Can we have beamshot side by side Hank?
Thank you, Mike
Or compact work light.
A tripod hole would have been a really great feature for those purposes, although perhaps there are some clamps that can fit around the D18’s body.
A related idea would be a variation on the bezel with a standard photography filter thread. Then a cheap UV filter combined with DC Fix could allow the user to easily switch between focused and diffused. Or you could make a set of favorite tint filters using gels, so you could make a 4000K D18 instantly into a sub-3000K light when you want candle mode to be warmer, or switch to daylight tint for videography fill.
Or you could burn 18 holes in a neutral density filter. 
2 sets of batteries purchased, charged and waiting - Samsung and LG just in case one does not fit well. So ready for this XP-L Hi 4000k! Floody is nice and my normal preference, but this is an out of the ordinary light for me and with 18 leds, I think it will flood enough.
Excellent, Hank. I was waiting for something like XPL HD for extra lumens and flood before pulling the plug and buying.
For me personally I don’t use torches for search and rescue etc so it’s nice to not have the hotspot glare for walking or photography etc. Nearly all powerful lights now have a 500m+ range and I don’t need that with a tree 3 foot in front of me.
That’s sweet. Thanks hank for offering this flood version.,
My last one question. Is it possible to make a d18 MULE ?
I think if you remove the optics and the board on top of them, it should work okay as a mule. The MCPCB is screwed down.
Thanks for this information! Sounds like so far the VTC5A are the highest confirmed output for this light? Is it safe to assume that the VTC5D output would be the same?
Samsung 25S do better than VTC5A, considerably better. And the new 25R5 from Samsung seems pretty comparable in my early tests, as well as the Molicel P26A. All three of these get ~15,500 lumens in a 50.2 equipped Q8. (Think of 4 3V 50.2’s as the same thing as 16 XP-G3 emitters)
To my understanding, the most high-drain 18650 so far is Samsung 20S, a true 30A cell. Samsung 24S/25S, Murata VTC5D/VTC6A, LG H26, Milocel P26A/P28A are also pretty good.
HKJ’s comparator is a great place to look and compare. The 20S may deliver a burst of power initially, but at only 2000mAh capacity it’s going to fall very fast under these heavy loads. Gotta look at the compromises and weigh your needs…
Sony vct5d is nothing special when I test in the flashlights. I find Sony vtc5d gives similar output to Sony vtc5a… Sony vtc5d is much more expensive than vtc5a…
Illumn just got in some cheaper VTC5D that aren’t rewraps, not much more than VTC5A.
25S has been my best 18650 so far, beats the VTC5D's I have. I bought my last set of 4 here: https://www.rtdvapor.com/samsung-18650-25s-2500mah/, reasonsable shipping.
I've been wanting to try the 24S but can't find them anywhere in stock, but probably not better than the 25S.
The Molicel P26A is very comparable, HJK shows it to hold out longer even if it doesn’t quite best the 25S at start… top cell for sure and I’ve seen great results with the first one’s I got which was just recently.
I got a not so great 25S from RTDVapor but i guess mine is probably the exception. IDK
My D18 with 3000k (SST20) option tint, profile and brightness are excellent. Anodizing, switch, machining; another well done Emisar torch Hank!
Goes shopping for new cells right now….
Thanks for all the battery recommendations everyone! Too bad they are all flat tops 
One thing to keep in mind:
The best high-drain batteries do deliver the highest lumen output.
… but only on a full cell.
For example: I recall reading that VTC5A outperforms the higher capacity VTC6 … for about the first 10 seconds. After that the VTC6 produces more lumens.
So when choosing your cells you might want to ask yourself if you want the absolute highest output for the first 10 seconds, or do you want good cells with higher output after that.
anyone get their xp-l hi 4000k? Mine went out over a week ago and no tracking or info.