G’day mate, but who are the Bonkos? 
Have you thought about an Ultrafire UF-980L Small, nicely made and very bright with 3 modes. The Keygos M10 is a good light too but somewhat thicker and heavier.
Also, quality cells do matter in these lights, some are quite fussy about what you run them on.
There's the National Football League in the U.S. FIFA (The International Federation of Association Football) can be found worldwide. And according to Wikipedia, there's professional rugby league football club in Australia. Man, "football" covers a lot of sports!
The m10 is a great light, but still comes with the blinkies, a driver swap is no problem though. Good thing is you do seem to get much better run time on the 26650 cells.
My first thought, since you like the c8, was to recommend the xintd c8 linked about. That really does seem to be the jewel in the crown of c8 sized lights.
Welcome, hope you have fun here, I do sense though that your utility belt may become somewhat heavier soon though…. :bigsmile:
RC, we also have Australian Rules Football, of which the Collingwood magpies is the greatest proponent and by far the most legendary team of all time. Just my unbiased opinion 
*edit Oh, and a few guys play soccer when no one is looking too.
LoL, I thought the rules said “no religion”
carn tha pies
Welcome gothebroncos, I agree with Suncoaster I also ordered one yesterday from here:
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/xintd-c8-v3-xml-u2-910lumens-flashlight-p-308.html
Beamshots:
And I recommend (yesterday ordered one) Manafont Ultrafire 502b here:
I loved the beamshots of Ultrafire 502B (very small flashlight easy to carry) from Manafont in this link:
These beamshots for comparison with other flashlights made me order one:)
Well, if it’s not the battery or the switch and the other measures don’t work, you can get a complete replacement pill like this one:
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/c8-module-xml-t6-led-amc17358-driver-p-261.html
I can’t guarantee that it fits, though most of the C8-style lights use the same pill.
I hope you get your light to work, it’s always very frustrating when you get a lemon. Happens from time to time, don’t let it spoil the budget flashlight fun.
Shiningbeam Blaze is a nice, solid light for $30 with a forward clicky.
Blf has a 5% discount too. Have one myself.
Solarforce L2t from $16.99, also a forward clicky and a drop-in from DinoDirect now $7.55 with a1
0% discount. Haven’t got one, yet…. :) So many nice flashlights, so little money…;)
Hi, Dan. Welcome!
Have you made sure the battery is good? Because an XM-L with a wanting or weak battery will drop out of high mode and into a lower mode if the cell is bad. If you bought a battery/charger/light combo, most of the batteries included are recycled laptop batteries and are weak, if not total duds. Cheap batteries are a no-no from the start, trust me. If you’re sure that isn’t it and the tailcap is screwed in, it may be a more serious issue.
The C8 I got from Manafont.com was my first XM-L and it still rocks out at 690+ lumens out the front (otf). But as you are learning, it matters who you order from. Beware of no-name Chinese sellers who can have deals, but quality control is an issue. This is why most of us have our preferred seller’s list (and we tend to agree and stick to the good ones!) Anytime you buy one, you need to put in the Paypal notes to make sure the light is inspected before sending. And sometimes, that doesn’t always work.
Another thing you will learn is that Chinese lumens (aka usually made up lumens for advertising purposes) aren’t the same as real-world lumens. The references here will be a guide on what amount of light you are actually getting out the front of that glass.
Might I suggest something even smaller and throwier than the C8, the UF-V3 with U2-bin emitter—800 otf lumens. I ordered from this very same company, China Quality Goods. All I had to do was tighten the tailcap screw, which was sent too loose by mistake, and I have a crazy useful light with a belt clip and rugged form-factor…
The Intl. Outdoors C8 is great, as is the KD C8, but the V3 is now my everyday carry (edc).
In security, we work closely with law enforcement and the good XM-Ls we use always outshine the XR-Es the cops are still using. But you can get some great deals and have a huge advantage in the work you do with great budget stuff as you’ll find here.
>>>>>>Have you made sure the battery is good?
>>>>>Because an XM-L with a wanting or weak battery
>>>>>will drop out of high mode and into a lower mode if the cell is bad.
