Preface
Freasy Gears is a relatively new brand in the flashlight industry and the Cyansky M3 is the company’s first titanium light that runs on a single CR123A or rechargeable 16340/RCR123A.
Let’s check out the merits and demerits of this Cyansky M3 model.
Packaging & First Impressions
This is what the light will come with as shown below.
- The threads and o-ring were lightly lubricated but the threads are a little rough still (slight galling). Cleaning the threads and re-lubing with Christo-Lube MCG 111 helps to make the threads much smoother.
- The side electronic switch requires a slightly firm press (hold) to activate and helps to prevent unwanted activation of the light.
- The provided clip does not comes pre-installed and cannot be reversed installed. Hence, attachment of the light to a baseball cap for hands-free usage is not possible.
- Clip has sufficient tension to ensure that the light will stay clipped to any material to prevent the light from falling out.
- The provided lanyard is able to support the full weight of the light and should hold up to the test of time.
- Battery compartment holds a AW 16340 battery with sufficient room for a slightly thicker battery width. Fatter 16340 or CR123A batteries should be able to fit without issue as well.
- The provided non-proprietary 16340 battery (Cyansky BL1607U) will work in other flashlights.
Notes:
- Button Top batteries (CR123A or 16340/RCR123A) are required to operate the flashlight.
- The M3 comes with Electronic Lockout activated from factory. Click HERE to see how to deactivate the Electronic Lockout.
Front:
Back:
Sides:
Box Contents:
Quick Overview (Manufacturer Specifications)
- Body Material: Titanium (TC4)
- LED: Cree XP-G3 S4 Bin
- Battery Format: 1 x 16340/RCR123A OR 1 x CR123A ONLY
- Output & Runtime (with included Cyansky 16340 3.6V/700mAh battery):
- Low – (5 lumens / 3days)
- Mid – (30 lumens / 11h)
- High – (150 lumens / 2h)
- Turbo – (700 lumens / 30min) → Output is limited to 350 lumens when using CR123A battery
- Strobe – (700 lumens / 1h)
- Max Beam Distance: 73m
- Beam intensity: 1,330cd
- Waterproofness: IP68
- Impact Resistance: 2m
- Dimension: 51mm (length) x 21mm (diameter)
- Weight: 19g (excluding batteries)
- Battery reverse polarity protection
- Accessories Included:
- 1*Cyansky BL1607U
- 1*Micro-USB Cable
- 1*Clip
- 1*Lanyard with Ring
- 1*Spare Orings
- MSRP: $79.95
UI (User Interface)
UI for this light is great for EDC or pocket duty due to its relative ease of operation.
Switching ON and OFF is done by the side electronic switch on the light, so no momentary activation is possible.
Normal Operation
From OFF:
- HOLD (~0.5 sec) – Direct access to LOW.
- HOLD (>~1 sec) – Direct access to STROBE.
From ON:
- 1 Click – Mode change (light cycles through LOW, MID, HIGH & TURBO → LOW, MID, HIGH & TURBO).
- HOLD (~0.5 sec) – Light will switch OFF.
- HOLD (>~1 sec) – Direct access to STROBE (light will switch OFF first).
Note: When the light is switched ON, avoid tapping the base of the light on a hard surface as the light will momentarily switch OFF before resuming in the current mode.
Electronic Lockout
From OFF:
- 2 Clicks – LOCKOUT mode is enabled; 2 Clicks – LOCKOUT is disabled.
When Electronic LOCKOUT mode is activated, any button presses will cause the LED to flash twice.
Note: The M3 comes with Electronic Lockout activated/enabled from factory.
Form Factor
The light is extremely small and is not much bigger than the 16340 or CR123A battery it uses to power the light. So much so that it could even disappear from view in a clenched small sized hand.
Owing to its light weight and size, it will slip into a pants coin pocket or any place you would like to carry it and you wouldn’t notice it is there till you actually need it.
The grooves/ridges on the flashlight provides ample grip without sacrificing on being overly aggressive (i.e. still fabric-friendly). The light is rather “grippy”, even with wet hands/gloves.
With the deep carry clip attached, the M3 can still tail-stand perfectly. Tail-standing capability will be affected slightly if the Lanyard is used.
With Clip:
Charging Process
With the provided Micro-USB Cable, the battery was charging at ~0.34A.
