# KD C8 XM-L



## led-it-be (Mar 10, 2011)

Found a very positive review of this light over at budgetlightforums, after reading it and seeing how cheap it is, I had to get it. 

It's shipped now, but of course I can't wait until it arrives... 
Has anyone bought this one? How do you like it? Would anyone mind posting some beamshot comparisons?

This is the light:





Great to have cpf back!! I missed it. xoxo to Greta


edit: oops, I guess this should be in the budget subforum, sorry.​


----------



## led-it-be (Apr 11, 2011)

Yay it arrived today! I must say I'm pretty impressed.
Good finish, great output, big reflector for an 18650 light.

I'd like to try to get as much throw out of this light as possible, so I'm thinking of getting an SMO reflector + aspheric, but... I can't find any with the right dimensions.
The reflector is around 41mm wide and 31mm deep, any suggestions on where to get fitting parts would be appreciated!



edit: bought this xpg reflector on KD, looks the same as mine except the hole for the led is obviously smaller, will try to widen the opening: kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=10451

just searching for an aspheric now...


----------



## RedForest UK (Apr 11, 2011)

It comes with a SMO reflector and three modes from manafont, also faster service and better communication. They sell the smooth and OP reflectors seperately for under $4 each as well.


----------



## led-it-be (Apr 12, 2011)

Found 'em, thank you redforest.


----------



## mfm (Apr 12, 2011)

RedForest UK said:


> It comes with a SMO reflector and three modes from manafont, also faster service and better communication. They sell the smooth and OP reflectors seperately for under $4 each as well.



The Manafont version is not driven very hard. Also, there is a new version on KD with SMO reflector.


----------



## Mike_TX (Apr 12, 2011)

Well, I've ordered one of the KD C8's, too. I have an XM-L I got as a drop-in from DX, and I've been disappointed in it, so I'm hoping the KD version is going to make me happier.

As I posted in another thread BC (before the crash), my XM-L is yellowish and not as much of a dazzler as many of you have reported. My Frontgate Defender (rated at "only" 500 lumens) blows it away so totally it's no contest, and my XR-E's even give it good run for its money (albeit with more spot/throw).

Maybe this light will restore my faith in this emitter.

.
.


----------



## led-it-be (Apr 12, 2011)

"BC (before the crash)"





Sorry to hear that your drop-in is so disappointing. I've got some p60 drop-ins too, and I think I'll never buy one again. The heat management is just too terrible If you want to drive anything hard. There's no way around copper tape or similar to make it better. While a p60 xpg driven at 1A might do ok, an xml at 3A just gets too hot imo...

Maybe you just got an emitter with high Vf or something else is wrong, but I'm sure the C8 will do better. It's brighter than any P7 light I own, and pulls 2,5Amps.


----------



## Mike_TX (Apr 12, 2011)

My DX XM-L has never pulled more than 1.48A at the tailcap on an 18650, so it may not be up to snuff. I'm hoping the KD one, being driven harder, will extract more performance from the emitter. If so, it should be able to bubble asphalt.

.
.


----------



## gcbryan (Apr 13, 2011)

You don't need a reflector and an aspheric. Just change to a SMO reflector and see if that results in the improvement that you are looking for.


----------



## Nake (Apr 23, 2011)

I got my light from KD today. It shows 3.24A at the tailcap with an IMR.


----------



## Mike_TX (Apr 24, 2011)

Mine "came" yesterday, but since I wasn't home to sign for it, it's sitting at the post office for pickup tomorrow. It seems my HK Post shipments always arrive on Saturdays, and missing them means an extra two days wait.

Having said that, this is the fastest I've gotten a shipment from either DX or KD - 10 days! 

I'll subject mine to the multimeter when I get it tomorrow - I'm curious to see how it compares to the somewhat weak XM-L drop-in I got from KD a few weeks ago.

.
.


----------



## recDNA (Apr 25, 2011)

Nake said:


> I got my light from KD today. It shows 3.24A at the tailcap with an IMR.


 
Have you ever tried seeing how long you can run it on high before it gets too hot? Just curious.


----------



## Nake (Apr 25, 2011)

I let it sit on a table for 5 min and it got to 103*F measured with an IR thermo.


