A custom 5 mode drop in with a 3.5 amp turbo will give you a 900 lumen burst for short periods and a 600 lumen high for continuous use. The modes are .002 moon low, .09 low, .8 medium, 1.75 high, 3.55 turbo.
Send me a PM if you are interested and we can talk about tint and reflector options.
Read that Sgt. over at CPF filed the bezel down and the top of the battery tube so the drop-in would make contact with the light tube giving better heat sinking.
Please give honest knowledge and what do you advise.
Too much heat for any usable 800 or 900+ output. You might hit 8ish at start-up, but it's going to drop quickly. Still would be very bright. I love my KD drop-in and it's a T6. Bright as heck. Just don't count on drop-in ANYTHING to go the long haul. And you don't want to run those on high for too long, I've heard.
Yeah, a mostly plastic light + extremely pushed dropin = bad combo. Costwise, I suppose it wouldn't really matter if you're getting a cheap dropin...for $11, if it burns out fast at least you didn't invest much into it. I personally wouldn't run an extremely pushed XM-L in a mostly plastic flashlight host because to me that's just common sense, but to each their own. At the very least, I'd get a regular Solarforce L2 to combine with such a dropin. At $28, E's custom built dropin is an excellent value considering how much custom dropins can cost and not to mention E is the Drop In Creator King around these parts, hehe. I feel the Manafont Ultrafire 3-mode XM-L dropin (though it doesn't come with an OP reflector as TadpolePilot is wanting) is probably arguably one of the best bang for the buck dropins you can get both quality and performancewise.
...to meet the OP's requirements? Not regulated as this drop-in is DD on high, but still extremely bright, at least until thermal sag kicks in... Whatever you use, wrap the drop-in very well!
I almost always recommend the Manafont 3 mode. It's going in a plastic light so a direct drive drop in with horrible PWN probably isn't the best bet. The DX 5 mode has no visible PWN so I figured low and medium would get used more in this application.
Ah... I didn't pick up on the fact that Tadpole was eyeing the plastic-bodied host. Using that host, I would prefer a lower-powered emitter; probably a mildly driven XP-G @ with a three-mode 1A-high driver. For the OP's use, a custom drop-in with a good med/low would be ideal.
Just for your information I ordered the Stars XML 1000lm drop in from dino and when it came they are sending out the ultrafire version. It pulls 2.8a and is excellent. But it does come SMO. I love it and $9.69 you cant go wrong.
Incidentally I also have the Stars version from a previous order and that too is very good. Pulls a little less, 2.6a, same specs.
I have one of these as well. It pulls 1.2a from a trustfire flame and is every bit the 320lm it says, if not more. Much more compatible with a P1. Aaaaaaaaand at $6.69 it really is a bargain!
I know they are not quite what you are asking for but I can vouch for all 3 drop ins, they are all brill! (I'm not being paid)