Saturday, August 10, 2013

SKILHUNT S2 Defier-1x18650,950Lm REVIEW (full of pics)

Hello.
Skilhunt is a manufacturer that produces flashlights with one of the most interesting and innovative design combined with very good functionality,since its first models.
S2 Defier is the latest 18650 tactical light from Skilhunt.
As expected it has a unique design and features that make it suitable for various activities such as outdoor sports,hunting,etc.

Deep,smooth aluminum reflector.Cree XM-L2 LED.


The tail has a crown shape and initially looks aggressive,but actually it has very smooth edges with very nice feel.
The whole shape is made with great care to detail.
The access to the tail switch is easy and I don't feel any discomfort.
The switch is accessible from the outer side of the tail.The grey part visible here is stainless steel retaining ring that holds the switch in place.


Very nice plastic case.Excellent for carrying the flashlight,batteries,a filter and accessories,well protected on a long trips.

Accessories-User's manual,550 paracord lanyard,Two spare O-rings,Spare tailcap rubber boot,Warranty card.
Optional accessories-Holster,Extender tube(for using two 18650 batteries),Filter,Diffuser,Remote switch.

Beautiful form.Four precisely made cooling fins.Matte black hard type III anodizing.
Protrude side button,easy to find it in darkness.Clear white labeling.
Wider tail end provides excellent,stable and comfortable feel in hand.Stable tail stand feature.
Length 152mm
Head diameter 36.8mm
Body diameter 25.4mm
Weight 133gr (without battery)

Perfectly made knurling.Beautiful looking and not too aggressive.
Anodizing is perfect everywhere on the body.One of the best I've seen.
Removable stainless steel clip with interesting design,different from the standard shape.
I think it could be better and is not the best for this flashlight.It has not enough space for thick pants or belt.
Can be removed as the ring that hold it in place will hide the attaching place.
I don't recommend removing the clip because there's nothing in the shape to provide anti-roll function.
This is the only flow in design.


S2 can be powered by one 18650,two CR123A,Two 16340 or two 18650 batteries.
Battery tube is well sized and all batteries that I have fit in it.
It is wide and long enough for most high capacity protected batteries.


Very well made trapezoid cut threads.Thick and anodized at the tail end for wear resistance.Threads with pleasant,smooth screwing.
Thick,transparent O-ring for water sealing.Lube is not saved here.Threads and O-rings are very well greased.


There is a sturdy spring at the head.It will protect the driver board and battery from damage(drops,impact,recoil).
Tailcap negative contact point with big diameter.Stable contact with the battery.

Battery tube is good thickness.

Very stable in Tail-stand mode.

Removable stainless steel bezel.It has mat finish.The matte finish is good not just for the appearance.
It prevents unwanted reflections which will affect the beam.

Very well made cooling fins with rounded,smooth edges.
Electronic type side switch with nice loud clicky sound.

Convenient tail design.Allows excellent grip without need of tactical grip ring.Cigar grip is easily possible.


One more flashoholic :)


High efficient Cree XM-L2 LED.
Aluminum,vacuum plating reflector.
Toughened,ultra clear glass lens with anti-reflective coating.


The light from Cree XM-L2 used here is cool white with a little yellowish tint,but this highly depends on the light I use for comparison.
Without comparing it to other lights,it is just the right tint.
The hot-spot is a little smaller than the hotspot of Olight M22.


User Interface
Skilhunt S2 has a simple and easy to use interface.
4 brightness modes Low-Mid-High-Turbo and two flashing- Strobe (10Hz) and SOS.
Turning ON/OFF by fully pressing(click) the tail switch.
Half press for momentary on light.
Changing the different modes happens by pressing the side switch.Short press changes Low-Mid-High-Turbo.
Press and hold for 0.6sec to activate Strobe.Second press and hold activates SOS mode.
Short press will return the light to the constant lighting mode used before activating Strobe.