Rusty Joe is 100% correct. Please try an unprotected known good battery like a panasonic fully charged. Some of these T6 lights won’t work with a cheap Chinese battery. Some won’t work with even an okay protected Chinese battery like the so-called Trustfire flame batteries. I have at least 5 lights that are VERY picky about batteries and won’t work with just about any protected battery. But they work just fine with an unprotected battery.
And welcome!!
As others have mentioned, a quality rechargeable cell can make all the difference. I would stick with a good Panasonic or Sanyo-based protected cell from a trusted seller.
Welcome to the forum !
Before I add my two cents to this subject, I want to say hi to all the regulars, as this is my first post. I’ve been lurking here for a year of so and you’ve help me spend a lot of money but the results have been a lot of fun too. Thanks.
It’s been my experience (admittedly brief but combined with an EE design background) that anytime a light switches from high to some lower intensity mode after a few minutes of operation, that the pill is overheating and the IC used to control the light has chosen to save itself by reducing the operating current. If it just shuts off then that can be caused by any one of several things, including the protection circuit in the battery. I have an entire group of protected 3100 Panasonics that will immediately shut off if their output current exceeds 3 Amps.
The pill in some budget lights is positioned to snug down on the reflector and in that position it may have very little thread surface in contact with the body, and therefore the heat sink, of the light. Imitations of imitations are often not put together with perfectly compatible parts. A good look inside can tell a lot, it takes good physical contact to transfer heat.
Strud
My UF C8 shorted out on me as well. I liked the light for the week or so that it worked. I wouldn’t consider it for police duty however. It is too cheaply made for serious use.
A nice 18650 that is duty tough is the Shining Beam Blaze for $30 (was $60) or a Solarforce L2P (or any Solarforce model really). Either of these lights will make a Ultrafire C8 look like a toy.
The question is… do you want to use it JUST as a source of light, and nothing else? Meaning do you care if other people around you have a brighter light?
If you don’t care, then a solarforce L2M with a $11drop in from KD is good, all up it’s like $22, uses XML U2 (highest bin) and has like 800 lumens from one cell. The only problem is that is doesn’t throw very far, but has really great spill, but that’s probably what you want as a police officer anyway.
If you DO care about what lights other people carry… then strap yourself in, because you’re going to be here for a looong time!
P.S. PM me if you want the links for the L2M and the drop in, I’m on my phone at the moment so it’s kind of troublesome.
My guess would be battery too ..i'm assuming it's a cheap cell.
Big difference in output and runtime ..
Easiest and cheapest way to improve the lights output is a good cell
Thank you for all your input and it has given me more to think about.
Would I be best buying a HD2010 as the throw seems fantastic
or should I be going with http://www.ebay.com/itm/1600-Lum-26650-18650-CREE-XM-L-XML-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Lamp-KEYGOS-M10-/300682325805?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item46021 or http://www.intl-outdoor.com/xintd-c8-v3-xml-u2-910lumens-flashlight-p-308.html
which one would you buy?
I should not that I would probably prefer 2 or 3 modes instead of the blinky modes
Dan
Hd2010 or the xintd c8 or both :bigsmile:
does the hd2010 come with 2 or 3 modes only rather than the 5 modes?
Hi Dan
I have the HD2010, the XinTD C8, and a light very similar to the M10 (UF2200).
The HD2010 is too big for belt carry, if that’s what you want, and the other two are not, if you can find a suitable holster. It’s “the V8 of torches”.
The M10 (or UF2200) is a nice size in the hand, and has great runtime with a 26650 battery, and mine is my best all around yard light. It’s the landcruiser of lights and would be my choice if I was on the beat.
The XinTD V3 C8 with a NW LED my favorite for walks, it’s a bit smaller (smaller battery 18650) and has a nice NW tint. Beam is similar to the UF2200. It’s like driving an MX5. Fun.
I sold a couple of Skyray M10 and a Trustfire A8 to several friends that (2) are state troopers in FLORIDA and one is a county sheriff. The sheriff got the A8 and loves it… Fits his leather holster and is a baton style torch lots of flood and spill… The M10 throws better… 2 different style lights for 2 different styles of police work… Not all officers work the same routine style……. I have an A8 if interested… Pm me …