I was at wallymart today and I see this spotlight on the rack and being the strong-willed guy I am,I bought it.No regrets here,it's a nice spotlight and throws a good beam.Preliminary wall tests against my catapult v3 show a more intense hotspot than the catapult but slightly larger.I'll take it outside tonight for some testing and see what it can do.I hope it's moddable might be nice with a sbt-90?
When I heard the specs and the price, I just had to see for myself. After doing a lot of chores for the wife this week I rationalized that I should treat myself to a Stanley FatMAX 2000 as a deserving reward. (She will disagree that I deserved a reward.)
First and foremost is the throw. Afterall, that's what this light is all about. You can't put an XML in a 3" smooth reflector and argue that its about anything else. I was actually a little afraid that this $50 wally world stock flashlight would match my greatest throwing LED creation for throw (that creation being a Mag 2D with a Gordon 109LED 3" head, a DX 73mm SMO SST90 reflector and an XML T6 driven to 5.0A). I am relieved to report that it does not match it, but it isn't too far behind it either. It does trounce every other LED thrower in my collection, and that includes an XML driven to 4.2A in a KD 65mm SMO SST90 reflector, an XML at 4.4A in a Mag LED reflector, the UF HD2010 @ 4-5A in high, the "V6" and "V8" drop-ins from DX, and so on. If this light were modded to be overdriven... well, I'd rather not go there. For $3, I bought the extended warranty and I have no intentions of voiding it by cracking open this light. I mean, c'mon...it's three bucks!
As far as throw goes (no pun intended), I am not disappointed.
As for every other feature of the light, well, it's only been out of the package for ~5 minutes, so it's too early to comment on things like runtime & chargetime. The value is understated, so I will add this - the fact that it has a built in charger and Li-Ion batteries (Kramer5150 verified 2x18650 inside in his CPF post) that won't need replacing as quickly as that heavy SLA in the Stanley HID, and that it's half the size and weight (and price) round this light out verrry nicely. In my mind, this is the first LED spotlight that I've seen that's a legitimate competitor to an HID spotlight worth much more. We'd be very hard pressed to find a budget Chinese light that had these specs for this price, and this one's got a name brand, and a warranty, and you can get it off the shelf an a store near you. It almost takes some of the fun out of it (almost).
About the Li-Ion nature of the light... the same area where I was impressed initially is also where I think Stanley missed the mark a bit. Baccus Global / Stanley put enough warnings about not getting this light wet in the manual to make you think they'd sold the Mogwai to that kid in Gremlins. If I can infer anything from the warnings, which I'll reproduce below, it is the following:
- Unlike other (better) Li-Ion power tools, this light must not use one of the safe chemistries, but rather ordinary LiCo (laptop) chem
- Like laptops, this light is not waterproof and therefore should never be used outdoors in the rain, or under any damp/moist/wet/maybe even humid conditions
- No one who owns a boat, and therefore has need for an on-board spotlight should ever consider making this light that light
- People in earthquake prone areas should not own this light, nor should it ever be taken off-roading in a 4x4
From the manual (selected excerpts):
- Do not clean this appliance with a water spray or the like
- Do not drop or throw spotlight. It contains glass and a lithium-ion battery pack. Improper use can result in serious injury, fire, or death.
- Lithium-ion batteries can explode in the presence of a source of ignition. Do not use the product in the presence of an open flame.
- Do not place this lithium-ion battery powered unit in fire or apply heat to it.
- Do not subject this lithium-ion battery powered unit to strong impacts or shocks. The battery in this unit contains safety and protection devices which, if damaged, may cause the battery to generate heat, rupture or ignite.
- Do not expose this lithium-ion battery powered unit to water or salt water, or allow the battery to get wet.
- Avoid storing this lithium-ion battery powered unit in the basement, bathroom or other areas of the house that are or may become wet.
- Do not leave this lithium-ion battery powered unit in direct sunlight, or use or store the unit inside cars in hot weather. Doing so may cause the battery to generate heat, rupture, or gnite. Using the battery in this manner may also result in a loss of performance and a shortened life expectancy.
- Never charge this unit near heat or flammable objects.
- NEVER THROW WATER ON A BURNING LI-ION BATTERY! If a lithium-ion battery does catch on fire, it will burn even more violently if it comes in contact with water or even moisture in the air. A fire extinguisher must be used.
There's more precautions in the care and maintenance sections, but you get the idea.
I was going to get another one of these for my kid for Christmas, but I think I'll just get him a Mogwai instead, it'll be safer 
Wow those are some intense DIY builds. Very nice to know these are the kinds of DIY extremes we need to go to exceed the fatmax for throw. So glad they used 18650 cells, and the internal charger cuts current once the cells have peaked.
