This thread http://budgetlightforum.cz.cc/node/1667
Great looking lights Foy! Have much fun with them! 
I guess I could actually do something useful like offer a mini review on one of these. I'm a little nervous to do this because I'm not a flaslight expert but, here goes nothing . . .
I ordered the L2P as part of a kit from Solarforce.HK that included the HA III black L2P body with reverse clicky, P7 drop-in, 2-bay 18650 charger, two Solarforce protected 3.7v Lion batteries and a holster. It was $79 including $2 shipping from Hong Kong Post that took about 3 weeks to arrive in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The items arrived in a brown padded shipping envelope covered with exotic looking postage stamps and several official appearing rubber stamps. The envelope was taped shut, string tied and did not seem capable of protecting anything inside. However abused the package appeared, the contents were in perfect condition; the charger was loose along with the batteries, the L2P host was in a simple plastic bag and the drop-ins were in retail blister packages.
The O-rings were lubed and all 4 batteries tested between 3.8 and 4.0 volts on my multimeter before initial charging. The charger terminates consistent at 4.3 volts and each battery will settle down to 4.22 to 4.24 after a few minutes. An 18650 rattles a bit in the body, resolved with two layers of electrical tape.
I first powered up with two Energizer CR123s and shined the light on a wall in a semi-dark room. The P7 had kind of a large hot spot with a dark center, another dark ring further out and a somewhat less than impressive beam pattern. Output seemed great however; doing a shine-two lights-on-the-ceiling-and-looking-down comparison with a 4Sevens Quark AA2 Tactical (with a known 180 lumen ANSI) the P7 was definitely brighter and made the (XP-G R5) Quark look quite green. With a charged 18650 it was less bright (not much) but still brighter than the Quark.
I then removed the black bezel that came with the L2P and installed a Solarforce B6 Premium stainles steel bezel with the flat, metal tool that came with my order, put the laynard ring on with a laynard I made from an old piece of leather I found in our bedroom.
Finally; for the planned XM-L, I wrapped the single mode Solarforce XM-L drop-in with aluminum foil until just before it could not be pushed in anymore then, carefully screwed down the head for a snug fit and (hopefully) good heat transfer. Powered up with a charged 18650 and was immediately impressed by a spectacular beam profile that included a blazing bright hot spot nearly a foot wide when shined on a wall from about 15 feet. The large hot spot is a perfect circle that fades evenly to a brilliant, uninterupted spill that, all by itself might be as bright as some of my weaker lights. It throws strong to about 25 yards and can still put some useful light on a target at about 50 yards but it clearly is not a thrower. Shined on the side of my neighbors house, it looks like a police spotlight searching for an intruder. It is significantly brighter than the P7 and among my sad collection, is easily the most powerful torch I have.
I used it at work for a week (I research and decode classic/muscle cars for an on-line dealer) and every time I banged it against something under a car, I expected to find a chip or other damage on my brand new toy. This flashlight is no toy; it looks just as new now as it ever did, even after hard use. The anno on this thing is tough as nails. For a water test, I turned the light on and submerged it in the bathroom sink for about 20 minutes. I then took a shower with it, spraying water directly from every angle for about 5 minutes, all with no issues or ingress that I could see. Run time with primaries is not quite three hours, getting dim at about 2.5 hours. With an 18650 I get a solid hour of full brightness. With my current setup, heat can be an issue. After 5 minutes the flashlight body is warm and the head is very warm. After 10 minutes the head is hot, not too hot to hold but hot enough that turning the light off seems like a good idea. A better heat transfer solution is needed.
The L2P pictured cost just under $45 to build so, I guess it's not really a budget light. However, some time ago I purchased the Surefire 6P seen above that came with a shallow reflector and a paltry 120 lumen Q-whatever emitter. (not sure about the emitter) It cost $89 at Fry's and the L2P is easily its equal in terms of quality, is better looking (I think) and with the XM-L, absolutely slaughters it in terms of performance.
