+1 - Heard the same thing, to stay away... Can't recall details, but since this is a decent size head, wonder if there's something not too crazy that you could do to improve it.
Mine just arrived 2 days ago! Came with no logo too and can only be turned on High, doesn’t have the 5 modes. Today after a few minutes of usage, the light just went off by itself and it’s dead. Opened up and cleaned but no more working!
Requesting a RMA from Tmart now. Hopefully it gets through and get one with LOGO! (Dislike flashlights without logo)
I bought 2 HD2010s from Tmart (no logo) and like ‘em a lot. I use 18650 batts in mine. No probems so far. I read that they’re direct drive on high and it could blow the driver or LED if using the higher current capacity 26650 batts. Not sure about this, … just sayin’ what I read on another thread here …
The light is a tank and a thrower, and yes, it's modded. Actually I didn't do the original mod, but it was done at 4.56A I believe, and using a KD V2 driver - had problems, so I replaced the driver - now it's at 3.8A and no more problems - added a brass pill inside for a clean mount for the 17mm driver, so good ground, good thermal path for the driver. Don't have much in throwers to compare myself, but it does beat the Jacob A60 in throw with, of course, a whole lot more light.
Plan is to figure it out how to get access to the emitter - think the front end is glued, once I can do that, I'll look at mounting an XM-L2 U2 (I have) on a copper 20mm SinkPAD star which has LED direct to copper (on order). I'll also look at what else can be done to improve the thermal path, and then beef up the amps once again, maybe to 4.2-4.5A.
I think the light is a steal at $80 - some people find the fwd clicky and lack of memory a pain for a high end light -- of course the driver upgrade eliminates the mode memory issue, and I don't mind the fwd clicky so I left it as is. Also I improved the feel of the tailcap button by making the rubber boot tighter to the button so it's not so hard to press. The 7G9 is maybe an older style without much in bells&whistles (no variable brightness, no side switch, etc.). But when it runs now, or even at 4.5A, it just doesn't get warm much at all! It's made from a solid chunk of aluminum and brass on the inside and seems to manage emitter heat well.
Well..... That's the problem with these direct drive lights - you think it's a great flashlight because it's initially very bright, looks great, however in reality, you are going way beyond what it's designed for. For the HD2010, it's a compounded problem because even relatively cheap 26650 batteries (like TrustFires 5000's) put out a lot of amps, stressing the design. Maybe there are cheaper 26650 batteries out there, I don't know, that can't drive much in amps that would be safe to use with this light.
I got mine yesterday and yeah, for sure, do not use 26650 without changing the driver. I put in a 26650 for a few seconds to measure the current; 6.23A. And that’s not a good 26650 either. Crazy. No way an aluminum sinked XM-L can survive those currents for long.
Stick with 18650, or change the driver.
Mine has the 5 modes though and it is built well. Ano isn’t perfect, threads good. My emitter isn’t perfectly centered, but that doesn’t matter; that guys will be swapped out for a much higher flux bin on copper soon enough
Got mine running 4.0A regulated w/U3 1C, so safely running a KK 26650, well, could be debated whether 4A is safe... Waiting for the SinkPAD copper to arrive, than it goes in with an XM-L2 U2!
Looked at my HD2010 last night - you're right, but it's not a tight fit for a 16mm, and actually I didn't do a good job of centering the U3 1C I got in there now, so a shaved down copper 20mm may be better way to go.
Actually I got the HD2010 running at 4A, but my LightMalls C8 @3.8A w/U3 1C does much better in lumens measurements (995 vs 750), but the HD2010 throws better of course. This match's up well with rdrfronty's results here: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/11719. Seems like the HD2010 throws out a lot more light than what I'm measuring...