and has a 200 mAh li-ion battery built in. Yah yah, built in means when the battery goes flat, you toss it in the bin. Kind of a waste of money since this light isn't really inexpensive at around $25 USD. By comparison, I think I got my SP10S for under $20.
When I tested the charging I got 170 mA on my USB tester. According to Cyansky, it should charge the battery in 1 hour. The LED indicator is red for charging, blue for charged and shows battery state when you click the button. Solid blue 80-100%, flashing blue 80-50%, solid red 50-20%, blinking red 20% to 1%. On the back, there's a hole for the keyring lanyard, the micro USB charge port (covered by a rubber flap), a single LED indicator, and a switch button. The button is a tiny 4.5 mm aluminum circle. It sticks out maybe .7 mm, and is almost too tiny for my sausage fingers. Unless you're a Hobbit or possibly related to Tinkerbell, you'll probably resort to using a fingernail to press it. Good news is it's metal, set in a recess in the body, and has a nice click action.
The body is made from aluminum alloy, and the finish is a semi-gloss anodizing that's more matte than glossy. The silk-screening is very nicely done, and quality-wise, no complaints at all. Very nice. The lens is surrounded by a brushed aluminum trim (not really a bezel) that looks great, and that tiny glass lens is AR coated. It covers a small SMO reflector (not sure if it's plastic or aluminum). It's sealed up well, and apparently good for IP68. I'm not sure I completely believe that though given the tiny rubber cover on the USB port. It's hard to seat properly (you kind of have to force it in there).
The LED is the Cree XP-E2 R3 in cool white (6000K advertised). This is a good choice for the LED despite it being CW, but the tint is more white than blue with no tint shift and the beam is pretty clean. It's nicer than some other CW small lights I own. The Fenix E09R with SST20 6500K is on the green side, while the E-Lite is more blue. The beam is really nice, with ample spill and a focused hotspot.
The UI is super-simple, and I like that a lot (aside from the press and hold for on/off). It has 3 well-spaced modes, L-M-H plus a strobe. There's NO mode memory either, which is just fine for a keychain light. Strobe is pretty hidden, with a 1.2 second (roughly) press and hold from any mode. It's a variable strobe and very disorientating.
For performance, Cyansky specs the M2 at 200 Lumens on high and 1720 cd for 83 meters of throw. That's pretty good for a tiny light, but I believe manufacturer specs as far as I can throw them these days, so I tested that in my Makkua-calibrated integrating sphere (all 3 modes), and the candela for all 3 modes.
Here's what I got:
Output (in Lumens-taken at turn on)
- L: 3.65
- M: 54.75
- H: 209.51
Throw (measured with a Uni-t UT383S at 5 meters indoors, reading captured at 30 seconds)
- L: No reading, too low
- M: 675 cd, 51.96 meters
- H: 2375 cd, 97.46 meters
High mode started to throttle after 5 seconds, but stayed consistent for quite a while. This is great performance from a dinky keychain light. I let it run for a few minutes on high and it didn't get hot either, so the "temperature management" seems to work (or it's not being driven very hard). I didn't do any runtime graphs for it (maybe down the road). Overall, a nice keychain light, but there's a ton of other (I think better) options out there for cheaper, but if you want a tiny, quality keychain light, definitely give it a look.
Pros:
- Tiny
- Bright
- Decently quick USB charging
- High quality
- Beats manufacturer specs
Cons:
- Tiny button
- Built in battery
- A little pricey
Tiny button!
XP-E2 R3 in there
Top to bottom: Streamlight Keymate, Fenix E09R, Cyansky M2, Lumintop FWAA
Left to right: Streamlight Keymate, Fenix E09R, Cyansky M2, Lumintop FWAA
Top to bottom: Fenix E-Lite, Cyansky M2, Sofirn SP10S, Skilhunt E2A
From about 16 inches on white paper, camera set to 5000K WB, all lights on their Medium setting. You can tell the difference in tint.
Left to right: Cyansky M2 (SMO reflector-XP-E2 6000K), Feix E-Lite (TIR-Everlight C18A 6500K), SP10S (OP reflector-LH351D 5000K 90 CRI), E2A (TIR-SST20 4000K 95 CRI), E09R (TIR-SST20 6500K). The E09R tint is actually a little greener in real life, and the M2 tint is whiter. The LH351D is my favorite, not far behind the E2A.
Beamshot: The palm tree is about 5 meters away from the camera, on High setting.
