tom… how do you like the supfire after the upgrade? do you think the 18.99 price was good for a host? it looks a little bit more difficult to mod than say the keygos m10… but is around the same price…
also - any thoughts on de-doming the emitter?
Well, the SupFire came out well with lumens, but it's not the thrower it was touted to be. I'm a little mixed on it, yes, not the modders dream host, I would have preferred a brass pill and SS bezel, but the pill size is nice, and great it takes a 20 mm star, overall quality is pretty good - tailstands and comes with 2 holes for the lanyard so as not to interfere with tailstanding. Also like the emitter centering setup - works well with thermal grease mount - no need to use epoxy, as it came with. I'm no expert on finished so can't comment if it's a quality scratch resistant anodizing, but the appearance compares well with the XinTD - it's bigger in the throat area than the XinTD whcih should help for heat management.
I'm doing a simple run test, laying it on a table, now to see how warm it gets - warm to the feel at 2 1/2 mins, 7 mins quite warm but certainly bearable - not bad...
Update - 10 minutes now, warmth through the whole body - really not bad at all.
Update - 12 minutes now, shutting it off, even the tailcap is warm, throat area the hottest of course, but you can squeeze the throat in your hand and no pain, maybe a bit uncomfortable. Overall, I think it did well, I'm no expert at this though. The heat distribution is a good thing - you want it spread through-out. Everything is functioning fine - no light/temp meter here @work - need to repeat this at home on a fresh battery.
thanks for clearing up the thermal grease/epoxy question i had… being able to not have to glue an emitter down makes it easy to swap later as well
The m10 mod Gords published looks pretty good - never tried that before, may be interesting... The m10 of course is 26650 size light, never worked with an m10 so hard to say, didn't study the dimensions. I think I like the style/look of the X5 better though. I got a UF 2200 at home waiting to be mod'ed (WallBuys 50% deal), and another host from I-O, the T10, which looks a lot like the M10 but 18650 only, SS bezel, large brass pill, anti-roll cigar grip, think it looks sharper than the M10... Can't wait to start on the T10!! More I think about it, in theory, the T10 should be the ultimate host is this size/style category, it's just unproven, no reviews, no idea on it's performance, bean pattern, throw, etc.
i have an m10 on the way i am planning on doing the “gords” mod to… ive got a u3 on alum. pcb im going to put in for now… until i can get a hold of a sink pad
if you want to know anything about the m10 i can take some photos/measurements but from what i understand its a pretty simple driver swap with the 4a driver from intl outdoor
Hey tom, you did a great job on that, that t10 looks smart too, I’m finding I much prefer the DIY hosts, they all seem to have much more meaty pills and less hacking about to get things in. I’ve got this on the way
http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1659
I’m planning on doing a thread on diy hosts in the hope of getting more people into building/modding, in that respect I’m glad people are getting the use out of the m10 thread as that was the point of posting it, and I like your threads for the same reason, very informative, show just how to go about things, to me that’s the point of this forum, more so than the latest New light threads, its nice to see them, but I much prefer a good build and discussion than a “how much money can I blow on one shopping trip”.
I’m going to have to get back to the one stop mod reference, tidy it all up and throw your builds in, unless you want to post the links/descriptions for me? :bigsmile:
That host looks real nice! I got a few cheap FastTech hosts here on order for builds to sell, w/U3 2.8A drivers. There is a lack of a range of hosts available out there.
I agree - try to show/educate. I'm finding I repeat myself - it would be nice to get the info better organized for reference.
Sure Gords, I could post the link/descriptions - let me look at that thread this evening.
They look great, so $6 for a host? Bargain! Cnqg have a load of different hosts, I’ve got the c8 upgrade which is nice, that Roche on the way, I’m also going to get this soon
http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1151
And here’s the cnqg host page.
excellent… right as i finish up this round of modding (m10) youll have something else for me to follow in your footsteps lol.
Tom, you did some great work there. Amazing all the talent floating around this forum 
Bitchin’ work on this light Tom E: I agree with the post:
A terrific segue from the DD post/offer and, as I wrote there, my understanding was that the C8T6 and X5T6 were internally identical and merely differentiated by the external host — well, ok… I didn’t say it quite the same way but it’s the meaning that counts
I’ve got a post querying the driver in the forum, and wondering if you still have it: it’s labeled HX-1170A and the post is here with a query on identification Can anyone identify the (kind of) driver board labeled HX-1101A?
Sounds like you’re getting the same heatsinking in your mod that I get from the non-modded C8T6: right down to the tailcap. The first time I felt this I immediately turned off the light and took out the cell… it was cool which meant this host was heatsinking very well (but you’re doing >3A: amazing) Looking forward to seeing some temp measurements if possible.
Also, wondering how you dealt with your mod and the reflector’s white centering ring that FlashPilot criticized for lumen reduction?
The only thing that I’ll question is your conclusion that “it’s not the thrower it was touted to be”.
With my understanding from the rep that the emitter/reflector setup was identical between the C8 and the X5, I tried to dispel this myth in that DD thread that the X5 was a “thrower”
I think it first came up with some observations by another forum member suggesting that the deeper reflector would be more of a thrower, but I supplied some Supfire pictures from their site and taobao - as well as my understanding from the rep - that it would have more flood.
