I've seen a pretty good difference at 2 amps, probably more than changing out a stock lens to AR, so the copper now is cheaper than an AR lens upgrade in most cases, and I think a more worthwhile upgrade because of less temp at the LED. Match's graphs show maybe 5%-6% at 2A, about 10% at 3 amps. Of course this light could be 3.4-3.7A retail because it's got better heat sinking than a HD 2010. Wonder if we will ever see stacked 7135's in stock lights.
I think its battery voltage sag from my experiments, plus the slightly higher Vf of xm-l2, if you had 4AA in series i think you would get 3A without issue, but i don’t know how long it would stay at full power, but i think with 4 eneloops you would do ok
I’d like to guess he could come up with a high amp constant current driver with the moon to high settings if he was to really build a hotrod, but as you’ve pointed out before, this light seems oriented towards 3aa rather than high output (high in our terms I mean), it would have been killer to go with 4aa/32650 compatibility and a 26650 sleeve.
I must point out though, having spoken to dylan tonight, the scout leaders were “blown away by how bright it was on high” and “really liked the tint compared to usual led torches”, this was a 3aa generic nimh driven 5a1 tinted xm-l2, or pretty much the dimmest option this light has to offer, perhaps its not so bad after all if three non flashaholics want that exact model for use on scout camp, I’m now considering various options up to and including cnqg extreme runtime hosts with qlites and 6a1 xm-l2’s for killer runtime if they are prepared to invest in lithium tech.
That for me is what this lights strong point is, good for us, potentially good for none flashaholics too.
I’m with Tom E on this one not that it counts for anything. To me its about efficiency. The higher the efficiency for the same input is like a free meal. Add them all up and you may end up with a half decent feed for not a lot off extra cents in the initial purchase price.
I think they could have made it 4x AA or 32650 and included a spacer for 26650. the way it is now a 26650 is way too loose in there. They also could have made the battery tube a little longer to accommodate more of a variety of cells. they would have done that and include a copper star with no crater under the star, would have been perfect
but with all of that said... I still really like this light a lot. it looks great and feels great in the hand. I like the battery options too. it is just a shame I can not use any of my lithium in it
It's versatile, but not quite there... Agree. So looks like the feilong 32650 won't fit, maybe by less than 1 mm on each dimension. That's another shame, because if that cell fit, it would be spectacular for runtime, not sure how the FeiLong rates with internal resistance.
i dont think there is enough meat left on the tube to be bored either...
I’ve got some feilong cells inbound but I’m sure hank said they won’t fit, I can use my keygos 26650 cells but you have to use it as a twisty……not ideal lol. For now I just use an unprotected samsung 2800mah 18650 in a sleeve.
Man that light seemed like a winner…
Why does it not hold a flat regulation and has constant diminishing output until the 1:15 mark…I know it would really matter in real use as this lumens decrease would hardly be noticeable but still…
How much lumens is the moonlight mode and what is the runtimes of the different modes? Anyone got graphs/runtimes?
Thanks for the fabulous work!
How far in metres does this beauty throw?
Well I got mine mod'ed out to 4.5A, but it performs well in throw for it's reflector's diameter. I got it right in between a C8 and HD2010 size light in throw, which match's it's reflector width quite well. A full mod'ed out domed C8 does 45-50 kcd, while a full mod'ed out domed HD2010 or SS T08 does 95-100 kcd, and my domed X3 does in the neighborhood of 75-78 kcd. 75 kcd is 548 meters.
@Tom E: Thnks man. I really need to buy some crap stuff and TRY to get into modding. Its a completely alien world for me. I have zero knowledge in electronics but if there are tutorials with pics available, I am sure I can copy 
Same here… i’m completely envious of those with the mad-moding skill set! Well the light at the end of the tunnel for me is coming as we finally starting to get through some of the “stuff” (hoarding) my parents have and neither of my brothers have any interest in allot of my dad’s tools, etc (he passed away last Dec) and my mom really wants it gone so it looks like I will have some electronic gear to pick through to see what I want to keep. I know he was huge into that and has some soldier gear as well as a “Fluke”. Should be interesting to see what’s there and what I can utilize. At least then I can try this moding out and see if I like doing it without the initial investment into the gear. 
Yes - I got these old tool chests from when my dad passed, like 25 yrs ago. Last weekend I spent some time going through them carefully with modding in mind, and found a bunch of useful tools like ultra small tap and dies sets, fine needlenoses, fly cutter, etc.
We've attempted some useful tutorial threads here, but it's always hard to find the most useful ones 
. Don't think there's one place to go for that sort of info, so got to do searching. I've been lucky - though I'm a software guy, I work for a manufacturer so I work with EE's and one guy who is a "super tech", who is probably the most skilled at soldering I know or ever worked with, and has helped me a lot - he's in his 60's now but has accumulated some incredible knowledge and capable of some insane things with the latest tiniest IC's and cable connections. He laughs at our struggles with 7135's.