Nice. Think I’m gonna give it a shot.
The Crelant 7G9, it outhrows the hd2010 and is under $90 at MDlightaource
60-70k lux
T13 for $24 at manafont here: http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/small-sun-zyt13-t6-5mode-1200lumen-led-flashlight-black-218650-p-10728
Resistor trim pot from FT, qty 5 for $2: http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002999/1224400-10-ohm-potentiometer-trimpots-5-pack
U3 1C emitter for $5: http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10001903/1189702-cree-xm-l-u3-1c-6500-7000k-1100-lumen-white-led-em
I'm getting 56 kcd on the stock emitter trimmed to 3.4A effective (1.7A measured at tailcap).
Replacing with U3: maybe 60-70 kcd?
De-dedomed in gas: maybe 120-140 kcd?
All for $31 out of pocket. Simple, pretty easy mods. I would add $3-$4 for a SinkPAD though 
.
Now we’re getting somewhere! Several of the suggestions look like they have promise. It looks like there aren’t many off the shelf choices. I checked out the Crelant 7g9, the small sun zy-t08 w/mods, and the t13 w/mods. I have to be honest I love the Convoy L2. I’m thinking of getting the host edition.
My first and only mod was with the Keygos M10. I mimicked gords mod with the same driver with lots of groups and U3 led. It was pretty simple. It’s much brighter than the stock one. Yes I bought 2 M10’s just so I could compare. On my fluke its running 4.2 amps at the tail.
So what does the group think of this:
*Convoy L2 Host, same driver as the keygos M10 mod, dedomed U3.
*
It’s either that or go with the East driver like in my direct drive HD2010. Not sure how good that is with the 2 battery config of the L2. I’ll attempt to gas dedome for the first time. I’m such a nerd.
Depending on the quality of the batteries, using the East driver could smoke your LED. Don’t be afraid of gas dedoming. It’s very simple. Toss the led in gasoline one night and remove it the next. You might want to give the glass a few swirls or spray the led when your done to get the loose bits off. Tom E started a good thread on dedoming here.
Both driver choices sound like single cell drivers, reducing the L2 to a 1 cell light only -- not a good choice for an XM-L2 but if you stay with a U3, better, but I'd rahter use that nice host with 2 batts.
This is it right here. $59.49 78mm head this thing throws like you would not believe it.
Trustfire X7 aka T8 SST-80 (actually a SST-50) It’s amazing the way it is also easy and cheap to mod it.
I have the Crelant 7G5CS on the way and have had the HD2010 in the past so can make some sort of comparison, not direct unfortunately as I no longer have the HD2010. From everything I’ve read it throws further and was $80
dayum that is a big bastid
Convoy L2. 2x 26650, large reflector, what else do you need.
78mm head on the SST-80. So now the big question…
Stock Trustfire SST-80 vs Stock Convoy L2
Who wins:
Price - Virtually same
Battery Capacity - 3 18650’s vs 2 26650’s - Close depending on cells used
Throw Distance (lux?)- Who wins?
good question
if your building the l2, use an xp-g2 on a sink pad and this driver.
the current can be upped to over 4a with a resistor mod. At 3a, the otf lumens is comparable to an xm-l t6, the throw however is absolutely stupid in comparison.
LOL! Mind wanders after talking about gaps and lustefire.
I did see this light but its new enough that noone has had a chance to review it yet. If the reviews came back that it was even close to the shocker then its a clear choice.
The X7 and Convoy L2 look great. Probably room in the collection for one of these and the lustefire (pending review).
At the start it was looking pretty bleek but it looks like there are some good “throw gap” options.
Gords - this driver is listed at 19mm and best I can interpret the L2 host picture is it wants a driver of 20 or 21mm. How do you get this to mount?
21mm contact board (hoy baffle)
http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1403
they should supply the host with one imo, but they dont. Once the light is tested, you can pot the driver if you wish, I just bought a load of thermal pads and stuffed the driver cavity as I wanted to be able to upgrade (mine is running 3a on an alu star at the moment, I cant wait to unleash it with a sink pad and current upgrade.
Oh - ok, I got the 21 mm contact board from IOS, I believe, since you actually did this on an L2, then the pill must have the clearance for the "sandwhich" - very nice! Gotta find that resistor mod info - looks like this LCK-LED driver is 8mm height, which is pretty compact, could have used this on another mod or two... Was this the driver used on TorchLite host builds too and the fit was good?
I put one in a torch light with an xm-l. And a trustfire t1, its a nice driver.Regards l2 info, including the resistor mod link.
that thread has links that cover most things l2. The only downside to my build is that you have to run two cells, I prefer it that way but some may wish to run 1 or 2 cell. As I say, there is another driver in the works but I’ve not heard much about it yet, other than enough to be excited.
With the X7 the mod I did was just to stick in a XM-L2 and file the reflector so the hole was bigger it worked perfectly. Also it’s funny but it seems a bit brighter with two cells rather than three. I’m thinking it’s direct drive with two and has a buck kicking in with three. One other nice thing, it came with extra o-rings, lens, tail cap switch, big carrying strap and even some thread grease.
From what I have been told on another thread it’s even more throw if you de-dome or put a de-domed XP-G2 on copper. I’m sticking with what I have for now. It’s amazing as it is right now.