Sunwayman T60CS
Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Summary:
Battery: | 3x18650 |
Switch: | Single stage electronic "soft" switch |
Modes: | Turbo-High-Medium-Low with memory, hidden strobe |
LED Type: | Triple Cree XM-L2 |
Lens: | Coated glass |
Tailstands: | Yes |
Price when ordered: | $159.99 |
From: | BangGood.com |
Date Ordered: | 03-NOV-2013 |
Pros:
- Compact design
- Extremely bright
- Updated XM-L2 emitters
- Hidden but easy to access strobe
- Orientation agnostic battery carrier
Cons:
- Very expensive
- Internal rattle makes it sound broken
- Fiddly combination of battery carrier position and head tightness sometimes results in no light
- Sharp crenelated bezel
- Integrated battery compartment would be better than a battery carrier
- Potentially flawed charging port design could cause electrical short
- Mode changing feels unnatural
- Reduced surface area for tail standing
- No neutral tint option
Introduction:
As soon as I agreed to review the Sunwayman T60CS, I was convinced that I wouldn't like it. And then I was convinced that it would never arrive. And after finally receiving the T60CS, I was even more convinced that it was dead-on-arrival. Fortunately, I was wrong on all three accounts.
When Neal at BangGood asked me to review a few flashlights, I decided I would like to compare a premium brand, multiple 18650, multiple emitter, expensive, hotrod flashlight to the far less expensive budget alternatives that we all know and love. But despite having the liberty to choose from a large selection of expensive lights at BangGood to review for free, my -cheapskate- budget oriented tendencies still led me to choose the least expensive, which was the Sunwayman T60CS. Despite being the least expensive premium brand multiple emitter light, it still weighed in at a hefty $159.99. Its newer, slightly more advanced cousin, the Sunwayman M60C costs even more, at $229.99. Other premium flashlights in this same category cost approximately the same. So I went with the comparatively less expensive T60CS, convinced that it wouldn't be worth the price, and began waiting. And waiting. And waiting. It wasn't BangGood's fault, since they promptly shipped it out of their warehouse. However, as the weeks turned into months, I really started wonder if my new Sunwayman would be the first casualty ever in my many experiences of receiving flashlights from the convoluted Asian shipping networks. But to my surprise, well over two months later the light finally appeared at my post office.
Features / Value: ★☆☆☆☆
To be brutally honest, the Sunwayman T60CS is just too expensive. I would personally never pay $159.99 for a flashlight, especially for one like the relatively basic T60CS. This is not to say that the T60CS doesn't have some nice features. To the contrary, the first thing about the T60CS that caught my eye was the optional charger that allows the batteries to be charged while installed inside the flashlight. Unfortunately I was not able to try the charger. But this is a very attractive option for a non-enthusiast who needs a very bright flashlight but doesn't want to swap out batteries and mess with external chargers. Additionally, I was surprised to find that the T60CS arrived with what appear to be the newer XM-L2 emitters, despite what is advertised on the package.
I was originally under the impression that the T60CS is kind of like last year's model, but apparently Sunwayman continues to update it. Another design feature that I appreciate is the battery carrier, which has redundant positive/negative contacts, thus making it orientation-agnostic.
Apart from this, the Sunwayman T60CS doesn't offer any other truly unique or compelling features. It comes with a standard-fare lanyard that is too short, a normal electronic "soft" switch with lockout ability. The T60CS does have mode memory, which works well. A major omission for me is the lack of a neutral white emitter option, which is a required feature for me in a premium flashlight. So, for $159.99 you get a very bright flashlight with an optional charger for internal charging, also expensive. Therefore, the Sunwayman T60CS only deserves 1 out of 5 stars in terms of balance between features and price.
Design / Build Quality: ★☆☆☆☆
I mentioned that I was convinced that my Sunwayman T60CS was dead on arrival. This was owing to two factors that reflect poorly on the T60CS. First of all, as soon as I pulled the T60CS out of the package I heard a rattling sound inside when shaking it or even rotating it 90 degrees. Considering the amount of time it was in transit, this did not bode well for the T60CS. Second, after inserting fresh batteries, my fears seemed to be confirmed when I pressed the switch and the light didn't turn on. I then proceeded to shake it, pull and re-insert the batteries, but to no avail. Finally, I managed to slightly re-locate the battery carrier and tighten the head enough to make the light turn on. It appears that the vertical axis of the battery carrier sometimes tips slightly off center, thus interfering slightly with threading down the head completely. So every time the light is opened it requires a bit of trial and error before finding the right position that permits contact to be made. This is very irritating and is completely unacceptable in any flashlight, and much less so at this price range.
