Maybe some beamshot videos might help:
(the building in front is about 160 meters or 400 feet away from the flashlight)
Sofirn C8A (XP-L2, 1750 max lumens)
Sofirn C8F (3x XP-L HD, 2580 max lumens)
BLF Q8 (4x XP-L HD, V6-3D, 5000+ lumens)
The Q8 was in my sights, but I went elsewhere in search of something with better reach. Let’s say I were to get a Q8…
Would it be fairly easy to swap out the existing board and LEDs to supercharge it? I would likely do a bypass on all the springs, upgrade to 70.2 CW emitters, de-dome them, and swap out the board. I have highly skilled coworkers who can assist with the soldering.
Is that worth doing, or am I better off getting a ready to go flashlight like the K65 (70.2 emitter; factory de-domed)?
Yes, except for that XHP 70.2 part of course.
What you want to do is buy this magnificent board:
https://led4power.com/product/4x-luxeon-v-4000k-70cri-led-38mm-blf-q8-copper-dtp-direct-thermal-path-mcpcb/
Bypass the springs, and now you’ve got an 8000+ lumen beast that can throw quite far.
OOOR, get yourself a Haikelite MT09R XHP 70.2
An absolute beast, and my stock Blue MT09R can do 19k lumens, and throws 600m. A wall of light that can also throw quite far. If you go above 50% power though, it gets hot FAST.
I think something like the TN40s is what you want. Since you have the L6 already at ~70Kcd and want something throwier I would recommend a bump in beam intensity of more than 2 or 3x. Anything less than that will just seem like a small improvement in throw because of the way our eyes perceive light. The TN40s has 330Kcd and enough lumens that it won’t be a pencil beam. Another option with similar results is the MF02s which has the XHP70.2. If you dedomed that and drive it well it would have similar throw and more lumens than the TN40s.
Sliced XHP70.2 would not get you a lot of throw in the Q8, maybe 120Kcd (prob less) if they are driven very well.
I think the K65 is more what you are after, similar to my suggestions above. But from what I remember the K65 performance doesn’t live up too the advertised specs.
If you are up to modding I would recommend the MF02 with sliced XHP70.2 and either FET driver or high performance buck driver like from Lexel.
You could check out some of the Niwalker lights, like this one I reviewed:
It has XHP70.2 LEDs for flood and output, and an XHP35 HI for throw.
I brought out the light lovers in force! Thanks guys.
It’s sounding like the MF02s with bypassed springs, dedome, and high performance driver might be the ticket.
Any tips on the best driver for this setup? I have 4 Samsung 30Q 15A 18650s. Ideally I would have a nice blend of performance and usability (ie not fry my hand instantly).
I have both the Imalent DT70 and DT35 as well as the Haikelite MT07s. For the money, the Haikelite is a quality piece with performance tested at slightly OVER MFR specs. I like mine a lot!
INHO opinion and I have a UT Thrunite, it’s a thrower to the core with not a lot of spill. Very nice light but I think it’s also overpriced.
One light you’re not considering that you should is the Astrolux MF02. It is arguably the best thrower under $90 and meets your criteria. Early ones had driver problems but the latest are excellent. Very impressive thrower with good spill and run-times. It uses the CREE XHP35 powered by four 18650 cells. The MFR specs are a little over-zealous but you can expect around 2200 lumens and 600k CD. Roughly 1,100+M actual throw not that you can see much that far (better be a very clear night with no dust/smoke). With a coupon code it can be had for low $80 range.
The Q8 is a great light loved by many here but it is not really a thrower. In fact, If you have an L6, then the Q8 is going to out throw it by much if at all. Either mod your L6 or go with a true thrower. Just my $0.02.
The MF02S does not need bypassed springs or a new driver. It uses a boost driver and is fine. Slicing the dome is an option for more range, but since the bezel is glued, it may be a pain to do that.
It only has a 10mm bigger head than the L6, but maybe double the output (3150 to 6000). It hasn’t been reviewed yet since it is still a month away from shipping, but since it uses the boost driver from the MF01, it has plenty of power should they want it to do 6,000 lumen.
They say it’s 1000 meters range and in theory could be. This is about double the stock L6 distance.
Hey dr l, thanks for the head up… i never pay for the expedited shipping or insurance… most of the items arrived in 8 days - 21 days…
You should look into Mt09r or tn40s…
Mf02s as jason mentioned too.
Manker mk39 ?? Group buy price available too.
MT09R gives you massive long reaching flood with 16k-19k lumens. You can get higher if you have TA mod you some higher bin emitters.
They are saying only 600 meters on that light. I don’t think it’s enough distance based on what he said. I think it’s only 100 meters more than his L6.
Astrolux MF02S
This is helpful information. I’m in no rush to buy this light, so I may wait for the initial MF02s tests to be done.
The lights still in contention are…
Acebeam K65
Astrolux MF02s
Haikelite MT07s
Haikelite MT09R (sheer power; runs hot)
Imalent RT70
Thrunite TN40s
BLF Q8 (might get one just to tinker with)
I built an XHP70.2 MF02 myself and it puts out 9060 lumens and 227 kcd
So if the factory MF02S will be 6000 lumens I estimate 180-200 kcd
Come on, 9000 lumen OTF? Doesn’t that sound too high to even be possible? Is it doing 11000 lumen in raw form?
I think your right that 1000m might be pushing it. The 900+ meter range sounds more accurate.
I get 830 meter in my smaller L6 with 6000 lumen.
Sofirn is actually working on an upgraded version of the L6 and S70 style light.
Comes stock with 70.2, hopefully 5000+ lumen, better user interface, 15mm bigger head, etc… We are looking for 1000 meters, but it might be 900+ meters.
I know Dr. Lightsworth isn’t looking for a 2 x 26650 battery light, but it would also be a good choice. No telling when it will be out, though. It’s still being designed. 
Yes. with freshly charged batteries, measured at start. at 30s it is more like 8000-8500 lumens. All springs bypassed in carrier and driver. My L6 with same led and fet driver was only 7800 lumens at start.
Thanks again everyone for your input.
After looking through a series of beamshots I realized that I could be more specific with my request, at least with regard to the ideal beam pattern. I am pursuing a light that has a fairly large hotspot, rather than a hybrid of throw and flood. A concentrated, wide throw beam is more desirable to me than having heavy spill with a focused dot of throw.
This is fairly similiar to what was originally requested, but hopefully will narrow the field.
How about the MT09R, it throws pretty far considering how floody it is. It spills less than others and focuses the light to the front.
Checkout the beamshot comparisons.