[candle lamp]

Niteye EYE10 & Sunwayman M11R have very similar features in the way that both has no tailcap switch, are controlled entirely by the magnetic control ring on the head (i.e. single control interface), and powered by 1x(R)CR123A. Because the one has infinitely variable control ring and the other only 3 levels control ring, it can be hard to compare each other. But I would like to compare the one to the other in that both are the latest small EDC light releases with XM-L U2 emitter & magnetic control ring installed.

Manufacturer Specifications :

1. Niteye EYE10
• Light source : 1*Cree XM-L U2 LED
• Battery : 1*CR123A
• Output & Runtime : 1~260LM / 2~80Hours
• Switch : Magnetic Ring Control switch
• Circuit design : constant current circuit, constant brightness
• Working voltage range : 2-4.2V
• Waterproof to IPX-8
(Note that my EYE10 sample is not a shipping version but a pre-release version.)

2. Sunwayman M11R
• CREE XM-L U2 LED, with a lifetime of up to 50,000 hours
• Output and Runtime of three constant output modes (uses one CR123A)
- 180 Lumens (1.5hrs) - 60 Lumens (10hrs) - 4 Lumens (70hrs)
- Turbo Mode : 230 Lumens (uses one 16340 battery, do not run the light continuously at turbo mode for more than 10 minutes)
- Two Hidden Modes : Strobe, SOS
• Digital Sensor Magnetic Control system, slightly twist the rotator ring to select from different modes
• Constant current circuit, constant output
• Effective range of 130 meters
• Uses one single CR123A (RCR123A/16340) battery
• Working voltage : 0.9~4.2V
• High quality OP reflector maintains great throw distance and spread with an ideal beam pattern
• Dimensions: 75mm (length) x 23.2mm (head diameter)
• Weight: 45.5g (battery excluded）
• Aerospace-grade aluminum alloy
• 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
(Note that my MR11 sample is a shipping version.)



EYE10 is nearly matt charcoal grey, while M11R perfectly matt natural(bright grey) finish in anodizing. The surface of EYE10 is smooth, but M11R slightly rough. Anodizing on my two samples are excellent.
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Both lights have a titanium pocket clip held by two bolts on the battery tube. Neither EYE10 nor M11R has a tailcap switch.
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Both lights are separated into two parts (i.e. head+battery tube).
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EYE10 is longer than M11R in the head length.
EYE10 has a stainless steel bezel, while M11R aluminum one.
EYE10 has four cooling fins, M11R two.
EYE10 has no mark which refer to the output levels or Off. But M11R has Off, three output level marks.
EYE10 has the half knurled control ring, while M11R has the fully knurled ring with the exception of "▼-marked" part.
I think you use both your thumb and forefinger on either side of the control ring while holding the rest of the light with other fingers & palm to adjust the control ring like me.
The flat control ring where there is no knurling is relatively slippery when adjusting it.
The gripability of M11R is better than EYE10 in adjustment of the control ring in this respect.
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Both lights use AR coating lens and the light purple hue is reflected in each lens.
Both XM-L U2 emitters sit well-centered at the bottom of the OP reflectors.
The reflector of the EYE10 is larger by 0.5mm than M11R in its diameter. While the reflector depth of the M11R is a bit deeper than the EYE10.
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Looking from rear end of the head , you'll see part of the electronic's PCB and the positive end contact for the battery. The contact surface of EYE10 has a mechanical (or physical) reverse polarity protection which is implemented via raised circular ring. While M11R has no mechanical reverse polarity protection and it seems there is no electronic protection as far as I know.
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The battery tube of EYE10 has bigger & spacious square knurling than M11R, and has two areas without knurling. M11R has very small & close diamond knurling and has four smaller areas without knurling. Knurling on EYE10 is not aggressive. The overall gripability of M11R is better.
The titanium pocket clip of EYE10 is much longer than M11R. But battery tube length of M11R is slightly longer than EYE10. Both clips are of good quality, and hold against the lights. The clip on M11R is more robust than EYE10, but all clips will scratch the anodizing on the head during battery changes, unless you physically hold it back. I think reducing its length by 5mm only for M11R will prevent it scratching the anodizing on the head. This will neither have a bad effect on the overall appearance of the light nor on the function of the clip.
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The battery tube wall of M11R is thicker than EYE10.
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Both has negative contact spring on the tail end. When dropping a battery from the top of the tube to the negative contact spring, the battery in EYE10 vibrates more times & higher than in M11R. I think proper vibration range & less number of vibration of the battery will help prevent damage from impact. Meanwhile, you need a steady hand to screw the head back on after a battery change.
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EYE10 has a split-ring post made of stainless steel set into the middle of the tail base, while M11R has a split-ring holder made of aluminum near one side of the tail base. Both lights can tailstand. But if you attach the lanyard to EYE10, it can't tailstand.
The pocket clip of EYE10 is held on with two Allen bolts on the one side of the base. While M11R is held in place by two same bolts on the base.
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The threads of EYE10 are trapezoid, while M11R has the square cut threads. The threads of the both lights are anodized for head lock-out. The crest width of M11R is thicker, while the height between crest and root of EYE10 is higher.
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Both are good size to hold and can be used as an EDC light by using split-ring holder.
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I think the overall gripability seems better on M11R, while EYE10 is smoother to the touch.
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In case of inserting a 16340 size cell (i.e. shown with a Panasonic CR123A) into EYE10, the fit of the cell is loose as you can see. I tried dropping in an 18650 cell and it fit. So 18350 will fit. But a 16340 size cell only fit in M11R.

