All parts arrived and the mod is done!
First I planned to use a regular FET but then the FET+1 w/a6 FW showed up at MTN so I couldn’t pass. However this driver is special as it is a custom version of the A6 FW (Thanks Richard!!) and designed to work with 5x7135 instead of 1. A 15mm slave board was used to fit the 7135 and a 22mm blank pcb as a contact board. I don’t have any pictures of inside the driver because the build was pretty quick and I potted the driver.
I used 3x 16mm V2 1A XP-L HI on noctigon, trimmed to 14mm with a dremel to fit in the head. Wires are 22AWG from the LED and 20AWG from the driver, stock centering rings designed for XP-G works perfectly with the XP-L HI.
I’m very happy with the output spacing, taken with a fresh 30Q:
- 0.016A Low: ~150hrs. Not a moon mode, but saves battery and the draw is very low while producing lots of usable light.
- 0.87A Med: ~3hrs. For when I need extended runtime at decent brightness.
- 2.73A High: ~1hrs. The highest output without overheating or getting too hot to touch.
- 10.21A Turbo: ??? Crazy bright! About the same lumens as my triple XP-L BLF EE X6, but with a much intense beam.
A quick ceiling test shows it produces about 6% more light than my EE X6 triple XP-L V6 1A, and more than twice the light of a XM-L2 U4 DD. While the reflectors offers higher efficiency than the optic, the XP-L HI does not produce as much light as the regular XP-L. Current draw is practically the same in both.
Measured almost 160kcd at 1M. This light CAN THROW!
Some pictures:
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This is a quick overall review and mod thread for the Eagletac M30LC2 Compact. There are no other review for this light anywhere so I can go into certain details if anyone wants to know, just feel free to ask; and pardon my average english (spanish speaker here).
Ever since the Eagletac M30LC2C was released I had a great interest for it, mainly because it has triple LEDs, and who doesn’t love triples?! I have owned several eagletacs in the past and IMO they are one of the best flashlight makers out there. With so much competition it’s probably hard to come out with something innovative, well designed and useful at the same time, but the M30LC2C manages to find that balance!
I ordered it from Andrew-Amanda because Andrew himself made me an offer I couldn’t resist, and the item arrived way faster than I expected. Excellent communication with the staff, I highly recommend them if you want to buy from an US-based dealer.
I have to admit, it did hurt a little (actually A LOT!!) after paying this much for a light I bought just to mod, I have zero intentions of using a 1,200lm light when I have others half the size and double the brightness. 
Stock runtime was probably less than 5 minutes before I started taking the guts apart. Embracing the true BLF spirit.
Main specs:
- 3x XP-G2 S2 950OTF lumens
- 4 main modes + 7 hidden modes
- 1x/2x 18650 or 2x/3x/4x CR123.
- L 15.2cm & D 62mm”
- Forward clicky
- KIT version includes: diffuser, two extension tubes, removable SS bezel.
Pros:
- Excellent build quality, feels very sturdy in hard, fairly light.
- HA is smooth, much like fenix. Detailed laser etch.
- Smooth threads, but not square.
- Doesn’t get hot even on turbo
- All parts removable, mod-friendly.
- Works with great variety of cells types. Need to remove plastic ring to work with flat tops.
- Very sophisticated mode changing system, but works flawlessly.
- AR lens, but shows a blue ring at the edge, no big deal. Actually looks pretty cool.
Cons
- Tint is exceptionally cool, I’m a CW guy but this is almost bluish.
- Can’t tailstand
- Expensive compared to budget lights
- Hard to get to moonlight (have to switch low-med-low)
- Triangular threads!
- Extension tubes are not made specifically for this light and looks out of place.
- Stock positive contact has a plastic ring which prevents flat cell to work. Already removed in the pics.
Performance-wise, even in stock form it is pretty decent. I expected more of a floody beam because the reflectors looked small, but actually they are quite deep and throws well. Of course it is no comparison with the M3XS UT but vs my triple XP-L EE X6, it out throws it by a good margin even at less than half the output. Beam is much like an 35mm Triple on steroids.
Overall brightness is similar to an well driven single XM-L2 or XP-L. Specs says 950Lm Ansi but I could say it does look brighter than 950Lm, more like ~1250Lm. Because the triple XP-G2 are not driven hard there is very little heat produced barely got warm after 5 minutes on turbo.
I was pleased with the M30LC2C until I started to question its purpose, then I realized it actually didn’t make much sense in stock form: it has a 62mm head but it doesn’t throw as well, uses 3 LEDs but the output is just average. Is there any reason to go with 3 XP-G2s, 3 reflectors and specially machined head just to achieve the same performance of a single XM-L2 or XP-L in a single big reflector? Only reason I could think of is probably less heat and aesthetics. But that is going to change very soon 
Pictures: Sorry for the funny tint and somewhat blurry pics, they were taken with my phone under crappy lightning, and I forgot to clean my lens so it looked even worse. Realized this after I took all the pics and re-assembled the light. Will take more pictures when the mod comes.
Box contents with diffuser in place. The glass is held by a second bezel, so there are 2 glasses when using the diffuser.
EE X6 vs M30LC2C vs M3XSUT
Head out
Brass insert in battery tube hold batteries in place.
Driver size
The driver has 3 contact points, you need to physically tighten the head to switch modes. Forward clicky will only work in the current mode no matter how many times you press it.
Bezel ring removed, here’s where you install the diffuser. Glass is still being held by a secondary bezel:
Second bezel removed to access the glass and reflector.
Reflectors are screw down, fairly difficult to remove.
Lower part of the reflector has the same diameter as the mcpcb, with some sanding a 16mm noctigon could fit. Stock mcpcb is aluminium and very thin.
Room for internal driver
Room for driver
3 sets of tiny wires going to the emitters.
Driver has 3 negative inputs and 1 positive input.
Fully charged Samsung 25R Turbo
Medium
Low
With extension and 2 cells 8.2V
Without diffuser
With diffuser
Outdoor beamshot, probably 100m away.
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Modding:
For this light I have a very special project in mind. Instead of doing the run-of-the-mill driver swap, I’m going to combine the stock head twist mode selector system with both a driver and full DD mode. With the head in contact, it will be controlled by a FET+1 with TK’s excellent A6 FW. But when the head is fully tighten it will bypass the driver giving full direct drive from the battery to the LEDs. This will ensure correct forward clicky functionality without changing modes.
3x 16mm Noctigon will be used to draw the heat from 3 XP-L HI V3 2B, and stock centering ring will be adjusted to maximize throw.
Parts are on their way from MTN while I type this :bigsmile: . Will keep you updated.