Brother I own both the Terminator & a hot Rod BTU. I like both of them. But the Terminator can’t even come close to the BTU’s distance. The Terminator is a 300 meter light, whereas the BTU is a 600+ meter light.
the only reason i sold my terminator was because of the pwm on low - it was way too low of a frequency and was a disappointment to me, other than that great light!
at least this explains what those mysterious lights high in the sky over LI Sound were last niight - just another BLF member w a monster build BTU…gotta get one!
and to think i almost went 1 month without getting a new light!!!
Contratulations jmpaul320.
Oh! 
So the BTU will leave my brightest lights - the Terminator & the X-100 - far behind. 
Thanx for the tip Dale. I’ll be setting my sights on the BTU then instead of the Convoy L2. 
Don’t feel bad Nightbird95. The TK75 is my favorite light and is one of the few stock LED lights that could give the BTU a run but straight out of the box the BTU is slightly brighter (with the A/R lens ) and out throws it by about 100 meters. Modded I am pretty confident that it will even trump the RC40. I had to buy me a shocker too.
jmpaul320,
You know how much I value your opinion and how I know from doing business with you that you tell it like it is. I repsect that in anyone who can do that. And really it’s the way it should be. But your posting this upgrade here has got me very much interested in having my BTU upgraded as well. But I will wait to see how I like mine as is. But thanks for bringing this to my attention brother.
Brad
For me, for a change! Didn't even order the host yet, but will this weekend - gonna use the T10B from IOS. Should be a blazin, long pocket torch.
Brad, I know that question wasn’t meant for me, but just curious why you would hesitate on getting a BTU modded. For money reasons or for the hassle I can understand. But it sounds like your concerned with resale value.
This is the way I see it -
My stock BTU - 2880 lumens and 125K in throw. That was before they had the AR lens. Great numbers yes. It did loose lumens pretty good though, with about 10-15% loss (keeping it on turbo) in 20 min run time.
My modded BTU - 3670 lumens and 181K with XM-L2’s on copper and UCL lens. Both tests with Keeppower 3400mah protected cells. And now the power stays VERY well. Haven’t done a long term test again, but it actually gains power for a good minute or so.
AND keep in mind this light was built by one of the best modders on our forum - Tom E. He goes through the trouble to polish heatsinks with 2500 grit paper and other minor things like that. He does this to make excellent heat transfer and peak performance.
So how could a light that performs roughly 25% better than stock and has MUCH better heatsinking and power holding ability be less value than a bone stock light?
I’m sure as I type this, Tom E could easily start selling his quality modded BTU’s for $150 at the same time Ric is selling his stock ones for $99. Ric would sell more I’m sure since $150 is more than many are wiling to pay for any light, but I would be willing to bet Tom would have more light orders than he could handle.
Not knocking the stock BTU - I’ve always been a big fan of them. Bone stock they were the best throwing and high power light on the market. The TK75 was its only competition. Now the much more expensive RC40 has passed the stock BTU on power, not throw though it appears. But modded they are more powerful and now have quality to match some of the best lights out now. And it matches or beats the top dog RC40 in power and KILLS it in throw.
It’s a win win in my eyes. You might be totally happy with your stock BTU - many are. But if you want more, don’t hesitate to get it modded. You won’t regret it.
Hope you don’t mind me butting in with your questions for jmpaul.
Yeah the BTU is definitely my next target. Thanx manxbuggy1!
I forgot that I’ve seen beam shots of both the Terminator and the BTU already together with other very bright lights. That was rdrfronty’s post on your trip to Big Bend. The BTU indeed leaves the Terminator behind. 
you won’t regret the upgrade
Had mine given the steroid treatment by Tom E. about a month ago.
For those of you smiling on your $99.00 purchase, get it to Tom and get a evil grin from ear to ear.
He also did my HD2010, that thing now is a 100k monster. It doubled from the 50k stock throw.
Okay, so I buy a BTU (very high on my list), and I want to get it modded as per this thread (and a few others too) -w parts and labor, what are our fellow BLF members going to charge for the upgrade? And I realize that there is no profit in this for most guys, just doing it for the love, so not everyone who wants it done is going to be able to make that connection through one of these threads.
Why doesn’t anyone get it modded with xp-g2s? Maybe even dedomed. Wouldn’t you get like 400kcd with a good sized hotspot?
Also, am I the only one who wants to put dedomed xpg2 in the skyray king? I inquired about having it done once but was told it wouldn’t work. I’m thinking 1200 lumen 75kcd coke can.
Each are built to your specs. Maybe try PMing one of the builders to discuss your options and prices.
vinz got 375k if i remember correctly just by de-doming the xml2s and making a minor focus adjustment
for those of you with the tom E mod, how long can you run it on turbo before it gets too hot or unsafe conditions?
mine starts becoming slightly warm to the touch after 1-2 minutes, warm after 4-5 minutes and hot enough that it should be turned to medium after about 10
this is in ambient (70 deg F) room temp
Well I may just get mine upgraded. We will see. I would at leat like to see what it does stock. And if I decide to upgrade, I know where I will get it done. But I would like to play around with it to see what I think.