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?
It’s an XM-L2! Who cares if it’s U2 or U3? Most places are still trying to fob off the old XM-L T6. I believe its a U2…what’s there to complain about?
+1
And we are going to swap the emitter with XM-L U2 1A/1C/1D (or whatever you prefer) on Noctigon anyway. 
I swapped XM-L2 U2 1A and it is exactly the same profile and tint. No difference at all. So the “U3” is probably U2 1A. As far as the slight violet tint in the corona, stop standing five feet from a white wall, go outside and use it in the wild. It is just fine.
If it’s not U3, then it shouldn’t be called U3.