thanks. unfortunately it seems you got a returned one? i guess if it works well no big deal. it will get scuffed up anyway. mine is a tang’s, it came in new condition. i bought it only for the (childish) purpose of putting out streetlights, which i haven’t been able to do. in the meantime though, i came to love it. it is a little large, but it is very very bright, with very very good throw, and has definitely become a keeper. i haven’t even tried a 26650 yet, don’t own one, but i’m sure it will be even better when i eventually get one.

This seems like a light I would like to own. Does anybody know how it compares to the Crelant v9 in throw and general usefulness?

Thanks for the great review. It motivated my purchase.

Mine arrived in superb shape from Tmart (FIVE days from ordering to my door!). No nicks or scrapes, but the o-rings were all too small just as the reviewer described. Great light, but my Keygos M12 seems brighter in both flood and spot modes, although I know it’s a little of an apples-and-oranges comparison since the M12 is a zoomer. Will try again when it’s dark to see the real difference.

I agree with this review except I got much luckier with mine in that it is relatively blemish free. I am going to swap the T6 XM-L out for a U2 bin on a copper board from INTL-Outdoor. I am then going to get the pill adjusted correctly for best throw, like Foy said, if it’s screwed in all the way it doesn’t perform correctly. I will then use some Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy to set the pill in place permanently.

bose301s wrote:

I agree with this review except I got much luckier with mine in that it is relatively blemish free. I am going to swap the T6 XM-L out for a U2 bin on a copper board from INTL-Outdoor. I am then going to get the pill adjusted correctly for best throw, like Foy said, if it's screwed in all the way it doesn't perform correctly. I will then use some Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy to set the pill in place permanently.

Hi Bose. Any chance of before and after beam shots?

MRsDNF wrote:

bose301s wrote:

I agree with this review except I got much luckier with mine in that it is relatively blemish free. I am going to swap the T6 XM-L out for a U2 bin on a copper board from INTL-Outdoor. I am then going to get the pill adjusted correctly for best throw, like Foy said, if it’s screwed in all the way it doesn’t perform correctly. I will then use some Arctic Alumina thermal epoxy to set the pill in place permanently.

 

Hi Bose. Any chance of before and after beam shots?

Thanks Bose. No stress. I plan to do a couple tonight if the weather behaves. Its done nothing but rain here for the last 5 days so fingers crossed.

Thanks so much for the thorough review, Foy. Lately I’ve been preferring my C8s, but this looks like a nice competitor. Could be my next “most used light.” Great job. Thanks for sharing the info.

and it works very well with smooth or op. it seemed a little on the big side before, but compared to the 2010, not so much.

For anyone interested here is a link to my slowly evolving HD2010 sponsored by my Visa card mods.

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/11255

Hey, DNF, have you seen my post here? Any help will be appreciated

Maybe not the place for this question, but is anyone else having battery issues with this light? It doesn’t seem to like Trustfire flamers. Runs for 15 seconds and shuts down. I have many different flamer dates and batches from the past year or so. Same thing. The most reliable batteries for me seem to be crappy Ultrafire red 3000 and the equally crappy black ultarfire 3600 batts. These are my last choice for any light. In fact, I had been meaning to toss these because their run time is not very long. And some nonprotected sanyo/pan cells work.

I am afraid to keep trying “iffy” batts in it lest it shutoff forever, which wouldn’t be the end of the world if it was a $12 budget light but it’s $38!

It seems perhaps maybe to be related to initial voltage. If it’s too high (4.06-4.15ish), it seems to trigger some protection in the light and shut down. But I’m not sure because some flamers don’t seem to work no matter what the initial voltage level. Maybe it needs the extra capacity of a 26650? Got me. I have some 26650s on the way. I’ll see what those do. All I know is that it’s a pain to carry a handful of extra batts with me on a walk because I don’t know what will work.

I have 35 other lights. None have any problems with any of these batts.

I have that problem with only a few lights, where a UF3000 won't power them on high. Balder BD-2 is very picky, only a good quality cell will work. If I stick a UF in it, it will start flashing immediately and power down to medium or low. I think it has to do with high internal resistance? I haven't had an issue with King Kongs in my Tangsfire HD2010 - getting good output and run time. Tell you what, I'll test a few 18650's in it tonight and let you know.

