445nm and 405nm lasers are VERY addictive. But extremely dangerous as well if not handled correctly. My UF-980L should be coming next week.
TD15X bezel diameter is only 38mm. The Ultrafires are both at about 40+ range (like 43mm). Not sure about depth, but the Ultrafires are pretty deep. I have seen some which are not so deep wrt diameter.
I completely agree that the 980L is insane and the gains over 3.0 amps are negligible but like I said in the review, that very fact, pushing the XM-L past all logic is what I find so endearing about it.
And with respect to E1320; we need to keep in mind that even after I have run my 980L on high for over 15 minutes trying to set my house on fire and over a week later, using it every day at work and at home, so far it has been dead reliable. Not one single flicker or hiccup. It is the equal of any light I have in terms of quality and reliability and it out performs all of them in terms of brightness. My experience might suggest that E got a bum light.
ImjustsayinFoy
I am really hoping I got a bum light and after taking this thing apart I have noticed a couple things. The Ultrafire drop in from Manafont has the same driver and pulls the same amps with the same batteries also the new DX drop in I got yesterday also has an Ultrafire direct drive driver that pulls the same amps but with a strobe mode that is beyond ridicules. A strobe at 4amps I mean really WTF is this about never mind blinding the attacker this blinds me while I am holding the light. I still think the UF980-L, is a great light but with the number of direct drive XM-Ls increasing by the moment it is not your only option. I guess I expected more from Manafont when I hit the $43 dollar mark this thing does not look or perform like a budget light but it still is and no matter what you are buying an Ultrafire brand and if it burns out, shorts out or dies you will have to fix it yourself or pay to have it mailed to China to get repaired. FYI Manafont does test all of there lights before they ship and I have not received one DOA in dozens of purchases from them yet and my light worked fine for a couple weeks so hopefully my light was a fluke.
One thing to note, don't drive no XM-L on high esp if high/turbo is listed to be like 700 lumens OTF/Out the front (that's a lot!) for > 10 mins. Unless its a well designed 2-cell light (more thermal mass + somewhat more surface area). Good test would be just to hold the light, if its too hot, switch to medium. Very simple rule. 
That said, if you think the heat in the UF is bad check out these pocket rocket lights .
IncenDio V3+ Limited Edition (XM-L T6) 280 (1xCR123) / 600 Lumens (1xR123/16340)
Length: 77mm
Bezel Diameter: 21.5mm
Body Diameter: 21.5mm
Weight: 36g (w/o battery) <- yes that's 36 grams of heatsinking only.
For LEDs we have it good. For lasers, you don't get no thermal warning for some "designs" like 405nm Blu-ray, the LD will just die on you without thermal warning....you can stick it to a hardcore Noctua HSF heatpipes and all with dual 120mm and put dry ice on it, and it doesn't matter at all.
I don't think it is possible to feed any of these direct drive lights at 4amps for 10 minutes, none of the batteries I have will do that.
You want a pocket rocket, I would pay somebody to put one of these in there front pocket on high until the battery died, it would be really fun to watch.
Apparently the Manafont Ultrafire 3 mode drop-in and the UF -980L have the exact same driver so my dilema is over. I took a driver out of one of my Manafont drop-ins and put it in my UF-980L and put a NANJG 105C back in the drop-in, since I don't need direct drive in a smaller host.
Sheesh....that means the D26 drop in is capable of doing 4A+ as well? That's gonna roast stuff man.... LED surely would have sustained damage.
Yeah you have a good point there bro. IMR probably would do it for 10 mins before quitting, but the initial current dump i guess would fry everything first. LOL! I am wondering how's the discharge capability/curve of the new AW LiNiCoO2 NNP cells (i am not totally sure but i believe the newest Panasonics/Sanyos are also this chemistry?). They are like 18 bucks compared to 9 bucks of the IMRs, i quoted prices the cheapest i can find. I think the protected 18650s are approx 6A discharge capable. So it may not be that far fetched.
PS. Pocket Rockets. I nearly got the UF MCU-C7, but i settled for the Tank007 M10. Too bad its XR-E and not XP-E....but at 16 bucks shipped from Manafont for the 160 lumens claimed one (not the 140 lumens Q2 which is cheaper), only 69mm long 20mm wide, magnetic tail + Type III anodization and excellent built, i cannot complain. One of the smallest lights around, just 10mm longer than the 4Sevens Quarks. That bugger is super well made.
Well well E, that is very interesting but the best part is how easy a fix it is. (for someone like you with appropriate soldering skilz) Hope your light works great otherwise.
Foy
Thanks Foy it works exactly the same as it did before it melted down. I had a couple extra NANJG 105C 3 mode drivers that I put in the Manafont drop that I had in a little 501A which 2.8 amps will supply plenty of nut. Now do I go through the trouble of mailing the burnt driver back to Manafont? If it less than the $4 bucks I paid for the NANJG driver I will send it back.
Judging by Foy's pics, looks like there's no thermal paste under the star. First thing I'm gonna do with mine is go to work with Arctic Alumina.
Rich
For Taiwan/SG, shipping via Registered article won't break the bank.
But seriously I won't send it back, just be careful and it will be just fine. If you need more photons just adjust your expectations and use HIDs. Actually I wanted to get the Catapult V3 as its on sale here for about usd105 brand new (no shipping here), but I don't prefer a 260mm light and even then its too near to the price of the Trustfire X6 (350mm) which will pump out much more light, but do select the higher performance batts to provide the 2.9A draw at the tail end (3S config).
There is thermal paste on my light it has what appears to be FUJIK under the star, there is not a lot but you can see it on the driver were it squirted through the holes for the wires.
Just arrived a few days ago, brighter than my TR-1200. Only problem is that the beam has an ugly donut hole - anyone else encounter this?
Donut hole? Beamshots? My XM-Ls also have a wee tiny bit of hole in the middle. But you wouldn't notice it on real world objects.
I have 4 different xm-l lights and not one of them has a trace of donut hole. Please post a beam shot. Is the hole apparent at any range or just a particular distance?
its not really a hole i guess but the center of the hotspot is slightly dimmer. ive seen this from my solarforce xml to the trustfire x8. adding a OP reflector to the solarforce cured that porblem.
I have no donut hole at all. It's kind of ringy when on a smooth, white wall but outside it's not an issue. (to me at least)
Foy
Well, I got mine today-shipped on 5/25, received 6/6. Looks like I'll be using Manafont again-very polite, communicative and good English... thumbs-up!
The light is everything Foy said it is! More later after I tweak it.
Rich
everyone does anybody know what is a good driver for an xml dropin like the one that comes in the ultafire from manafont or close to it cheers?