The question goes: should I wait for Next gen DRY or just hit this blindfolded? :)
Well i spoke to manafont today they said it would be a several hours before they updated there website to add the TR-J12.
So i posted it might take a day or two just incase, but when i got home i checked and it is online for sale so i just brought one to test.
I was happy to pay a couple of bucks more from a seller i know and trust, i can not wait to get it.
As soon as it get,s here ill do a review and some long run time test, range test, current draw and i might even have to pull out the lux meter.
I also placed an order for 3 x 26650 king kong 4000 mAh batteries you dont need them as it will run fine on 2 or 3 x 18650,s but i thought why not.
For those in the USA. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B006QRM4FK/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&qid=1325075273&sr=1-1&condition=all
I think I'm going to jump on this one as well. Is the only difference between the 26650 and the 18650s the length of run time or is the driver pushed harder with the larger capacity cells?
The Aliexpress website got my payment last evening, sent out this morning via 4px. hehe... FAST!
Lets see what it can do, hope will arrive soon.
But folks, with my experience in these high output lights with 9 multiple XM-Ls, it is never perfect. So don't think it can be a night and day difference and WOW you crazy.
What i really love using around the house is the 5A3 DRY.
2100, Im looking forward to your comparative review amongst other multi XML lights. Lets hope the drop-in on this one is threaded into the head and also comes with a robust, overbuilt driver on board.
The Ali photo looks to show a painted finish... not that it would be a bad thing, but it is a bit disappointing for a light of that price... if it isnt anodized.
Also, what happened to your trying to reduce your flashlight consumption??? Haha! I knew it would never happen... ;)
Isn't the head a little bit small? The SKY RAY L1 5xT6 is 74mm.
Ships from Hong Kong
Trustfire 26650 5000mAh (4000mAh Real(!?)) : http://www.powerwholesale.net/trustfire-26650-5000mah-37v-liion-protected-battery2pcs-p-1663.html - 15 Bucks
I also ordered mine from Aliexpress today and could luckily used a $5 discount coupon as this was my first order. You can search and fins some coupons for first orders >$50, $100 and $200 as well. It made the price ~$78 for me. The seller contacted me promptly and asked if I needed batteries and charger as well. Quite promising communications sofar.
I also ordered 3 pieces of King Kong batteries from Intl-Outdoors. I hope to have a super long life, super high power light at the end.
Manafont has 25500 type o ?
Add about 7-8 bucks for shipping.
Last year and this year, there were some threads on Bestinone.net and it's amongst one of the best sites around. Live chat works and the cells they do are very good. The best is the 18350s which many reported to significantly go over the stated capacity. My 18500 and 14500 can reach the stated capacity. Shao is selling them on CPFM. They have 3500mAh 26650s. Add $2 for shipping though. Unfortuantely you can't buy in 1 pc.
http://www.bestinone.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=55
Bro, just to check, you know about Li-ion handling and safety right? One thing with unprotected batteries is never to leave it unattended. This is needed because quite a few would mention and want "super long life". When the light cuts, you need to run over quick to turn off the light via the tailcap. And i do mean fast within 5 seconds. Sometimes the driver components (usually MOSTFETs) burn out and cut out before that when it fails, so you are safe. Sometimes they flicker and you have early warning.
Oh...this is easy. I wanted to get the XTAR S1 and figured that i could save more with this TR-J12. hehe.... :D
Anyway, some videos of the Sky Ray L1. I think the hotspot of the L1 is a bit larger as well (other than it nets you 700+ lux compared to Trustfire's 500+) Disclaimer : It is just for your info. I cannot verify the accuracy of the tail readings. I repeat, this is for your reference and enjoyment only....
And in this vid, you can see that the 2-cell Sky Ray SR3800 with drop-in taking in quite lower readings at 1.8A. Usually we get like 2.6A with rev 0. And so you also get light that is similar to the Trustfire. My copy of SR3800 is much brighter than the Trustfire. It does not make sense though....2 cells at 1.8A and 3-cells at 1.5A but give off the same amount of light on the lux meter? Some variable is messing things up.
Hmm. Just made the calculation now. I guess you're right. When the voltage drops the current drawn from the cells will increase, but would it still go up to dangerous measures with 3x26650 cells really? I mean I won't push the light onhigh for long but might leave for 6 hours in the mid setting.
BTW, could anybody confirm if this light has under voltage protection for 2xcells? Maybe one who can read Chinese?
Oh actually that boost in current part is ok when the cell drains. I am talking more about driver failures, guess i did not mention that specifically in my post. When the driver fails, there is a high chance it would give a dead short, and most unprotected batteries don't like that and may vent after a good number of seconds. Only some Panasonics can hold up to dead shorts and what you get is a dead cell after that, no vents/explosions. I am talking about the safety part, not the dead equipment part.
Not sure if there is any LV cut and we cannot assume, need to test it out.
First post :-) I went on and ordered one. I guess the LEDs are in parallel since they claim 7,5A pull from driver, 7,5/5=1,5A each and should have about 2750 lumen total, am I correct?
On paper, 1500mA from the driver to each XM-L gives you a total of 2840 emitter lumens initially. 
Still yet to determine the drive levels, could be the same with Fry Ray L1, could be different.
This gives 2000 OTF lumens, 25% hit by the reflector, 5% by the glass. That is a very conservative outlook. Same answer, need to measure.
The LEDs are in series. All of these multi-emitter/multi-cell lights are. (OOPS - wrong) However, you assumption that they came up with 7.5A from 1.5A per emitter is still probably right. The specs just aren’t quite accurate. It WOULD be 7.5A if it was driven with a single cell. 
EDIT: I think we're looking at about 3A on 2 fully charged cells and 2A on 3 cells.
EDIT AGAIN: Where are my manners? Welcome to BLF!