Ubehebe, I have used TF flames both 18650 & 26650 (I have the UF HD2010), and I have no problems with the light shutting down...

Perhaps there's a contact issue?  Maybe the Trustfire's aren't pushing tightly against the driver or tailcap springs?  There have been some reports of issues with the springs getting squished shorter. 

-Garry

Is it not possible its tripping the cell protection circuit?

Ubehebe wrote:

Maybe not the place for this question, but is anyone else having battery issues with this light? It doesn’t seem to like Trustfire flamers. Runs for 15 seconds and shuts down. I have many different flamer dates and batches from the past year or so. Same thing. The most reliable batteries for me seem to be crappy Ultrafire red 3000 and the equally crappy black ultarfire 3600 batts. These are my last choice for any light. In fact, I had been meaning to toss these because their run time is not very long. And some nonprotected sanyo/pan cells work.

I am afraid to keep trying “iffy” batts in it lest it shutoff forever, which wouldn’t be the end of the world if it was a $12 budget light but it’s $38!

It seems perhaps maybe to be related to initial voltage. If it’s too high (4.06-4.15ish), it seems to trigger some protection in the light and shut down. But I’m not sure because some flamers don’t seem to work no matter what the initial voltage level. Maybe it needs the extra capacity of a 26650? Got me. I have some 26650s on the way. I’ll see what those do. All I know is that it’s a pain to carry a handful of extra batts with me on a walk because I don’t know what will work.

I have 35 other lights. None have any problems with any of these batts.

Before I modded mine, I used this light in stock form for about a month. I had no problems with any cells in this light. I am running unprotected 18650 cells from Sanyo, Pansonic, Sony. My 26650 cells are battery space LiNiCoMn, also unprotected.

Make sure the light is assembled correctly, everything from the switch pill to the driver pill is screwed down tight.

Does the problem persist with the reflector removed? If so then we can rule out a reflector short.

Ubehebe wrote:

Maybe not the place for this question, but is anyone else having battery issues with this light? It doesn’t seem to like Trustfire flamers. Runs for 15 seconds and shuts down. I have many different flamer dates and batches from the past year or so. Same thing. The most reliable batteries for me seem to be crappy Ultrafire red 3000 and the equally crappy black ultarfire 3600 batts. These are my last choice for any light. In fact, I had been meaning to toss these because their run time is not very long. And some nonprotected sanyo/pan cells work.

I am afraid to keep trying “iffy” batts in it lest it shutoff forever, which wouldn’t be the end of the world if it was a $12 budget light but it’s $38!

It seems perhaps maybe to be related to initial voltage. If it’s too high (4.06-4.15ish), it seems to trigger some protection in the light and shut down. But I’m not sure because some flamers don’t seem to work no matter what the initial voltage level. Maybe it needs the extra capacity of a 26650? Got me. I have some 26650s on the way. I’ll see what those do. All I know is that it’s a pain to carry a handful of extra batts with me on a walk because I don’t know what will work.

I have 35 other lights. None have any problems with any of these batts.

its tripping the protection.

i prefer panasonic ncr’s or sanyo ur’s in this light.
panasonic cgr or any imr battery pulls too much current and has too little runtime in this light. 4 amps out of a solid unprotected high 2600+mah battery is fine by me. 5+ amps is pointless. at 5amps the hd2010 doesnt even seem to get hot which gets me a little worried that the drop in isnt shedding enough heat to the body.

SashiX wrote:

Thanks for the info, Foy. Much appreciated As for tint... cameras can actually adjust some things and tint could look different on pic. Does your pics are close to real life/your eye-meter? To make a good comparison of hotspots and such, I think a pic with lower exposure shows those differences better Hm, strange, but looking at those pic you've made, HD2010 has brighter spill to me outside, but inside, M8 has better spill Good to know that you can run it with 18650 without loosing much current/brightness

MRsDNF wrote:

Another top notch review from Foy. Thanks. Have I sucked up enough to ask questions now? I have the Tangsfire so am interested in any differences between the two.

The driver possibly for a start. I had the same issue doing tailcap measurements but the non flashy mode that I could measure was 2.7 amps also with a King Kong. I dont know if this is high or medium.

All orings were to small as were yours.

The finish was near perfect on all parts except the thread where the bezel scews on was missing anodising in places.

