Skilhunt M200 V3 Flashlight Review
Skilhunt has released V3 of the M200, an 18650 flashlight that has the incredible Nichia 519a emitter as well as built-in charging! Read on!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a ShareASale link to the Skilhunt M200 V3 flashlight product page.
Versions
There’s quite a bit to mention here. First, there are two body colors: black and gunmetal grey (seen here). Next, there are emitter options, of which there are three: Nichia 519a (seen here), Samsung LH351d, and Cree XP-L2. The real story of this light is of course the Nichia 519a version, which is what you should buy. It’s also possible to buy with or without an 18650. I recommend with, but the light is very 18650-friendly, too.
Price
As shown here, the Skilhunt M200 V3 flashlight sells for $53.90. Again, you should buy the Skilhunt M200 V3 flashlight through my ShareASale link!
Short Review
I have liked the previous M200 by Skilhunt, and I like (maybe love?) the various options available with the M150. The M300 is great too! This whole series is a winner. So to have this light available in the fantastic Nichia 519a emitter, at R9080 and 4500K… this is a real winner! Also, the user interface is quite versatile, too!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Skilhunt M200 V3 flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 519a (4500K, High CRI, R9080) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $53.90 |
| Cell: | 1×18650 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | E-Switch |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | 0.04 |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | Proprietary Magnetic |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | Any scenario: all modes |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 950 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 841 (88.5% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 7 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 188 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 262lux @ 5.504m = 7937cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 178.2 (94.8% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | 4500 |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 4100-4300 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Skilhunt |
| All my Skilhunt reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- Skilhunt M200 V3 flashlight
- Charge cable (USB to proprietary magnetic)
- Lanyard
- Pocket clip
- Manual
- Spare o-rings (2)
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
Skilhunts are usually well-built lights, and this one is no exception. Maybe more importantly, the design language between this and the other M-series lights is very consistent!
The threads are square-cut and lubed an appropriate amount. That spring is also removable so that the magnet can be removed, too.
The head end has a spring, too, which is why I said the M200 V3 is very “18650-friendly.” I tested the light with a flat top unprotected 18650, but just about any type should work fine.
The tailcap has a ring to allow a lanyard attachment and also room for the magnet.
Size and Comps
104mm x 23.5mm, and 46g (without battery).
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll also show that (usually in the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
Also above is the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
Retention and Carry
A pocket clip is included. It’s a pretty nice friction-fit clip.
Also included is a lanyard, which attaches either through the pocket clip (less recommended) or the tailcap, where there is a hole for this express purpose.
The tailcap has a magnet, too, which is plenty strong to hold the light.
Power and Runtime
The Skilhunt M200 V3 flashlight runs a single lithium-ion cell. My package did not include a cell.
Inside the cell tube is a sticker indicating that the cell should go with the positive end toward the head.
The switch has a battery indicator, too. This lights briefly (around 5 seconds) when a cell is installed or the light is turned on.
Below you can see three runtime tests. Performance is “lower than the manual claims” but the manual is not written specifically for the Nichia 519a version. In the product literature, I did see that the claim for 519a is 950 lumens, which is much more closely aligned with what I tested.
Low voltage protection was observed in every test. On bench power, the switch starts blinking in red at around 2.9-3V and then the light shuts off at around 2.8V.
Charging
The Skilhunt M200 V3 flashlight also has built-in charging. There’s a connector opposite the switch. One end is a USB plug, and the other is a proprietary magnetic connector.
The connection works well. Notably, though not pictured explicitly, this is the “MC-20” charger. As far as I know, all previous iterations I’ve tested have been MC-10 chargers. There seems to be quite a performance advantage to the MC-20, as it reaches a max current of around 2A.
Charging works fine, and this 2000mAh (low for an 18650, to be fair) required only around 1.25 hours.
While charging, the charger blinks red, and when charging is complete, the charger uses a blue indicator.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | 950 (Manuals “1400” is for a different emitter) |
3m+140m | 903 (0s) 841 (30s) |
4.32 |
| T2 | 650 | 145m | 412 | 1.32 |
| H1 | 380 | 260m | 245 | 0.68 |
| M1 | 170 | 10h | 110 | 0.27 |
| M2 | 65 | 26h | 38 | 0.10 |
| L1 | 10 | 150h | 3.8 | 0.01 |
| L2 | 0.5 | / | 0.8 | 3.6mA |
Pulse Width Modulation
There’s no PWM, but a couple of modes have some squiggles.
