HD2010 Throw in Lux?

I’m talking stock HD2010…I’ve seen cd ratings from 26K-58K here and elsewhere. Stock, unmodded.

I know it’s hard for you experts to even THINK about unmodded lights, but the last 2 (&only) times I tried, I burned myself, and ruined 2 emitters. :frowning: :open_mouth:

Yes, and a stock HD2010 doing in the 40's or 50 of kcd has no C8 competition. All depends on the HD2010 and the cell you use. This is why you can't generalize stock HD2010's - they are all over the place.

I gotcha. I would do all that ‘I’ can do it, which is use a good battery (KK?), maybe center and adjust emitter in the reflector, find a good AR lens, pray.

Just the nature of the beast - direct drive driver, positioning of the LED makes significant differences, etc. Dunno - if you got an accurate way of measuring amps, what I'd do with a stock HD2010 is try to not exceed 5 amps on the stock emitter/star. So, you could try a KK ICR, but if you got a higher resistance cell and are getting 3-4 amps, than copper braid the tailcap spring. Of course if you are in the 4+ range, do be careful with it's use on high...

Other "easy" things to do first:

  • back off on the pill - 1 to 2 turns - the emitter usually sits in a better position to increase lumens, and even more so, throw. However, this may be tuff to gauge without a light meter...
  • UCL/p lens - costs $$$ but easy to do

>>>>>So what I’m hearing is…a stock HD2010 is barely stronger than a good C8?

Depends what you mean by a “good” C8. My stock Xin C8 U2 is 18k (at 15 feet); the stock HD2010 (at least mine) was 26k. Plus the 2010 beam is +MUCH+ more focused.

And the Xin is a “premium” C8. I just got a 10-buck C8 from Aurabuys, and that was 10k (at 15 feet), which makes the 2010 like 2.5 times brighter. Another recent $7.99 C8 from banggod (or someplace similar) was only 7k at 15 feet.

Now add an L2 to the existing 2010 driver, and you now have a 41k beast which is near the top of the brightness range in my collection of 40-or-so single emitter lights. Just about the only thing that beats it is the various mods of the HDST (in my collection). Out of the box with no mods (except for the 18650 mod), my HDST stock light does about 28k.

Then again, a stock lightmalls L2 C8 is 27k out of the box.

But then again, the 2010 workmanship and quality is LIGHT YEARS above the $10 C8s. Certainly on par with — if not better then — the Xin C8. The 2010 is a budget light in top-dollar clothing. :wink:

I consider HD2010 one level up from C8, in general, not necessarily in quality, but in its nature and thrower potential (size, form factor). Stock lights can be vastly different from one to another, that is why TomE tried to compare HD2010 and C8 in their modded form (the best they can be). My XinTD C8 V4 is considered one of the best C8’s. But the stock light might have only 20-30kcd due to its relatively smaller reflector. My stock HD2010 was however ~40kcd.

It’s called ANSI/NEMA FL 1 but some people think they know better than the standard, even though they don’t know what it is :slight_smile:

As long as we use candela, cd, or kcd, or even k for short, it's pretty clear to most of us (30 secs min, back calculated to 1 meter). But in this budget world, it helps quoting cells and freshly charged, or at least mention the charge level - I usually record the voltage level at no load. I believe the standard calls for a distance of greater than 1 meter to take the reading, not sure if a specific # is referenced (maybe at least 3 meters?) -- those standards are not in the public domain - they want money for them.