The overall build quality of the two samples is excellent.
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Both lights are pretty much the same in weight.
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User Interface



The UI on both lights are simple and easy. Both have 2 hidden modes as well.

1. EYE10
The infinitely magnetic control ring has detent clicks and you will hear the soft "click" sound as you turn it. It appears to have infinite adjustment, but it is the clicks that make it stop at certain output levels. From the left of the off position (or stand-by mode), turn the ring clockwise, you can get brighter output. The control ring has 11 click-stops. But the LED comes on when you reach the second click and this is the lowest output level. (i.e. the LED doesn't come on when reaching the first click, so there are 10 output levels available on the control ring.) There are 2 hidden modes, Strobe and SOS. To access Strobe, twist [High -> Lower -> High]. If you twist [High -> Lower -> High -> Lower -> High], you can access SOS. You can reduce the output level of 2 hidden modes by turning the control ring counterclockwise or vice versa. Turning the light off cancels the hidden modes and reverts it to constant output. The total traverse of the ring is around 1/2.4 circumference (i.e. 150 degrees) of the light.

2. M11R
The magnetic control ring has firmer detents than EYE10 and there are 4 positions available. However there is no "click" sound when turning the ring like EYE10.
The first position is marked "Off" (or stand-by mode) and the other positions are marked with I, II, III which refer to the relative output levels (i.e. Low, Med. and Hi, in that sequence). Turn the control ring from Off to I, II, and III for the brighter output level. The light has 2 hidden modes, Strobe and SOS. Strobe is activated by rapidly cycling from [High -> Lower -> High]. If you twist [High -> Lower -> High -> Lower -> High], you can access SOS.
Turning the control ring counterclockwise a little cancels the hidden modes and reverts it to constant output. The total traverse of the ring is around 1/3.3 circumference (i.e. 110 degrees) of the light.
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PWM


Both lights show no sign of PWM at any output level. I think that either they use a frequency that is too high to detect, or the lights are actually current-controlled as claimed.
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Runtime

1. EYE10

1xCR123A cell may be used in the light and the manufacturer makes no mention of using 1xRCR123A. So I just did a runtime test on CR123A only.
The runtime for 50% output of high & med.-high outout level on 1xPanasonic CR123A is appr. 44 mins & 72 mins respectively in my test.

The reported 2 hour runtime specification for high output level is not consistent with my result (i.e. 63 mins) in my test. Note that my EYE10 sample is not a production model but a pre-production model. The manufacturer says runtime for high output level on the production model is 1.5~2 hrs. The light doesn't appear to be flatly regulated at high output level, but shows reasonable regulation. The med.-high output level shows the almost perfect flat regulation. I hope the production will give a better efficiency at any level.
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2 M11R

The runtime for 50% output of turbo output level on 1xAW RCR123A is appr. 42 mins. The output on 3.7V li-ion cell is good, but doesn't show the good regulation due to the low capacity of the battery. The runtime for 50% output of high on 1xPanasonic CR123A is appr. 82 mins in my test. Flat regulation & good runtime are evident at high output level on CR123A.
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It's interesting max. output of EYE10 on CR123A is brighter than M11R on RCR123A.
The specs. of EYE10 don't mention 3.7v RCR123A. I presume that RCR123A is not officially supported, so you may run into a warranty problem if you encounter any issue. Even if 3.7v RCR123A is supported, I don't recommend EYE10 to be run on RCR123A or IMR on higher output level (particularly on max. output) for long periods of time due to the heat. Sunwayman recommend that you do not run M11R continuously at turbo for more than 10 mins. I think overall efficiency of two lights seems very good across the range of levels tested, considering the magnetic control ring installed.
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Beamshot
1. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door, Auto White Balance)
- EYE10 (left in the photo), M11R (right in the photo).
- Battery used : Panasonic CR123A
- Brightness : High output level





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2. White door beamshot (about 50cm from the white door, Auto White Balance)
- EYE10 (left in the photo), M11R (right in the photo).
- Battery used : Panasonic CR123A on EYE10, AW RCR123A on M11R
- Brightness : High on EYE10, Turbo on M11R






The hotspot & side spill beam on EYE10 are bigger than M11R.
The beam tint on EYE10 is cool white leaning slightly towards the color spectrum green hue at hot spot & around the hot spot.
The beam tint on M11R is cool white leaning very slightly towards the color spectrum green hue around the side spill, but not by much. (The beam tint & profile on M11R are almost same as V10A.) It seems that the overall beam quality is good on both lights.
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3. Indoor beamshot (about 3.5m from the target)
- Battery used : Panasonic CR123A
- Brightness : High & Med. output level










The beam of EYE10 is a little floodier than M11R.
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The photo shows the lowest output brightness on both lights. The lowest output on EYE10 is incredibly dim.