For reference, here’s a baseline shot, with all the room lights off and almost nothing hitting the sensor. Also, here’s the light with the worst PWM I could find. I’m adding multiple timescales, so it’ll be easier to compare to the test light. Unfortunately, the PWM on this light is so bad that it doesn’t even work with my normal scale, which is 50 microseconds (50us). 10ms. 5ms. 2ms. 1ms. 0.5ms. 0.2ms. In a display faster than 0.2ms or so, the on/off cycle is more than one screen, so it’d just (very incorrectly) look like a flat line. I wrote more about this Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight and explained a little about PWM too.
User Interface and Operation
There’s a single switch on the M200 V3. It’s a side e-switch, with an indicator in the center. It’s a big secure switch, with a very positive but quiet click. I very much like this switch. The switch seems unchanged from the previous iterations of the M-series.
The cutout for the switch in the head is the same size as the charge connector, and while it’s hard to distinguish between the two while holding the light, I found that it didn’t matter; I’ll just pinch the light with both spots between my fingers, and activate the light.
The user interface could be a bit daunting, but it’s very straightforward when you get used to it. It’s also very logical and provides access to low from off, which is as close to a requirement from a user interface as I have.
Here’s a UI table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Hold | Low (Memory between L1 and L2) |
| L1 or L2 | Hold | Iterate between L1 and L2 |
| L1 or L2 | Click 2x | No change in level |
| Off | Click 4x | Lockout (Three blinks of main emitters to confirm and the switch turns red briefly) |
| Lockout | Click 4x | Unlock to Low group (memory, can be L1/L2) |
| Lockout | Click 2x | Iterate lockout indicator^ |
| Lockout | Hold | Momentary Output (Appears to be approximately L1) |
| L1/L2 | Click | Off |
| Off | Click | On in “Main Group” (Mode memory M2/M1/H) |
| Main Group | Hold | Mode advance (M2 > M1 > H) |
| Main Group | Click | Off |
| Main Group or Off | Click 2x | Turbo Group (Mode memory T1/T2) |
| T1/T2 | Hold | Iterate between T1 (higher) and T2 (lower) output |
| T1/T2 | Click | Off |
| T1/T2 | Click 2x | Main Group (memory output) |
| Main Group or Off | Click 3x | Strobe Group (with memory) |
| Strobe Group | Click 3x | Previous Group (T1/T2 or M2/M1/H, depending on how you accessed Strobe Group)^^ |
| Strobe Group | Click 2x^^^ | Strobe Advance (S1 > S2 > S3)† |
| Strobe Group | Hold | No result |
^ Lockout indicator blinks a red switch every 2-3 seconds.
^^ Aside from just general mode memory (which you know I don’t like) this seems to me to be the only place where you may need to immediately remember what mode you were in so you have the experience you expect. However, the difference is getting the two highest white outputs, or the three main white outputs – it won’t be that dramatic even if you don’t remember. Also note that if you access the strobe group from off, triple-clicking will not return to off. For continuity, it should! In fact, if you accessed the strobe from an off state, a triple-click sends the light to the Main group!
^^^ Seems like the strobe group is the only group that isn’t advanced by a hold. Since there’s no hold anywhere else into or out of Strobe, I am not sure why that user interface continuity wasn’t maintained here.
† Strobes are like this:
S1: Disorienting strobe of White (turbo, ish)
S2: SOS (main white, some mid-High output)
S4: Beacon (one highish blink every second or so)
LED and Beam
The emitter of choice here is a Nichia 519a which offers High CRI and is 4500K in CCT.
That’s of course a fantastic choice, and everything about this light’s output is great because of it. The M200 V3 uses a reflector that has a very light texture.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
Check out those circles – the red and black circles. Black is “perfect” or “ideal” and the closer the red (test light) circle comes to the black, the better! This one is one of the best. Great CCT (around 4200K) and very high CRI, at around 97.
Beamshots
These beamshots are always with the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left, and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Small for a 18650 flashlight
- This new Skilhunt UI has something for everyone (and I like the UI)
- The button is perfectly clicky and ‘pinch to click’ opposite the charge port works nicely too
- Nice charging built-in
- Updated pocket clip is fantastic (even though it’s a two-way)
- Very high CRI
- Great CCT choice
- Emitter options for those preferring higher output etc.
What I don’t like
- Manual is not spec’d for this Nichia 519a emitter
- Charging requires a proprietary charger cable (but the light runs a standard 18650, so you can also use a bay-charger)
Notes
- This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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