Checked out my local Home Depot on my way into work this morning. I couldn't find any of the ArmorMax lights at all (even checked special displays in the aisles). Oh well. Inventory checker shows 5 in stock in all stores around me.
-Garry
My local store showed 5 in stock on the 3D for weeks, but no one could ever find them. When they did show up on shelves, there were 6 in the display. I checked stock online again, and now it had changed to 6. I think it is something to do with their inventory control system. 5 might be a default placeholder? Also - don’t be afraid to stare at the boxes above the displays - they usually orient them with the SKU numbers easily readable.
I swapped my 2AA out yesterday. Guess I’ll get a couple of 14500’s for it.
My 3C Armor Max has an XP-E.
Has anyone modded their Defiant ArmorMax 3D yet? Hopefully someone will post an SST90 mod soon.
the only thing ive done to mine is “sputter” the reflector with clear coat to make it orange peel and more of a flooder… ive got a few spare emitters, but havent decided on a driver or what i want to do with it…. maybe mtg2 flooder? i have over a half dozen ongoing projects where as funds and inspiration permit they will take shape 
I have both the 3D Armormax Tactical Thrower and the 3c (both have tail clickies) for the price and quality, these flashlights are outstanding. Easily gives Mag-Lite a run for their money. But I believe that both flashlights have their place as the 3D and 3C Defiants have ultra bright over 200+ Lumen and over 500+ lumen claims as well as very decent throw, the Mag-Lite still holds the crown as the American made flashlight for it’s reliability and it’s heavy and rugged use, especially the adjustable beam focus. I have tried to focus the beam on the defiants by twisting around the head to find a nice balance of spot and flood but it just seems to make the hotspot ugly and deformed, so I didn’t bother further. As for the battery situation on the Defiant flashlights, they have great runtime and for the 3D having 18hours, I couldn’t complain, but at the same time, a 3D Mag-Lite could go for 72 hours for as good (or more) throw distance. Like I said, both torch brands have their places and I would carry the 3d for my truck and the 3c a heavy worker but not enough to be a daily carry (EDC) instead of my Mini-Maglite LED Pro (226 lumens) But nonetheless I compared the Defiant ArmorMax 3D with the Coleman CT-50 500 Lumen tactical flashlight and the Defiant (At 590) seemed a bit brighter (Being 90 LMS brighter give or take) but as for throw against the Coleman it was superior. In case if anyone was wondering, the Coleman CT-50 has a Cree XM-L LED with an orange peel reflector and it’s basically a tactical design (Type 2 anodized machined Aluminum) like the Defiant. Overall, I agree the Defiant 3d is a behemoth and doubles as your blackjack for SD, it would make a great place in a truck or workshop as well.
So if I have to rate the Defiant ArmorMax 3D Flashlight with a rating of 1-10 for price, quality and overall feel. I’d give it a 7.5 and the defiant 3C an 8.5 (why?)
The Defiant 3C has proven to be a lighter variant although sacrificing the brightness stepping down from the 3D. IMO the 3C has a more defined throw than the 3D and is easier to carry and of course could double as a self defense weapon with the equal sturdiness of the 3D and Mag-Lite! The 3C obviously has a reason to have a tailcap clickie because it is easily maneuvered and wielded if one were to wish to use it with a pistol! But I digress, the 3C makes a great tactical flashlight and lives up to its design unlike other flashlights that try to achieve this design to appeal rather than showcase the LED. The downside to this flashlight is that sometimes the contact point of the tailcap would fail (after disassembling the 3C) and would have to give it a courteous knock on the tailcap to make sure the contact would move in place (Might be the O-Rings that is creating this problem, So I make sure to move them in their place before I reassemble the flashlight) but that’s really the only problem I have with this flashlight honestly, I could easily use it as a daily carry (not EDC) for adventures and other stuff of the like, it would also make for a great light to put in your truck unless you already have the 3D to put there. So that’s what brings my personal rating on these 2 flashlights.
And if anyone was wondering, I am using alkaline batteries only (I know what you’re thinking) as I don’t really feel the need to seek out fancy NiMH batteries or Lithium Primaries as well as 18650s or CR123’s, I just use alkaline with the exception on having them removed from the flashlight if it has not been used for more than twice a week just to be better safe than sorry (Especially with those damn Chinese Duracells that they are pumping out now) so I would use USA Made Duralocks or Energizer’s, both work very good but I still abide by my torch use rule because I have already learned from once when I had one Mini-Maglite LED Pro 2xAA with 2 batteries in there that busted (not sure what brand and how) but it might have been some temperature issues from the elements as the LED was also foggy and melted looking, now luckily, this was a flashlight that a friend had given to me cause he couldn’t open the tailcap. After 2 hours of trying to twist it open using various methods (Clamps, vice-grips) I decided to take a hacksaw to the thing and found out the batteries had busted and sealed the whole thing off like super glue from hell! I was disappointed but I had relief of knowing why this poor Mag-Lite had perished, so I salvaged the Head and that’s about it.
