thanks for that informative comparison. thats exactly what i needed to know. sounds like its worth my $25
off to home depot i go hehe
The Home Depot’s here in Canada sucks, those cool lights aren’t availiable here. ( i would have bought 2 of them. 
>>>>Can you post back here when you get a chance to test it?
Your wish is my command.
My new spiffy lux meter shows a 15% increase when a FT U3 emitter is added with the existing driver.
Existing T6 (or whatever emitter was originally in there) = 39k-40k lux
New Fasttech U3 emitter = 46k-47k lux.
Readings were taken at center of flashlight spot from about 15 feet away in a dark room. Unprotected 3900mah panasonic battery (same one in two different flashlights).
Two separate lights were used in test. One with existing emitter; one with U3. Both lights had the 18650 conversion.
As previously mentioned in post 721, upgrade in real life is barely visible, if at all… Some lights show a huge diff with a U3 upgrade. This was not one of them.
Hope this helps.
Ubehebe,
Thanks for remembering to post that info. Kind of disappointing, huh :(…
So, where (what choices) does this leave us with respect to increasing DST output dramatically?
Also, do you think that the lack of huge improvement is because of the DST’s rather large reflector?
I think I’m missing something. It seems that those results are what would be expected if the stock driver is kept in place. Actually, the results seem pretty good considering not driver change. Am I missing something obvious?
texaspyro wrote:
Does the tube fit in the Defiant?
Sorry this took me awhile to get back to. It does fit perfectly! Smooth as butter!
Thats the Sky Eye F13 26650 light.
-Garry
garry,
Was that link ok?
Also, is that tube not from the A8 clone mentioned awhile ago (I have 2 of those somewhere in OPA LOCKA, FL - I have no idea why)?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390535954299?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
The link works for me if that's what you're asking. That light is available under a few different names at a few places. About $20.
-Garry
When I click on that it goes to a thread titled “Shadow JM07 Clone Spotted at DX”.
Anyway, the ones I bought were the ones I linked:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390535954299?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&\_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
but I haven’t received them yet. As I confusingly mentioned, they’ve taken a 3-4 day detour to FL (I’m in VA), but left there yesterday, and I have no idea where they are now. I’m still hoping they get here, and that they work with the DST :(…
finally got the chance to pick one of these bad boys up today. i must say, i am impressed even after all this hype. i thought for sure i would be disapointed because my expectations were fairly high because of this thread, but you guys are right, its a very nice light for the money.
my tenergy c cells are being charged up right now….should i be seeing any improvement in the brightness throw vs the alkaline cells that came with the light?
as someone stated that the defiant super thrower throws further than the hd 2010 in this thread.
but my hd 2010 and jacob a60 clearly beats it.
Which HD2010 did you get? I have one coming in from Tmart, and, with the stuff in other threads about the newer ones not being so great, I’ve been kind of wondering… I think that the DST was a real sleeper for me (thanks, garrybunk), but I would be very happy if the HD2010 beats the DST I have (no offense to this thread intended 
)
I may be the one that you are referring to. I modded mine to direct drive and it pulls 4+ amps now. I also am running the 2-18650 mod also. just scan this very long topic for posted pics and you will find those 2 simple, very cheap mods.
759 responses to this post.When it hits 1000 are you going to do a give away, Garry?
If I could get my hands on another one and I restrict it to US (I guess Canadian would be ok) residents, then I'd consider it. I hate to restrict it though. The shipping kills the idea.
I think I stated this previously.
-Garry
Both my HD2010 (tmart) and DST are modded and I am quite happy with both of them. The HD2010 can’t even try to compete with the HD on throw though. I like the HD’s big hot spot and spill better for most situations. Stock out of the box, my DST out threw my HD.
The DST has a lot of connections that can potentially have high resistance. Go through the light. Definitely copper braid those huge springs. I replaced my switch with a jacob like O-L uses in some of his builds. The Jacob switches use copper components in them. I think I read above that the stock DST switch is pretty decent though. I never gave it, the stock driver, or emitter a chance. Emitter had the tint of many T5’s. Measurements by others indicates it probably is not a T6 bin.
Best of luck on your new light. It’s going to be fun to see what people do with these as time passes.
Yes, it’s actually quite good. One of lowest resistance switches that I have seen. I don’t know how much current it can actually handle, but should be more than the LED.
I am getting confused by this discussion :(… What did you mean when you said:
?
I guess that, for the moment, the question that I have is: Will an UN-modded HD2010 from Tmart be expected to “beat” an UN-modded DST?
>>>>Will an UN-modded HD2010 from Tmart be expected to “beat” an UN-modded DST?
No, I don’t think so. I have one of the original HD2010s from back in the day when they first came out. If I remember, it was one of the brightest, but I don’t know about the recent Tmart variety.
Anyway, in a reading of the spot ONLY from about 15 feet away, the HD2010 = 29k on my lux meter. HD DST = 41k. Unmodded both …… Well, unmodded driver and emitter. The HD DST is running off the 18650 mod. However in tailstand ceilng bounce tests, the 2010 DOES beat the DST. 2010 = 47; DST = 39.
In field tests, the DST just kills the 2010 for throw.
Ubehehe,
Thanks for the CLEAR answer :)…
Technical question: Why would the HD2010 beat the DST on the ceiling bounce? Is it because of the beam/more flood?
Too true. $25.00 to Australia. I have spent $50.00 with the USPS.