Specifically, I think the following pic from the thread was misinterpreted: their “normal” C8 is on the left, the X5 is on the right: I understood that they meant it to exhibit less throw on purpose.
Here’s the Supfire shot I uploaded to that thread
_
Your whitewall shots are terrific, and your mod efforts and results even more so!
I look forward to more results from this mod - as well as your others!!!
Thank You!
Thanks m! Ok - I think it was Summer herself (DinoDirect) that was touting it's "better" when asked about the throw, and the evidence she provided was the size comparison of the reflectors. Maybe I didn't pickup on what you were stating there - I think I was confused with those photos as well. So I think the #'s now confirm what you found. About the throw, in post #6 I reported the numbers for the final X5:
1156 lumens start, 1111 lumens @30 secs, throw: 37 kcd (Pana 3400 4.19v, 3.63A measured)
So far 1100 lumens range light, 37 kcd is a bit dissapointing in my opinion, but for comparison, it's best to compare with something close, like the XinTD with my crazy mod, here's the result for the XinTD:
XinTD C8, before w/U3 1C at 3.5A Nanjg, stock emitter, stock driver but added 2 350 7135's:
- 986 lumens start, 948 lumens @30 secs, throw: 36 kcd
XinTD C8 after, add 1 7135: 3.85A now, XM-L2 U2 1C on a SinkPAD:
- 1101 lumens start, 1060 lumens @30 secs, throw: 44 kcd (pana 3400 4.16v, 3.4A measured)
So the XinTD modded to 3.5A is close to the X5's throw @950 lumens, while mod'ed to about 1100 lumens, it out-throws the X5 by about 21%. Also from the wall bean shot, the XinTD's beam does look more concentrated, smaller. It's not a fair comparison to the heavily mod'ed HD2010 - that beam is very well concentrated and I measured the throw at 91 kcd.
Also here, rdrfronty measured a stock LightMalls UF C8 U2 at 33.6 kcd, his at 823 lumens. I got the same light (modded of course) doing like 980 lumens, so didn't measure it, but it should be doing in the high 30's maybe 40 kcd now. Of course I believe the LightMalls UF C8 U2 is a special C8 with a superior reflector for a C8, but still...
I'm pretty sure others said this, the deeper the reflector is doesn't necessarily mean it's a better thrower, but it will reduce the spill area, and that's what I'm seeing with the X5. I got another light, the TrustFire-168a, also mod'ed of course, incredibly deep reflector, but just can't get good throw #'s from it, it's frustrating, but it has the least amount of spill I've seen, even an A60 has more spill, though much duller than the 168a.
It's all good though, still like the beam pattern, not much flood, but a lot of light, not a terrible thrower, but decent. Actually I like the look/handling better than the XinTD and think the quality of the shell appears to be as good.
If youve gotten around to the mod, I was wondering if the driver retaining ring could be screwed down on a 2.8A 7135 driver without further mods. If not, I’ll buy some copper rings that Tom E used.
Tome E,
Which rings did you use? I just want to make sure I buy the right ones.
16mm to 17mm
17mm to 17mm
17mm to 18mm
Thanks
Hi FlashPilot - I checked my order history and the brass ring I definitely used was the 17 to 16, as linked to in the OP.
Thanks Tom E!
Hi Tom E,
My package from intl-outdoor.com arrived today so I modded my X5 with XML2 T6 1A and Qlite 7135 3.04A driver. I get a bit more than 25% increase in lux for 300 mAh more with emitter swap. While the spot is brighter, so is the spill. At the farthest ranges, it definitely beats a stock X5 (I now have 3 to compare). The differences are definitely noticeable but not dramatic.
I was able to press the 16mm to 17mm ring into the pill without any modifications, but it did take a lot of force to do it. While the mods definitely made my lux meter happy, (as we know) the increases to the eyes are less than amazing. I was surprised to see a much better tint with 1A. Im guessing the stock emitter was probably 0A and had a very cold white hue. For the much better tint, noticeably brighter flood at close range and slightly better throw, along with a H/M/L driver without disco modes, it was definitely worth the $10 and time to mod it… the emitters were on sale for $4.77 each.
Thanks for the great mod thread. This was probably the easiest mod Ive done yet. Solder was used only on the driver star for mode selection and soldering the leads to the MCPCB. Everything else is press fit with lots of force. I can finally say that I enjoy my X5.
That's a nice mod, glad it worked out for you!
i replaced the emitter in mine finally with a xml2 t4 80 cri from intl outdoor today… i decided not to try and swap a 3 amp driver after seeing what a pita it was… mine pulls 2.4-2.8amps on a tff 18650 - which is more than enough for me for a single cell everyday use “around the house” light for me
wow those isolation discs are a pain in the @$$ to remove and then replace… i had to mess with my soldering of the new star a few times to get my solder joints to be “shallow” enough to fit under the second outer disc
all in all took about 40 min and i have a very nice single cell 80 cri light 
a bit less orange and more towards neutral than my xml t5 5c1… i like it!
thanks for all the info tom e
For another 10 hours, the Supfire X5 is available for $21.17 shipped. I just bought 2 more. The emitter color selector shows only available in warm white… perfect!