Cyansky Hunter Multi-Color Flashlight Review
The Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight is for hunting and offers one white emitter and a built-in green and red filter. The dual switch light runs one 21700.
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight product page.
Versions
There’s just one version of the Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight, but the light has two body color options – black and green (seen here).
Price
The Cyansky store has the Hunter listed at $133.27. The Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight is available on CyanskyStore.com.
Short Review
The Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight feels like an iteration of the Cyansky H5GT. That’s fine; the H5GT was a nice light. This Hunter is even better because it offers red and green filters of the H3 V2 (which was also a good light.) Generally, if you need a light that has red and green output options, it’s not going to get much better than the Hunter. I really appreciate not having to keep up with other filters that go over the lens!
Long Review
The Big Table
| Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Luminus SFT-40-W (with red and green filter options) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $133.27 |
| Cell: | 1×21700 |
| Runtime Graphs | |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Both |
| Quiescent Current (mA): | – |
| On-Board Charging? | Yes |
| Charge Port Type: | USB-C |
| Charge Graph | |
| Power off Charge Port | – |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | 1800 |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | 1330 (73.9% of claim)^ |
| Candela per Lumen | 10.76 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | 818 |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 4880lux @ 6.618m = 213734cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 924.6 (113% of claim)^ |
| Claimed CCT | – |
| Measured CCT Range (K) | 6400-7100 Kelvin |
| Item provided for review by: | Cyansky |
| All my Cyansky 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
- Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight
- Cyansky 5000mAh 21700 (with USB-C Charging)
- Lanyard
- Nylon belt holster sleeve
- Spare tailswitch cover
- Spare o-rings (2)
- Charge cable (USB to USB-C)
- Manual and some paperwork
Package and Manual
Build Quality and Disassembly
It’s very interesting how the red and green output is achieved. There’s a very small disk just below the reflector and above the emitter, that can be rotated by a collar just under the head. This rotation is easy and smooth and has detents. This is of course, just like that of the Cyansky H3 V2, and that’s a good thing. In fact, it’s nice that this mechanism has lived on and is now in a mature product line – that indicates it’s trustworthy.
The tailcap has minimal (but adequate) grip for removal.
Threads on the tailcap are very thick and beefy. They’re anodized, square-cut, and moderately long. The spring in the tailcap is also very beefy. In my review copy, the double spring seems to be twisted and doesn’t look pretty but does function just fine. The head end also has a spring.
The head has a spring too, but it’s a bit thinner. Generally, I’d recommend accessing the cell through the tail end of the Hunter. Either way works but the experience is better that way.
Size and Comps
- Size: 64 x 25.4 x 185.5 mm
- Weight: 235g (excluding 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+. The version you see below is an orange Convoy S2+ host that’s been laser engraved by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on this light right here! Or go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!
Also above is the light beside a new standard 18350 light! It’s not one I’ve reviewed yet but this is the CWF Arcadian Peanut in aluminum. This one is stonewashed and has the new Quantum Dragon driver – a whole new product! Stay tuned for a full review of this tiny powerhouse!
Retention and Carry
The primary means for carrying the Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight is the included belt sheath. It’s not a “pouch” in the sense that it covers the whole light – the sheath doesn’t cover nearly the whole light. But it works for what it is.
In fact, I really love this type carry holster. It’s very simple and gets the job done.
The Hunter will fit in the sheath in only one direction and can be carried only bezel-up. Otherwise, it’ll fall out of the sheath.
Also included is a lanyard. It’s a very simple lanyard, which attaches through two holes in the tailcap.
The holes on just one side does mean that tailstanding is possible.
There is no pocket or belt clip.
Power and Runtime
The Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight is powered by a single lithium-ion cell. Cyansky includes an appropriate cell – a 5000mAh 21700.
As far as usage goes, this is a standard button top 21700. It has some additional features, which I’ll cover below. This is the same cell that’s used in the other Cyansky 21700 cell lights.The cell fits into the Hunter in the usual way – positive terminal toward the head.
