Keygos M10
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary:
Battery: | 1x 26650 unprotected/protected |
Switch: | Reverse clicky |
Driver: | Keygos M10 |
Modes: | 5, no memory: High 100%, Medium 50%, Low 13%, Fast strobe, SOS |
LED Type: | XM-L T6 1x (Cool White, seems like 1C to me, no pink, only a hint of a greenish tint) |
Lens: | Glass, seems uncoated |
Reflector: | SMO - smooth |
Tailstands: | Yes |
Price Payed: | 18.69 AUD / 19.50 USD |
From: | Ebay - cwtco - M10a (shipped me by mistake an M10) |
Dimensions:
Battery: | 27.0*70mm minimum. Protected 26650 with a button top fits no problem. |
Switch: | 20mm |
Tail cap: | 17*6mm |
Driver: | 20mm, with retaining ring (17mm inside diameter), 10-11mm deep |
LED: | 20mm star, aluminum MCPCB |
Lens: | 41.4*1.85mm, glass, seems uncoated |
Reflector: | 41.7*31.6mm, SMO |
Pill: | 30.6*16.1mm, aluminum |
O-rings: | 20.5*1.35mm 1 on each end of body. 2 grooves for O-rings toward head. Too small. Body diameter 29mm deep 1mm. Lens O-ring 40*1mm, a bit small 42mm would be easier to assembly. Reflector O-Ring 40*1.5mm, a bit too thin, 40*2mm might make a better seal, it seals an edge so it should be fine. |
Body: | 155*44.3*31.5mm, aluminum, seems like durable black finish |
Pros:
- High PVM, seems higher than Nanjg 105c
- Does not overheat quickly (yet = modding here we go!)
- Light weight, compact for a 26650
- Great flawless finish, smooth threads
- 2 attachment holes, does not interrupt tailstand
- Nice throw, tight small spot, plus decent spill
Cons:
- Driver sucks, period, 5 modes, Strobe + SOS, no memory, means one has to cycle through modes and also through the blinkies
- It is unknown to me if it monitors the battery to prevent over discharge
- Apart from the reflector O-Ring and working lens O-Ring the rest is too small and IMHO won't seal well
- There is space for a deeper reflector which is exactly the size difference between M10 and M10a reflector
Features / Value: ★★★★☆
Comes in a bubblewrap, paper box put in a plastic envelope for transport. It has black O-rings on body and GITDs on the reflector. Tailcap is low and light will tailstand by default. Driver is a piece of annoying crap. It has 5 modes, 2 are useless, need to cycle due to no memory. PVM is high maybe 6kHz. Groups are in this order: 13/50/100%/FastStrobe/SOS. Tail side of the body has 1 O-ring the head side has 2. It also comes with a cheap lanyard. Emitter is an XM-L T6 1x cool white on a 20mm aluminum star MCPCB.
It is a good value for the money when additional modding is intended.
Given price and features it competes very well with other flashlights. For 20 USD there is hardly any competition for it when it comes to single 26650 lights.
Design / Build Quality: ★★★★☆
Manufacturing is reasonable, standard chinese lack of attention to detail and quality means rough edges on a pill and holes with sharp edges, threads seem thin, color finish is flawless though. Design is good and so is manufacturing of the parts except for sharper edges on a pill and tail to attach lanyard. Assembly is decent. Body O-rings are too small. Reflector does use centering isolator and does not touch the emitter board. Body is aluminum without any dents or nicks with a nice matte black finish. Body has checkered texture and provides a good grip. Tailcap is low and light will tailstand. MCPCB is "hammered into the pill" and has some white hopefully thermal paste under it. Biggest issue are the small O-rings. Reflector has small imperfections, hardly noticeable, glass lens could have better transmittance, it's either dust that can't be cleaned on it or it's in the glass.
Battery compartment is big enough for protected button topped 26650s. Batteries rattle a little when the light is shaken but an electrical tape around the battery solves it nicely.
Upon arrival there was some dust on the emitter and the pill might not have been tightened, dust removed with a lens cloth and tightened the pill.
Battery Life: ★★★★★
For my usage it should be enough. Maximum output is 1.8A. Measured with a DMM and a new TrustFire Flame 5000mAh 26650, freshly charged, approximately: 1.8A, 0.9A, 0.24A. Likes to drop a little so it won't do these max values all the time. I have not noticed it getting too hot, just warming up all the way to comfortably warm while on high. Holding the light and being outside, moving will dump even more heat. Changing the driver is almost a must but the output is decent stock as well.
Light Output: ★★★★☆
Heat management is good. Head has thick fins to dissipate heat more quickly. It has a screw in pill. Can't measure output but might provide beamshots later. On high and medium it nicely illimunates the whole room when pointed to the ceiling. Have been testing it out the window and it has a decent throw to me. Can reasonably illuminate trees and buildings up to 100m no problem, will have to go outside to find more distant targets. Beam seems normally wide to me and there is a quite small hotspot that can be too much for indoor use on any mode but it works very well to throw the light when outdoors. It has a lot of output for indoor use but works much better outdoors due to it's rather throw beam. It would be better if it came only with M10a reflector. This M10 one has rings and is not as tight as M10a.
You can find beamshots and lots of information here.
A comparison I requested from another owner there:
Summary: ★★★★☆
It is a decent one 26650 light that carries a good power for an outdoor use. Design is good what is lacking is the manufacturing details and proper O-Rings. Finish is flawless. As soon as I received it I did not drop it on the ground/carpet from 70cm - 1m like my previous flashlight. It does roll but attaching some sort of lanyard prevents it and I would recommend that. It is smaller and possible to carry in a pocket or a bag, on the belt. If the tail is water tight it should withstand going underwater to a reasonable pressure once the body O-rings are replaced. Biggest flaw in my humble opinion is the driver that has no memory and 2 annoying modes to cycle through, they using 100% power as welll. Another disadvantage is the M10 reflector that might suit some but some other might prefer the M10a version. Overall it is a good flashlight for a reasonable price, maybe it will be possible to find a similar light for this price but I don't know about any in this form factor. Heat management is good. Switch has very good operation for me. Running it on high, free standing, gets warm but then amperage drops and now it's just warm. I might call it hand warmer now, though a warm cup of tea does a better job :bigsmile:
Try ordering from go_market or redlog if you want an M10a. Cwtco can't tell the difference. Or try emailing Keygos to get it directly from them, they don't have M10a on their webshop though.
Anybody interested in a reflector exchange, M10 for an M10a let me know :)
Recommended mods:
- Change the driver for better output and modes
- Change the lens if it bothers you, can find better transmittance one
- Change MCPCB for a copper SinkPAD
- Change T6 1x for a newer XM-L2 of preferred tint
- Put a grease on the threads and O-rings, I used a teflon grease, don't have a silicone grease
- Change the O-Rings to make it water tight
Bonus picture, Keygos M10 (26650, XM-L T6 1x) vs D4 (18650, XM-L T6 3C):