The modes are well spaced.
Turbo 950 lumens / 1,5h
High 400 lumens /4h
Mid 200 lumens / 10h
Low 20 lumens / 150h

S2 has memory for the last used mode,as the memory also includes Strobe mode.If the last used mode is SOS,the light will start on Strobe.
The memory mode is instant and no need to wait it to memorize the last mode.
This is how it should be in any serious flashlight.

Skilhunt S2 has a maximum current draw of 3 Amp.Which means it is driven very well.
The S2 makes a brightness step-down after 3 minutes in Turbo mode to protect the components from overheating.
Here is used very interesting driver circuit.
I can't detect PWM on any of the lighting modes.That's good.
To make step-down Skilhunt S2 uses PWM.Before this step there's no sign of PWM in the signal,but to decrease the heat,respectively brightness S2 starts to use a signal with ~1KHz frequency,which I detect with Soundcard osziloscope and also with a cooling fan.
The PWM signal stops after about 35 minutes and then the light is again fully constant.You can see clearly on the graph this period.
This is very interesting regulation that I see for the first time.Probably it leads to increased efficiency.

Current draw
U=4,2V
I turbo=2970mA
I high=800mA
I mid=320mA
I low=30mA

Battery used for the test, Sanyo 2600 protected.



Short video,presenting the UI and design specifics.
(turn on annotations)


A very useful feature on most of the Skilhunt models is possibility of using filters and diffuser.
There are optional filters that fit a few models.I had a chance to test a warm white filter.
It reflects the bluish in the tint and transmits nice warm tint,very close to incandescent bulb tint.
Because the filter not only makes the light in other color,but transmits the warmer light,there is decreasing in brightness using filter.
If you are fan of incandescent light tint,this diffuser is highly recommended to you.
As you know,the warmer or yellow light is recommend in foggy weather,because it makes less glare on water drops in the air.



Beamshots
Very bright,well concentrated central spot with good spill.Transition from hotspot to spill tipical for a smooth reflector.
1meter, 1/20sec, WB cloudy
Turbo-High-Mid-Low


Other flashlights.


Skilhunt S2 Warm White filter


1meter, 1/250sec, WB cloudy

Other flashlights.



5 meters, 1/6sec, WB cloudy

Other flashlights.


5 meters, 1/50sec, WB cloudy

Other flashlights.


30 meters



Low-Mid-High-Turbo


Mid-High-Turbo Warm White filter




Size comparison.
Klarus RS11, Lumintop TD16, Skilhunt S2, Olight M22, Klarus ST11, Fenix PD35


Lumintop TD16, Skilhunt S2, Klarus XT11, Olight M22


River test.
Skilhunt S2 successfully passed the test.Fully functional underwater with no leaks or fog under glass lens.I used the switches a few times underwater and they functioning well so waterproofing is excellent.You should not worry if the S2 gets wet.


RIVER TEST








Overall Skilhunt S2 is a great flashlight.Strong built.Good choice of lighting modes.Good functionality,tail-stand mode,optional filters.
There are things that some will like other will not.For me this is a good alternative to other approved flashlights like Olight M22,etc.




Thanks for reading!

S2 was kindly provided by Skilhunt for test and review.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

SUNWAYMAN S10R- 1xCR123A/RCR123A-REVIEW

Hello
New EDC light from Sunwayman-S10R.
It uses single CR123A/16340/RCR123A battery.
LED-Cree XM-L2.Big OP reflector.
See more in the review below.



Good matte black anodizing.Excellent design.





Accessories:Spare O-ring,Good sturdy lanyard,Spare switch cap.
User manual,Warranty card,Product brochure.

