Tangsfire C8 XM-L2 U3 Review

Seems it is a very bright flashlight…

Blow up the first picture shown, Side of flashlight reads XM-L2 U3 clear as day.
Listing says other way as you point out.

Ooops, my 56 year old eyes couldn't make that out. Still, I wouldn't believe it's really a XM-L2 U3. There was one batch made by CREE, none we've heard of since. ArmyTek was the only manufacturer I heard of that actually got them, and since, can't get anymore. For one vendor that has repeatedly claimed XM-L2 U3 emitter (willbuying.com), I did a pretty rigorous test on and proved them to be equal to a T6 bin in output.

Most likely, the manufacturers have left-over XM-L2 U3 labeled hosts, or they were hoping on more to come out, or they simply like to falsify the claims because they get away with it and they think they can sell more, or get a higher price. Lightmalls, TMART, various eBay and AliExpress sources are all the same. They can claim innocence because their sources are telling them the lies, or not. Doesn't mean I would boycott the vendors, but sometimes you just got to accept it like their outrageous lumens claims, or claims of regulated output at a specific amp level. What they use in place of the U3's is the question. If they use U2's, great, but if they use T6's, and/or bad tints like a T6 0D, that sucks.

This light is sounding like a T6 at best, based on the high amps and relatively low output. Might have something to do with the reflector too, because there is a lot of variations in C8 reflectors, some better than others.

Tom,

I hear ya.
I sold stereo equipment in the early 80’s and there were no enforceable laws against overstating wattage of car stereo amps, head units, etc.
Even the home stereo laws were lax.
Same applies here, they can slap any label on the side of a light they want and no one is going to say boo.
Q5’s rated at 1000 lumens? Sure, why not.
There are probably lots and lots of T6 emitters left in the supply chain, hence the reason we are seeing T6 lights for $6.

I still think this particular flashlight is worth the money with the east 092 driver. If you don’t like the tint or want better heat sink/ more output, just throw in a Copper Noctigon with your favorite emitter and flavor of tint and be done. The hot spot is very well defined.
JMHO
Thanks,

Keith

Is the blue is due to high current draw of direct drive but with poor heatsinking thus the LED turns blue over the time?

Not at all. Just like the XM-L2 U3 C12s from Aliexpress blue, but not quite as bright, just blue. Looked almost P7 blue. Then again, I’m in the dust bowl of Texas right now, so I will play more when I get back home.

I can't find a TangsFire logo in the photos, always makes me suspicious. Even when shown you often get a differently branded item, so when they avoid photographing it....

Awhile back, when I got my exceptional C8’s from TMart, I immediately ordered a bunch more. I did this because I wanted more from the same batch. Even so, there were 2 that were not quite as good. Physically the only difference is the centering ring is white and not black as the others. Output was a little lower also, and a little warmer. Point is, there is always some variation in these things.

OK, my verdict on the Tangsfires…

When I fired up the first light, it was the less well driven one, and turns out, the battery wasn’t the most fully charged. Popped in an unprotected Panasonic 3400 and was fairly impressed. Popped in a Tenergy 2400 and Keeppower 2800 (both protected) and got exactly the same output. Beam profile seems a lot like a Trustfire X8 or KD C8, just a bit fatter, with that “eye” complex with yellowish corona.

The other light is about 150 lumens brighter, has a touch fatter hotspot, but other than that, they are both nicely made budget C8s.

Pros…

-Great tailcaps and threads
-Solid, smooth, and clean bodies (doesn’t immediately appear budget)
-East 092 driver.
-Appears to be XM-L2 U3 bin
-awesome reflectors

Cons…

-one light not as bright as the other
-Brightness: I expected more output than my XINTD from Wallbuys, but they are honestly about the same, so maybe a low-1,000-something lumens, give or take.

For the price, you might well grab one up, but I’d still pay a bit more and go for regulated output. The Lightmalls model may still reign as C8 king.

Got my TangsFire XM-L2 U3 today. It pulls 4.65A on a fresh Pana PD - 1,054 lumens @start, 976 lumens at 30 secs. I'd expect a big drop for 4.65A on an aluminum star. Tried the threads - yet another C8 thread size and cut, oh boy... Really was hoping it was going to be a true C8 thread. The pill threading is bigger than a Convoy C8 and UF T-20/LightMalls C8, so no chance brass or copper pills will fit. Like a Convoy C8, it came with a 16mm star - kind of surprising.

The body and reflector are clean - excellent condition. It's not bad, was hoping a little more compatible though.

I didn’t like running this light too much on DD without a copper star, so I swapped the U3 for an XM-L2 U2 1A on a Noctigon. I tried it side by side with another stock Tangsfire, and the beam profile and tints are identical. I could not discern any difference at all.
I was originally going to upgrade the wires. The smallest I had were 22AWG, and I knew they would probably play havoc shorting the reflector with the 16mm star. I was going to try anyway, but when I looked at where the wires were attached to the driver, I decided to leave them stock. I couldn’t trust my soldering abilities to attach larger wires in such a tiny space. I checked with my DMM to see if there was continuity to the close by components, but they must have been separated by half a hair.

Since I’m leaving the stock wires, I don’t know whether to bother with copper braid on the springs.

The stock aluminum star was glued down pretty tight. I couldn’t twist it off with pliers.
To get it out without damaging the emitter I set the pill on top of a large wrench socket and inserted a hex key into the wire hole where part of the star overlapped. A whack with a mallet, and it was out.

What brand C8 were you referring to at Lightmalls? And what type of driver is it running?

I went ahead and put copper braid on the springs anyway. I gained some amps. I also added an AR coated lens from IOS. I guess that’s about as a good as this torch is going to get. I put a blue boot cap on it so I can tell which one is which.

Efest IMR give me 3.6A, and the 30A Sonys give me 4.6A without breaking a sweat.

this one

brightest and furthest throwing stock c8 around

Is it direct drive on high mode?

Shouldn’t the beam profiles of U2 and U3 be different?

U3 looks a lot bluer to me.

First of all, we don’t know if its really a U3. Second, I have two Tangsfires in my hand, one has a U2 1A, and the other a stock “U3”, and they are identical in tint, from the hot spot to the corona.

Tom E questioned if it’s really U3 in TangsFire C8:

#17
can you verify the specs listed for this light having a true XM-L2 U3?

#37
Really really doubt it’s a U3

not sure….is there anyway to tell besides opening up the light?