The Solid RED indicator depicts charging in progress and Solid GREEN indicator depicts charging has completed.
Beam Style/Beamshots
For this light, the spill, corona and hotspot is somewhat predictable due to the shallow light orange peel reflector. With the LED used, the beam is mostly a floody-style type for recognizing items in the up-close to near range distance.
The beam has a slight squarish spill with a wide circular hotspot and the corona blending almost entirely with the spill. There is a slight ring in the beam when whitewall hunting but not visible in real world usage.
Note: Our review sample has a slightly off-centred LED. However, due to the shallow reflector, there is no noticeable beam profile distortion.
All of the beamshots taken below are done so with the following camera settings (LOW: 1.3sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, MID: 0.5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB, HIGH: 1/5sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB and TURBO: 1/13sec, F3.5, ISO100, 5000K WB).
Some pictures have been adjusted slightly to depict as close as to what is seen in real life. The distance of the light from the door is 4.6m.
Control shot:
LOW (5 lumens):
MID (30 lumens):
HIGH (150 lumens):
TURBO (700 lumens):
TURBO (350 lumens – when using CR123A battery):
Mode (Output) Spacing
Mode spacing appears to be progressively brighter to the eye and the modes are well spaced enough to be able to know which mode one is currently in. With that in mind, TLR tend to view mode spacing as battery life indicators (amount of runtime left) rather than the specific output (lumens).
There isn’t a true MOONLIGHT mode of under 1 lumen for this flashlight for bedtime night snack runs or with night-adjusted eyes.
Tint & CRI
Freasy Gears did not disclose the tint (color temperature) and/or the CRI (Color Rendering Index) for the LEDs used in their headlamp. For this headlamp, a guesstimate would be in the 6500K and 70CRI ballpark.
There are tint shifts throughout the beam profile. The hotspot is mostly cool white tint whilst the corona possess a slight yellowish green tint; and the spill having a slight purple tint.
This is not as noticeable in real life usage.
Waterproofness
The light was subjected to warm water submersion, followed by cold water submersion and left under room temperature running water tap whilst running on TURBO.
No signs of water intrusion in the head, switch or body was seen.
Lockout Capability
Both electronic lockout and mechanical lockout are possible when needed, like during transportation in a bag.
A quarter turn (anti-clockwise) of the head will enable mechanical LOCKOUT.
For Electronic lockout, see above “Electronic Lockout”, on how to activate and deactivate Electronic LOCKOUT.
Scale Comparison (Ruler)
Summary
To sum up, we believe that the most important part of any review is if given the chance to purchase the same light for our own usage or to gift to our loved ones out from one’s pocket (wallet), would we still do it?
For this light, it is a definite YES, if the cool white tint shift is not an issue for your usage.
The flashlight’s fairly straightforward UI, Titanium material being used, deep carry pocket clip, mechanical lockout on a Titanium light, small form factor, IP68 rating and included Micro-USB rechargeable & non-proprietary 16340 battery are all plus points for this flashlight.
That said, it would be nice if Freasy Gears decides to do a Neutral White or High CRI LED option (e.g. Nichia).
Here is a bonus size comparison of the other flashlight options that are similarly sized.
From Left to Right: Included Cyansky BL1607U battery, Freasy Gears Cyansky M3, Olight S1 Mini Baton, Foursevens Mini MKIII, Olight Perun Mini, Acebeam TK16, Oveready Ti BOSS, ReyLight Ti Kyrstal and Okluma Ti DC1.
As with all gears, two is one and one is none.
Stay safe,
The Lite Review
Disclaimer: Light was provided for by Freasy Gears for this review. No other compensation was provided.
Where to Buy Links
Disclaimer: The link to the Freasy Gears Cyansky M3 does not contain any affiliate or tracking links.
However, purchasing using the Christo-Lube MCG111’s affiliate link below will enable TLR to receive compensation from corresponding affiliate companies (Amazon/ShareASale/etc.) directly.
It will NOT cost you anything and is a way to help support the website to keep pumping out reviews like this.
Freasy Gears Cyansky M3
Freasy Gears: Click Here
Freasy Gears is still setting up their online website shop, the best way to own a Cyansky M3 is to contact them using the above link.
Christo-Lube MCG111
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Available Discount Coupon Codes
- Click HERE to view our complete list of discount Coupon Codes.