Specifications from Sunwayman website
● CREE XM-L2 LED, with a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours;
● Easy switching of 2 operating systems, 7 output modes
Turbo: 360 Lumens (1hr.) (Automatically enter High mode after 5 mins continuous use to avoid overheat)
Strobe
High: 185 Lumens (2.1hrs.)
Mid: 80 Lumens (6hrs.)
Low: 8 Lumens (60hrs.)
SOS
Slow Flash
● Constant current circuit, constant output
● Effective range of 128 meters
● Intensity: 4080cd
● Uses one single CR123A or one RCR123A/16340 battery
● Working voltage: 3~4.2V
● High quality metal reflector maintains great throw distance and spread with an ideal beam pattern
● Dimensions: 88mm (length) x 25.5mm (head diameter)
● Weight: 47.8g(battery excluded)
● Aerospace-grade aluminum alloy, Stainless Steel retaining ring on the top
● 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: lanyard, O-ring, rubber cap,reversible SS clip

Nice thick square cut threads.Thick anti revers polarity protection rubber pad.


S10R uses single CR123A or RCR123A/16340 battery.
Too long protected 16340 batteries could be a problem for switching mode group.


There is enough aluminum to deal with the heat.
My sample arrived with no sign of grease on the O-ring.Very hard to unscrew the head.
My first step was to grease it well.The threads are also not as clean as expected.



Side grooves provide excellent grip.
S10R can tail-stand.



Size comparison to other good lights and different battery types.




Practical pocket clip. Good options for attaching.



Can be used as a headlamp.


Reversible clip, made of premium grade 304 stainless steel, sandblasted and matte.
Innovative design pocket clip.The flashlight can be attached head-up or head-down.
Looks very sturdy.Its edges are not smoothed very well.It's not too stiff and is convenient to use.



Good knurling.It's too aggressive in my opinion,but that is made for good grip.


Nice tough switch cover with the brad logo.


Well anodized body,but there are some spots between the cooling fins,on my sample.
On the rest of the flashlight anodizing is excellent.Looks very sturdy.
Military Specification Type III- hard anodized body


Thick stainless steel bezel protects the head,reflector and glass from impact.


Deep,wide orange peel aluminum reflector-Diameter ~19,5mm.
Well centered LED.



Anti-reflective coated,tempered ultra clear glass.





The light from the XM-L2 LED used here is nice cool white,no greenish or yellowish tint.The beam is floody-big hotspot with very useful spill.Excellent light for every day use-walking,outdoor sport,close range work,reading etc.


User Interface
There are 7 output modes in two groups.
First group- Head tightened- Low,Medium,High (no memory)
There are also hidden SOS and Slow flash modes.They can be activated after second cycle of the Low,Medium,High.
Low-Medium-High-Low-Medium-High-SOS-Slow flash

Second group- Head loosened-Strobe,Turbo (no memory)

Choosing the mode happens by half pressing the switch.Full press(click)to lock the mode.


While on Low,Medium,High,SOS or Slow flash-Loosening the head activates Turbo.Tightening back activates Low brightness mode.

My sample requires head to be maximum (impossible with one hand) tightened to activate the regular modes group.


Short video,presenting the UI and design specifics.
(turn on annotations)



Beamshots

1/20sec, 1meter
Sunwayman S10R- Turbo-High-Medium-Low



Klarus RS16, 26mm Smooth XP-G R5, Thrunite Ti, 1AA XR-E R2


1/6sec, 5meters
Sunwayman S10R- Turbo-High-Medium-Low


Klarus RS16, XP-G R5(26mm smooth reflector), Thrunite Ti, 1AA XR-E R2 light


Klarus RS16 left,Sunwayman S10R right - 5meters


1/50 sec, 5 meters
Klarus RS16 left, Sunwayman S10R right















Excellent grip for 88mm long flashlight.


Because of the thick water sealing O-ring,tightening and loosening the head is not easy.


Waterproof, in accordance with IPX-8 standard.






Conclusion
Beautiful,very handy flashlight,very useful light for different needs.Nice lightweight body.Good quality for the price.
I would like to see a less bright low mode-about 2 lumens.

Sunwayman S10R is a good choice for EDC light.



-Gallery-




Sunwayman S10R vs Klarus RS16




Thanks for reading!

Thanks to Sunwayman for providing S10R for review.

Unscrewing the bezel is easy.
Diameter of the reflector 2cm.
Depth of the reflector 1,5cm.
The LED board is ~18mm.
Under the LED is used thermal paste,not glue.