Are regular ole protected 18650's (or others) even capable of giving 4.5A? What is the max current draw of a protected 18650? This thing sounds pretty outrageous.
Would you consider this light to be dangerous if ran on high for just 2-3 mins at a time? I am highly highly intrigued! Great review!!!
I left it on high for about 15 minutes when testing the outside temperature of the flashlight. Was impossible to even pick up and my tail cap draw was measured using a protected Solarforce 18650/2400.
As of today (6-9-11) this 980L works perfectly.
Foy
Just ordered mine :) can't wait !!!
Take mine for my daily dog walk on high for +- 45 min, driven by Redilast 2900.
It get's hot, but after a while (30') it stabilize on a less hotter temp.
So far no problems.
This evening gonna try my brandnew ExCell 3100, hope I don't blow up the damn thing 
O yes, Recieved the Trust F15 on monday, put in a SMO reflector...
This one is also very bright, but is no competitor for the UF980L little giant
Howdy folks!
Done some reading before and I was thinking that maybe it´s time to post something here :)
Some time ago noticed this flashlight. I´m maybe not really needing a thrower, already have a modded Mag...
Just could NOT resist this, it´s over 50% cheaper than my recent thrower, smaller, puts out more, no D-size nimh...
First thought was damn, what a current draw, must get those 18650IMR´s coming fast. Now, when I finished this thread, maybe it´s better NOT to have those IMR´s with this one :D
I have a couple Trustfire "flames", maybe it´s better to stick with those.
Hi cheapthrills welcome to BLF
Please don't put IMRs in this light it is direct drive so they will deliver over 5 amps and you will melt the emitter dome off. There have been 2 failures that I know of, one with an IMR melting the dome off the emitter and my light which melted the driver for no apparent reason. I have found unprotected Trustfire flames are self limited to a little over 4 amps which is perfect for maximum performance for this light. Protected Flames will give 3.5 amps which is also very impressive, so either way you will have a nasty flashlight.
Hi E1320, as i read somewhere, in XM-L most efficient current is 3.5A. You already tested protected and unprotected Trustfires (3.5A and above 4A). Is there a remarkable difference in brightnes according to your observation?
There is no visible difference in the amount of light that I can see between 3.5-4.5 amps but there is a huge difference in the amount of heat it generates so best to play it safe.
+1
3.5A sounds very good compared to my recent KD 5-mode dropin.
Quite powerful for my use, takes a modest 2+ Amps in my L2. Biggest complaint is 5-modes...
If these Trustfire Flames take about 3+ Amps, has anyone tested this 3-mode dropin with 18350 Ultrafire?
I had in mind updating my work-beater, L2m to something more suitable.
It has now R2, does it´s job nicely but I need bigger hotspot. R5´s a bit bigger but XM-L would be just great! (need only short 5-15sec bursts on the light but several times during work shift).
Bottomline is: Not brightest idea to use high-heat generating dropin in L2m BUT 18650-EDC at work is a bit large + it does not have to give out more than, say min.200-300lm with big spot and for a short short time on High :)
Welcome to BLF CheapThrills!
Now there are a lot of people here who live farther north than I do. When do you expect it to get dark again? September?
+several thousand.
The manufacturers rate these things for a reason.
If you want to cool it with liquid nitrogen you can ignore most of this - but the bond wires will still melt. Try liquid helium next time!
Thanks Don!
I don´t live that north after all, this link sums it up quite nicely http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/oulu.html
In the beginning of august we have a short period of time when it is both dark AND relatively warm.
It feels awkward to take a trip for example to southern Europe, where nights are dark and warm.
oldbobk: R5 or R4 with OP reflector would also be a good choice. ATM I have only one R5 dropin and it is with SMO reflector. It´s quite nice outside, has some of throw also.
What's the difference between this light and the T6 1000 lumen dropin from manafont? Wouldn't it be cheaper to use that dropin in a empty body solarforce l2p?
Also Manafont sells 25$ lights with the T6 1000 lumen dropin.
I was going to buy the sky ray 3xT6 from manafont, but now i'm doubting again, any suggestions why i should buy this one or the other?
I like the fact this light is compact but the heating worries me.
greetings!
the main difference is the 980 has a better designed bigger reflector which gives it more throw. I have the trustfire X8 and its got a deeper wider reflector and its got a nice spot. if you want good throw you might want to consider the X8. it can be used with 1 or 2 18650s.
And do you have any idea how this flashlight compares to the 15$ cheaper http://kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=11097 kd C8 cree xml T6?
greetings!
The KD light is just a c8 with an xml. The upper end UF lights are much better build quality.
The x8 has proper regulation. Get it if you're shopping in that range. Or even better, get the Jetstream BC40 for a few dollars more.
Well got mine yesterday, dropped a freshly charged protected trustfire flame and WOW very bright !! Unfortunately it was short lived the light started to flash a few times and now it barely lights the led just a very very dim glow..
I have emailed Manafont so hopefully will sort it :)
Charles
Anyone else suffer this problem ?
Mine came in today with a black tail switch cover instead of the green GITD, which is kinda cool. They may have a driver swap or issue of some sort, as I am missing about 2A from what was found in this review. lol. Trying to find some way to make sure my DMM isn't bad. Stay tuned.