I am sure that some of you are aware of my liking the KD C8 lights, have said it many times. This is the host I am using for testing C8’s. I have 2 hosts and so far 3 pills, 1 de-domed FET driver XM-L2, 1 de-domed FET driver XP-G2 and now 1 XP-L HI. My standard outfitting for these lights is to braid all springs, or use a brass button in place of the driver spring and install an Omten reverse click switch.
But, this review is really about their 3 mode XP-L HI V3 dropin for this light.
The drop in came packaged very well. Included in the package were the somewhat thick insulator and a very low profile centering ring, as seen in the photo. Both fit well and were easy to install. The emitter star is copper, I doubt that it is a DTP board. At a rated 3 amps, it would not hurt for it to be replaced. But, the light spreads heat very well and I would not be concerned about leaving it stock, if you are not inclined to replace the stock driver with a FET driver.
The stock star is a 16mm star and the driver is 17mm, a 20mm star will fit in well. I have one complaint, the driver is soldered in. I would much prefer a pill with a ring retainer.
Modes are as follows, KD % ratings:
Low .01amps (2%)
Medium .88amps (35%)
High 2.96amps (100%)
The low mode would almost qualify as a moonlight mode, I really like that! The medium mode is good for anytime that you don’t need to throw a long way. The high mode is just that, really bright! I am not set up to do beam shots, but with the correct reflector and a little time the hotspot measures about 2’ at 25’. This is very comparable to my XP-G2 de-domed drop in. In town, my reference tree tops is 185 meters away and about 100 feet up, and it lights the tree top very well even with ambient light of a small town.
I have a selection of reflectors:
KD SMO XM
KD SMO
And the stock XM LOP reflector that comes with the light above.
The SMO XM reflector had a horrible beam with artifacts and a poorly defined hotspot.
The SMO (assume XP) reflector had a very tight and clean beam after about 5 minutes of tinkering with focus, you really do need the insulation spacer that is provided.
The LOP (assume XP) reflector had a wonderful beam with more spill, as one would expect.
Over all, this is a really good drop in. It could be driven harder, not sure I will. Installation was very easy. This host also appears to have a good thermal path, a hard driven FET warms the head up quickly but seems to shed heat well.
I would not hesitate to suggest this to someone who has no desire to mod. But, I would also suggest it to someone who does not have an XP-L HI drop in for their C8 and may want to change the driver at some point.
Matt