Here are a few runtime tests. These output curves are nearly identical to the H3 V2!
The output drifts down from the initial Turbo output of around 1414 lumens to the stepdown at 1330 lumens. Output after that is very flat.
Charging
As stated, the cell has some other features too. There’s built-in USB-C charging, by way of a USB-C port on the positive terminal end.
Another feature is a little indicating LED near the positive terminal of the 21700. When charging, this indicator is red. When charging is complete, the indicator is green. Otherwise, the indicator is not on at all. An appropriate cable is included – USB to USB-C.
Charging proceeds at a fairly slow 1.5A or so, which is well under 0.5C for this 5000mAh cell. The time required is around 3.5 hours, and the terminal voltage seems to be around 4.17V.
Modes and Currents
The amperage is just repeated for all the output colors since the light changes only with a filter. I am unable to measure lumens on these other colors, so I have no estimate here.
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | 1800 | 2h | 1414 (0s) 1330 (30s) |
5.43 |
| High | 800 | 4h | 647 | 2.07 |
| Med | 150 | 16h | 123 | 0.29 |
| Low | 30 | 66h | 25 | 0.05 |
| Eco (or hidden mode above Eco?)^ | 2 | 400h | 5.6 | [low] |
| [Lower than?] Eco^ | – | – | 2 | [low] |
^ Just a brief note here about the user interface. As with many (all?) dual-switch Cyansky lights, if you hold the e-switch while the light is off and then click the tail switch, the light will come on in Eco. In this case, the light comes on in a very low Eco… when you release the e-switch the light bumps up to around 5.6 lumens (as per the table). After 5 or 10 seconds, the light drops back down to 2 lumens. I don’t know why this is, but it’s a bit weird, and I’d really take the “5.6 lumen” output as something you can’t access steadily. The light doesn’t (can’t? won’t?) stay on in this level!
Pulse Width Modulation
No mode utilizes pulse width modulation.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor. Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
Two switches are used for control of the Cyansky Hunter multi-color flashlight. First is the mechanical tail clicky. It’s a forward clicky, which allows momentary actuation. This switch also serves as a mechanical lockout to prevent any parasitic drain on the cell.
The switch cover is big but the switch itself is normal-sized. It’s not terribly thick, so you can feel the actual switch underneath. The clicky is very clicky and the action is low.
The second option for operation is the e-switch on the side near the head. This switch is metal(ish?) and very proud. Also, it doesn’t compete with anything else, so it’s very easy to find without looking.
The user interface is not complicated. Here’s a user interface table!
| State | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Off | Click Tail Switch | On (last used mode, except strobe) |
| On | Click Tail Switch | Off |
| Off | Click Side Switch | No action |
| On | Click Side Switch | Mode advance L>M>H>T |
| On | Hold Side Switch | Strobe (the manual doesn’t cover this!) |
| Strobe | Click Side Switch | Return to the previous mode |
| Any | Rotate lens bezel | Change color (The order is, when turning clockwise: White, Green, Red) |
LED and Beam
The emitter is a Luminus SFT-40-W. A deep and smooth reflector is used here. At the very bottom is the emitter. When in “white” mode, there’s another tiny reflector very close to the emitter.
Each of the colors has a colored lens to cover the tiny reflector. It’s the same emitter for all the color options – the emitter doesn’t rotate, only a lens cover rotates.
LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)
With regard to the white output, the Hunter is cool to very cool white. Starting (ECO) at around 6600K, the light drifts all the way up to 8000K on turbo. CRI is low, at under 70. Red and green don’t really work with my testing setup for this, so just know that they’re green and red, respectively…
Beamshots
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
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
- A novel way to administer colored-lens output
- The included cell seems to be high-quality
- USB-C charging on the cell works well
- Well-regulated levels (the only exception being turbo)
- User interface is pretty good (with just a bit of confusion in areas that really don’t matter)
What I don’t like
- Very cool white output
- Low CRI
Notes
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