There is another possibly serious design flaw that counts against the Sunwayman T60CS in this criterion. The previously mentioned integrated charging port in the tail contains the negative path in the flat area of the tail, and the positive path in a slightly recessed closed hole in the center.
In theory, it is possible for some metal object to cross the positive and negative paths and produce an electrical short. Protection is designed into the battery carrier, which reportedly has a fuse. However, like with all fuses, you get one shot. One short will result in a dead battery carrier and an unusable flashlight. Of course, some kind of a plug could be contrived to protect the positive path, but something about jamming makeshift plugs into the tail of a $159.99 flashlight doesn't sit well with me.
There are some other niggling issues with the T60CS that make the overall design less attractive. The bezel is sharply crenelated, and is capable of ripping up a pocket or cutting your hand while tightening down the head. Additionally, while I do appreciated the orientation agnostic battery carrier, I would prefer to not have one at all, in favor of an integrated battery tube design similar to that of the Nitecore EA4. Another annoyance is the mode changing logic. One push turns the light on and off, which is good. However, to change modes, the switch must be depressed and held, which causes it to cycle through the modes. This feels clumsy and unnatural to me, and I often end up turning the light off instead of changing modes. An additional small flaw can be noted in the slightly chamfered tail end. While the T60CS does tailstand, the reduced surface area on the tail combined with the relatively heavy head makes it somewhat less stable when tailstanding.
Apart from these issues, I do find the T60CS to be an attractive flashlight. I would prefer knurling on the battery tube, but the radial texture rings work well to improve grip. My favorite design feature of the T60CS is the relatively compact, manageable design. Although it may rip up your pocket, it will fit in there thanks to its more slender profile compared to the "beer can" design of similar lights in this category.
I do find myself grabbing the T60CS quite frequently thanks to its compact size and excellent brightness. But overall, the T60CS took a lot of hits in this category, and unfortunately deserves only 1 out of 5 stars for design and build quality.
Heat Management: ★★★☆☆
Normally when I review flashlights I give them a rating for battery life in low mode. However, the Lithium-Ion battery chemistry, which can be damaged by overly low voltage, isn't ideal for slowly draining to 0 volts over a period of many days as I often do with my alkaline/NiMH compatible lights. Flashlights such as the Sunwayman T60CS are principally meant for using during a brief period of time, often on the highest mode. Therefore, we won't discuss battery runtime for the T60CS. Rather, we'll discuss how long it can be safely run on the highest mode.
The Sunwayman T60CS claims to have turbo, high, medium, and low modes. According to the manual, it will only run on turbo for 5 minutes, after which it will automatically step down to high mode in order to protect it from overheating. Even so, after about 15 minutes, the T60CS was still belting out the lumens-- and the heat. I found the light to be too hot to comfortable touch, both in the head and the tail regions, and it was emitting a worrisome odor of hot metal and electronic components. Upon opening the battery compartment, I found the batteries to be cooler than the body of the light, but still somewhat warm. I don't think it would result in a safety issue or battery explosions, but the T60CS definitely gets pretty toasty, no doubt because of its compact size. It doesn't get as hot as other high power lights I own, but it still leaves some to be desired. Let's give it 3 out of 5 stars for heat management.
Light Output: ★★★★☆
The Sunwayman T60CS is fantastically bright. The label on the box claims 2100 lumens, but I suspect it's actually closer to the 2500 lumens claimed by its newer cousin, the M60C, which uses the same XM-L2 emitters. The light output from such a compact light is really impressive, and is one of the main redeeming features of the T60CS. Although it is somewhat floody due to its short, compact head, it is considerably more focused than some other multiple emitter lights like the Supfire M6, and combined with the sheer brightness ends up throwing quite well.
The only negative thing that robs the T60CS of one point in this category is the aforementioned lack of a neutral white option. Even with this amount of lumen output, the stark white color of the light is not ideal for showing detail and color accuracy at night. I expect lights in this price category to offer a neutral white emitter option, which would make this powerful light infinitely more attractive.
Summary: ★★☆☆☆
So, the Sunwayman T60CS has been a bit of rocky road. The price is steep, certain aspects of its construction are deplorable, and it offers few distinguishing features. In the beginning, I was convinced that I would not like the T60CS, and it nearly proved me true. Overall, its ratings average out to barely more than 2 out of 5 stars. Nevertheless, I find the superb brightness and compact design to be extremely impressive, and I enjoy using this strange anomaly of Sunwayman's design repertoire.