The tailcap switch on the Tangsfire in my book is horrible. It is very heavy in action and feels like it is very harsh when pushing it in if that makes any sense. It feels like it needs a bit of grease in it but then that would not solve the problem of the heavy spring. How does yours compare to the switch in the JM05?

Very interesting. Have you bought yours @DD? They sells it for 34 without any coupons Add a 10%coupon, add some points and you will get best bung for the buck. Or not? Can you see PWM on yours? Thanks in advance :)

Hi SashiX. Sorry I missed your question. Yes mine did come from DD. It was my first purchase from them and surprisingly quick delivery. I did use a coupon and got the light from memory about $32.00.

I assume though that the DD lights may have a different driver than other shops. Standard mine would draw less than 3 amps while others are getting upwards of 5 amps. DD only advertise 2.3 amps on there website, If anything can be believed on there site, this would be close.

I'm not partial to PWM so as yet I have not owned a light that bothers me particuarly with it. I cant say that I have noticed it but to others it may. I find it amusing that when doing N/O 1's in the toilet is a good way to check PWM (try it and tell me I'm not crazy). I would not suggest to check the waterproof caperbilities this way though.

Hahaha, there is no need to check it in the toilet, bro, just shake/move your hand rapidly. Fuzzy hand —> fast to non PWM driver, if you see your hand “cloned” multiple times – low PWM :bigsmile:

I’ve seen your other thread and looks like you’ve changed the driver. Can you post a pic of the old one? Maybe you get less than 3 A because of your DMM/leads

Thanks

Easiest way I found to check PWN is aim light at a moving fan it increases as the modes lower like a timing light on a car if anyone remembers those.

SashiX wrote:

Hahaha, there is no need to check it in the toilet, bro, just shake/move your hand rapidly. Fuzzy hand --> fast to non PWM driver, if you see your hand "cloned" multiple times - low PWM :bigsmile: I've seen your other thread and looks like you've changed the driver. Can you post a pic of the old one? Maybe you get less than 3 A because of your DMM/leads Thanks ;)

I have 3 good DMM (dont ask why I have so many) that all measure pretty much the same in voltage and current measurments. They all have heavy guage wire leads as standard. Numerous known quality batteries were tried with more or less the same current measurement at the tailcap.

This is a shot of the standard driver in my DD TangsFire.

E1320 wrote:

Easiest way I found to check PWN is aim light at a moving fan it increases as the modes lower like a timing light on a car if anyone remembers those.

MRsDNF wrote:

I have 3 good DMM (dont ask why I have so many) that all measure pretty much the same in voltage and current measurments. They all have heavy guage wire leads as standard. Numerous known quality batteries were tried with more or less the same current measurement at the tailcap.

This is a shot of the standard driver in my DD TangsFire

Ubehebe wrote:

Maybe not the place for this question, but is anyone else having battery issues with this light? It doesn't seem to like Trustfire flamers. Runs for 15 seconds and shuts down. I have many different flamer dates and batches from the past year or so. Same thing. The most reliable batteries for me seem to be crappy Ultrafire red 3000 and the equally crappy black ultarfire 3600 batts. These are my last choice for any light. In fact, I had been meaning to toss these because their run time is not very long. And some nonprotected sanyo/pan cells work. I am afraid to keep trying "iffy" batts in it lest it shutoff forever, which wouldn't be the end of the world if it was a $12 budget light but it's $38! It seems perhaps maybe to be related to initial voltage. If it's too high (4.06-4.15ish), it seems to trigger some protection in the light and shut down. But I'm not sure because some flamers don't seem to work no matter what the initial voltage level. Maybe it needs the extra capacity of a 26650? Got me. I have some 26650s on the way. I'll see what those do. All I know is that it's a pain to carry a handful of extra batts with me on a walk because I don't know what will work. I have 35 other lights. None have any problems with any of these batts.

Ubehebe, as promised, I checked my Tangsfire with several 18650: Trustfire 3000, Solarforce 2400, Xtar 2600, and 2 batches of Ultrafire 3000, including one known fake. All power the HD2010 on high with no issue. I even left the UF cell in for over 5 minutes to see if it  would step down. I agree with others that your issue might be something loose.

Awesomereview&beautifulpicturesasusualFoy!      

Anyone got the 3xm-l version?

edc wrote:

Anyone got the 3xm-l version?

I have a modded DRY 3XML drop in I have put in mine and it fits and works fine.