----------



## qwertyydude (Apr 25, 2011)

I have the Uniquefire X8 which I converted to XM-L it's the same light pretty much. I can tell you with such a big emitter like the XM-L orange peel vs SMO doesn't make much of a difference. They'll both be rather largish hotspots, just the SMO will be slightly sharper. If you want to make a bigger difference in throw you need to drive these led's harder. It'll also improve the color rendition from greenish to actually pure white. I made mine direct drive and it runs 4.5 amps from fresh 18650's. It's extremely bright and has as much throw as you can expect, about the same as a car's high beam headlights. So pretty good.


----------



## Mike_TX (Apr 25, 2011)

Nake said:


> I got my light from KD today. It shows 3.24A at the tailcap with an IMR.



Doggone it! per my separate thread, my new C8 is drawing only 1.58A! That's with a UF blue 2500mAh 18650. Is it the battery? I can't believe it would make that much difference.

.
.

ETA: Make that Trustfire, not Ultrafire batteries.

.
.


----------



## Nake (Apr 25, 2011)

Mike_TX said:


> Doggone it! per my separate thread, my new C8 is drawing only 1.58A! That's with a UF blue 2500mAh 18650. Is it the battery? I can't believe it would make that much difference.
> 
> .
> .


 
I tried a Trustfire 2500 and it showed 2.78A, one of the new AW 2900 shows 3.0A.


----------



## Mike_TX (Apr 25, 2011)

Nake said:


> I tried a Trustfire 2500 and it showed 2.78A, one of the new AW 2900 shows 3.0A.



I don't get it. I'm setting my DMM on 10A, grounding the negative probe to the barrel (on a nice bare metal spot), and pressing the positive probe down on the end of the battery until the emitter lights up. Doing so, I get 1.58A on High, .71 on Medium and .08 on Low.

Doesn't make sense to me.

.
.


----------



## gcbryan (Apr 25, 2011)

Does the spec sheet at KD mention how hard it is supposed to be driven?

I know it can handle 3 A but what does it say? My Thrunite dropin is spec'd at 1.5 A I believe.


----------



## brted (Apr 25, 2011)

You will need heavy duty leads to measure higher amps like this. Have you been able to measure over 2 amps in the past with other lights? Also the battery will need to be capable of providing that kind of current and will need to be topped off. I was measuring low currents until I tried a friend's DMM and narrowed it down to the stock leads of my DMM. Even some "heavy duty" leads I ordered on eBay turned out to just have heavy duty insulation and not wire. I finally found some 18 AWG leads on DX that work better. Some people make their own leads out of heavy duty wire.


----------



## Nake (Apr 25, 2011)

Mike_TX said:


> I don't get it. I'm setting my DMM on 10A, grounding the negative probe to the barrel (on a nice bare metal spot), and pressing the positive probe down on the end of the battery until the emitter lights up. Doing so, I get 1.58A on High, .71 on Medium and .08 on Low.
> 
> Doesn't make sense to me.
> 
> ...


 
Do you have 5 modes or 3? Mine has five. I'm thinking maybe you got a different circuit board with yours.


----------



## Mike_TX (Apr 25, 2011)

Nake said:


> Do you have 5 modes or 3? Mine has five. I'm thinking maybe you got a different circuit board with yours.



Nope - mine's a 5-mode, too. Don't know about the board ... mine is green and is printed "SG PCB". No other markings without a disassembly.

.
.


----------



## Nake (Apr 25, 2011)

Mike_TX said:


> ... mine is green and is printed "SG PCB". .


 
Mine is the same.


My medium is 1.19 and low .13.


----------



## agedbriar (Apr 25, 2011)

My Manta Ray XML C8 from KaiDomain draws 0.074, 0.44 and 1.40A.

I find the mode spacing very useful, the Mid a luxury for walks (with still a nice runtime), the High for the occasional "better look". Wouldn't mind having a turbo 3A mode in place of the strobes, though, if only for a bit of fun.

The head is the same size as KD C8 XM-L's, with an excellent SMO reflector that creates a very pleasant beam at normal outdoor distances.


----------



## Mike_TX (Apr 25, 2011)

I guess I'm going to have to chalk it up to the lead size on the multimeter. 

I'm waiting for dark to get a real world comparison between the C8 and a KD p60 drop-in i got a few weeks ago. I already know the C8 is a cleaner, whiter light, but I should be able to get a relative idea of output in the dark in my backyard.

.
.


----------

