Are you saying you swapped the reflector of the Trustfire with the MRV or are you saying you use the Trustfire instead of your MRV now? What I really want is the most throw I can get off an XM-L for under $30 and in stock configuration. I don't want a hard core thrower with an XR-E/Xp-E, because I want the spill and overall output that an XM-L provides, but I want to get the most throw I can out of the XM-L in that under $30 range. It seems like the C8 smooth is my best bet right now, but if the stock Trustfire can beat out the C8 smooth, I'll take that. Since the C8 and Trustfire seem to use the same size reflector, I'd be surprised if that were the case. It'd be nice to see a comparison between this light and the KD C8.
I can't solder worth a hoot and I don't have a functional soldering iron right now so I have to stay away from any serious modding.
I can't directly compare betweeen those two light versions, but would certainly stay away from the SSC-P7 for throw. My wishes are like yours (I already own the "hard-core thrower" HS-802 R2) and have now the Manafont F15 in transit, along with the spare C8 SMO reflector.
I re-flowed the solder job on my F15 last night, and clipped a couple coils off the spring so Hi-Max batteries would fit better without the pressure on the pill. Works just find now...
Mine draws 4.2amp at 4.2v and 3.5amp around 3.8v from unportected batteries. It gets hot within a few minutes. BTW does anyone know if there is a way to deactivate the strobe?
Nope . I filed it down because whenever I tightened the tailcap I heard the spring in the tail collapse in on itself . Filing the brass contact fixed the problem .