Enough story telling, the Defiant flashlights are a very great buy and are worth every penny, just hold back from the 3D unless you like fitness every time you use it!
Im impressed with the quality of the build considering the $30 price. It runs for a solid 3.75 hrs per charge and takes longer than 2.5 hrs to drop 100 lux. Not bad for a cheap cool running skull basher with great future mod potential.
Defiant ArmorMax 3D
Tenergy 10,000 mAh D cells
lux recorded every 15 min.
|
30 seconds |
573 |
|
:15 |
536 |
|
:30 |
530 |
|
:45 |
527 |
|
1:00 |
525 |
|
1:15 |
524 |
|
1:30 |
522 |
|
1:45 |
519 |
|
2:00 |
513 |
|
2:15 |
499 |
|
2:30 |
486 |
|
2:45 |
467 |
|
3:00 |
448 |
|
3:15 |
425 |
|
3:30 |
393 |
|
3:45 |
335 |
|
4:00 |
236 |
Thanks for that data, FlashPilot.
Any time Slim. It took about 50 edits to correct the data table formatting. :Sp Now I know why people complain so much about the editor.
Hint: Use the advanced editor and copy/paste directly from Excel.
You’re welcome 
… and thank you! :bigsmile:
these are really great numbers!
mine has been sitting on my nightstand doing nothing…
I stippled my reflector to give a more floody beam (used clear coat paint - resulted in a ultra heavy OP look)
I think I am going to swap the emitter to something warmer - I have a XML T5 5c1 i might throw in there… I cant seem to find a better lens though.
Ive been considering a driver swap in my 3D Defiant for quite a while now. Just comparing it outdoors to several other XML lights, the Defiant seems to hold its own quite well. Hmm… how can this be? A quick check shows that after 30 seconds, it pulls 2.86A from the cells and maintains it there. Im not sure if its the Tenergy 10,000 mAh D cells that it likes or that I just happened to get one with a hot driver or low vF emitter.
My lux numbers were taken at about 4 feet (1.2M) and were just to test run time. (573 lux at 30 seconds)
texaspyro recorded the following in his sphere:
With Imedeon 9500 mAh LSD NiMH cells:
high: 460 lumens/2.0A
With that in mind, I do wonder if there are differences from sample to sample.
The next mode memory driver is a real pain to deal with, so I may eventually swap in a Qlite 3.04A. For now Im really happy with its stock performance, cool running host and 3.75 hour run-time.
Thanks JM. I still cant believe I only paid $30 for this light! :bigsmile:
Check OL’s mod thread for lens info.
“The ”D” Defiant is 64mm and the “C” Defiant is 62mm. I got mine for the “C” off ebay (a UV filter) and I got the 64mm from who was it? Phil? from ebay.“
After browsing it again, I think I might add some copper to those long steel springs and retest tail cap current.
The stock driver in these is basically a direct drive driver with a MOSFET switch to do PWM. I pimped out one of my lights with a XML2/T6/3C LED neutral white LED on a copper sinkpad. I also put braid in the springs.
Output on D cells went to 780 lumens. On NiMH cells it went to 660 lumens. A 44% increase. An AR lens would boost these numbers another 7-8%.
The stock tailcap switch has a resistance of around 150-180 milliohms. With braid it falls to around 9 milliohms. Probably the best single/simple improvement you can do.
thanks for the numbers TP
I have an old XMLT5 i think im going to put in this one… keep stock driver… maybe to tc mod a nice neutral flooder (i stippled my reflector)
the only annoying thing is the next mode memory
hmmm i do have a few 3.04 amp drivers sitting around…
Thanks TP. Those steel springs do seem quite long to efficiently carry current. I was surprised by your results after adding braid. What an improvement! Do you know of a simple way to get rid of the memory “feature”.
I added some thick copper single strand wire that I stripped from the center of some heavy coaxial satellite cable. I wrapped the strands around a thin steel rod and made a few copper springs slightly longer than the stock ones already in the flashlight. Placing the new copper springs inside the stock steel ones was all that was required before reassembly. No solder required… its probably the fastest & easiest mod Ive ever done.
With Tenergy 10,000 mAh D cells. Tail cap measurements 30 seconds after turn-on:
Before: 2.86A
After: 3.32A
Now Im contemplating an AR lens, if I can find one.
Significantly noticeable results for a SUPER EASY MOD. Thanks TP! :bigsmile:
Adding a 3 amp regulated driver would probably decrease the output some since it can do more amps with the stock driver. You would get a better set of modes though… I was thinking of sticking a Qlite in one. I put Qlites in the Defiant Super Thrower…
anyone try using 4x c nimh in this?