A little OT… I’ve been scoping out an HD2010 turbohead mod, using the Gordon showerhead bezel and that 73mm DX reflector. I think for around $45 I can almost double the stock HD2010 lux. I just found out the Lambdalights guy uses the Gordon showerhead bezel, DX-73mm, and direct copper bonding to get almost 150K lux. I can’t do direct coper bonding, so I’m kind of limited on the drive current I can use.
I snapped some stopped-down indoor shots of the Stanley FatMax (XML) vs. my other super throwers just now. Camera settings at F22, ISO 200, .3sec, WB 5200K. My camera's smallest aperature setting is F22, or I'd have stopped 'em down even more. It didn't occur to me to speed up the shutter speed to achieve that effect until after everything was put away again.
L to R: Stanley FatMax, 5A 73mm DX SMO, 4.2A 4500K 65mm KD SMO
L to R: 4500K @ 4.2A KD 65mm SMO, 5A DX 73mm SMO, Stanley FatMax
Beamshots of three above:
I grabbed two more XML throwers and held them by hand while pressing the shutter button. I wish I'd thought to grab the HD2010. You'll just have to take my word for it that its hotspot intensity is smack between #4 and #5.
Here's all five:
And here's all five beamshots at once:
I'm a bit sorry that I'm posting these pics as the camera settings don't really demonstrate the contrast between the brightest and the least bright. I'm just too tired right now to get it right. Hopefully, it's at least obvious that the FatMax is the 2nd best thrower of the bunch (and all I had to do was buy it at WalMart compared to considerable amounts of labor spent modding the other four).
Wow (again) thanks for taking the time to do all that.
Is it just me or does the stanley have the tightest , most concentrated beam too?
The Stanley has the smallest hotspot, but the largest corona. If all, or even most of that corona light made it into the hotspot, it would be more concentrated. Light #3 suffers from the same problem, whereas #2 got it right, with very little corona around the hotspot. All three have comparable spill IIRC… I was really concentrating on their spots & coronas, but not their spill, but I’m sure if one was markedly brighter or larger than the others it would have grabbed my attention.
I just want to point out two more things, and then I’ll (try to) shut up about this light.
1) Kramer5150 recently got his apart and discovered that there are only two, not three 18650 inside the light. The built in charger has balance leads and so at least charges the cells properly. I’d still have preferred if Stanley used larger and safer chem cells and made the damn thing waterproof, but for $50, I’ve little right to complain. Oh, drive current appears to be ~2.7A based on 1.34A draw from a fully charged 7.4V nominal pack (9.916W consumed). That assumes very little sag under load and 10% driver loss. (9.916 * 90% = 8.92 and CREE XM-L pulls 2.7A @ 3.3Vf = 8.91W to LED)
2) I’m afraid that my 5-way whitewall comparison might have caused some folks to cool their heels on this light ’cause it doesn’t seem to be all that compared to the others in that shot, which is why I’m compelled to point out… The HD2010 which is regarded as a super thrower that beats most, compares directly to the DIMMEST light in that photo (#5) (as demonstrated here) Compared to the vast majority of XML lights, the Stanley FatMax XML tanks ’em all for throw, including the HD2010. Maybe I’ll do another shootout with this light and a broad range of single XML lights, as I had here:
Just did an outdoor shootout with a full spectrum of single XML lights instead of just super throwers like above.
Link to full shootout is here.
Here’s a stopped-down group shot with the Stanley FatMax XML on the far right and the HD2010 closest to it.
Nice shot, thanks!
Looks like a nice light and I also like how they added the heatsink for the LED. I can’t believe they have “2000” lumen on the side, if they want big numbers, how about 50.000 lux at 1 meter or something? I’ll have to see of the closest Walmart has this next time I’m there. Modding the driver to push 5A would make a really nice thrower, or a well attached XP-G2 (with current driver) if someone can get it open.
Just checked prices on mouser, a single XM-L is $8.50, XP-G $6.50, XP-E$4.00. The XM-L does cost more, but most of the price might have gone towards that heatsink, driver, and profit (along with “More expensive = better!”) Now, $2-4 is significant for high volume production.
I just got what appears to be an updated version of it at a black friday sale. It is now marked as 755 lumens and 100.267kcd. Both of which are approximately right. Unlike Kramer's the LED on the back of it will give a rough idea of voltage. It will be green if fully charged, Orange if partially discharged, red if less than 10%, and flashing red if you need to recharge. I was playing around with it and it certainly is a fun light.
What was the black friday price?
29.97, for that price it is amazing.
I just never saw this shot before. How did I miss it?
To me it says that we should be stripping the reflectors out of spotlights and using them in special made heads for flashlights. Just about any thrower I've seen can be beaten by a comparable spotlight.
If I had a lathe...... LOL.
Scaru links or what store?
It was at Lowes, can't seem to find a link though.
You get all the steals!
I’m very tempted to go buy a second. 
Does anyone know what the normal price for a Stanley HID is?
Normal price of the Fat Max is $49.97. Normal price for the Stanley HID is like $$69.97 or $79.97.