I guess I could actually do something useful like offer a mini review on one of these. I'm a little nervous to do this because I'm not a flaslight expert but, here goes nothing . . .
I ordered the L2P as part of a kit from Solarforce.HK that included the HA III black L2P body with reverse clicky, P7 drop-in, 2-bay 18650 charger, two Solarforce protected 3.7v Lion batteries and a holster. It was $79 including $2 shipping from Hong Kong Post that took about 3 weeks to arrive in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The items arrived in a brown padded shipping envelope covered with exotic looking postage stamps and several official appearing rubber stamps. The envelope was taped shut, string tied and did not seem capable of protecting anything inside. However abused the package appeared, the contents were in perfect condition; the charger was loose along with the batteries, the L2P host was in a simple plastic bag and the drop-ins were in retail blister packages.
The O-rings were lubed and all 4 batteries tested between 3.8 and 4.0 volts on my multimeter before initial charging. The charger terminates consistent at 4.3 volts and each battery will settle down to 4.22 to 4.24 after a few minutes. An 18650 rattles a bit in the body, resolved with two layers of electrical tape.
I first powered up with two Energizer CR123s and shined the light on a wall in a semi-dark room. The P7 had kind of a large hot spot with a dark center, another dark ring further out and a somewhat less than impressive beam pattern. Output seemed great however; doing a shine-two lights-on-the-ceiling-and-looking-down comparison with a 4Sevens Quark AA2 Tactical (with a known 180 lumen ANSI) the P7 was definitely brighter and made the (XP-G R5) Quark look quite green. With a charged 18650 it was less bright (not much) but still brighter than the Quark.
I then removed the black bezel that came with the L2P and installed a Solarforce B6 Premium stainles steel bezel with the flat, metal tool that came with my order, put the laynard ring on with a laynard I made from an old piece of leather I found in our bedroom.
Finally; for the planned XM-L, I wrapped the single mode Solarforce XM-L drop-in with aluminum foil until just before it could not be pushed in anymore then, carefully screwed down the head for a snug fit and (hopefully) good heat transfer. Powered up with a charged 18650 and was immediately impressed by a spectacular beam profile that included a blazing bright hot spot nearly a foot wide when shined on a wall from about 15 feet. The large hot spot is a perfect circle that fades evenly to a brilliant, uninterupted spill that, all by itself might be as bright as some of my weaker lights. It throws strong to about 25 yards and can still put some useful light on a target at about 50 yards but it clearly is not a thrower. Shined on the side of my neighbors house, it looks like a police spotlight searching for an intruder. It is significantly brighter than the P7 and among my sad collection, is easily the most powerful torch I have.
I used it at work for a week (I research and decode classic/muscle cars for an on-line dealer) and every time I banged it against something under a car, I expected to find a chip or other damage on my brand new toy. This flashlight is no toy; it looks just as new now as it ever did, even after hard use. The anno on this thing is tough as nails. For a water test, I turned the light on and submerged it in the bathroom sink for about 20 minutes. I then took a shower with it, spraying water directly from every angle for about 5 minutes, all with no issues or ingress that I could see. Run time with primaries is not quite three hours, getting dim at about 2.5 hours. With an 18650 I get a solid hour of full brightness. With my current setup, heat can be an issue. After 5 minutes the flashlight body is warm and the head is very warm. After 10 minutes the head is hot, not too hot to hold but hot enough that turning the light off seems like a good idea. A better heat transfer solution is needed.
The L2P pictured cost just under $45 to build so, I guess it's not really a budget light. However, some time ago I purchased the Surefire 6P seen above that came with a shallow reflector and a paltry 120 lumen Q-whatever emitter. (not sure about the emitter) It cost $89 at Fry's and the L2P is easily its equal in terms of quality, is better looking (I think) and with the XM-L, absolutely slaughters it in terms of performance.
I think this Solarforce L2P is an aesthetic knockout and when you combine that with superb constuction, great fit and finish and blazing XM-L performance, it is one hell of a flashlight value.
I give it 4 out of 5 Foys because of potential heat issues.
Foy