Hey guys,
The tittle says it all really. I am after a XM-L (pref U2) torch that pushes the emitter to the limits. The only direct drive available without mod I can think of is the UF-980L. Are there any others? Any in a U2 emitter?
Also I am after an ultra thrower and don’t really care about how hot the torch gets! 
Thanks!
The Ultrafire HD2010 is direct drive on high, but comes with a T6. Available from Tmart's US warehouse too. Actually, there seem to be many direct drive XM-L's out nowadays.
-Garry
Nice, I had seen the HD2010 but didn’t realise it was direct drive…
I am still yet to find one with the U2 however!
Also how does the HD2010 compare to the UF-980L in throw distance?
Thanks!
Most lights are DD. Even the 7135 based drivers are a “hybrid DD”, in that they buck Vin down to Vf and behave more like DD once Vbatt = Vf. A boost converter will maintain a consistent Wattage pull. It will increase current draw as Vbatt depletes in order to maintain steady-state W. Very few affordable lights do this, and finding one that does it efficiently (at/above ~80%) is rare.
See previous discussion on the HD2010 vs. the UF980L (and clones). Here is one and here's another. I own the HD2010, but not a UF980L. I also haven't tested the HD2010 much since I've had it. I do believe the HD2010 is an awesome light though!
-Garry
Yeh sorry just after posting did a search and found the hd2010 vs UF980l threads.
Kramer, sorry I don’t completely understand. Any chance you can explain in layman terms?
A stock HD2010 is in the 40-45K lux range (AFIAK). It will most definitely out-throw the 980L.
I reread again and see you are after an "ultra thrower". Are you sure you want an XM-L then? For a serious thrower you may wish to look into very hard driven XR-E's. You can pick up some cheap budget ones like the Super Tactics Q5 thrower that so many BLFer's love, the newer Jacob A60 (also see here), and the one I have - the Dongrui All-920 (better beamshots here). My vote would go to the Jacob A60 for now. The pill in the Dongrui isn't so good for long term use.
-Garry
HD2010 will outthrow the 980L. But the 980L is better for pocket carriage as its smaller. Get both.
x2…. I didn’t read the “ultra thrower” part very carefully. If you want a tight pencil-beam skip the XML and XPG designs. XRE at high current (~2A) will get you there.
Ah cheers, does anyone know where I can get a genuine UF-980L online?
I got my UF-980L from Manafont but it’s only a T6 not a U2.
The UltraFire U2 P60 drop-in from Manafont appears to be DD on high. So you could always go that route, assuming you do an excellent job of heatsinking the thing to a decent host. I assume you just want something like this for the wow/fun factor anyway, and so wont necessarily run it on high for extended periods of time.
Oh, and it’s only $12.70 too.
The Manafont one is the first one I bought, and I think it’s the genuine article. The Dino Direct one is a very good one too, and there are numerous cheap clones around for $16-17 or so, which are also pretty good lights for the money.
If you can afford it, get the Manafont one, DD if not is the next best. None of the clones have stainless bezels