Nice! We have a winner here, it appears. XM-L continues to impress with copious quantities of lumens at a very reasonable price.
I don't like that switch design much either. I imagine they cut those diametrically opposed notches for ease of thumb access. But it's not worth it if it sacrifices tailstanding.
Great review! Thanks for the deal tip. Frontpage'd and Sticky'd.
Well, make that next month's wishlist because I'll probabably get murdered in my sleep if I buy anything that emits light for any reason whatsoever this month. :D
The review I have been waiting for! Thank you Johnny.
I too am looking forward to amp readings and OP/SMO reflector comparison. In the meantime: which one has been used for the above beamshot?
Also: does it always switch on on High?
I used the smooth in that beam shot. The OP is just a little smoother in the spread from hot spot to the flood and not as intense in the hot spot. I will get shots tonight or tomorow and post them.
Its got mode memory so starts where you left off last. I was getting 2.7amps on high and 0.6a on low.
Johnny-do you notice any flickering on lo when the battery runs low? seems mine does it on low once voltage drops significantly. ive taken the switch apart and all looks well. gotta fix the die to the pill with some thermal adhesive.
The thing about those nice, big C8 reflectors is the focus of the beam and the throw it gives you. Even my R5 Palight with it's XP-G kicks an XM-L's light when you take a good look at the beam and throw.
I agree completely about the reflector being the key with this light as I agree with Match about it being a major factor with the 980L performing as well as it does. Comparing it to the Manafont P60 XM-L is not exactly fair but indoors and 6-7 feet from the wall I don't think it's entirely unfair either when there is such a vast difference in the brightness. Outdoors where big distance comes in is a different story. I'm looking forward to Foy getting his so he can do a direct comparison to the 980L and hopefully someone else will be able to compare it with another C8.
@AgedBriar - I hope to do some DMM readings sometime this weekend. With yours pulling 2.7A do you notice it getting as hot as mine does? This is my first C8/MRV style light and I'm not sure what to expect. I have a very well heatsinked P60 in my 501B and it gets hot all over but nothing like this one does. All I know is it makes my P60 look dull and I have no doubts it will hold it's own against others of it's type. Does your F15 have the same driver (the one with the thin red lines) as mine does? I'm actually hoping it doesn't put out 4.5A like Foy's 980L does since I'd like this to last and not poop the bed on me while using it.
@Foy - Bring it on! LOL! I think you will be happy with this light either way and for the money it's a winner. I think you will agree that these lights (980L & F15) are able to hold their own against the snobby lights costing several times more when it comes to fit and finish. I hope my DMM can get good amperage readings on it. It got almost as hot as your 980L and if I hadn't chickened out and let it run the full 15 minutes it would have come within 5 degrees or so I'm thinking. How hot can the Li-Ions safely get? I thought I read somewhere that 50c was the upper limit of safety. Hope I read/recall incorrectly.
Johnny - I'll tell you what; if this light of yours does compare well with the 980L, Foy will be eating some crow for more reasons than one. The F15 is $20 less expensive so, other than the strobe mode (which I do not like) it would represent a better value.