I think this Solarforce L2P is an aesthetic knockout and when you combine that with superb constuction, great fit and finish and blazing XM-L performance, it is one hell of a flashlight value.
I give it 4 out of 5 Foys because of potential heat issues.
Foy
Great pics and review! I have really fallen for the L2p. I have to get a couple of those B6 bezel rings. :)
Excellent review Foy! Thanks for the detailed write up. The only part that concerns me is that it gets hot after 10 minutes. I figured that would be an issue but hoping otherwise.
Well, I think I just need to wrap some copper tape around the drop-in but the truth is; the P60 flashlight, as great as its versatility/Legoability is, has inherent limitations when you start delivering higher currents to these wunder-emitters. When I can afford it I want to try an SST-90 in a P60 host but I already know it will probably be a wow thing that can only be turned on breifly.
And, yes, I have a place in mind I think will do well for some beam shots.
Aso, in case there is confusion; the drop-ins in all three lights are from Solarforce. The 6P has the P7 the L2P came with and I liked Solarforce's XM-L so much I bought another one but they were out of L2P bodies so I got an L2. That was before I saw Don's Manafont beam shots so now I am anxiously waiting (for it to arrive) to put that in the L2P. So, that's MF XML to L2P, SF XML to 6P, XML to L2 and a P7 with no home. (yet) See, not confusing at all.
Foy
That new bezel is nice. It seemed pointless to have a bezel that would still allow the head to get dinged up if you dropped it head first. A little more than I want to pay right now though. I hope they will come down a little eventually.
http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd475/jacktheclipper/solarforce003.jpg
My sandy L2 with the manafont 3 mode dropin
I sanded down the pointy bezel
I saw this light a while ago in "another" forum. The bezel looks awesome. I can't wait for my Manafont drop-in to come.
Foy
I have to say that all of my friends are jealous of this light
I use it in medium mode for my bike light strapped down with a twofish lockblock and it's probably got about 100 miles on it with no problems so far
Am I part of a large group of recent CPF refugees here? I know you are, Jack.
livelikearefugeeFoy
I have lurked here for a while
I finally decided to do a P60 light and I hit a home run with this one .
I really wouldn’t bother with an SST90. As the level that you can drive it in a p60, its less efficient than an XML.
Also, I've used 4-5mil copper "tape" and I've used cut up aluminum cans around the dropin. I'll be damned if I can feel the difference. Anything in there is better than nothing.
I did notice a difference from having nothing to strips of aluminum foil. So, an under driven SST-90 will not be as bright as the XM-L. That makes sense - and it would probably just be a battery killer.
Foy
Nice mini-review Flashlightfoy. Everytime I see those L2P's I want to order one....very good looking torch.
You mentioned that your charger stops at 4.3v? Good that it's consistant, but that seems a bit high to me.
I think I worded my last post wrong. :) I meant that I can't tell a difference between copper and aluminum. There is definitely a difference between nothing and something. :p
Mitro - I understood what you meant. Somehow, I think some solid copper in there might be better than my almost-wadded up pieces of tin-foil. Ya go with what ya got, I suppose.
Match - Yeah, I don't like that either and I'll tell something else I don't like; one of these batteries discharged to 3.6 volts. I've charged it after that several times and all seems well but I thought 3.6 was basically fully discharged. Because of that, I don't let them go very far before charging and I pull them off the charger before the light goes completely green. These are protected cells so, maybe there's something I'm missing. A person is wise to treat lion batteries with a certain respect.
voltageconfusedFoy
Very nice to read review, never heard of muscle cars or flashlight bathing . I give you 5 Foy whatever they worth !
They'll be OK down to round 2.8V (under load) but are essentially flat at 3V under load - this will rapidly bounce back to around 3.6V off load. If it doesn't bounce back to over 3V on standing, the cell should be watched carefully. Many/most cell protection circuits do not cut off on the voltage under load.
That's what it did; it bounced back and has never been below 3.7 or so. I learn a little something important nearly every day, here. Thanks, Don.
alittlemorebatterysavvyFoy