Even if you ran that dedomed xml2 at 5amps to the LED, you probably won’t break the 100k lux mark in a DST. Not all 26650’s can give out 5amps
There are tricks to get there, like better lens and reflector on top of copper mounting and upgrading the spring like you’ve already done
In the real world compared to the stock DST it’s a bit startling.
I totally agree
My first dedomed light is was a Varapower2000k and its an absolute monster compared to a stock sst90
Personally, I like to use my lights so that I dont have to fixate on a small spot of light or target same while doing whatever I’m doing, so small hot spot throwers don’t impress me much. Not only do you spend more time targeting a thin thrower beam, but if you are moving outside and you accidentally light up something close that reflects alot of light back at you, then once you re-target to distance your eyes need time to adjust to the lower light again around you, and if you strain to look at the distant spot they adjust to that.
CarpentryHero is right: on a big throwy flooder it doesnt really matter because even if your pupils close down some due to shining on a tree trunk next to you for example, the bright spill is still bright enough to navigate by once you look away and your distant target has the right illumination too. Its almost like daylight at night. Something like your light or a C8 can be alright as long as there is enough available distance to target the hot spot on a distant target and use the spill to move by, but when I accidentally illuminate a tree trunk close to me, I do notice my vision doesnt adjust as fast back to the dim spill, and many times I have to slow down if I’m running.
I also dont see much point in pure thin beam throwers: what are you going to do with it, try to find a raccoon from a distance up a tree? (You dont need a thrower, the eyes will reflect with less anyways.) Your woody woodpecker that was talked about wouldnt be very findable in the dark anyways, you could miss it entirely with a thin beam and if you were far enough from target that throwy flooder lights couldn’t reach, you probably couldn’t see the detail of what your light was on anyways to distinguish what you were looking at from background for certain. Maybe if you were trying to target shoot sitting birds on a scope you could use one effectively much better than a floody thrower, but better hope they dont start jumping to other branches or your pencil thrower wouldnt be able to find them again easily.
If you can't light up enough of the target to make out what it is, what's the point?
This.
Basically this silly arguement is just for him to brag about how his modded light is the best thrower ever. It’s a natural tendency to argue for your favorites.
I never said that. I did say it’s my best serious thrower so far in the practical hand held category. I have better serious throwers but they’re not pocketable.
IMO multi-emitters are absolutely great for close quarter work like when you need to blind the h*ll out of somethings over a wider area that especially walk on two legs. Other than that they’re overrated IMO and too expensive for what a big reflectored SMO single led emitter can do instead. Not to mention they typically need too many dang batteries. :bigsmile: If you want more flood but still have decent throw just add an OP reflector if it’s available and particularly if it’s de-domed. That’s when you get to eat most of your cake and smear it too.
And btw just in general if I don’t understand what my specific target is to begin with then having a multi-flooder isn’t going to help me there anyway. I think I know what tree branches look like and by gum I don’t need to see the entire tree and the entire grove too to know they’re attached to one. Same with just about everything else I shine at basically 200% of the time. Lemme see there’s a window, a door, oh could it be some kind of structure? I gotta make sure with the uber multi-emitting flooder-thrower first. 
Here’s the bottomline to all this silliness. I fervently wish manufacturers would start getting away from all the ridiculous multi-emitter quantity is more than quality BS. What manufacturers should be doing IMO is make more DST style lights with 26650 and even 32650 capability and make them single batt ready. IOW make them shorter. I don’t need to see more of these multi-batt, multi-emitter huge things that are essentially impracticable for most of us, too big to haul around carrying them, and too expensive to boot for what you get.
Give me a bigger DST reflectored side clicky style light with a single emitter and I’m there already. Make it short tho! And keep the price down because now you don’t put in 15 emitters either! 
Now would I buy a 1.5 times bigger reflectored DST if they came out with it? Man would I ever! How about an OP version? Or better yet an OP/SMO hybrid. Giddyup!
ps. I forgot to mention that the runtime on the DST simple mod I described with a 26650 on high is outstanding.
Comfy, quit aiming that mod’ed S1100 at trees. Imagine how many poor little critters you’re knocking off branches when you do that.
You should be ashamed of yourself. Send that light to me right now mister!
Edit: You make valid points Notta, but there is a common situation where I want a light like Comfy’s S1100. When I hear a suspicious noise. Then I want to blast the area and to get a quick assessment of the situation.
Well too bad, you were shining inside the theatre, on a stage, and the “window with a sash on it” you were told to look for and thought you found, was actually a cardboard cutout building, which you couldnt determine fast enough due to your small thrower focus point, and the zombies you were told were inside the windowed area are rushing you from the side isles, pouring in through the sash-windowed side exit doors instead! Too late, you and your thrower will become zombies as well! And even worse for the flashoholics, your thrower will now only throw a sickly blue weak zombified light from now on! (I thought we’d have fun getting ridiculous, zombies always seem to be good additions lately)
Hmmmm which makes me think of something. Has anyone modded an SRK with one big OP reflector to run off of one 26650 or 32650?
I bet it’d be real close in performance if not better than stock. I do like the SRK’s size a bunch!
O-L could do this I bet in his sleep.
I haven’t done the mod you speak of, but 26650’s drop right in SRK’s and work.
There is such a thing as too much flood, to the point of being about as useless as pencil-beam throwers.
You can buy one ready to run, but with 4P 18650 like a SRK. 62mm reflector, single XML. Look up a 'ultrafire 1226'. Comes with a crap next-mode driver but that's fixable.
Why would you prefer a single cell over multiples in parallel?
Everyone has a different application, not to mention different preferences. Without defining the application its pretty difficult to meaningfully argue the merits of one light over another.
The quoted example is a case in point, and one of the few where I would appreciate having a monster flooder. I don't work with, hunt with, or have any other serious use for my lights. I prefer a "pure thrower" beam profile because I use them in an urban environment where I want to avoid disturbing people. It lets me avoid lighting up someone's window or embarassing two lovebirds necking in a park. In short, I like the control a narrow beam profile provides.
IMO with the volts there already with li-ons a single 26650 or 32650 and a pocketable single emitter is all you really need for 99.9% of most reaching out there situations. You will get plenty of runtime to boot. Now the light has to also have a great switch to pull this off btw. The DST for one has a great switch which is one main reason the 26650 current-wise makes it shine up to its true potential. The least resistance the better of course and too many switches these days are not IMO up to task on most multi-batt designs much less multi-emitter designs.
Make reflectors bigger, bodies shorter, get away from multiple 18650 designs even if in parallel, go with a single 26650/32650 and you’ll make at least me happier. With the added efficiencies XML2’s and XPG2’s are showing us these days single batt configs should be getting made a lot more often. 18650’s IMO don’t truly belong in these lumen monsters they’re making and again especially in these over the top multi-emitter designs. The 18650 batt is getting pushed current-wise too much especially in protected configs. They’re choked off right there to begin with. And who feels safer running unprotected multiple 18650’s in a light to get more current? I sure don’t.
Which makes me think that maybe they’re pumping out more and more of these 9 to 15 x emitter x short runtimes x extra high heat designs because they know it’ll force us to buy more 18650 batts! I smell bread and butter! 
Waaaaaah! I just want bigger reflectors not more of them stuck together with smaller sizes so I end up with one giant floodier head! Ok I’m done waaaaahing for now. :bigsmile:
18650’s still have the highest energy density for there size. That’s why there a fan favorite
The 26650/32650 kicks their hind end sag wise.
Not all of them, maybe do some homework